The Politics of Murder: Power and Ambition Behind "The Altar Boy Murder Case"

UPDATED AND EXPANDEDOn a hot July night in 1995, Janet Downing was stabbed 98 times inside her Somerville, Massachusetts, home. Within hours, police identified 15-year-old Eddie O'Brien, the best friend of one of her sons, as the suspect.Eddie had no criminal history, no clear motive, and no apparent opportunity. Yet his case emerged during a national panic over juvenile "superpredators," when Massachusetts officials were pushing to prosecute more children as adults. His highly publicized trial helped change the state's juvenile laws.Attorney Margo Nash, appointed as Eddie's guardian ad litem, attended every court session and later gained access to the case files, forensic reports, and trial transcripts. Her conclusion was disturbing: Eddie could not have committed the murder.In this expanded second edition of The Politics of Murder, Nash goes deeper into newly unearthed evidence of prosecutorial misconduct, withheld exculpatory material, and manipulated forensic findings.Was Eddie O'Brien used to advance a political agenda? What will it take to overturn his wrongful conviction?