10/29/2009
In the Middle of the Night has been out for a month now and the book has caused controversy. In Cheshire, Connecticut, town meetings have been held to consider banning the book from the public library, a petition supporting the ban was signed by more than 400 people. A Facebook page was created to forward a boycott of In the Middle of the Night and the rest of my work; an email campaign to that end has been directed at my publisher, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
In New Haven Superior Court, Thomas Ullman, the New Haven public defender and accused murderer Steven Hayes's attorney, filed subpoenas for my notes of the jailhouse interviews with his co-defendant, Joshua Komisarjevsky, and the letters I received from him. Ullman also asked for Department of Correction tapes and jail bank records. Joshua's attorney has filed a motion to quash those subpoenas. A highly unusual closed-door court hearing ensued.
The local press has covered all aspects of the controversy extensively, including a number of editorials and opinion pieces. I've been flooded with interview requests, including national news shows. I've received numerous emails from people in Cheshire and from others close to the victim's family--all of them vitriolic. Their anger towards me is understandable. My book tells the story of the Petit murders from the point of view of one of the two men accused of the crime, and it is an account that comes before his trial has been held.
The next court date is November 6th, the next Cheshire Library Board meeting in on Nov. 16th. I'm sure both will generate more newsprint and emotion.
