Innocent Until Interrogated

by Stuart, Gary L.

• ISBN13: 9780816529247
• ISBN10: 0816529248
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-09-01
• Publisher: Univ of Arizona Pr

Summary

On a sweltering August morning, a woman walked into a Buddhist temple near Phoenix and discovered the most horrific crime in Arizona history. Nine Buddhist temple members--six of them monks committed to lives of non-violence--lay dead in a pool of blood, shot execution style. The massive manhunt that followed turned up no leads until a tip from a psychiatric patient led to the arrest of five suspects. Each initially denied their involvement in the crime, yet one by one, under intense interrogation, they confessed. Soon after, all five men recanted, saying their confessions had been coerced. One was freed after providing an alibi, but the remaining suspects--dubbed "The Tucson Four" by the media--remained in custody even though no physical evidence linked them to the crime. Seven weeks later, investigators discovered--almost by chance--physical evidence that implicated two entirely new suspects. The Tucson Four were finally freed on November 22 after two teenage boys confessed to the crime, yet troubling questions remained. Why were confessions forced out of innocent suspects? Why and how did legal authorities build a case without evidence? And, ultimately, how did so much go so wrong? In this first book-length treatment of the Buddhist Temple Massacre, Gary L. Stuart explores the unspeakable crime, the inexplicable confessions, and the troubling behavior of police officials. Stuart's impeccable research for the book included a review of the complete legal records of the case, an examination of all the physical evidence, a survey of three years of print and broadcast news, and more than fifty personal interviews related to the case. LikeIn Cold Blood, andThe Executioner's Song,Innocent Until Interrogatedis a riveting read that provides not only a striking account of the crime and the investigation but also a disturbing look at the American justice system at its very worst.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Author's Note	p. xi
A Circle of Death	p. 1
The Sheriff's Task Force	p. 11
The Man with Many Names	p. 20
A Waiting Line for Confessions	p. 57
Recantations and Indictments	p. 113
The Forgotten Murder Weapon	p. 125
Political Wrangling	p. 169
A Murderer Ten Times Over	p. 180
Johnathan Doody on Trial	p. 217
Mitigation, Aggravation, and Sentencing	p. 255
Suing Maricopa County	p. 271
Epilogue	p. 285
Acknowledgments	p. 295
Notes	p. 301
Sources	p. 313
Index	p. 331
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