Edward Lee Elmore's Case

On January 18, 1982 the headlines read “WIDOW STABBED TO DEATH” of the small town local newspaper read just one day after the body of prominent wealthy white widow Dorothy Edwards was found in the bedroom closet of her home in the upscale neighborhood in Greenwood, South Carolina. “Most of Greenwood’s murders were in the black neighborhood- blacks killing blacks in barroom brawls, over money or a woman, or in domestic disputes. The perpetrator was usually caught quickly, often with a gun or knife still in his possession. Those crimes didn’t particularly disturb the white community. This one did!” (p.10) Making it the top priority for the small town police department to find the person that brutally beat, stabbed and possibly sexual assaulted

Elmore’s case has every indicator used for the debate over capital punishment, it had issue about: “race, mental retardation, bad trail lawyers, prosecutorial misconduct, ‘snitch’ testimony, DNA testing, a claim of innocence.” (p. xiv) lead to Bonner’s in-depth investigation into Elmore’s case and to his desire to share Elmore’s story. Anatomy of Injustice: A Murder Case Gone Wrong, Bonner uses his vast knowledge of the legal system, his gift of storytelling and his phenomenal writing skills to entice readers into wanting to know more, and asking many question on who, and how thing where done. Bonner places a lot of emphasis the issue of race, poor police investigation, mental retardation, and the lack of ethics of defense lawyers, and the injustice of the police and the inter legal system. Bonner places emphasis on the following

Many years later, he told one of Elmore's lawyers "I am the only one who could kill her and get away with it." (p.138) Elmore maintains his innocence for the thirty years he was incarcerated. Yet, on March 2 Elmore took an Alford Plea that was offered. (Meaning-he enters a plea of guilty without making an admission of guilt.) The prosecutors insisted he was guilty and agreed to his release in part because his spotless record in prison over three decades might have allowed resulted in his immediately being paroled.

Elmore case is burdened with problematic issues of how can a respectful, mentally delayed African-American man with no passed criminal record is indicted for the horrific murder of a prominent wealthy elderly white woman in South Carolina in 1982 and the astonishingly dedicated legal team, led by Diana Holt, a lawyer whose own turbulent youth contributed to a profound dedication to her client. Elmore’s defense team spent timeless hours, months, and years expanding over three decades fighting for the freedom of