Michael Fumento

When will we fully accept that highly talented writers, even if convicted murderers, should never be in jail? Didn't we see that with the killer Norman Mailer helped spring, who just a month later stabbed ... Uh, never mind.Celebrity murderer Wilbert Rideau, living the good life

I had my own personal experience regarding such a sprung celebrity murderer, Wilbert Rideau, who has just published his autobiography: In the Place of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance. Ted Koppel called it "a breathtaking and, ultimately, triumphant story of rehabilitation through endurance and courageous journalism" in a book jacket endorsement. Likewise, when Rideau got out five years ago, newspapers worldwide proclaimed Lady Justice had prevailed!

But no, she wept bitterly. For Rideau remains what he was when I knew him 22 years ago—a highly intelligent, highly literate, extremely tricky, cold-blooded killer.

Health Warning: Persons with high blood pressure should get a note from their doctor before reading my article on a terrible miscarriage of justice.