Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: True Crime/Non-Fiction
Approximate word count: 35-40,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
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Author:
The author
of several non-fiction books, Denele Campbell also writes fiction (“probably on
the spicy side”) as G.D. Campbell.
Description:
“Folks in
this sleepy Arkansas hill town had no idea what awaited them that hot June day
in 1949. Women went shopping, professors lectured their college classes, and
milkmen delivered their wares. They might have missed the report of this
scandalous event. So charged were the words required to describe it, the news
wouldn’t make the front page. Instead, hidden on Page 6 between random items of
little interest, a tiny notice announced the beginning of a crime and a
mystery: ‘Charges of sodomy were filed late this morning in Circuit Court
against John Campbell and Mrs. Mary Henry.’
What was
the ‘horrible crime not fit to be named among Christians’ which brought
policemen to Mr. Campbell’s home? What led to this disturbing discovery? What
would become of the young women involved?
This true
account tracks indictments, court records, family history, and newspaper
articles to tell an outrageous story of zealous lawmen and personal tragedy,
and illuminates a tremendous social change which has occurred since 1950.”
Appraisal:
Although
technically a true crime book, I don’t see the reasons why A Crime Unfit to be Named appealed to me as fitting the norms for
that genre. Much true crime focuses on the crime and the criminal with the
psychology of the criminal, the steps required to identify, arrest, and convict
the wrongdoer, and/or the horror of the crime(s) taking center stage. Here, the
focus is (as the author says in her book description) illuminating the social
change that has taken place over the last 60 years. It’s also interesting to
compare and contrast the legal and political changes over the same period.
The
unspeakable crime for which John William Campbell was arrested and convicted
was oral sex. (When I post this review to Amazon and elsewhere we’ll see how
far we’ve really progressed.) Seeing how far lawmen were willing to go to
gather evidence and convict someone of this victimless crime was eye-opening.
According to the author, putting the events chronicled here in a modern
context, “at this time there seems little chance that the legal advances made
to date will be reversed.” I hope (and think) that she’s right, but not due to
lack of trying in some quarters. A Virginia law much like the one used to
convict Campbell was recently overturned and the US Supreme Court declined a
chance to reconsider that decision on appeal. But some of these archaic laws
are still on the books and there are still those who would like to enforce
them.
FYI:
Although there
is obviously some discussion of sexual issues, the content is relatively mild.
If you’re concerned with salacious content, don’t be. (If you’re looking for
it, this probably isn’t for you.)
Format/Typo Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating: **** Four stars
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