This is a disturbing plea for relief, bolstered by reminiscences, court transcripts, correspondence and testimonials, penned by the man sentenced to death in New Jersey for arranging his wife's 1984 murder—the case explored by Joe McGinnis in Blind Faith. A successful insurance broker with three sons, Marshall and his wife, Maria, enjoyed frequenting Atlantic City casinos, where they won thousands of dollars. But in 1983, Marshall began a passionate affair with Beth (a pseudonym): "I gave her a bottle of Lady perfume as I played Kenny Rogers' song, "Lady," he writes. When Maria was murdered at a parkway rest stop, investigators focused on Marshall: his infidelity, Maria's big life insurance policy and the matter of a large sum of "salted away" blackjack winnings. They found that Marshall had paid a shady ex–deputy sheriff from Louisiana, whom Marshall calls McInerney, to find out if Maria was investigating his affair—but was there more to their deal? The state's case nearly collapsed when Marshall's codefendant, McInerney's supposed triggerman, produced an airtight alibi (McInerney had turned state's evidence). In the end, though, only Marshall was convicted on the strength of McInerney's compromised testimony, while the triggerman was acquitted; his conviction was upheld on appeal. For his impending final appeals, Marshall's public defenders have prepared an impressive document demonstrating that "the entire trial was a travesty of justice." While Marshall may or may not be innocent, one concludes that flawed evidence and police misconduct so compromised his trial that the death penalty was inappropriate. This is a grim narrative of murder, misfortune and—to hear Marshall tell it—official thirst for retribution. (Apr. 15)
