Power to Hurt
From AwardAnnals
| Book: | Power to Hurt: Inside a Judge's Chambers : Sexual Assault, Corruption, and the Ultimate Reversal of Justice for Women |
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| Author: | Darcy O'Brien |
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| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
A riveting sexual drama whose events ripped a community and its families apart, Power to Hurt encompasses the landmark federal case against Judge Lanier, who was sentenced in April 1993 to twenty-five years without parole for having violated the civil rights of six women. The major political power in his region and heir to his father’s political dynasty, Lanier arrogantly abused women through extortion, threats of reprisals, obscene telephone calls, stalking, and rape. Horrifying incidents such as these became the obsession of FBI special agent Bill Castleberry, who, investigating Judge Lanier on suspicion of political corruption, uncovered evidence that Lanier had run his courthouse as a personal stable. Power to Hurt is the story of how eight women, at first too terrorized by Lanier to come forward, eventually found the courage to denounce him publicly and to ensure his sentencing.
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Reviews
Amazon.com
“His was a sensibility in which sex, hate, and the lust for power were so intertwined as to be indistinguishable.” Are you in the mood for reading about a real-life villain whose abuse of power was compared to that of Henry VIII? Look no further than this small community in West Tennessee, where a detestable judge used his influence over jobs and child custody cases to intimidate several women into a state of sexual victimization and emotional paralysis. Darcy O’Brien’s writing is among the best I’ve ever seen in the true-crime field: it is eloquently descriptive, with a good feeling for character—such as the heroic, yet humble, figure of an FBI agent who cares enough about the community to involve himself in local problems and bring the judge to trial. Power to Hurt is nominated for a 1997 Edgar Award.
