Ellen McGarrahan

"There's an old party game called Two Truths and a Lie... Someone stands up and says a few things about herself, the more outlandish the better. The trick is in guessing which parts are made up and which are true, and the goal of the game is to get you believing something that never happened. To mix fact and fantasy until no one can tell them apart. As played among friends over a few drinks, it's harmless fun. But add an electric chair and put that game on the Internet, and there's a price to be paid." (p, 320)
After witnessing the execution of Jesse Tafero in May of 1990, Ellen McGarrahan tried, for over 30 years, to find out what really happened on the morning of February 20, 1976, when two police officers were murdered. After reading court documents and interviewing people who have been called "the most dangerous people"(p. 25) DEA agents ever encountered, McGarrahan laments, "which truth" should she believe? Some of the lies, in this case, have become "myth", and as McGarrahan laments, "The myth lives on, the foolproof brainwashing of merciless repetition, no matter how many cold hard facts out in the real world contradict it, no matter how absurd it might be." (p. 322).
This book was so gripping that I couldn't put it down. McGarrahan writes with deep humanity about the execution and its aftermath in her life. Her skill as an investigator is evident in her explanation of the process she went through to uncover long-overlooked facts.
Near the end of the book, she writes, "I do not know exactly what happened at the rest stop that winter morning so many years ago. There are moments of the tragedy that remain a mystery to me. But there are a few things I can say for sure right now." (p. 319)
Read the book to join Ellen McGarrahan as she travels around the world to investigate the facts behind the murders of two police officers that resulted in the unsettling, botched execution of Jesse Tafero.

… (plus d'informations)

In Starke, Fl 1990, Jesse Tafero was a man on death row whose botched execution was witnessed by the author who was working as a reporter at the time. The 7 minutes it took for him to die after first the wires catching fire and 3 jolts was a trauma she would live with for years and ultimately consume her life.

It all ultimately began in February 1976 when a police officers were killed while making a routine check at a rest stop. They never expected the violence which ended their lives when they approached the beat up Camero with 3 adults and 2 kids sleeping. As it turned out, the occupants of the car were Walter Rhodes, Jesse Tafero and his girlfriend Sunny along with a baby and 9 yo son. They all have a shady criminal history and had weapons visible in the car when the police approached. What happened after that was total chaos leaving 2 police officers dead and the perpetrators pointing fingers at each other.

The story was so compelling that Barbara Walters covered the story on 20/20 television show. It was then made into a documentary play called Exonerated which again drew attention and speculation to the case. The main theory was that Jesse Tafero was the shooter which eventually freed Sunny from prison. The case was complicated with Rhodes confessing and retracting his confession several times.

The book is primarily about the author and her quest to discover the truth of the case. Since she felt burdened with guilt and confusion when questions arose to whether Jesse was innocent and executed unjustly. In 1992, she drives to CA and works in construction as a break from journalism. She slowly works her way into private detective work and eventually follows through with obtaining necessary training to work full-time. Meanwhile, she meets Peter a fellow private detective who patiently ensures her years long quest around the globe to satisfy the lingering questions of the Tafero case.

Her obsession with wanting to know the details of that fatal day were disturbing to say the least.
It’s understandable that after witnessing the execution and then questions of his innocence emerge were would be deeply unsettling. Her investigation into the truth was interesting and eventually revealed that these were all dangerous people involved in more dangerous criminal activity than initially revealed. When she begins uncovering connections with the Mafia and big time drug dealers, I’m thinking, clearly whatever happened none of them were innocent.

But, I found the author becomes unhinged with tracking down information and chasing dangerous people to discuss past criminal events. She clearly reflects on how her intrigue for information overwhelmed her common sense. The more she uncovers the more complex and dangerous the story becomes at which point…does it really matter? I’m thinking great work turn around and go home. Oh, please don’t go to Ireland to find Sunny. And no, don’t go to Australia to track down her son! Please say no when invited to spend the night with Rhodes and his girlfriend. Jack Murphy. Really?!!

As much as the truth felt so paramount to the author I felt she she herself in unnecessary danger around violent criminals only to discover what was evident from the beginning.
… (plus d'informations)

In Starke, Fl 1990, Jesse Tafero was a man on death row whose botched execution was witnessed by the author who was working as a reporter at the time. The 7 minutes it took for him to die after first the wires catching fire and 3 jolts was a trauma she would live with for years and ultimately consume her life.

It all ultimately began in February 1976 when a police officers were killed while making a routine check at a rest stop. They never expected the violence which ended their lives when they approached the beat up Camero with 3 adults and 2 kids sleeping. As it turned out, the occupants of the car were Walter Rhodes, Jesse Tafero and his girlfriend Sunny along with a baby and 9 yo son. They all have a shady criminal history and had weapons visible in the car when the police approached. What happened after that was total chaos leaving 2 police officers dead and the perpetrators pointing fingers at each other.

The story was so compelling that Barbara Walters covered the story on 20/20 television show. It was then made into a documentary play called Exonerated which again drew attention and speculation to the case. The main theory was that Jesse Tafero was the shooter which eventually freed Sunny from prison. The case was complicated with Rhodes confessing and retracting his confession several times.

The book is primarily about the author and her quest to discover the truth of the case. Since she felt burdened with guilt and confusion when questions arose to whether Jesse was innocent and executed unjustly. In 1992, she drives to CA and works in construction as a break from journalism. She slowly works her way into private detective work and eventually follows through with obtaining necessary training to work full-time. Meanwhile, she meets Peter a fellow private detective who patiently ensures her years long quest around the globe to satisfy the lingering questions of the Tafero case.

Her obsession with wanting to know the details of that fatal day were disturbing to say the least.
It’s understandable that after witnessing the execution and then questions of his innocence emerge were would be deeply unsettling. Her investigation into the truth was interesting and eventually revealed that these were all dangerous people involved in more dangerous criminal activity than initially revealed. When she begins uncovering connections with the Mafia and big time drug dealers, I’m thinking, clearly whatever happened none of them were innocent.

But, I found the author becomes unhinged with tracking down information and chasing dangerous people to discuss past criminal events. She clearly reflects on how her intrigue for information overwhelmed her common sense. The more she uncovers the more complex and dangerous the story becomes at which point…does it really matter? I’m thinking great work turn around and go home. Oh, please don’t go to Ireland to find Sunny. And no, don’t go to Australia to track down her son! Please say no when invited to spend the night with Rhodes and his girlfriend. Jack Murphy. Really?!!

As much as the truth felt so paramount to the author I felt she she herself in unnecessary danger around violent criminals only to discover what was evident from the beginning.
… (plus d'informations)