Welcome to Litsy!

This story is upsetting on so many levels, among them the ease with which an innocent person can be imprisoned for a crime, the lack of careful and correct handling of forensic evidence, and the powerlessness of the wrongly imprisoned.

A Marylander here—who just discovered this former #Maryland One Book by a local author. I‘ve decided to give it a read.

I'm not in the majority on this True Crime book, I
kept falling asleep while trying to read it. Obviously, it wasn't keeping me interested. I should have stopped reading it, the first time I fell asleep, but others loved it, so I plowed on to the finish. Won't do that again.

Pick for the story, so-so for the writing. This is an amazing story of a failure of the justice system, misuse of a psychological profile, and the tireless fight of an innocent man and his idealistic lawyer to clear his name. The writing is not super compelling and I thought it went too far into the weeds, especially when it came to the trial. The author describes Bloodsworth as a good speaker; it may have done better as a podcast or documentary.

Sick in bed, day 2. Ophelia appreciates it. Much as I wish I could be up and getting things done, I‘m glad to be starting this book in 2018; I‘d forgotten that it was the 2018 pick for One Maryland One Book! #catsoflitsy #onemarylandonebook #1MD1bk

“There is a strain of hubris that affects certain people in power, people with authority. It can be slow to develop, like a dormant infection. If not guarded against, it can breed an unhealthy arrogance, a cocksureness that their judgements are beyond fallacy. Such self-righteousness allows them to close their minds to new possibilities. It can cause right-thinking people to do terrible things. The devil has a long tail.”

So honored to work at #MarylandHumanities & work on the #1MD1BK program & Author Tour this year. While a bad cold & a sinus infection kept me from attending all tour stops, I‘m so glad the messages from this book and the emotional impact of Kirk‘s story were known throughout the state. This book reads like fiction and it‘s scary because it‘s true & this happens and still happens! Most people have so much to learn about our criminal justice system!

This is our One Maryland One Book choice for 2018 chosen by Maryland Humanities. A true crime book that takes place in Maryland. The story of Kurt Bloodsworth wrongly accused of murdering a 9year old. He was the first American to be exonerated by DNA. I‘m hoping to catch the author in a couple weeks at one of our local libraries ❤️