Defending the Devil: My Story as Ted Bundy's Last Lawyer

by Polly Nelson

Book Overview

Charged with defending the convicted and unrepentant mass murderer Ted Bundy during the last three years of his life, newly-minted Washington, D. C. attorney Polly Nelson fought to keep him out of the electric chair. In the now-classic Defending the Devil, she recounts with powerful honesty her own challenging role in the drama. Viewing herself as a compassionate humanitarian first, Nelson reveals her struggle to uphold her professional vow to...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 163561791X
• ISBN13: 9781635617917
• Release Date: February 2019
• Publisher: Echo Point Books & Media
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great

Book just came in the mail & it is in fantastic shape ! I have no complaints at all.

Lawyer for Ted writes well

I was pleased with how well the author wrote the story. She came across very polished. Very insightful on Bundy. She did appear to have made a connecton with Ted, and he had her sympathies. She appeared to have seen his vulnerable side, or fell for his deception. She also remarks on things about Ted that shed light on how he could do his crimes. I received more insight from this book than on many others. What she described that Ted said about what really happened at the Seattle lake resort (I've been there and lived in Seattle) where he got two victims was interesting. Other writers claim that he said he put both victms together, in this version, he claims he didn't. Sometimes you think Ted is talking to these women (there was another woman in the book with his attorney) in a way that paints him in the best light, so you wonder if he's soft pedaling what he really did, which as we know was horrendous acts of necrophilia. But a very good read overall.

Informative & Insightful--An Excellent Book!

Defending The Devil is an excellent book. Polly Nelson provides a detailed account of the struggle involved in being Ted Bundy's last lawyer. I deeply appreciated her straightforward sharing of her emotions, the criminal 'justice' system, and her knowledge of Ted Bundy. Here is a rare insightful look at an intelligent man who sadly took a path into darkness...yet Nelson sees also his humanity... I learned an incredible amount from this book--about the legal procedures & difficulties in defending such a notorious capital case, about the evils of a society which executes its own citizens in the name of justice, and details about a man most wish to view only as a 'monster,' but whom Nelson provides a more in-depth look at based on her own experiences. I commend Polly Nelson for having the courage to fight the case to save his life...and I thank her for sharing her experiences and thoughts in her excellent book! This book is well written, provocative, thought-provoking...and I highly recommend it to all with an interest in law (criminal defense), psychology, and social justice...I recommend it to all with an open mind who care about learning the truth in several areas this book explores.

A very good behind-the-scenes look

In early 1986, a young attorney named Polly Nelson took on a case that would catapult her name into the headlines. Yet because the job was to save Ted Bundy from Florida's electric chair, the publicity wasn't favorable. Reporters would invariably ask "what about the victims?" and Nelson would have no answer. In the end, Nelson and her colleagues would fail to persuade the courts that Bundy deserved to live, and he would be put to death in January 1989. Even staunch death penalty foes refused to protest at the prison as Bundy, the very personification of evil, died in Old Sparky.This is much more than a sob story for Ted Bundy, however. Nelson's book has an agenda, but it really doesn't involve deifying Bundy. Rather, Nelson believes that the American justice system is unfair to convicts facing death sentences, and her passion is clearly not for Ted Bundy but instead for justice. Keep in mind that she was a neophyte attorney with very little experience -- she didn't even know who Ted Bundy was when she took the case. Her story isn't just about a horrible serial killer; it's about the judges and court clerks and prosecutors and public defenders who together held a man's life in their hands. She does put forth some questionable theories, such as Bundy's being mentally ill (manic depressive) and being forcibly tranquilized on the day of his critical May 1979 plea hearing, but to her credit she appears to simply be acting as a good lawyer who is exploring all the evidence -- not as someone who thinks Bundy got a raw deal and should go free.If you are a true crime fan who also has an interest in jurisprudence, this book will probably interest you. If instead you are primarily interested in Bundy himself, this book still has plenty of relevant information to offer. For example, Nelson exposes the role of Diana Weiner as being more than just Bundy's civil attorney. She discusses Bundy's meetings with psychiatrist Dr. Dorothy Lewis. And she offers a great deal of insight into Bundy's Florida trials where Bundy sometimes acted as his own counsel, essentially signing his own death warrant with his grandstanding. This book is a very good supplement to the other books on Ted Bundy.

Fascinating story of a young lawyer's trial by fire.

This book surprised me. I bought it to read about Ted Bundy, but I became even more interested in what it was like to be the young laywer who represented him as he was about to be put to death. You stand in the author's shoes as she faces her conflicts and dilemmas--and some humorous situations as well! I enjoyed reading it very much.

The last and closest look at America's most nororious killer

Just as Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me gave us an eyewitness account of the beginnings and middle of Ted Bundy's gruesome criminal career, Defending the Devil gives us an up-close look at the end. Consider this a companion piece.