Harry N. MacLean
Encyclopedia
Harry MacLean is a writer and lawyer living in Denver, Colorado
who writes true crime
books and won an Edgar Award for his book In Broad Daylight
.
with a B.A. Psychology. He received a law degree from the University of Denver College of Law
in 1967. During the next few years he was a trial attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., an adjunct professor at Denver College of Law, magistrate in the Denver juvenile court, First Assistant Attorney General for the Colorado Department of Law, General Counsel of the Peace Corps
. He was also an independent mediator and arbitrator.
, an account of the “vigilante killing” of town bully
Ken Rex McElroy in downtown Skidmore, Missouri
in 1981. 50 people, many of whom had gathered earlier in the day to figure out a way to handle the situation with McElroy if he got off on assault charges from an earlier incident, were said to have been on the street near where McElroy was shot with a high powered rifle and by a second assailant with a .22. However the prosecutor said he could not bring a case because no towns people would corroborate McElroy's wife's claim identifying the killer. In researching the book MacLean lived with a family outside the town for three years. In Broad Daylight won an Edgar Award
for best true crime writing, was on the New York Times bestseller list for 12 weeks charting as high as 2, and was made into a movie starring Brian Dennehy
. The book was reissued in 2007 with a new epilogue after the Nodaway County, Missouri
prosecutor David Baird who had dealt with the case from the beginning released the county's investigation file.
MacLean's second book was Once Upon A Time, A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law . Eileen Franklin-Lipsker, a California housewife, claimed to recover a repressed memory
of her father murdering her playmate twenty years earlier in Foster City, California
. Her father, George Thomas Franklin, was tried and convicted solely on the basis of the repressed memory
. Franklin's conviction was later overturned by a federal court of appeals.
MacLean's most recent book, The Past is Never Dead: the Trial of James Ford Seale and Mississippi’s Struggle for Redemption chronicles the 2007 trial of James Ford Seale
, for the murder of two black youths in southwest Mississippi
in 1964. Seale was charged and convicted of torturing and drowning Charles Moore and Henry Dee in a backwater of the Mississippi River
. The Past is Never Dead has recently been nominated for The William Saroyan International Prize for Writing
, awarded by Stanford University
Libraries.
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
who writes true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
books and won an Edgar Award for his book In Broad Daylight
In Broad Daylight
In Broad Daylight is a true crime book detailing the killing of town bully Ken Rex McElroy in 1981 in Skidmore, Missouri. The book won an Edgar Award for best true crime in 1989, was a New York Times bestseller for 12 weeks and was adapted into a television movie...
.
Early life
Maclean graduated in 1964 from Lawrence UniversityLawrence University
Lawrence University is a selective, private liberal arts college with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, in Appleton, Wisconsin. Lawrence University is known for its rigorous academic environment. Founded in 1847, the first classes were held on November 12, 1849...
with a B.A. Psychology. He received a law degree from the University of Denver College of Law
Sturm College of Law
The University of Denver Sturm College of Law is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado, and the only law school in the Denver metro area. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law is one of the first in America's Mountain West...
in 1967. During the next few years he was a trial attorney for the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., an adjunct professor at Denver College of Law, magistrate in the Denver juvenile court, First Assistant Attorney General for the Colorado Department of Law, General Counsel of the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
. He was also an independent mediator and arbitrator.
Books
His first book was In Broad DaylightIn Broad Daylight
In Broad Daylight is a true crime book detailing the killing of town bully Ken Rex McElroy in 1981 in Skidmore, Missouri. The book won an Edgar Award for best true crime in 1989, was a New York Times bestseller for 12 weeks and was adapted into a television movie...
, an account of the “vigilante killing” of town bully
Town bully
The town bully is a stereotypical character, especially from the mythology of the American Wild West. The town bully generally oppresses meeker residents of the town. This character is often featured in movies, sometimes as a greaser or a gangster. In 1980s films, he may be a bad-tempered preppy...
Ken Rex McElroy in downtown Skidmore, Missouri
Skidmore, Missouri
Skidmore is a city in Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. The population was 342 at the 2000 census. The small farming community which has a yearly "Punkin' Show", has made international headlines with high profile murders....
in 1981. 50 people, many of whom had gathered earlier in the day to figure out a way to handle the situation with McElroy if he got off on assault charges from an earlier incident, were said to have been on the street near where McElroy was shot with a high powered rifle and by a second assailant with a .22. However the prosecutor said he could not bring a case because no towns people would corroborate McElroy's wife's claim identifying the killer. In researching the book MacLean lived with a family outside the town for three years. In Broad Daylight won an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for best true crime writing, was on the New York Times bestseller list for 12 weeks charting as high as 2, and was made into a movie starring Brian Dennehy
Brian Dennehy
Brian Mannion Dennehy is an American actor of film, stage and screen.-Early years:Dennehy was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Hannah and Edward Dennehy, who was a wire service editor for the Associated Press; he has two brothers, Michael and Edward. Dennehy is of Irish ancestry and was...
. The book was reissued in 2007 with a new epilogue after the Nodaway County, Missouri
Nodaway County, Missouri
Nodaway County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. The county was organized in 1845 and named for the Nodaway River.As of 2010, the population was 23,370...
prosecutor David Baird who had dealt with the case from the beginning released the county's investigation file.
MacLean's second book was Once Upon A Time, A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law . Eileen Franklin-Lipsker, a California housewife, claimed to recover a repressed memory
Repressed memory
Repressed memory is a hypothetical concept used to describe a significant memory, usually of a traumatic nature, that has become unavailable for recall; also called motivated forgetting in which a subject blocks out painful or traumatic times in one's life...
of her father murdering her playmate twenty years earlier in Foster City, California
Foster City, California
Foster City is an affluent planned city located in San Mateo County, California, 94404. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 30,567. Forbes ranked Foster City #10 on their 2009 list of America's Top 25 Towns to Live Well. Money has also recognized Foster City multiple times as...
. Her father, George Thomas Franklin, was tried and convicted solely on the basis of the repressed memory
Repressed memory
Repressed memory is a hypothetical concept used to describe a significant memory, usually of a traumatic nature, that has become unavailable for recall; also called motivated forgetting in which a subject blocks out painful or traumatic times in one's life...
. Franklin's conviction was later overturned by a federal court of appeals.
MacLean's most recent book, The Past is Never Dead: the Trial of James Ford Seale and Mississippi’s Struggle for Redemption chronicles the 2007 trial of James Ford Seale
James Ford Seale
James Ford Seale was a Ku Klux Klan member charged by the U.S. Justice Department on January 24, 2007, and subsequently convicted on June 14, 2007, for the May 1964 kidnapping of Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, two African-American young men in Meadville, Mississippi...
, for the murder of two black youths in southwest Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
in 1964. Seale was charged and convicted of torturing and drowning Charles Moore and Henry Dee in a backwater of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The Past is Never Dead has recently been nominated for The William Saroyan International Prize for Writing
William Saroyan International Prize for Writing
The William Saroyan International Prize for Writing was first awarded in 2003 for 'newly published works of fiction including novels, short stories, dramas or memoirs'...
, awarded by Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
Libraries.