BOOK REVIEW
T rials of the C entury
by Mark J. Phillips and Aryn Z. Phillips
Prometheus Books, 2016
Reviewed by Harriet King, Esq.
With the bold pronouncement in the first
sentence of the Introduction to this fasci-
nating book: “Americans are addicted to
violent crime,” the authors, Mark Phillips
and his daughter, Aryn, lawyer/sociologist
respectively, set the stage for a discussion
of ten famous and even infamous murders
of the twentieth century. These murders
represent, according to the authors, the
relatively recent manifestation of human-
ity’s thirst for blood, as evidenced by the
bloody contests held in Rome’s coliseum
two thousand years ago, and the specta-
tor sports of burnings at the stake, behead-
ings, hangings and other public forms of
torture. The role that the printed word has
played in fanning the flames of the public’s
interest and excitement in murders, and,
in many cases, interfering with investiga-
tions of these crimes, is a prevailing theme
throughout the book.
One of the earliest publications originat-
ed in England in the 1700’s and detailed
monthly executions at Newgate Prison in
London. Called the Newgate Calendar, the
sensationalized descriptions of the crimes
included pen and ink drawings. The popu-
www.vtbar.org
larity of these publications crossed the At-
lantic and were transformed into the Amer-
ican Bloody Register, which, in turn, be-
came stories published as “dime novels”.
(Trials, Introduction, p. 10). The term “pulp
fiction” stems from the inexpensive pulp
paper used to publish crime literature in
the 1900’s. The demand for this kind of lit-
erature was met by a dramatic increase in
the number of newspapers throughout the
1800’s and early 1900’s.
Each of the ten murders presented in the
book was considered to be “the crime of
the century” when they occurred. Howev-
er, it’s probably safe to assume that most
readers today would not be familiar with
The case of Henry Kendall Thaw, the first
murder in the book, which occurred in
New York in June, 1906. When Mr. Thaw
approached Stanford White at Madison
Square Garden, pulled out a gun and shot
him three times, this act, and subsequent
media frenzy, marked the beginning, ac-
cording to the authors “of a century of
American fascination with media–driven
murder trials, sex, celebrity and publicity.”
(Trials, p. 16.)
The nine other murders span the de-
cades between 1910- 2000, with O.J. Simp-
son and the Bloody Glove finishing out the
ten and with an Epilogue: Casey Anthony
and the Trials for a New Century conclud-
ing the series. Along with the O.J. Simp-
son trial and the murder of his ex- wife, Ni-
cole Brown Simpson, perhaps the most fa-
mous of the remaining murders are Bruno
Hauptmann and the Lindbergh Baby (1932)
and the Tate-LaBianca Murders and a Man
Named Manson(1969).
As with each of the other murders, the
authors provide biographical information
of the people involved, details of the actu-
al murders and the ensuing trials. The Lind-
bergh case is described by the Phillips as a
“fiasco”; the crime of kidnapping was still
a state, not a federal crime and each state
had widely different penalties (thirty years
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • WINTER 2016-17
in New Jersey versus five to fifteen in New
York). (Trials, p. 91). Additionally, access to
the crime scene, the Lindbergh’s residence,
by reporters, neighbors and the general
public made it nearly impossible for the in-
vestigators to process the evidence. Ulti-
mately, the authors conclude that the press
coverage was “out of control” and that
Bruno Hauptmann, who was executed, did
not have a fair trial. (Trials, p. 111).
The most chilling murders to read about
were the Tate –LaBianca murders, not only
because of how the victims were murdered,
but the details regarding the Manson ”fam-
ily” and the influence Charles Manson had
over its members. The media coverage of
all aspects of the case, from investigation,
to the charging of suspects, the trial, which
lasted 225 days, and sentencing, was, in
the words of the authors, “excessive and
pervasive”. (Trials, p. 218.)
The Phillips provide details about each
murder in a manner that allows the reader
to experience the case as if it were occur-
ring in the present day. Trials of the Centu-
ry is an engrossing book to read for anyone
interested in crime, history, and the man-
ner in which these murders affected the
lawyers, police and general public. They
remain fascinating to this day.
____________________
Harriet King is a partner in The King Fam-
ily Law Group in Burlington, specializing in
all areas of family and juvenile law and is an
avid reader of crime novels.
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