John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster

By Dan Broderick, Sam L. Amirante, Danny Broderick

Book Overview

"A riveting account of what it was like to defend one of the most notorious serial killers in history"--Seattle Post Intelligencer

"Sam, could you do me a favor?" Thus begins a story that has now become part of America's true crime hall of fame. It is a gory, grotesque tale befitting a Stephen King novel. It is also a David and Goliath saga--the story of a young lawyer fresh from the Public Defender's Office whose first client in private practice turns out to be the worst serial killer in our nation's history.

Sam Amirante had just opened his first law practice when he got a phone call from his friend John Wayne Gacy, a well-known and well-liked community figure. Gacy was upset about what he called "police harassment" and asked Amirante for help. With the police following his every move in connection with the disappearance of a local teenager, Gacy eventually gave a drunken, dramatic, early morning confession--to his new lawyer. Gacy was eventually charged with murder and Amirante suddenly became the defense attorney for one of American's most disturbing serial killers. It was his first case.

This new edition of John Wayne Gacy, which contains updated material about the case that has come to light since the book's original publication, recounts the gruesome killings and the famous trial that shocked a nation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1632203634
• ISBN13: 9781632203632
• Release Date: September 2015
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

TERRIBLE writing, but factual

It’s great to have the defense attorney’s take, you get a very unique perspective. However, Amirante is a terrible writer. He drones on and on with metaphors and drags his point out. If I had been his editor, this could have easily been 30 pages shorter. The fact that he wrote out his entire, droning closing statement? Ridiculous.