Disordered Minds: Minette Walters

In 1970, Howard Stamp, a retarded 20 year old, was convicted on disputed evidence - and a retracted confession - of brutally murdering his grandmother in her Dorset home. Less than three years later he was dead, driven to suicide by self-hatred and relentless bullying by the other prisoners. A fate befitting - but what if he were innocent? Over a quarter of a century later, anthropologist and author Jonathan Hughes re-examines Stamp's case for a book on injustice. His research leads him to believe that Stamp was wrongly convicted. But is Stamp's story compelling enough to make Hughes leave his ivory tower in order to champion justice for someone her never knew? George Gardner, a local councillor has also been trying to bring the case to public attention and has unearthed new evidence which could exonerate him, but he needs Hughes on board if it is to be used to maximum effect. There seems to be no similarity between the illiterate Stamp and the academic Hughes, but their lives resonate through their damaged childhoods and sense of exclusion. If Jonathan is take up armas on Stamp's behalf, he must first face his own demons.