Edgar Smith was sentenced to death for the murder of teenager Victoria Zielinski and in prison in the 1960s when William F. Buckley, founder of the National Review and well-known conservative pundit, struck up an unlikely friendship with him. Through his connection with Buckley, Smith was eventually freed from prison, got a book deal, achieved some fame…and tried to commit murder again. His story is a fascinating look at who gets a second chance, whose stories are believed and not believed, and in what ways the justice system can be manipulated. Scoundrel: How a Convicted Murderer Persuaded the Women Who Loved Him, the Conservative Establishment, and the Courts to Set Him Free is the account of this story by the wonderful writer Sarah Weinman.
![Author Sarah Weinman](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/76a07e8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6199x7293+0+0/resize/880x1035!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9e%2F5a%2F52737fbf475f8f4546f12b8273d7%2Fsarah-weinman-author-photo-credit-nina-subin-0521.jpg)
Read Sarah Weinman's twice-monthly Crime column for theNew York Times Book Review.