THE MINISTER AND THE CHOIR SINGER: The Hall-Mills Murder Case

by William M. Kunstler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 29, 1963

Interviewed on a radio broadcast, the attorney author said he thought he knew the solution to the Hall-Mills murder. The case has remained open in Somerset county, New Jersey since the day in September, 1922 when the Rev. Mr. Hall was found shot dead with his arm around the corpse of his most, devoted parishioner, Mrs. Mills. Mr. Kunstler was quickly invited to share his knowledge with Somerset County's Prosecutor of Pleas. In order to obtain proof for his theory, the author immersed himself in the official documents, records of the two sensational trials. (1922, 1926), and contemporary newspaper accounts. The result is a day-by-day record of what happened to all the principals and bit players in the case from the time the bodies were discovered. It makes absorbing reading but fails to produce the hard evidence . The theory is that the dual murder was one of a number of sporadic morality raids by the then flourishing KKK. The argument is persuasively presented. What is really proved, however, is the almost incredible bungling of the police; the intrusion of political ambition into the pursuit of New Jersey justice; and the malignant pressure brought to bear on the second trial by the circulation hungry, Hearst-controlled Mirror. A find for historic crime buffs and an eye opener for readers who remember those times.

Pub Date: Jan. 29, 1963

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1963

Categories: NONFICTION