The Past is Never Dead: The Trial of James Ford Seale and Mississippi's Struggle for Redemption - Tapa blanda

“The Past Is Never Dead” is a book about a trial. In January 2007 the federal government charged James Ford Seale with conspiracy and kidnapping in the 1964 murder of two young black men. In May of 2007 Seale was tried for these crimes in Jackson, Mississippi. The book tells the story of the trial from beginning to end, and in the telling recreates the crime itself. The case has all the problems truly cold cases have: missing evidence, deceased or ancient witnesses, and decayed memories. The key evidence against Seale is the testimony of Charles Edwards, a fellow Klansman who was himself involved in the crime. But the book is about much more than the trial. The title is from William Faulkner in his book “Requiem For A Nun,” and the full quote is: “The Past Is Never Dead. It’s not even past.” The story of the trial is woven together with the story of Mississippi, its past and its ongoing struggle for redemption.

HARRY N. MACLEAN is a lawyer and writer based in Denver, Colorado. He is the author of In Broad Daylight, which won an Edgar Award for Best True Crime and was a New York Times bestseller for twelve weeks; his second book, Once Upon A Time: A True Story of Memory, Murder, and the Law, was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; his third book, The Past Is Never Dead: The Trial of James Ford Seale and Mississippi’s Search for Redemption, was shortlisted for the William Saroyan Award, given by Stanford University. His debut novel, The Joy of Killing, published in July 1015, has been described as a “combination love story, mystery, psychological suspense and meditation on the nature and origin of violence.”