Death and Justice: An Expose of Oklahoma's Death Row Machine

From Publishers Weekly
Former LAPD detective Fuhrman (Murder in Brentwood and Murder in Spokane) may not be an elegant stylist, but his latest book is a serious and alarming investigation of legal misconduct on a massive scale. In 2001, Oklahoma executed 21 death row inmates-more than any other state in the country-and 13 had been convicted by the same Oklahoma County district attorney, Bob Macy. Fuhrman sets the stage: A barrel-chested cowboy whose good-ol'-boy brand of frontier politics and hard-line stance on the death penalty earned him a handful of enemies but many more powerful friends, Macy aggressively pushed for the death penalty in cases that other prosecutors would likely never have brought to trial. And his political influence and tearfully delivered closing arguments led to victory more often than not. Supporting Macy in his self-righteous campaign against crime was Joyce Gilchrist, director of the Oklahoma City Police Department crime lab. Often scolded for indiscretions but never strongly questioned, Gilchrist, Fuhrman explains, flagrantly mismanaged the crime lab for nearly two decades and routinely gave false and misleading testimony under oath (testimony that led to several death penalty convictions). When the cumulative effects of Gilchrist's incompetence and a federal investigation finally threatened to erupt into a national scandal, potentially damaging evidence against her was found to be either conveniently missing or prematurely destroyed. Fuhrman stops short of calling Oklahoma's problems a conspiracy, but he does show that they are endemic not only to Oklahoma but also to our entire criminal justice system. While his discussions of the ethical complexities of executions are unsophisticated, Fuhrman's book makes for an engrossing read.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Fuhrman thought he'd be a sympathetic observer when he decided to focus on conservative Oklahoma County while researching the death penalty. Little did he know that his own research would turn his views upside down. After the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, "frontier justice," as Fuhrman calls it, became the norm in Oklahoma. Overzealous law-enforcement officials would find a suspect and retrofit the evidence. Heading up this practice was the extremely popular D.A., Bob Macy, and his most trusted forensic scientist, Joyce Gilchrist. With the precision of a first-rate detective--which, O.J. notwithstanding, Fuhrman truly is--he breaks down several death-penalty cases that relied on rather questionable investigative techniques and considerably suspect scientific reasoning. When faced with the possibility that innocent people might have been executed at the hands of an overly ambitious prosecutorial machine, Fuhrman reconsiders his position on the matter: "Macy's career showed me the futility of vengeance. Evil cannot be met with evil, no matter how it is justified. The whole point of law enforcement is to serve justice, not your own ego, ambition, or pathology." With every offering, Fuhrman, once reviled, is showing himself to be a courageous man who dares to take on his own industry. Dominick Dunne, look out. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description

Controversy rages about capital punishment as innocent men and women are being released from death rows all over the country. Into the debate steps Mark Fuhrman, America's most famous detective, and no stranger to controversy himself.

Are innocent people being executed? Are death penalty cases being investigated and tried as if someone's life depended on it? Is capital punishment justice or revenge?

Fuhrman seeks to answer these questions by investigating the death penalty in Oklahoma, a place where a "hang 'em high" attitude of cowboy justice resulted in twenty-one executions in 2001, more than in any other state in the nation. The majority of these death penalty cases came from one jurisdiction, Oklahoma County, where legendary district attorney Bob Macy bragged about sending more people to death row than any other prosecutor, and police chemist Joyce Gilchrist was eventually fired for mismanaging the crime lab. These two figures loom large in Fuhrman's investigation.

Examining police records, trial transcripts, and appellate decisions, and conducting hundreds of interviews, Fuhrman focuses his considerable investigative skills on more than a dozen of the most controversial Oklahoma death penalty cases, including two in which innocent men nearly lost their lives.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Retired LAPD detective and bestselling author Mark Fuhrman seeks to answer these questions by investigating the death penalty in Oklahoma - a place where a "hang 'em high" attitude of cowboy justice resulted in twenty-one executions in 2001, more than in any other state in the nation. The majority of these death penalty cases came from one jurisdiction, Oklahoma County, where legendary district attorney Bob Macy bragged about sending more people to death row than any other prosecutor, and where police chemist Joyce Gilchrist was eventually fired for mismanaging the crime lab. Examining police records, trial transcripts, and appellate decisions, and conducting hundreds of interviews, Fuhrman focuses his considerable investigative skills on more than a dozen of the most controversial Oklahoma death penalty cases, including two in which innocent men nearly lost their lives.

SYNOPSIS

Continuing his efforts to parlay his involvement in the O.J. Simpson trial into a career as an author, former Los Angeles Police Detective Fuhrman examines a number of death penalty cases and comes to the surprising conclusion (for those who know his history) that the death penalty is unfair and should be abolished. Figuring prominently in the discussion are Oklahoma County district attorney Bob Macy, a fervent advocate of the death penalty, and police chemist Joyce Gilchrist, fired for mismanagement of the crime lab, but only after submitting crucial evidence in numerous death penalty cases. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

The Washington Post

The abuses Fuhrman uncovers were so troubling that they caused him to abandon his long-held belief in capital punishment: "I no longer believe in the death penalty. I no longer have faith that it is administered fairly or justly," he writes near the end of the book. And while not every reader may reach the same conclusion, Death and Justice does force you to consider whether those two words belong in the same sentence. — Douglas McCollam

Publishers Weekly

Former LAPD detective Fuhrman (Murder in Brentwood and Murder in Spokane) may not be an elegant stylist, but his latest book is a serious and alarming investigation of legal misconduct on a massive scale. In 2001, Oklahoma executed 21 death row inmates-more than any other state in the country-and 13 had been convicted by the same Oklahoma County district attorney, Bob Macy. Fuhrman sets the stage: A barrel-chested cowboy whose good-ol'-boy brand of frontier politics and hard-line stance on the death penalty earned him a handful of enemies but many more powerful friends, Macy aggressively pushed for the death penalty in cases that other prosecutors would likely never have brought to trial. And his political influence and tearfully delivered closing arguments led to victory more often than not. Supporting Macy in his self-righteous campaign against crime was Joyce Gilchrist, director of the Oklahoma City Police Department crime lab. Often scolded for indiscretions but never strongly questioned, Gilchrist, Fuhrman explains, flagrantly mismanaged the crime lab for nearly two decades and routinely gave false and misleading testimony under oath (testimony that led to several death penalty convictions). When the cumulative effects of Gilchrist's incompetence and a federal investigation finally threatened to erupt into a national scandal, potentially damaging evidence against her was found to be either conveniently missing or prematurely destroyed. Fuhrman stops short of calling Oklahoma's problems a conspiracy, but he does show that they are endemic not only to Oklahoma but also to our entire criminal justice system. While his discussions of the ethical complexities of executions are unsophisticated, Fuhrman's book makes for an engrossing read. (Sept.) Forecast: Readers will remember Fuhrman as the detective who found the controversial "bloody glove" in the O.J. Simpson case. His previous books have sold extremely well, and this one should as well. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Fuhrman here details the death penalty machine of 1980s-1990s Oklahoma City under powerful district attorney Bob Macy. Citizens, politicians, lawyers, police, and jurors all became caught up in the frenzy to mete out swift and final justice for heinous murders. Unfortunately, this greater goal blinded many to the needed to do their jobs correctly-once a suspect was identified, all effort was focused on making the case. Perhaps worst of all was the crime lab, run by the incompetent, insubordinate, and politically connected Joyce Gilchrist. Interestingly, Fuhrman, a former detective (O.J. Simpson trial) and best-selling author (Death in Greenwich), began the journey of researching and writing this book as a death penalty supporter yet emerged a strong abolitionist. Fuhrman writes eloquently of his change of heart, but the sheer volume-all death penalty cases under Macy's tenure-and rapid-fire pace make it hard to keep up. Still, this is highly recommended and likely to be popular.-Karen Sandlin Silverman, Lansdowne Friends Sch. Lib., PA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews