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In the recently published book "The Politics of Murder: The Power and Ambition Behind 'The Altar Boy Murder Case,'" first-time author Margo Nash makes a compelling case for Eddie O'Brien's innocence. At the very least, Nash persuaded me that Janet Downing's murder investigation ought to be reopened, and O'Brien should have a new trial.
Downing, a 42-year-old mother of four, was found stabbed to death in her Somerville home in July 1995. Hours later, 15-year-old O'Brien, the best friend of one of Downing's sons, was identified as a suspect.
The book offers O'Brien's conviction as an example of what can go horribly wrong when politics and the criminal justice system collide.
Very well crafted, "The Politics of Murder" is a "CSI: Introduction to Forensic Evidence Manual"; however, it reads like an ole'-fashioned whodunit.
As Nash tells the story, the justice system ran roughshod over O'Brien's right to the presumption of innocence. His conviction was a foregone conclusion.
"The Politics of Murder: The Power and Ambition Behind 'The Altar Boy Murder Case'"
By Margo Nash
WildBlue Press, 2016
300 pages; $16.99
The author, a Boston area attorney, first...