Supreme Injustice

Historic fiction which investigates the 1971 rape and murder of a female juvenile in Sandy Springs, Georgia, an affluent suburb of Atlanta. She was raped and murdered and then dumped on her own doorstep to be found dead by her family. The 6 perpetrators were sentenced to less than 3 years in prison by order of a plea deal which guaranteed that the identity of the innocent victim would never be released. Never! Guaranteed by law! But her identity was revealed to the fury of the victim’s father who had been ruthlessly deceived into accepting the obscene plea deal to protect his innocent daughter’s good name. This led to the landmark Supreme Court verdict which remains in effect as of this writing (2022), granting the news industry alone the right to determine what is newsworthy and what is fit to be presented to the public.

This historic fiction (names have been changed) is based on true events given greater detail taken from private documents in possession of the victim’s aggrieved family. The book peers into the shocking lives of those who were most affected by the sudden death of the innocent victim, in particular her besieged younger sister. Also highlighted is the treachery and deceit that exists in the legal system which resulted in an innocent girl being victimized by the process that was supposed to protect her.

For those in the legal field or in the news industry this story would be of special interest because it is the detailed account of what led to the precedent setting case of COX BROADCASTING CORP. ET AL VS. COHN (1975). Included in this fact based story are intense scenes from the original trial that led to the Supreme Court hearing. The actual - though edited - oral arguments from the Supreme Court hearing are also placed before the reader in an understandable and emotionally moving way, showing how the final agonized decision was reached.