Marked for Death: My War With Jim Jones the Devil of Jonestown

by Timothy Stoen

Marked for Death is a memoir of my becoming involved with a devil, being marked for death by that devil, being at war with that devil, and surviving that devil upon his unleashing--in the name of "love"--terror and death. It is a first-hand account of my experiences as his attorney, enemy, and postmortem target. It is also a modern, tribal version of an age-old story: "Power tends to corrupt," said Lord Acton, "and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The journey began in Redwood Valley, California, in 1970, when I self-recruited into a utopian movement called Peoples Temple, in order to pursue a Biblical ethic: "And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need." The leader of this utopian movement was James Warren Jones. On November 18, 1977, I testified in court and went to war against Jones. By then, he had moved to Guyana, South America, to a place called Jonestown. I turned on Jones because I'd learned he was denigrating to a five-year-old child, John Victor Stoen then in Jonestown, his mother, Grace. Even though I believed then that Jones was the biological father, and had promised to protect his paternal access, he was violating the moral law to "honor thy mother," and superseded my promise. In December 1977, I came to realize that I was the biological father of the precious John Victor. During that one-year war for John Victor, I made two trips to the then "wired" country of Guyana, and in California I braced, when the doorbell rang, for a pistol blast to the chest. Finally, that journey took on a petrifying turn. On November 18, 1978, in the name of "love," Jim Jones, in Jonestown, became the Orwellian devil and went for the kill. He killed 907 of his people by cyanide, and orchestrated the deaths, by gunfire at the nearby airstrip, of five other innocents including US Congressman Leo Ryan. Among those he took out by the poison was six-year-old John Victor Stoen. Structurally, this book traces the "development" of Jim Jones, as I experienced it from 1967 through 1978, through thirteen stages. There are three possible explanations as to the character of Jim Jones on November 18, 1978. The first is that he was a good man who snapped. The second is that he was a sociopath-someone without a conscience, someone willing to do anything at all. The third, which I have come to accept, is that he fell into a more foreboding psychological category: malignant narcissist -someone who seeks to kill for non-biological reasons. Someone who is, in fact, a devil. On November 18, 1978, the day he died, Jim Jones exhorted vengeance on me, and prophesied, in the alternative, that I would destroy myself. I have three reasons for writing this book. The first is to present Jim Jones as a case study as to how leaders become corrupted by absolute power, how they use charisma and demagogic oratory to acquire that power, and how people lose critical resistance. The second reason is to give supporting evidence for Dr. M. Scott Peck's position that evil people can be dealt with only by "raw power." Jones's use of systematic mind control in the encampment to get otherwise decent people to be willing to kill innocents, and his follow-up orchestration of terror to impel them to do it at the airstrip, may be a modern template. It is my hope that governments will learn to wisely use raw power against terrorist leaders, and wisely use psychological power with their followers--so as to save priceless Civilization. My third reason for writing is to give hope to people who, like me, have made huge mistakes in their lives. Recovery is possible. After all of my unbelievable mistakes, it is a miracle that I should now find myself alive, sane, and vital. It is unquestionably due to something outside my control.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Cults

362 pages, Paperback

Published December 17, 2015

About the author

Timothy Oliver Stoen (born January 16, 1938) is best known for his central role as a member of the Peoples Temple, and as an opponent of the group during a multi-year custody battle over his six-year-old son, John.

Reviews

[Esme · Rating 3 out of 5]

This the sixth book I've read on the subject of Peoples Temple and Jonestown. Stoen obviously suffered greatly because of his association with Jim Jones. Previously, I had seen him and the other members of the Concerned Relatives as heroes by applying pressure in every way possible in order to get Jones to capitulate and return their family members. I never realized how much they suffered after the mass suicide and were counted as villains rather than victims.

Watching more recent interviews with survivors there is blasé quality to the interviewers questions. They clearly haven't bothered to understand the depth or breath of the suffering caused by Jones and his actions. I can only imagine the hysteria of the media at the time.

While I certainly appreciated having the perspective and content of this book, I have to admit it was not the most readable of the books on the subject. Stoen frequently references entries from his lawyer's journal, abbreviations and all. He goes into great detail on the voter fraud accusations he endured in the years after the tragedy, (spurious voter fraud allegations alas, are not the most riveting of subjects.) It tends to be rather dry and often dispassionate.

It's well-cited and I trust that the writer was sincere and honest in his retelling of events.

I would probably recommend it only to those who are looking to read every account of Jonestown out there, a more compelling read for the average reader who just wants a well-rounded understanding of the Peoples Temple would be Jeff Guinn's book or Julia Scheeres'.

[Steve Kohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

After hearing Jeff Guinn on the radio program Fresh Air, I read his book, THE ROAD TO JONESTOWN. That led me to Deborah Layton's SEDUCTIVE POISON.

These two books were excellent. Guinn looked at the entirety of Jim Jones, starting with his grandparents. Layton told of her experiences with Jones, helping us see the devil from up close.

Next was LOVE THEM TO DEATH, by Timothy Stoen.

I found Stoen's book to have too many problems to recommend. Let me condense them.

Smart man (attorney, after all), and attractive to attractive women (wife Grace, also Giselle Fernandez), but lacking common sense.
-- unrealistically idealistic
-- went to doctor for vasectomy BEFORE having any children of his own "to respect the carrying capacity of the planet"
-- believed Jones's faith healings, at least some of them, were real, even after seeing they were staged
-- not long after marrying Grace, agreed to (proposed?) open marriage ... then refused to believe she could be carrying Jones's child
-- agreed, for reasons still unclear to me, to sign document stating beloved son John was fathered by Jim Jones; then later, absent scientific evidence, decides he is in fact the boy's biological father
-- met with psychics and astrologers to learn what the future would bring regarding son John ... not once, many times
-- stayed with Peoples Temple and Jones for this reason (page 126): "If I were to do so now [defect], I would betray a solemn promise to guarantee Jones's full involvement in John's life." Does this make sense to anybody? "Betray a solemn promise" to a vicious madman? Wanting to "guarantee Jones's full involvement" in his son's life?
-- most of all, had son John sent to Guyana, beyond protection and indeed to his doom

Book badly written. Editor failed him.
-- stilted language
-- never gripping, as Guinn's and Layton's books are
-- "gratuitously" when meant "graciously" (page 186)
-- very detailed lab results of sperm test, when all that was needed was something like, "Lab results, dated MO/DD/YR, showed I was medically capable of fathering a child"
-- too many verbatim diary entries that should have been fleshed out or summarized

Book too much about Tim Stoen, not enough about Jim Jones or Jonestown.
-- a tortured man's attempt to make sense of, maybe defend, the mistakes in judgment he made
-- but does show how important lawsuits Stoen filed against Jones were
-- never once mentions Larry Layton, only person imprisoned (18 years) for crimes at Jonestown

If we've read Guinn and Layton, then Stoen's book is only for those obsessed with Jonestown. Which I may be, as the book I'm reading now is RAVEN, by Tim Reiterman, and think it's the book to read if we read only one. (See my 5-star review of RAVEN, as well as my 5-star review of A THOUSAND LIVES, by Julia Scheeres, the last book on Jonestown I think I need to read.)

[Will Van · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tim had a great first hand and very personal story to tell about the Jim Jones episode. However, his writing is really bad. It is hard to follow and seems to ramble from one event to the next. He probably could have done better if he used a ghost writer or something.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragic story of the loss of Tim's little son at Jonestown at the hands of Jim Jones. A little wordy when it comes to the court cases.