Wilkie Collins's the Dead Alive: The Novel, the Case, and Wrongful Convictions

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Exploring the intersection of fiction and real-life legal history, this book highlights the first documented wrongful conviction in the U.S., involving brothers Jesse and Stephen Boorn, wrongfully sentenced for murder. Their story, which inspired Wilkie Collins' legal thriller, reveals systemic flaws in the justice system, including false confessions and overlooked evidence. Rob Warden's analysis underscores the ongoing issues within American jurisprudence, emphasizing the importance of questioning and correcting these persistent errors that can lead to the condemnation of the innocent.