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A review by jmanchester0
Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World's Most Famous Detective Writer by Margalit Fox
4.0
"Data! Data! Data!" (My new favorite Sherlock Holmes quote.)
I am not generally a huge fan of true crime stories, but I just finished reading Conan Doyle for the Defense by Margalit Fox, and it was fascinating!
Over 100 years ago, Arthur Conan Doyle, who created Sherlock Holmes, investigated a case of an innocent man sentenced to life for murder. Oscar Slater was arrested and sentenced for the murder of a woman who he never met - or even new existed.
It was most telling to see how bad corruption was 100 years ago in another modern country completely parallel to what we see today. Corrupt police, lawyers, and politicians wanting to put away someone just because of who he represents. Today it would be a person with brown skin. But back then in Britain, it was a German Jew.
It doesn't help that Oscar Slater was disreputable. He was a gambler, among other things, and may have even been a pimp (though he continually denied that). And I can hear this theme and sentiment echoed today. "It's OK that Michael Brown was killed - he may have stolen a cigar." "It's OK that Eric garner was killed - he was selling untaxed cigarettes." This whole attitude of "I don't like who you are and what group you are a part of, so I'm fine if you are murdered for a minor crime" is horrible and reprehensible.
Since Oscar Slater was also an immigrant scapegoat, we can also add to the parallels, "It's OK that children are dying in cages, they crossed the border illegally."
How can we say that just because we don't like the color of your skin or your heritage, you don't deserve justice? It's the ultimate white supremacy. And it's sanctioned by those in power.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same.
As the author notes in his introduction, "The racialization of crime has become every inch a mirror of our own age." The author doesn't spend a lot of time drawing specific parallels between our time and the time he is discussing - but they are so glaringly obvious they are almost all I can think of as I listen to this book.
And who was the likely real culprit? I'll give you a hint - it was someone who lived a life of privilege, wasn't an immigrant, wasn't a minority, and was never brought to justice. Of course.
And, wow. And do you know what the anti-Semites in Britain did at the turn-of-the-century to try to impose laws to prevent Jews from immigrating to Great Britain? They spread rumors that the Jewish immigrants were pretty much just bringing criminals over. It was the "Mexicans are rapists" of that day. And it was 100 years ago in Britain.
For me, it brought into much sharper focus the injustice we perpetrate on people just because of the color of their skin. It really made me think about how we've destroyed the lives of entire groups of people by unfairly imprisoning them.
Sometimes it feels like some people will never get justice.
Again, the more things change, the more they stay the same. But we need to be doing something about it.
I am not generally a huge fan of true crime stories, but I just finished reading Conan Doyle for the Defense by Margalit Fox, and it was fascinating!
Over 100 years ago, Arthur Conan Doyle, who created Sherlock Holmes, investigated a case of an innocent man sentenced to life for murder. Oscar Slater was arrested and sentenced for the murder of a woman who he never met - or even new existed.
It was most telling to see how bad corruption was 100 years ago in another modern country completely parallel to what we see today. Corrupt police, lawyers, and politicians wanting to put away someone just because of who he represents. Today it would be a person with brown skin. But back then in Britain, it was a German Jew.
It doesn't help that Oscar Slater was disreputable. He was a gambler, among other things, and may have even been a pimp (though he continually denied that). And I can hear this theme and sentiment echoed today. "It's OK that Michael Brown was killed - he may have stolen a cigar." "It's OK that Eric garner was killed - he was selling untaxed cigarettes." This whole attitude of "I don't like who you are and what group you are a part of, so I'm fine if you are murdered for a minor crime" is horrible and reprehensible.
Since Oscar Slater was also an immigrant scapegoat, we can also add to the parallels, "It's OK that children are dying in cages, they crossed the border illegally."
How can we say that just because we don't like the color of your skin or your heritage, you don't deserve justice? It's the ultimate white supremacy. And it's sanctioned by those in power.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same.
As the author notes in his introduction, "The racialization of crime has become every inch a mirror of our own age." The author doesn't spend a lot of time drawing specific parallels between our time and the time he is discussing - but they are so glaringly obvious they are almost all I can think of as I listen to this book.
And who was the likely real culprit? I'll give you a hint - it was someone who lived a life of privilege, wasn't an immigrant, wasn't a minority, and was never brought to justice. Of course.
And, wow. And do you know what the anti-Semites in Britain did at the turn-of-the-century to try to impose laws to prevent Jews from immigrating to Great Britain? They spread rumors that the Jewish immigrants were pretty much just bringing criminals over. It was the "Mexicans are rapists" of that day. And it was 100 years ago in Britain.
For me, it brought into much sharper focus the injustice we perpetrate on people just because of the color of their skin. It really made me think about how we've destroyed the lives of entire groups of people by unfairly imprisoning them.
Sometimes it feels like some people will never get justice.
Again, the more things change, the more they stay the same. But we need to be doing something about it.