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On April 29 1997 the state of Colorado was dealt another blow regarding depraved indifference to human life. Recently, the nation was stunned by the actions of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris in Littleton, Colorado. The shootings at Columbine High School was one of the most shocking scenes of violence committed by a nihilistic duo. Now author Steve Jackson is focusing on another partnership of evil - that of George Woldt and Lucas Salmon. Jacine Gielinski was a random victim of a brutal factory by two self-absorbed monsters looking for a thrill kill. Their crime shocked Colorado and created a legal controversy on how to punish these cold-blooded murderers. Jackson goes through police reports, court transcripts, and interviews with the principals of the case, including the victim's mother. The crime was heinous and the details are brutally depicted; however, the book appears to have an agenda. The loss of a child, especially by murder, is devastating to endure. That is plain to see. It is important to humanize victims of brutal crimes, but the book goes overboard in its depiction of a crime aftermath. Jacine is portrayed in an idolized way with what could have been had she not been killed. She was just a young woman trying to figure out what she wanted out of life. Most of what we learn from her is what comes out of her own mother for whom her child can do no wrong. It is natural for a mother to feel this way, but it compromises the book's objectivity. Woldt and Salmon get more publicity in this book than they ought to deserve. PARTNERS IN EVIL serves as a showcase regarding a parent's grief of outliving their only child through senseless violence. It is spoiled when the mother says that there is no way that we can ever understand her pain. She is wrong. However, it does not matter, she does not want our sympathy. The real question is why did she agree to be interviewed for the book in the first place? This is what is most disturbing about this book.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, January 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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