Seventy times seven : a true story of murder and mercy / Alex Mar.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mar, Alex, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Murder--Indiana--Gary--Case studies.

Murder.

Female juvenile delinquents--Indiana--Gary--Case studies.

Female juvenile delinquents.

African American juvenile delinquents--Indiana--Gary--Case studies.

African American juvenile delinquents.

Capital punishment--Indiana--Gary--Case studies.

Capital punishment.

Forgiveness--Indiana--Gary--Case studies.

Forgiveness.

Cooper, Paula, 1970-2015.

Cooper, Paula.

Indiana--Gary.

Genre:

Case studies.

True crime stories.

Physical Description:

368 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Other Title:

70 x 7 : a true story of murder and mercy

70 times 7 : a true story of murder and mercy

Place of Publication:

New York : Penguin Press, 2023.

Summary:

"A thought-provoking, masterfully told work of literary journalism about a shocking crime committed by a teenager--and its even more shocking aftermath. In 1985 in Gary, Indiana, a black teenage girl kills an elderly white woman in a robbery gone wrong. The shock and awe of the case captivates the state, whose citizens cry out for vengeance. Soon after, Paula Cooper, the fifteen-year-old killer, is sentenced to death. Indiana's minimum age for the death penalty is, at that time, ten years old. In Seventy Times Seven, Alex Mar tells the unforgettable story of this single act of violence and its stunning aftermath. The image of a teenage girl on death row will reverberate miles from Gary and link a varied cast of characters: a female public defender from the northeast, two enterprising Italian journalists, a Franciscan friar with the ear of the Pope, and, in an unlikely twist, the grandson of the victim, who dedicates himself to saving Paula's life. As a girl waits on death row, her fate sparks a debate that not only animates legal circles but also raises universal questions about the value of human life: What is the purpose of criminal justice, especially its harshest penalties? Is forgiveness an act of desperation or of profound bravery? What extreme degrees of empathy might humans be capable of, if given the chance? Seventy Times Seven opens with a murder and a death sentence, but it is above all about the will to live--to survive, to grow, to change--against the steepest odds. Tirelessly researched and told with intimacy and precision, it brings a haunting chapter in the history of our criminal justice system to astonishing life"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: I

1. The Care of Children

2. South of the Little Calumet

3. The Making of a Prosecutor

4. Malice Supplies the Age

5. The Question of Conscience

6. The Law Covers All

II

7. Nighttime in the Crane

8. Meeting the "Animal"

9. Love, Paula

10. Enter the Italians

11. The Power of Numbers

12. The Chapel

13. Standards of Decency

14. A Normal Prisoner

III

15. The Caravan

16. The Journey

17. Her Sister's Keeper

18. A Pearl of Great Price

19. A Network of Fine Threads

20. What They Were, What They Are, What They Will Become

IV

21. Anniversary

22. Judgment

23. Storytelling.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780525522157

0525522158

OCLC:

1334718728

Publisher Number:

99993460337