Publisher's Weekly Review
In this somewhat dry history, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Serrano examines the history of racial discrimination in the U.S. armed forces through the experience of the last soldier to be executed at "the Castle," the U.S. Army's death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kans. Although the military was desegregated in 1948, soldiers continued to experience differential treatment, Serrano writes, based upon their race. For instance, white inmates at the Castle nearly always attracted sufficient popular and political support to be spared execution, while African-Americans were taken at midnight to the prison's gallows. John Arthur Bennett, a black private convicted of raping a white woman while he was stationed in Austria, was sentenced to death there. His family petitioned Dwight Eisenhower, his victim and her parents expressed their belief that the crime merited incarceration rather than execution, and the case attracted the attention of the distinguished psychiatrist and death-penalty opponent Karl Menninger, who maintained that Bennett, who suffered from severe epilepsy, was thus not guilty by reason of insanity. But newly inaugurated President Kennedy refused to overturn his predecessor's decision, and Bennett was hanged on Apr. 12, 1961. Serrano's prose is workmanlike, and his narration of what should be a gripping tale is often flat, but he has made an important contribution to the historiography of race and justice. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Disconcerting expos of a little-recalled era of death penalty discrimination in the U.S. military.Serrano (Last of the Blue and Gray: Old Men, Stolen Glory, and the Mystery that Outlived the Civil War, 2013, etc.), a Pulitzer Prize-winning former Washington correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, unearths a disheartening tale of unequal justice during the period between World War II and the major events of the civil rights movement regarding soldiers who received the ultimate sanction for committing rape or murder. Yet once on the military's death row at Fort Leavenworth prison, their fates obeyed the color line: "All on death row, white and black, clearly recognized that in the late 1950s, none were treated alike.Eight white soldiers spared, eight black soldiers hanged." Serrano focuses on the crime and punishment of John Bennett, an uneducated black soldier from impoverished Jim Crow roots, who drunkenly assaulted a young Austrian girl; although she survived, a court-martial swiftly sentenced him to death. After several years, as the backing for capital punishment appeared to wane, he was last on death row, fueling support for commutation of his sentence, as had been done for white soldiers who had committed similar crimes. Over six years of legal battles, his case attracted prominent supporters like psychiatrist Karl Menninger and prison doctors who argued his lifelong epilepsy might've influenced the crime. Still, the military's position remained that Bennett's death "was necessary." Because the arc of Bennett's sad legacy is straightforward, the author builds the narrative in engaging digressions, covering the development of Leavenworth, Dwight Eisenhower's frosty relationship with desegregation, and the lawyers and activists who mounted a lonely crusade on behalf of the condemned black soldiers. Serrano paces his slim account for maximum suspense, but Bennett's execution feels increasingly foreordained, particularly when the putatively liberal John F. Kennedy declines to second-guess his predecessor. The author's scrupulous research ably captures a shameful time during the military's halting journey toward integration.A compact, engrossing historical meditation with clear relevance to current controversies over race and punishment. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
With so much attention directed toward criminal-justice reform, Pulitzer Prize-winning former journalist and author Serrano (American Endurance , 2016) widens coverage to include racial bias in military court-martials and tribunals. His focus is on the conviction and eventual execution of John Arthur Bennett, a private first-class convicted of raping and killing a white woman while stationed in Austria. The evidence is compelling, albeit circumstantial, and ultimately beside the point. While in custody, Bennett, who suffered from mental-health issues, was subjected to sleep deprivation until he admitted having sex with the woman; however, the confession he was coerced into signing was for rape and murder. Sentenced to death by hanging, he was one of nine black soldiers on death row at Fort Leavenworth sharing the same fate under eerily similar circumstances. Meanwhile, their eight white counterparts, convicted of equally heinous crimes, were released and exonerated, thanks to wealth, family connections, and sympathy and promise of redemption rarely accorded to African Americans. Serrano presents a harrowing and necessary corrective chronicle.--J. Howard Rosier Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Pulitzer Prize-winning Serrano (Last of the Blue and Gray), formerly with the Los Angeles Times, writes about the last executions at Fort Leavenworth, KS, military base between 1955 and 1961. The author begins with the story of John Bennett, a young black man convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl while stationed in Austria. The trial was presided over by older white men who quickly sentenced Bennett to death. The narrative continues to cover the history of the base, along with the many prisoner deaths there, and the environment's effect on both prisoners and guards. Serrano also examines the racism of President Dwight Eisenhower and authorities, as all the white men sentenced to death were pardoned, while black prisoners received no mercy. The book concludes with Bennett's ultimate fate: either be saved by President Kennedy or hanged at midnight. Serrano's research is impeccable, as he uses official military records along with interviews with many involved as well as letters from their families. VERDICT An engaging and highly recommended true story for those interested in racial discrimination, especially in the military, and criminal justice issues.-Jason L. Steagall, formerly with Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
