Apropos my last post – and in its own right – read this compelling tale of the first case Bill Howe handled. A taste:
Newsweek, which ran the story after the trial, used the exotic title “Lie-Detector Indian,” as if my grandfather possessed supernatural powers: half witch doctor, half defense attorney.
Justice is allegedly blind, but the court of public opinion follows no rules, now or in 1953. And, when the case involves a former felon and a murdered girl, the truth can be buried deeper than Phyllis Jean Warren ever could be.
My grandfather knew better. While, like any man, Bill Howe had his flaws, his trademark characteristic was an almost stubborn fairness. Certainly he understood how much he was risking in taking Youngwolfe’s case. Even so, I suspect it simply never occurred to him not to. He had an innocent man to defend and didn’t give a damn about the consequences, personal or professional. That sounds just like him.
H/T: Jared.