NCJ Number
145594
Date Published
1993
Length
261 pages
Annotation
This book traces the corruption perpetrated by Sheriff Coolidge Conlee in Arkansas' St. Francis County, with a focus on the rape case in which an innocent man was victimized by both vigilantes and the criminal justice system.
Abstract
In St. Francis County, Sheriff Coolidge Conlee manipulated the entire political system for his own gain. This book recounts the events that brought together two men in a struggle for justice: handyman Wayne Dumond -- falsely accused and convicted of rape and castrated by masked vigilante hit men -- and investigative reporter Jack Hill. Hill exposed the corruption perpetrated by Sheriff Conlee and the injustice suffered by Dumond. Conlee was finally brought to trial, convicted, and imprisoned (20-year sentence) for racketeering, extortion, and gambling. Wayne Dumond is still in prison, despite DNA evidence that proves Dumond could not have been the rapist. Then Governor Bill Clinton, a second cousin of the rape victim, consistently refused to grant Dumond clemency. Lieutenant Governor Tucker, however, while acting governor during Bill Clinton's presidential campaign, did commute Dumond's sentence. He is scheduled for release in 1995. The vigilantes who castrated Dumond and the real rapist have yet to be brought to justice.