New York Times Bestselling Author Steve Jackson Discusses The Hidden Impact Of ‘The Night A Twisted Fantasy Became Demented Reality’
The brutal murder of Jacine Gielinski is one of those that stays with even an author as exposed to horrific crimes as I have been. Part of that is it was so random. She pulled up to a red light one evening at just the wrong moment and that sealed her fate. Part of it is the way this ‘fantasy’ took on a life of its own with two misfits for months before it became a reality.
New York Times bestselling author Steve Jackson
Jacine and her mother Peggy were close.
It’s also an in-depth look at our court system and the machinations that go on in the search for the truth and justice that seem to forget that this was about the horrifying murder of a young woman at the hands to two young men. As one reader has noted, it’s a story that questions whether some people are born monsters, or are created. And what role does violence in the media, particularly something like violent pornography add fuel to an evil plot?
However, I think more than anything, what really affected me about the case was the impact the murder of her daughter had on Peggy Luiszer. It was as if the life had been drained from her, too. And then to top it off, what she was put through as the defense attorneys tried to wear her down so that she would ask the District Attorney to drop the death penalty possibility against the defendants was premeditated and beyond the pale. Cruel and unusual punishment? Why is that protection afforded only to the accused?
This isn’t to say that defense attorneys should not do everything within the law, and reason, to fight for their clients’ rights and lives. However, was there a point when that crossed the line and added to the horror of what happened to Jacine Gielinski and its impact on her family? Read about it in A Clockwork Murder and let me know what you think. –Steve Jackson
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