Dimensions
155 x 235 x 31mm
A small racially divided Australian town in the 1950s. Not a good time or place to be a black man accused of brutally raping and murdering a nine-year-old white girl.
Max Stuart could barely speak or write English, yet he was convicted of this horrific crime based on a typed confession delivered in precise, educated English. He was sentenced to death after a brief trial. How was this allowed to happen? Who allowed this to happen?
As Stuart sat on death row, many questions were raised not only about his mystery confession, but also about the role of the local police, the Aboriginal community in the town and the judiciary. With the support of his lawyer JD O'Sullivan, and newspaper owner Rupert Murdoch, Stuart became a household name.
'The Stuart Case' was the national scandal that divided Australia. Black and white. Ken Inglis offers a thorough and thought-provoking account of the ensuing courtroom drama. The case became a watershed for changes in police procedure, racial attitudes and, more importantly, the role of the media.
Beyond the question of Stuart's innocence or guilt, this is the story of how a newspaper editor broke all the rules to expose an unfair legal system.
The events of the Stuart case have now been dramatised in 'Black And White' a major motion picture starring Robert Carlyle ('Trainspotting'), Kerry Fox, Charles Dance, Colin Friels, David Ngoombujarra and Ben Mendelssohn. An Australian-UK co-production, it is produced by Helen Leake and Nik Powell ('Mona Lisa', 'The Crying Game').
