The Devil On Trial

The Devil On Trial

YA nonfiction
I remember 9/11. I don't think many people will ever forget the
brutal images, the loss and grief of victims' families and friends,
the fear, or the sense of America losing her innocence. We entered a
new world of uncertainty, of the known becoming the unknown, and of
Homeland Security and color coded alerts.
The Devil On Trial: Witches, Anarchists, Atheists, Communists,
and Terrorists in America's Courtrooms is built around a fascinating
question. A fair trial is considered a right in the United States.
Sometimes the nation is gripped in a feverish frenzy of fear. How do
we deal with the ones who embody the source of the terror?
Five such times in America's history
*The Salem Witch Trial
*The Haymarket Bomb Trial
*The Scopes Monkey Trial
*The Trial of Alger Hiss and
*The Trial of Zacarias Moussaoui
are examined in this light. Rich background information and
illustrations are provided. The narratives and pictures are
spellbinding. You are asked to enter the scenarios. What would you
have thought and felt? Would you have considered the verdicts
justified or disturbing? Has our nation evolved in her treatment of
our most hated and feared?
Read the book and find out.
On a personal note, I am really scared by how far we are taking our
latest fear. When we expand our definition of terrorist to include
kids who haven't shed their baby teeth--a little girl talking about a
Hello Kitty bubble gun, a little boy pointing his bite sculpted
toaster pastry and saying, "bang, bang"--methinks most of us are more
in danger from our protectors than from any actual terrorists.
A great big shout out goes out to all who work to restore justice to
out judicial system.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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