This seemed like a book I would love. An early version of the Innocence Projects of today mixed with getting the public interested like so many podcasts do now should have been great. I don't know if it's just the age of the book (originally published in the 1950s), but I found it to be tedious and long at times. I easily got bored with it and frequently didn't want to pick it up again. I've been a reader of true crime for many years but this one didn't hold my attention all that well.

I thought I would give True Crime a shot but after attempting to read this book multiple times, I've since discovered it is not the genre for me, resulting in a big old did not finish. Note to self, true crime plus historical is not your genre whatsoever.

I received this one as an arc on NetGalley.

Originally published in 1952, The Court of Last Resort has been republished with more content. Gardner originally wrote The Court of Last Resort as a monthly column for Argosy magazine. It was highly regarded by the public and featured stories of those wrongly accused for crimes. This was basically the first example of what Netflix and popular tv loves to do which is investigate crimes and create docuseries, except they did it in writing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I am a true crime buff anyway so seeing this one pop up in NetGalley immediately caught my interest. I really enjoyed Gardner's writing style and the amount of work that his team put into their investigations in order to uncover the truth. It's easy to see why books/tv series/documentaries like this catch on.

With the recent interest in wrongful convictions that certain TV shows have reignited, this book is timely and interesting for anyone who wants to know more about the history of the innocence project and how it came into being.

This is an interesting book. It not only tells in detail how the team came together to help free innocent people, but it also describes the motives behind everything they did. The author did a lot for justice, but it wasn't an easy road for him or anyone else involved. I have a lot of respect for people who go out of their way to obtain justice and that's mostly what this book is about.

If you are the type of person that enjoys legal history and true crime stories, then you will probably find this is just right for you.

Overall, I thought this was a really good, very well organised and smartly written book that I am happy to recommend to others.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This book, written by Earle Stanley Gardner, was originally published in 1952. This edition has been updated by Open Road Media, with new material included. You might think that it would be somewhat dated, but I found it to be remarkably relevant for today and quite interesting.

Garner, who died in 1970, was a prolific writer, most famous for his Perry Mason mysteries. He was also a lawyer and an activist who worked to improve the criminal justice system. This nonfiction book describes his activities with an organization he founded, called "The Court of Last Resort" that had the goal of freeing innocent people from prison.

Although I expected to learn a lot, I didn't expect to be so well entertained. There was not a dull moment and I eagerly read on. I was sorry when it ended. I learned a lot about the criminal justice system and how things go wrong, resulting in innocent people being incarcerated. He discussed all the main players: the police, the courts, the people, the media, politics, and how they interact.

He described different scenarios in which people might be convicted unjustly, illustrating these with true stories from his own experiences with The Court of Last Resorts. What these innocent people endured, and how difficult it was to free them, made for fascinating reading. The lawyers, and investigators that worked tirelessly without pay were heroic examples of what a group of dedicated people can accomplish.
He made a number of suggestions about how the justice system could be improved. I found these quite insightful, things I had never considered before. Sadly, many of the problems they faced in 1952 are still with us today and these ideas are still relevant. The Court of Last Result was dissolved soon after Gardner left in 1960, but other organizations such as the famous Innocence Project have taken on this Herculean task.
I highly recommend this book for a fascinating look at the criminal justice system with its successes and failures. The stories of how these innocent people went from everyday life to suddenly ending up in prison are amazing and hard to put down. If you enjoy true crime novels, or legal thrillers, you will enjoy this.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was originally written and published in the 1950s, but it is so relevant to today's society. It has been updated with some new material added. It is a collection of stories of different crimes and the trials. Some wrongfully convicted. Each case very interesting, some with no justice, or justice delayed. I really liked this book. It was well written and well researched. The author used some of the stories to argue against life without parole, and she did give some great data about it. Good book.

I was given an ARC of the ebook to review by Netgalley and Open Road Media, my thanks to them.
The Court of the Last Resort: The True Story of a Team of Crime Experts Who Fought To Save the Wrongfully Convicted by Erle Stanley Gardner

Written by Erle Stanley Gardner, an attorney and also the writer of the popular Perry Mason Mysteries who passed away in 1970. I found this to be a very fulfilling book for the true crime fan, filled with lots of early cases of men who'd been wrongfully convicted or even set up, and after suffering years in prison with little hope and no money, they somehow managed to connect with this wonderful group. A kind of early days "Innocence Project". Originally published in 1952 and updated with more cases, it features Erle Stanley Gardner a lawyer and writer of what began as a monthly column in Argosy Magazine. Gardner, along with others who took on the cause of those who claimed to have been wrongfully convicted, and some who were awaiting execution. It shows what they went through back then to investigate a case and then try to get something done if they discovered probable innocence.

I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to adding it to my collection.

The Court of the Last Resort by Erle Stanley Gardner

This author deserves to win The Nobel Peace Prize.

Many Thanks for my ARC.
UPDATED
This book was originally published in 1952 has been updated with fresh material won The Edgar Award. Although Criminal lawyers with a keen understanding with trying cases and sometimes appealing them all the way to the Supreme courts. Even then, last ditch efforts have to be made as in filing a writ of habeas corpus hearing when all other efforts have been exhausted. The author Erle Stanley Gardner has dedicated this densely written new volume to his friend Harry Steeger.

Harry Steeger was the owner of "Argosy Magazine." "The Argosy Magazine" devoted free publication to inform the American people to have knowledge in print about various cases taking place giving the people inside information regarding miscarriages of justice. The donated space in the magazine was to involve the public to be able to read about these cases, but to care enough to take action by writing letters to elected officials to spur them to facilitate these officials to correct miscarriages of justice. The magazine was comprised of a team of investigators who donated their valuable time and expertise to study the evidence and see that justice was served. That exposure of independent careful reexamination of evidence gave many people back their freedom who were falsely accused. This is what was known as a team of experts that comprised "The Court of Last resort."

"The Court of Last Resort" could be compared to the program today that exonerates the falsely accused on death row by using DNA evidence to overturn a conviction. Both processes are slow and sometimes takes years to correct the errors of the judicial system. Procedures have to be followed and in many instances a prosecutor has presented a case to a jury and secured a favorable verdict, the prosecuting attorney is reluctant to consider the possibility that such a verdict could have been erroneous, or an innocent person was prosecuted. In many instances there are other behind-the-scenes activities, political pressures brought to bear, and there is of course, the worst handicap of all--official indifference.

Many of the cases in this book took place in the earliest part of the twentieth century. They are all very different but are nonetheless interesting. All of the participants in this book that gave freely of their time and expertise who took on wrongfully convicted individuals helped to make this world a better place. They all have my utmost respect and admiration. They were deluged with letters and applications from all over the country. They were conscientious trailblazers to help free many who were framed or convicted by circumstantial evidence or witnesses who were mistakenly identified for crimes they were innocent of. This was an impressive book and the thoroughness of re-examination in the pursuit of justice and liberty without compensation has convinced me that this group of individuals deserve the highest honor of my reading "The Court of Last Resort." It is my hope that this book is read by practicing attorneys and all of those that wish to make this world a better place.





















The Court of Last Resort by Erle Stanley Gardner

The original



The Court of Last Resort by Erle Stanley Gardner

This book was published originally in 1952. This book was





The Court of Last Resort by Erle Stanley Gardner

This book was originally published in 1952. It has been freshly updated by presenting brand new, fresh material. It was an Edgar Award Winner which is a prestigious prize to covet and well deserved. It is the true story of individuals who collectively fought to save some of the falsely accused who never should have been convicted in the first place.

We as a human species do not always recognize the full worth of something unless we don't have it. We generally will miss a certain thing once it has been taken away from us. Most of the time we may not appreciate that we are healthy. We take for granted that we eat three meals per day. If we are hungry we usually eat without giving our circumstances much thought unless we don't have enough to eat. Being free probably doesn't get recognized every day unless we suffer severe and a damaging lack of our liberty. We might take for granted the freedom of motion and a freedom to choose. Unless we are suddenly deprived of something then we really miss it.

Emphasis on realizing how completely different two things are an opposite set of circumstances led to this book The Court of Last Resort. To understand this self contradictory example an uncommonly murder case affecting or belonging to a particular person rather to anyone else but handing the possession of something or someone I will cite an example for the record. "The Red-Headed Killer", a murder case of William Marvin Lindley gives an account to a sketch biographically written which ran several installments in "The Saturday Evening Post" by the former Alva Johnston. "The Case of Erle Stanley Gardner" a biographical sketch included dramatic and what is contrary to what is usual methods which this author used while trying cases when he was a lawyer.

If a witness makes a positive identification of someone he better be certain of it. At the time Lindley was on death row at San Quentin waiting for his execution. Al Mathews believed Lindley was innocent. Lindley was declared to be guilty of a violent sex murder. This case was referred to this author by Al Matthews, Jr who believed Lindley to be not guilty and nobody else took the trouble to show any attention to the factual details of the case. Al Matthews did bother to show an interest to the details of the great amount of the available body of facts and information of evidence and was convinced of Lindley's innocence and begged this author to reexamine the case. The eye witness was color blind and this author wrote letters to the Attorney General, the Governor and many other letters and this man got a commuted sentence to life in prison.

This author was a visionary who thought that by presenting a case by respectable top experts in their fields and with reputable investigators that by presenting evidentiary letters to appeal to the public and get them not only to read but also take action by holding these Governors accountable by using the power of voting to be the powerful influence to help those that were wrongly convicted.
This author and his peers brought these miscarriages of justice to arouse the power of the people by writing. This author was a real life Perry Mason. He wrote letters to publish in magazines to give the public average American to rally and stop voting for Governors who wrongly executed innocent people.

Many Thanks to Net Galley, the brilliant work of Erle Stanley Gardner and Open Road Publishers for providing me with my digital copy for a fair and honest review.

This is a good book that shows various forms of injustice, how they were obtained and the effect it had on the person wrongly convicted as well as how the wrong was righted. This book looks at justice from various viewpoints, and at times the unsavory way "justice" was served. It even speaks on cases that "The Court of Last Resort" could not help. The chapter breakdown in great. This book is very interesting and you can find yourself becoming engrossed in it. This book is well written and will stay with you after you have finished reading it. Outstanding book!!! Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced reading copy in return for my honest opinion.