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by James Bird (Author)
Of the many, many criminals who end up on death row, Michael Ross's situation is one of the most complex. Some reluctant guests of the row are vicious and wicked; men and women filled with pure evil. Others are innocent. These are victims of a system which is far from fool proof and frequently driven by political expediency as much as a search for justice.
And some people are killers despite themselves, criminals in need of help as well as punishment. Ross fits comfortably into none of those categories. And that is what makes his case so interesting. There is no doubt that he committed murder; there is no doubt he committed rape. He admits as much himself. For that reason, this story needs also to be about his victims - the suffering they and their families endured goes beyond anything we feel for Ross. We should never forget that.
But this truth should not distract from the fact that Michael Ross's crimes, his arrest, his subsequent trial and ultimate execution are matters that should not be allowed to float away into the darkness. Yes, wickedness flowed from him, but his story is not that simple.
