Luanne Sberna
asked
Thomas Hunt:
What inspired you to write about Charles Sberna? It was surprising to see a book about someone with whom I share a last name, and coincidentally, by an author near where I live! L. Sberna
Thomas Hunt
Hi Luanne. Thanks for your question.
My initial interest was sparked when I looked into issues relating to capital punishment. It has been argued that a number of those executed by the criminal justice system turn out to have been wrongly convicted. I noted that lists of the "wrongly executed" were assembled. Charles Sberna's name appeared on such lists. Additional research turned up Walter Winchell's old newspaper columns, in which Sberna was identified as the one executed man Sing Sing Warden Lawes knew was innocent.
Interesting story!
So, I picked up a copy of Lawes' book, Meet the Murderer, and found a name-changed account of the Sberna situation. It was then that I decided to do my first writing on the subject. I put together an article for a crime history journal in 2006.
During research, I stumbled on Sberna's connection to the Mafia, a subject of great interest to me. Sberna appeared in a family tree I assembled for U.S. Mafia boss of bosses Giuseppe Morello.
I didn't do much more with the Sberna story until what I thought was unrelated research - into a series of anarchist bombings in New York City - turned up the name of his father. Giuseppe Sberna fled the U.S. as local, state and federal officials closed in on him. That's when I began to wonder if the son of an anarchist-terrorist leader and son-in-law of a Mafia boss of bosses could possibly get a fair trial.
My initial interest was sparked when I looked into issues relating to capital punishment. It has been argued that a number of those executed by the criminal justice system turn out to have been wrongly convicted. I noted that lists of the "wrongly executed" were assembled. Charles Sberna's name appeared on such lists. Additional research turned up Walter Winchell's old newspaper columns, in which Sberna was identified as the one executed man Sing Sing Warden Lawes knew was innocent.
Interesting story!
So, I picked up a copy of Lawes' book, Meet the Murderer, and found a name-changed account of the Sberna situation. It was then that I decided to do my first writing on the subject. I put together an article for a crime history journal in 2006.
During research, I stumbled on Sberna's connection to the Mafia, a subject of great interest to me. Sberna appeared in a family tree I assembled for U.S. Mafia boss of bosses Giuseppe Morello.
I didn't do much more with the Sberna story until what I thought was unrelated research - into a series of anarchist bombings in New York City - turned up the name of his father. Giuseppe Sberna fled the U.S. as local, state and federal officials closed in on him. That's when I began to wonder if the son of an anarchist-terrorist leader and son-in-law of a Mafia boss of bosses could possibly get a fair trial.
More Answered Questions
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more