August 9, 2011 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble Old Orchard Mall
Skokie, Illinois
August 10, 2011 - 12:30 p.m.
Books-A-Million
144 S. Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois
August 12, 2011 6:30-9:00 p.m.
D'Vine Wine
742 E. Dundee Rd., Palatine, Illinois
(PRESS RELEASE) FOR THE FIRST TIME, JOHN WAYNE GACY'S LAWYER TELLS THE CHILLING STORY OF HOW HE DEFENDED ONE OF AMERICA'S MOST HORRIFIC SERIAL KILLERS IN THE NEW BOOK, "JOHN WAYNE GACY: DEFENDING A MONSTER" BY JUDGE SAM L. AMIRANTE AND DANNY BRODERICK
When was the last time someone you knew asked you for a favor? What if that favor was defending a man who you later discovered to be guilty of crimes so grotesque they make your blood curdle? Can you guarantee him a fair trial without the influence of hate, revenge, media or an outraged public?
In the new book, JOHN WAYNE GACY: DEFENDING A MONSTER, (Skyhorse Publishing, August, 2011, ISBN: 978-1-61608-248-2) Judge Sam L. Amirante and writer Danny Broderick tell this fascinating story for the very first time. In a compelling first person account, Gacy's defense attorney for the internationally reported trial of the century tells the chilling and gruesome tale of how Amirante came to defend America's most infamous serial killer.
Writer Danny Broderick pens the story to rave reviews comparing his work to Stephen King and John Grisham combined. JOHN WAYNE GACY: DEFENDING A MONSTER grabs the reader with terrifying detail and makes them witness to the last horrifying hours of a madman's final victim. Without a breath, the reader is thrust into a fast paced police investigation and trial drama rivaling any crime film, television show or documentary. Set against a ticking clock, in which our nation's most dearly held constitutional tenants and protections are at issue, the case of the century puts our most basic core beliefs as Americans to the test.
With breakneck pacing, true-life dialogue, chilling photography, Amirante and Broderick propel us through a story so powerful that we often forget that it is one hundred percent true. The book includes never before seen drawings and photographs, along with shrewd insight into the man behind the murders that only his lawyer-the closest person to him during the trial-could have known. Among the fascinating, unexplored topics examined in this shocking courtroom drama are:
The true David and Goliath saga of a young lawyer, fresh from the Public Defender's office, desperately trying to ensure a fair trial for the most hated and feared man in America. Authentic photographs, court documents, and letters and drawings by Gacy to his friends and family An insider's look at the man who murdered over thirty young boys and was ultimately sentenced to death as the entire country watched. A deeper look at how the trial of this magnitude affected the young lawyer representing the worst criminal of our time and the toll it took on his family, his livelihood and his health. The creative approaches that were taken to ensure that even a mass murderer received the fair trial guaranteed to him by the U.S. Constitution. How Amirante sought to protect children with the Missing Child Recovery Act of 1984 (I-Search) to protect future abducted children from succumbing to a fate like Gacy's victims. The lingering scourge of homophobia as it exists in American society and its worst case The current status of the death penalty in the United States.
JOHN WAYNE GACY: DEFENDING A MONSTER is a true crime story in which Broderick positions himself amongst other greats like Grisham, Turow, or Martini. It approaches the well-known genre of writing taking an angle never before seen, shedding new light on the trial itself, as well as the events leading up to and directly following it. Broderick's success in creating a momentum that builds with the suspense, terror and intrigue of the original case, while adding Amirante's passionate, driven, emotional, conflicted yet powerful voice, is spellbinding.
About the authors
Judge Sam L. Amirante is a retired judge and current lawyer with his own law firm, Sam L. Amirante & Associates. In 1978, his first case after leaving the office of the Public Defender was The People of the state of Illinois vs. John Wayne Gacy. He co-founded the law firm Amirante and Etchingham. In 1988, he was appointed to the bench as an Associate Judge of The Circuit Court of Cook County where he served until his retirement in 2005. Amirante authored the procedures adopted by the Illinois General Assembly as the Missing Child Act of 1984 (I-Search), which eliminated the twenty-four hour waiting period of initiate a search for lost children. A graduate of Loyola University (1970) and The Loyola University School of Law (1974), he also served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves from 1970 - 1976.
Danny Broderick is a graduate of Southern Illinois University (1977) and The John Marshall Law School (1982). He served in the United States Army, with commendations. (1972-1974) He is a former associate attorney with the law firm of Amirante and Etchingham. In 1988, Broderick founded his own firm The Law Offices of Daniel J. Broderick. During his twenty years of private practice, Mr. Broderick represented thousands of persons charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes. He is the author of the novel When Money Talks: Buford Tucker Listens
