THE USUAL SUSPECT: THE STORY OF THE DEFENSE OF GENE LEROY HART IN THE GIRL SCOUT MURDER CASES AS TOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME BY ONE OF THE TWO DEFENSE ATTORNEYS.

The author, was a recent law school graduate working for a Native American nonprofit that served the urban Indian community of Oklahoma City. He was asked by the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation to meet with a young Cherokee man, Gene Leroy Hart, following his arrest. Hart was accused of committing the most notorious crime in Oklahoma history, the killing of three girl scouts asleep in their tent on the first night of summer camp. Hart had been a fugitive and on the run for several years before the murders, but as the usual suspect in the area, this crime had raised the stakes for his capture. Expecting the assignment to be a one day commitment, he invited his good friend from the Public Defender’s Office to come along for the ride.The meeting with Hart led the two young friends on a year-long journey that started with a chase to find their client, who had suddenly been moved from prison by authorities to delay his contact with the attorneys. The story describes how the two young lawyers were able to convince a jury that most of the state’s evidence against their client was planted and contrived. They were able to show that several key witnesses and law enforcement officers had lied under oath, casting substantial doubt on the reliability of the case against Hart. Read more