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Chargement... Fruit of a Poisoned Tree: A True Story of Murder and the Miscarriage of Justicepar Antony Altbeker
Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.  bound2books | Feb 12, 2017 |  aucune critique | ajouter une critique
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In June 2005, Fred van der Vyver, a young actuary and the son of a wealthy Eastern Cape farming family, was charged with murdering his girlfriend, Inge Lotz, allegedly bludgeoning her to death with a hammer as she lay on a couch in her lounge. The case against Van der Vyver seemed overwhelming. His behaviour at the time of the murder appeared suspicious and incriminating, and a letter, penned by Inge on the morning of her death, suggested that the two had been fighting. But it was forensic evidence that seemed to prove his guilt: his fingerprints were found at the scene, one of his shoes was matched to a blood stain on the bathroom floor, and traces of blood were found on an ornamental hammer that had been given to him by the victim's parents. And yet, in one of the most sensational and controversial murder trials in South African legal history, Van der Vyver's lawyers sought to turn the table on the police, accusing them of fabricating evidence and lying to the judge. In Fruit of a Poisoned Tree: A True Story of Murder and the Miscarriage of Justice, prize-winning author Antony Altbeker takes you into the heart of the epic courtroom battle. Altbeker's eye-witness account of the trial presents the reader with all the evidence and testimony of the trial, while also placing it in the context of a society and a justice system that are being stretched to breaking point. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)345.680252Social sciences Law Criminal Law Africa South Africa and Southern AfricaClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (3.88)
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From the outset the reader knows that Fred, Inge’s boyfriend, has been acquitted on all counts of murder. Altbeker along with South Africa’s legal system have been accused of being fooled by a cold and calculating psychopath. On the other side, many believed in Fred’s innocence and felt that the blunders and misappropriations of evidence by the police and forensic team highlight South Africa’s broken legal system. After reading the book, I still feel unsure about what and who to believe.
What I really loved about reading this book was learning more about the legal processes in South Africa and around the world. The very idea of what constitutes as evidence and what can been submitted and subsequently approved as evidence in a court of law was fascinating. As a reader, you are drawn into a web of lies and truth with no real way of knowing how to differentiate between the two.
Likewise every good tree bears good fruit,
but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them. – Matthew 7:17-20
The book has some rather graphic descriptions, especially in the beginning as Altbeker describes the video that was recorded after police found Inge’s body. So, it’s definitely not for the squeamish reader. In saying that, the scene is very brief and the book focuses more on the trial, the production of evidence, miscarriages of justice, and the crisis of identity plaguing South Africa after Apartheid. This book is something special and I would most certainly recommend this book to any lovers of crime and true crime alike. (