Description
Book SynopsisThe true story of Elliott Howe, a young public defender and Creek Indian who risked his career to defend an impoverished Cherokee man named Buster Youngwolfe, who was accused of murdering an eleven-year-old girl in 1950s Oklahoma.
Trade Review“In this haunting story of his courageous grandfather’s successful defense of a young Cherokee man wrongfully accused of the brutal murder of an eleven-year-old girl, Hunter Howe Cates delivers a powerful book that makes true-crime fiction seem tame and predictable.
Oklahoma’s Atticus does not sensationalize violence and human suffering but offers context and depth to a horrific crime that remains unsolved.”—Michael Wallis, bestselling author of
The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny “
Oklahoma’s Atticus is a book that readers will not want to put down until they find out who wins, the young public defender or the experienced prosecutor, and which prevails, manipulation of the law or the rule of law.”—Daniel Littlefield, director of the Sequoyah National Research Center
“What an eye-opener! I was born and raised in Bartlesville and am a Cherokee Nation citizen, yet I had never heard of Phyllis Jean Warren or Buster Youngwolfe. Hunter’s book intersperses the story of this tragic murder with the tainted and intriguing history of Tulsa. I couldn’t stop reading this book. It has ‘movie’ written all over it!”—Becky Hobbs, singer, songwriter, and playwright
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
1. The Forgotten City
2. Magic City
3. Little Girl Lost
4. Manhunt
5. Killer
6. Confession
7. The Believer
8. Boyhood
9. A Line in the Sand
10. Changing the Conversation
11. The Strain
12. A Fishing Expedition
13. The Alibi
14. The Lie Detector
15. A Jury of His Peers
16. The Prosecution
17. The Defense
18. The Final Testimony
19. The Verdict
Epilogue
Afterword: Who Killed Phyllis Jean Warren?
Note on Sources
