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In 1957, Edgar Smith—a new father in his early 20s—was sentenced to death for the murder of a 15-year-old girl named Victoria in Ramsey, N.J. In 1971, as he maintained his innocence, his sentence was commuted, and he was released from prison. Within a few years, however, he had stabbed a woman and was again imprisoned, this time for the rest of his life. While he was on trial, he admitted to Victoria’s murder. In her latest true-crime offering, Sarah Weinman delivers what she describes as “a story of a wrongful conviction in reverse,” diving deep into Smith’s life, crimes, and ability to con. —Angela Haupt
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