The Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States guarantee the right against self-incrimination, the right to remain silent, and the right to counsel. A crime wave swept California in the late 1970s. Several young girls were abducted, raped, and murdered. Michael Dee Mattson was convicted of these crimes and sentenced to death. Law clerk by day, family man by night. In 1982, Jim Potts--a brilliant, idealistic, African American law student--is honored when one of his professors recruits him to assist in writing a death penalty appeal on behalf of a serial killer. Potts discovers a loophole in the case that had somehow been overlooked. One that could not only get Mattson off death row, but once presented to the Supreme Court of California, could release him to rape and murder again. When Potts confides in his pregnant wife, she says if Mattson goes free, their marriage is over. But if Potts quits the case, or withholds information, he violates his duty to client and Constitution and risks his career before it even begins. A moral dilemma with no good way out. To avoid losing his family and releasing pure evil back into the world, Potts must be smarter than his options. He must find a way to keep his family together, fulfill his duties, and keep Mattson behind bars. But can he?

At first, Mark Prothero, Defense Attorney for Gary Ridgway, thought: "This can't be the Green River Killer! He's too ordinary! He's too small. He's too calm. He's too polite! He can't possibly have murdered forty-nine women. They can't be serious! They must have screwed up! I didn't realize then, but I was right. Gary Ridgway hadn't killed forty-nine women. He'd killed even more than that." Soon, Mark Prothero faced the question: "How could you possibly defend the most prolific serial killer in United States history, the infamous Green River Killer? If anyone deserved to be executed for his crimes, didn't he?" Mark Prothero, co-lead defense attorney who helped save Gary Ridgway from the death sentence, has heard that question many times. Now he’s written a book that reveals the true, inside story of exactly how an idealistic public defender, high school swim coach, husband, and dad could bring himself to spend many months of close confinement with a man who brutally murdered at least 75 young women, often in the act of sex. Defending Gary shows how Prothero could reconcile these monstrous acts knowing the reality of this unassuming fellow Gary Ridgway, a mild-mannered, church-going, devoted husband, father, and former Navy man, with an IQ of around 82 and a longtime job as a truck painter from Auburn, Washington, near Seattle.

Over the course of eighteen years, Donald Harvey murdered at least fifty-nine people while working as a nursing assistant in Ohio and Kentucky hospitals. His crimes shocked the nation; even today, Harvey's name is invoked whenever those we trust in the medical system commit horrendous crimes. Now for the first time, Harvey's court-appointed defense attorney, William Whalen, and co-author Bruce Martin, reveal facts formerly protected by attorney-client privilege in Defending Donald Harvey. With Harvey's full cooperation, Whalen and Martin provide frightful insights into the mind of the cherub-faced killer. They detail his abused childhood; the confused search for identity that plunged him into Satanism and Nazism; the bizarre behavior reported by his coworkers but ignored by his employers; and of course his heartbreaking, brutal crimes. The book also includes an afterward by award-winning journalist Pat Minarcin, who broke the story that opened a Pandora's box of multiple killings.

Charged with defending the convicted and unrepentant mass murderer Ted Bundy during the last three years of his life, newly-minted Washington, D. C. attorney Polly Nelson fought to keep him out of the electric chair. In the now-classic Defending the Devil, she recounts with powerful honesty her own challenging role in the drama. Viewing herself as a compassionate humanitarian first, Nelson reveals her struggle to uphold her professional vow to represent her client (and try to save his life) while simultaneously being deeply mortified by the magnitude of his heinous crimes. Bundy's legal proceedings are meticulously recounted here, offering an eye-opening glimpse into the complex judicial appeals system. In addition to her fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the court proceedings, Nelson offers her unique insight into the mind of the killer. She paints a portrait of him as something less-than the diabolical evil genius suggested by his notoriety. While making no excuses for his despicable actions and acknowledging his "absolute misogyny," Nelson explores psychological angles to the case that many previously ignored. Showing a decidedly humanist slant, she brings Bundy's overt mental illness to the fore and makes a compelling case against the use of capital punishment. While ultimately unable to stay Bundy's execution, Nelson found a true calling in the fight to appeal the sentence. With candor and wit, she shares her own personal journey of emotional and intellectual transformation as a lawyer. "I was born to represent Ted Bundy," she writes.

"Potts has captured the personal conflicts and shared commitment to the rule of law in a precedent-setting trial of a stone cold serial killer, revealing many insightful details I never knew existed. And it was my case!" - Pat Dingle, Homicide Detective, Ret. North Las Vegas Police Department In the late 1970s, a crime wave swept California. Several young girls were kidnapped, brutally raped, and murdered. Michael Dee Mattson, a drug addict with severe emotional problems, was convicted of these crimes and sentenced to be executed in California's gas chamber. James Potts, an aspiring young attorney still coming to terms with the rape of his own younger sister, is asked to find a way to get Mattson's conviction overturned. After making a discovery that could potentially set Mattson free to rape and kill again, Potts struggles with his own moral dilemma: Use this information to free Mattson or let him languish on death row.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A legal thriller that’s comparable to classics such as Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent . . . tragic and shocking.”—Associated Press NOW AN EMMY-NOMINATED ORIGINAL STREAMING SERIES • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • Boston Globe • Kansas City Star Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney for two decades. He is respected. Admired in the courtroom. Happy at home with the loves of his life: his wife, Laurie, and their teenage son, Jacob. Then Andy’s quiet suburb is stunned by a shocking crime: a young boy stabbed to death in a leafy park. And an even greater shock: The accused is Andy’s own son—shy, awkward, mysterious Jacob. Andy believes in Jacob’s innocence. Any parent would. But the pressure mounts. Damning evidence. Doubt. A faltering marriage. The neighbors’ contempt. A murder trial that threatens to obliterate Andy’s family. It is the ultimate test for any parent: How far would you go to protect your child? It is a test of devotion. A test of how well a parent can know a child. For Andy Barber, a man with an iron will and a dark secret, it is a test of guilt and innocence in the deepest sense. How far would you go? Praise for Defending Jacob “A novel like this comes along maybe once a decade . . . a tour de force, a full-blooded legal thriller about a murder trial and the way it shatters a family. With its relentless suspense, its mesmerizing prose, and a shocking twist at the end, it’s every bit as good as Scott Turow’s great Presumed Innocent. But it’s also something more: an indelible domestic drama that calls to mind Ordinary People and We Need to Talk About Kevin. A spellbinding and unforgettable literary crime novel.”—Joseph Finder “Defending Jacob is smart, sophisticated, and suspenseful—capturing both the complexity and stunning fragility of family life.”—Lee Child “Powerful . . . leaves you gasping breathlessly at each shocking revelation.”—Lisa Gardner “Disturbing, complex, and gripping, Defending Jacob is impossible to put down. William Landay is a stunning talent.”—Carla Neggers “Riveting, suspenseful, and emotionally searing.”—Linwood Barclay

In the tradition of bestselling legal memoirs from Johnnie Cochran, F. Lee Bailey, Gerry Spence, and Alan Dershowitz, John Henry Browne's memoir, The Devil's Defender, recounts his tortuous education in what it means to be an advocate—and a human being. For the last four decades, Browne has defended the indefensible. From Facebook folk hero "the Barefoot Bandit" Colton Moore, to Benjamin Ng of the Wah Mee massacre, to Kandahar massacre culprit Sgt. Robert Bales, Browne's unceasing advocacy and the daring to take on some of the most unwinnable cases—and nearly win them all—has led 48 Hours' Peter Van Sant to call him "the most famous lawyer in America." But although the Browne that America has come to know cuts a dashing and confident figure, he has forever been haunted by his job as counsel to Ted Bundy, the most famous serial killer in American history. A drug- and alcohol-addicted (yet wildly successful) defense attorney who could never let go of the case that started it all, Browne here asks of himself the question others have asked him all along: does defending evil make you evil, too?