This is the begining of my pitch:
A female killer is a mystifying beast. She is a curious monster who both fascinates and infuriates--perfect for drawing in sensational media frenzy.
Perplexed readers are forced to glean knowledge from tabloid-like interviews or dry, clinical explanations of the troubled psyche of a woman murderer.
Until now.
The crimes that put each woman on death row are only half of the story.Based on meticulous case research and long-standing, uniquely personal relationships with the inmates themselves, Women Condemned: Conversations From Death Row presents the whole story from every angle, including intimate, revealing conversations with the convicts and in-depth interviews with witnesses, law enforcement and the families of victims.
Being the crime reporter for my city newspaper I have ridden along on many police runs and sat in on numerous closed court proceedings and investigations.
I have witnessed so many women well on their way down this same path and hear in their testimony the same death march as the women condemned.
I have hundreds of their letters, poems and photos, have accepted countless collect calls and enable them to circulate a newsletter across the country among themselves. After many visits to death row some of these women consider me their closest and sometimes only friend and yet others can be vicious and taunting.
Each letter, each phone call, each request for help and suggestion to go to hell has granted me a view inside the minds of these women that no one else is privy to.
I envision Woman Condemned: Conversations From Death Row as 65,000 words with approximately 25 to 30 photos. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular woman and consists of two sections; one focusing on case research and the other on the letters from that woman.
The true crime phenomenon dates back to the old west sensationalized accounts of gunslingers published as pamphlets. In the ensuing centuries there has been much change in the presentation of these accounts of mayhem, but they have never failed to enjoy wide popularity.
According to the University of Texas at Austin Legal Studies Forum, interest in the true crime genre has risen each year since 1993. Witness the recent proliferation of even more true crime television shows for the 2005 fall season.
A glance at the television programming on any given night will reveal hour upon hour of true crime drama. Shows like American Justice, Cold Case Files and Arrest and Trial showcase this genre to a voracious audience each week. Entire networks such as Court TV are dedicated to exploring real cases. Each year, increasing numbers of Americans are discovering the intrigue in real criminal cases.
A 2004 Gallup poll shows that 87% of the 23 million polled who read regularly read at least one true crime book a year.
Jennifer Furio's Letters From Prison: Voices of Women Murders , published in 2001 is still selling consistently and has branched into e-books this year.
Women Condemned will not only reflect the most current cases but reach the millions of true crime fans and those discovering the world of criminology.
