Subway Gunman: A Juror's Account of the Bernhard Goetz Trial

Probably no case in recent memory has garnered more ink than that of Goetz, who was acquitted of attempted murder and assault in the shooting of four young men in a Manhattan subway car in 1984. New light is shed on the case in this book by one of the jurors, actor/martial-arts instructor Lesley, aided by journalist Shuttleworth. Lesley recorded his impressions of the trial day-by-day, although here he appears to rely more heavily on the court transcripts than on his tapes. At first inclined to convict Goetz, he was gradually converted to the opposite view by the conflicting testimony of eyewitnesses, the behavior on the stand of two of the victims and the arguments of Goetz's attorney, Barry Slotnick. While there are numerous sterile passages, the chapter on the jury's deliberations is riveting. Interesting, too, is Lesley's conclusion: that some of the law applying in the Goetz case is seriously flawed. (October)