Death Sentence Quotes

“John had little to fear from his jailmates. It is no longer true that inmates are hardest on those fellow prisoners who commit atrocities against the weak and vulnerable, such as children. All that is needed today to achieve respect is celebrity, and celebrity is measured in exposure on television minutes. To the inmates in Union County Jail, and some of the warders as well, John was a superstar. He was even accorded the deference of being referred to by his alias instead of the name stamped on his paperwork.”
― Joe Sharkey, Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders

“You are poor to look upon. But inwardly you are full of wealth. You seem low, But you are exceedingly high. You are that which makes men live A divine life here below. Give to me, O highest Lord A generous share Of this heavenly happiness. And true peace, Which the world of the senses Is capable neither of understanding Nor receiving.”
― Joe Sharkey, Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders

“purchased merely for their entertainment value. I always regarded Wanda as an unsung heroine without whose “nosiness” (I myself think of it as “situational awareness”) John List might have continued to evade justice for the rest of his wretched days. Wanda died in 1997 at the age of sixty-five.”
― Joe Sharkey, Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders

“Resentment, anger, and fear all were gone. Only sadness remained. She gathered her collar against the wind and returned to her car in the waning light of the November day.”
― Joe Sharkey, Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders

“In the summer of 1971, she told her drama teacher that she was in love with him, a declaration she reiterated in letters to several friends at the time. “She told me that she wanted to marry me,” Ed said, though she added that this would, of course, have to occur at some point in the future. “She was very matter of fact about it.” Illiano knew that Pat had several boyfriends, none of whom her father approved of. He dismissed her talk as adolescent prattle. All the same, he was strangely taken with the girl. He found himself paying more attention to Pat than might have been considered appropriate in a male-female teacher-student relationship. They met in innocent social situations, such as when group members would adjourn to a local diner after workshop. Knowing that she now loathed calling her father for a ride home, Ed began driving her, even though he lived in the opposite direction. And sometimes, when Pat wanted to talk things over, they began taking the long way home, and then even pulling over to sit and talk. It was just talk.”
― Joe Sharkey, Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders

“Helen was suffering from the early stages of cerebral atrophy, a degenerative shrinkage of the brain tissues that can be symptomatic of a variety of ills, including the viral infection that had caused her to be rushed home from Korea and led to full-blown syphilis. Alcohol and depressants such as tranquilizers only aggravate symptoms,”
― Joe Sharkey, Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders

“Every page, top to bottom, right to left, like an automatic scanner.”
― Joe Sharkey, Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders

“Jean said. “We were both Capricorns,”
― Joe Sharkey, Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders

“When he got out of the army after the Korean War, John had developed an avid interest in these complex board games, which demanded progressive degrees of skill and cunning over many hours of play. Many of the games had World War II themes, with names like Third Reich and Russian Front. John, when he played with an opponent, always took the German side in these. Others were based on the Civil War, including one of his favorites, Bull Run, which required tactical skill in re-creating the First Battle of Bull Run. In that battle, according to the manufacturer’s description of the game, “Both armies had the strange and fascinating task of defending on one flank while attacking on the other.”
― Joe Sharkey, Death Sentence: The Inside Story of the John List Murders