Reading Journal, "Trial by Fire"

A common theme in the feature story is the climax. One of the major differences between academic writing, and feature story writing, is that you are able to build your story, as you would a film, or a piece of fiction as you go along. Where is in academic writing, you clearly state your argument and use evidence to reinforce. In the case of Lyn Balfour, Gene Weingarten unravels various elements of her character, initially displaying her as dishearteningly stoic, he ends the story with an act of selflessness: Lyn Balfour opting to carry another couples baby. In David Grann’s “Trial By Fire” the story is structured around the climax of the fire. In the anecdote, we are just given information about the fire, and the devastating loss of Willingham’s children, and given no evidence provided against Willingham. (Nevertheless, the caption under the title reads: “Did Texas execute an innocent man?” thus, I am somewhat aware of the story’s route.) Contrastingly, if read like a hard news story, all of the facts and figures would be provided in the first couple of sentences.
A couple pages in, we learn that Willingham is arrested for the murder of his children. Upon being introduced to him, we sympathize with him, and when we hear of his dark past, we as readers question his motives. The story for me, really took a turn with quotes from the letters with Katie Gilbert. When he is imprisoned he is presented as introspective, articulate, and remorseful. Grann develops multi-faceted layers to a man who is incarcerated for murder:

“Here I am this person who nobody on the outside is ever going to know as a human, who has lost so much, but still trying to hold on,” he wrote her afterward. “But you came back! I don’t think you will ever know of what importance that visit was in my existence.”

Willingham is not the only character developed in this piece. Much like a well crafted work of fiction, you are able to develop ideas about the other characters in the story. Grann does not only a great job at characterizing the various people involved in the trial, but provides essential information in order to understand what their stance is in the trial. Without directly telling you, Grann adroitly illuminates multiple stances of the trial simultaneously. For example, he does not use flat adjectives to depict medical expert James P. Grigson (who we learn was expelled from the American Psychiatric Association for violating ethical regulations) or the prosecutor Jackson, who uses an iron maiden poster as an evidence for malicious intent. As Willingham’s wife, Stacy, responds to these accusations I am able to grasp Jackson’s accusatory tone, in addition to her discomfort.

This response would be incomplete without mentioning the final quotation. The quotation from Willingham, right before he receives the lethal injection is Grann’s “kicker” (which feels like an inappropriate term, as the ending is quite heart-wrenching) which would leave any reader upset, sympathetic confused, if not at least questioning the American justice system. Before this quote, we are provided with other various details of Willingham’s last supper, and a brief discourse with his friends and family. These pages are loaded with emotion and drama. Grann has included a plethora of details, details that are essentially humanizing a news story. What might be read in the newspaper as “Willingham receives death penalty. Dies at 6:20 PM” becomes a relatable story. I immediately considered saying goodbye to my family members, or if I would choose to have three beef enchiladas and BBQ ribs as my last meal. To feel possessed by the victim’s introspective quality, is atypical for a homicide story. In that sense, Grann has taken a risk, a risk that is successfully evocative, climactic, and empathetic.