La maledizione

Yesterday I turned the last page of Phil Stanford's new book about the 1989 assassination of Michael Francke, the railroading of Frank Gable, and the escape from justice pulled off by the people who engineered the murder and the cover-up. When I put the book down, I sat there for a long while catching my breath.

Yes, the story has been told many times – first in newspaper columns, then in a movie, then on television, podcasts, blog posts, you name it. But to have it all in black and white, on paper, updated, with photos, and with the names all named – it makes a different kind of impact.

Stanford serves here as a conscience for Oregon, which without him wouldn't have any. The killing of Francke and the destruction of Frank Gable's life were pure, unadulterated evil that almost got swept under the rug entirely. And there are people still alive who were in on it, at least parts of it, and have not been called to account. Except, it seems, in this extremely important book.

Stanford begins and ends his chilling tale, the product of decades of work and reflection, with the observation that the Francke murder and Gable prosecution have cursed Oregon and its institutions for more than 35 years. I can't help but agree.