Once upon a time - Harry N MacLean

In a widely publicized court case, Eileen Franklin, a 30-year-old woman, claimed that one day in 1989, as she was observing her own daughter at play, she suddenly had a vivid flash-back of a violent murder she had witnessed as a little girl.;Eileen said that as an eight-year-old she had watched in horror as her best friend, Susan Nason, was assaulted and murdered. As her memory sharpened, she remembered that the killer was her own father. He had threatened that if she ever told anyone, he'd kill her too. So Eileen, it was alleged, buried the memory deep in her subconscious. Eileen's recovered memory was convincing enough to make the District Attorney reopen the 20-year-old case, and although there was no corroborating evidence and all of Eileen's "inside" information was in the public domain, her testimony in the courtroom was so effective that George Franklin was convicted and is now serving a life sentence for murder.;In this book, MacLean reveals many facts about the case, and provides a day-to-day account of the trial. The book explores the possibility that Eileen Franklin has a false memory of the killing, and details the discussion the case inspired regarding how the human mind represses trauma and the legal precedent that was set by allowing such testimony to be heard. Ultimately, he uncovers the cruel and brutal history of the man whose evil destroyed his own family, whether or not he took the life of a little girl.;MacLean had access to most of the key figures, including Eileen's mother and abused sisters, the lawmen who put together the case, the lawyers who tried it, the judge and the jurors. Harry MacLean is the author of "Broad Daylight".