The Kid Was a Killer

Greenwich, CT: Gold Medal Books. Very Good-. 1960. 1st Edition; 1st Printing. Paperback. This is a mass market paperback book. (PBO). The book is in Very Good- condition and was issued without a dust jacket. The book covers have some light bumping and rubbing, especially to the spine ends and corners. There is some light darkening to the spine of the book. The inside front covers of the book have noticeable darkening and foxing. The text pages are generally clean and bright, though there is a bit of generalized toning. "Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper and serial rapist who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 counts and convicted under a loosely interpreted "Little Lindbergh law" – later repealed, but not retroactively – that defined kidnapping as a capital offense under certain circumstances. His case attracted worldwide attention, and helped propel the movement to end the use of capital punishment in the state of California. While in prison, Chessman was considered vexatious, with one judge writing in 1957, "playing a game with the courts, stalling for time while the facts of the case grow cold." Chessman wrote four books, including his 1954 memoir Cell 2455, Death Row. The book was adapted for the screen in 1955 and stars William Campbell as a character modelled after Chessman. " (from Wikipedia) .