On June 11, 1959, the body of 12-year-old Lynne Harper was discovered in the woods in the small, rural enclave of Clinton, Ontario. Twenty-four...
more On June 11, 1959, the body of 12-year-old Lynne Harper was discovered in the woods in the small, rural enclave of Clinton, Ontario. Twenty-four hours later, Steven Truscott, a popular student and athlete who was seen with her before she disappeared, was arrested for her rape and murder. Although the 14-year-old boy maintained his innocence, he was convicted by a jury after a two-week trial and sentenced to hang "until you are dead." Writes Julian Sher, "Steve's date with the hangman gave Canada a black eye on the world stage." Although Truscott's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, his conviction was upheld through numerous appeals--the final one before the Supreme Court of Canada in 1966. After 10 years in prison, Truscott was released on parole in 1969. He changed his name, married, started a family, and now lives in Guelph, Ontario. Truscott's conviction is perhaps one of the more controversial verdicts in Canadian history. It haunts many citizens to this day, largely because so many believed, and do believe, in his innocence. Sher, a CBC television producer who spent two years researching Truscott's case for a documentary that aired in 2000, has written what will undoubtedly stand as the definitive argument that Truscott suffered a gross miscarriage of justice. Until You Are Dead provides voluminous evidence that Truscott's trial and appeals were both mishandled and unfair, and exposes shocking new evidence that could have proved his innocence, which was either suppressed, ignored, or never presented in court. And so Until You Are Dead is ultimately the story of shattered lives: the lives of the Harpers, who lost their daughter, and of the Truscotts, whose son lost his youth to the penal system and may never see his name cleared. But it is also a compelling indictment of the Canadian justice system--and the harrowing results when it goes wrong. --Svenja Soldovieri
less
Yes (0) 
No (0) 
