Description
Book Synopsis As a new attorney, Pamela Braswell was confident her career was about to skyrocket. Instead, she narrowly escaped death at the hands of a serial rapist and killer--his only surviving victim. Twenty years later, the moratorium on executions in California that put his execution on hold ended, but the governor announced he wouldn''t enforce the death penalty. Braswell''s firsthand true crime narrative gives a victim''s perspective of the harrowing investigation, the revelations in the press, the grand jury indictment and capital murder trial. Through it all, her refusal to be a victim transforms her view of the world--and its heroes.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- Introduction
- Major Crimes
- 1. Desert Heat
- 2. Quick Thinking
- 3. A Narrow Escape
- Evidence Collection
- 4. An Open Door
- 5. Needle Phobia
- Police Investigation
- 6. A Welcome Light
- 7. Photo Lineup
- 8. A Solid Lead
- 9. An Initial Shock
- Subpoenas
- 10. A Grand Jury
- 11. ADA Kirkwood and a Stranger
- Grand Jury
- 12. Three Sets of Initials
- 13. Leaving the Court
- 14. Recalled to Testify
- 15. Media Coverage
- Arraignment
- 16. An Ally
- 17. Old Newspapers
- 18. Plea of Not Guilty
- The Wait for Trial
- 19. Bureaucracy and Need
- 20. His Identity Revealed
- 21. Family Matters
- Winning the Fight
- 22. Alone and Watching the O.J. Trial
- 23. Washing Away the Dirt and Grime
- 24. My Competence Questioned Again
- The People of the State of California vs. Eric Wayne Bennett
- 25. Testifying in the Guilt Phase
- 26. Attending the Penalty Phase
- 27. Formal Sentencing
- Reclaiming My Life
- 28. Measured Progress
- 29. Hard Hits
- 30. Following My Heart
- An Open Letter to the Governor of California, Gavin C. Newsom
- Index
