About the Author

After working for Department of Social Services (DSS) for five years I opened a private practice specializing in juvenile law and parents' rights. I also acted as a bar advocate (something like a part-time public defender); the monetary rewards were minimal, but it gave me the opportunity to provide a public service. I was in court on other business the day Eddie O'Brian was arraigned. To me he looked just like a scared little boy standing in an adult court. I knew about the case because of all the press coverage. Eddie, a former altar boy and grandson of a retired police chief, had been accused of murdering Janet Downing, his friend's mother, by brutally stabbing her more than 97 times. "You don't need to be a forensic expert to understand that it's impossible to commit that homicide, a homicide that included a struggle traversing three rooms and a flight of stairs, and not get a single drop of blood on a white shirt, green shorts, or black sneakers. And yet the police charged Eddie O'Brien with the murder on the night of July 25, 1995. The fact that he had no blood on his clothes, in the creases of his hands, under his fingernails, or on his size 15 sneakers was just an inconvenient truth." - THE POLITICS OF MURDER Eddie's father had been named as a witness for the Commonwealth and Eddie's first lawyers felt that he would benefit from having a guardian-ad-litem, someone who would look after Eddie's interests. They asked the presiding judge to appoint me to the case. This was a high-profile trial and I had no experience with murder cases. Nevertheless, it was an opportunity to be an advocate for a 15-year-old kid who seemed totally overwhelmed. I agreed because I wanted to help Eddie in any way I could. Eddie was tried and convicted by the press the first week and was later convicted again by a jury in a perfect storm of professional ineffectiveness, political ambition, and public panic. This horrific miscarriage of justice did not fully come to light until Eddie and I recently had the opportunity to review boxes and boxes of court transcripts and legal files from his case. "In 2015, Eddie and I spent a lot of time talking, reading old transcripts, and putting the pieces of a fractured puzzle together. I cringe about having completely missed the big picture so many years ago. To be fair, the big picture took years to develop and emerge into a legible image. When these events were actually going on, I was focused on far more immediate issues: his detention, the integrity of the police investigation, his transfer hearings, the appeals, the removal of a judge, and the central question: who really murdered Janet Downing? Today I finally understand what actually happened to Eddie O'Brien and why he has spent more than half of his life behind bars." - THE POLITICS OF MURDER In writing this book I want people to learn the real story of the Eddie O'Brien case, told here for the first time. Eddie is the innocent victim of a broken and sometimes corrupt system. Janet Downing's true murderer was never charged, and may still be at large.

Reviews

"A chilling story about corruption, political power and a stacked judicial system in Massachusetts."-John Ferak, bestselling author of FAILURE OF JUSTICE