In Broad Daylight: A Murder in Skidmore, Missouri

Ken Rex McElroy was an illiterate hog farmer who lived on the outskirts of a small town in Northwest Missouri. For over twenty years he raped, robbed and burned almost at will. Cops were scared to arrest him, prosecutors were scared to prosecute him, judges were scared to judge him, and juries were scared to convict him. Over the years, Skidmore and many other small communities became convinced that the law was incapable of protecting them from McElroy. They watched in awe as he walked away from one crime after another. Ken McElroy was shot to death on the main street of Skidmore in July 1981, in front of 45 witnesses. Despite three grand juries, no one has been indicted for the killing.

In Broad Daylight: A murder in Skidmore, Missouri

History

MacLean, Harry N.

Americas

Harry N. MacLean

In 1989, Eileen Franklin, a young California housewife, claimed to recover a repressed memory of her father killing her playmate 20 earlier. In a landmark trial, the father was charged and convicted of first-degree murder, based solely on his daughter's testimony. This book chronicles the trial, explores the remarkably dysfunctional Franklin family, and delves into the reliability of repressed memory as evidence in court.This version contains a 2011 Epilogue, which details the reasons for the reversal of George Franklin's conviction and the refusal of the district attorney to retry him for murder.

Once Upon a Time: A True Story of Memory, Murder, and the Law

Politics & Social Sciences

MacLean, Harry

Social Sciences

In 2007 James Ford Seale was indicted for the murder of two black youths in southwest Mississippi in 2007. This book covers the trial and conviction of Seale for the crimes, and explores the ongoing attempt of Mississippi to atone for its bloody racial past and the possibility of redemption through the prosecution of former Klansman for crimes of the sixties. This books was shortlisted for the William Saroyan Prize, offered by Stanford University. In January 2007 the federal government charged James Ford Seale with conspiracy and kidnapping in the 1964 murder of two young black men. In May of 2007 Seale was tried for these crimes in Jackson, Mississippi. The book tells the story of the trial from beginning to end, and in the telling recreates the crime itself. The case has all the problems truly cold cases have: missing evidence, deceased or ancient witnesses, and decayed memories. The key evidence against Seale is the testimony of Charles Edwards, a fellow Klansman who was himself involved in the crime. The book is about much more than the trial. The title is from William Faulkner in his book "Requiem For A Nun," and the full quote is: "The Past Is Never Dead. It's not even past." The story of the trial is woven together with the story of Mississippi, its past and its ongoing struggle for redemption.

The Past Is Never Dead: The Trial of James Ford Seale and Mississippi's Struggle for Redemption

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Books by Harry N. MacLean