The harrowing, heartbreaking story of Nick Yarris who spent twenty one years on Death Row for a crime he did not commit. When Nick was seven, his childhood was shattered when he was attacked and raped by a local teenage boy who went on to terrorize him throughout his teenage years. Nick responded by becoming a replica of his attacker, projecting a fierce and violent reputation in the hope that he would never feel so weak again. He became an alcoholic and drug addict, and started committing petty crimes to pay for his habit. On 20 December 1981, Nick was in a stolen car when he was pulled over for jumping a red light. A scuffle ensued after Nick was manhandled by the policeman, and he was placed in solitary confinement without treatment for drug withdrawal, causing him to collapse mentally. Having read the lone newspaper in his cell about the murder of Linda Mae Craig, who had been abducted from a local shopping mall car park, he concocted a story pinning the murder on a former drug buddy in a desperate bid for freedom. It backfired, and Nick was accused of the murder himself. Nick was charged and convicted on no real evidence other than his own failed story. At the age of 20 he was sent to one of the most notoriously brutal prisons in the United States, and was tormented by a guard later convicted of abuse at Abu Ghraib.
During more than two decades of torment and suffering on Death Row, in despair, Nick often begged to bring forward his execution. But Nick refused to give up, educating himself while in prison, and battled to use DNA evidence to prove his innocence. He was finally released, and now lives in the UK with his wife and baby daughter and continuing to fight against the death penalty.
Available at amazon.co.uk or from Dec 1st at amazon.com
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