Parking Lot Construction: As part of our ongoing work to maintain and improve Central Library, the parking lot will be closed for construction from Tuesday, July 28, to Saturday, August 1. Visit the Central Library page for more details. 

Book

Bringing Ben home : a murder, a conviction, and the fight to redeem American justice

Call Number

  • 364.1523 B8114 (CEN)

Browse similar titles by call number

Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York : Riverhead Books, 2024.

Physical Description

xviii, 443 pages ; 24 cm

Summary

"In 1989, Ben Spencer was convicted of murdering businessman Jeffrey Young-a crime he didn't commit. Spencer spent more than half his life in prison until independent investigators, the foreman of the jury that convicted him, and a new district attorney convinced a judge that Spencer had nothing to do with the killing. He was released from prison in 2022. Journalist Barbara Bradley Hagerty spent years immersed in Spencer's case. She combed police files and court records, interviewed dozens of witnesses, and had extensive conversations with Spencer. In Bringing Ben Home, she weaves together two narratives: how an innocent Black man got caught up in and couldn't escape a legal system that refused to admit its mistakes; and what Texas and other states are doing to address wrongful convictions to make the legal process more equitable for everyone"--

Contents

  • A murder in Dallas
  • The day after
  • Defying gravity
  • A break in the case
  • No excuse
  • Entering the tunnel
  • Witness for sale
  • Alternatively
  • A noble cause
  • In the shadow of Henry Wade
  • The shell game
  • What the jury saw
  • The defense rests
  • A brief history of innocence
  • No harm, no foul
  • The priest of justice
  • Double helix
  • A punitive turn
  • A network of innocents
  • Batman and robbery
  • Down to the studs
  • A new story
  • Lost in space
  • A second bite at the apple
  • Judgment day redux
  • Ground truth
  • No way out
  • The surge
  • Innocence deniers
  • No justice for some
  • Fresh eyes
  • And then there were none
  • Reprieve
  • Limbo
  • State of play
  • A partial justice.

Subjects