NCJ Number
191055
Date Published
2001
Length
327 pages
Annotation
This book relates the true story of the rape and murder of a child.
Abstract
The book examines the rape and murder of a child, the response of the law, and the life of the perpetrator. On May 23, 1984, 22-year-old Troy Adam Ashmus was charged with raping and murdering 7-year-old Marcella Davis. Mr. Ashmus was defended by two attorneys, including the Assistant Public Defender of Sacramento County, CA. The book includes transcripts of large sections of the preliminary hearings and later testimony; descriptions of the prosecuting attorney, jurors, judges, and others involved in the trial; an examination of Ashmus's troubled childhood and long-term emotional and psychological problems as well as witnesses' testimonies concerning their knowledge of those problems; and transcripts of parts of the defendant's testimony. The jury deliberated 4 hours before finding that Troy Adam Ashmus had intentionally murdered Marcella Davis. The book relates the testimonies of several individuals during deliberations in the penalty phase of the trial. The court eventually ruled that Ashmus should be put to death. The book does not indicate whether the death sentence was ever carried out. Figures