If you are a true crime fan following the Alex Murdaugh crime saga in South Carolina, then you have likely read the well-researched, well-written works by professional journalists and historians covering the case.
Your bookshelf probably contains “The Devil at His Elbow” by The Wall Street Journal reporter Valerie Bauerlein, “Swamp Kings” by Jason Ryan, “The Fall of the House of Murdaugh“ by this author, and many more, and you may think you know everything there is to know about all things Murdaugh.
But if you only read one more Murdaugh trial book, this should be the one — “The Long Road to Justice: Unraveling Alex Murdaugh’s Tangled Web,” by Amie Williams with Shana Hirsh.
Williams, once known publicly only as Juror 864, served on the jury that in March of 2023 convicted Murdaugh for murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in June of 2021, and you don’t have to be a literary critic to know that there is no voice or perspective in a story more powerful, revealing and connected than a voice from inside the story itself.
But this latest literary effort is more than an insider’s view of one high-profile, internationally publicized murder trial. “The Long Road to Justice“ (Palmetto Publishing, November 2024) truly takes us inside the American criminal justice system to see both the ugly warts and the beauty marks of “Lady Justice.”
“A lot of people have never served on jury duty, and this book gives you a first-hand account, from beginning to end, but with a twist,” Williams said. “One reviewer said that it made them feel like they were experiencing this trial with us for six weeks and seeing the horrors that happened.”
And this 268-page, tell-all memoir does more than tell the story of the Murdaugh crime saga. The work examines the role of the juror in our legal history, our modern justice system, and our pop culture.
“This book illustrates the justice system at work and proves that it does work,” Hirsch said. “This is the story of how 12 people took down a legal dynasty.
“Inside this book is the ‘soup-to-nuts’ of being a juror,” added Hirsch. “We really tried to make the book accessible to people who followed the case and people who didn’t.”
“You don’t have to be Murdaugh obsessed to enjoy this book,” add the authors.
“The Long Road to Justice” takes the reader from jury selection, in-court testimony, and the reading of the guilty verdicts, to Williams flying to New York to speak on the Today show, and then well after the verdict was read, as Murdaugh pleaded and was sentenced for financial crimes but has since filed an appeal of his murder conviction with the S.C. Supreme Court amid looming jury tampering allegations.
Williams writes about how she attempted to return to a life of normalcy after the trial, getting back to work and moving her son into college for his next year. Still, the media frenzy reignited amid news of the jury tampering allegations and Murdaugh’s appeal.
So, the juror-turned-author takes the opportunity to staunchly defend the jury’s guilty verdict: “We got it right, he’s guilty,” declared Williams. “We did uphold our oath.”
The book contains a few other treats from other Murdaugh crime saga and murder trial insiders, including a foreword by Dr. Kenny Kinsey, a crime scene expert, and longtime law enforcement investigator who became a trial superstar for many; the epilogue by Eric Bland, an attorney for many of Murdaugh’s financial crime victims who has since published his own book, and an afterword by Law and Crime correspondent Gigi McKelvey.
Who is Amie Williams, and why did she write this book?
Long before the name Murdaugh became an international headline and a Netflix search word, Williams, who could be described as an average, hardworking resident of Colleton County where the Murdaugh family murders occurred, was raising a family and working as a payroll specialist for a nearby S.C. Lowcountry municipality.
Then civic duty came calling, and she was selected to sit on a jury of peers and make what could be the most important decision of her life – a decision that would indeed change her own life.
“After the trial, I had so many questions and messages from the media, from co-workers, family and friends, and someone jokingly suggested that I put it all down in a book,” recalls Williams.
About that time, she was contacted by friend and former colleague Hirsch, a true-crime pundit and an English teacher of 25 years.
“I thought, maybe this is a sign,” added Williams.
But by then, the Murdaugh story had become a cottage industry of its own, as podcasters, YouTubers, writers with no connection to the case or even the state of South Carolina, and other content creators moved in to grab a monetized piece of fame, and Williams wanted to do something different.
So, she decided that a portion of all book sale proceeds would go to a nonprofit close to her heart.
In 2022, Williams, a former domestic violence survivor, founded Sanctuary House: Healing Hearts & Changing Lives to benefit fellow victims of violence, and her book proceeds will help Sanctuary House change and improve lives.
In writing this book, Williams and Hirsch say they learned a great deal along the way.
“I am not a true crime person, and I didn’t realize how far-reaching this genre is,” Williams said. “And writing this book was a grueling process, but Shana did an amazing job of capturing what I was seeing and what I was feeling during the trial and after.”
Before listing several pages of End Notes containing scores of official sources that include a who’s who of journalists and legal experts, the authors acknowledged the people who helped make this book project possible, including Neil and Melissa Gordon, fellow authors and true-crime pundits who worked with them almost every step of the way, from book cover and website design to marketing and sales.
The authors also expressed a “huge debt of gratitude” to the book’s editor, Elizabeth Dardes, beta reader and fellow author Kim Poovey, and friend/associate Melissa Minkser. They also acknowledge a handful of journalists, authors and podcasters who have covered the Murdaugh case from its inception and contributed significantly to the public’s knowledge of the case.
“We could not have done this without all of these people,” Williams said. “They are just great people.”
Just as the legal saga of Alex Murdaugh is far from over, this captivating and often horrific story isn’t over for the authors and continues to haunt them.
“I still dream about Alex Murdaugh,” reveals Hirsch.
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