The Law: Unlocking a Prisoner of Silence

In November 1965 Chicago police arrested Donald Lang, 20, for the murder of a prostitute who had been found in a ghetto alley brutally beaten and stabbed to death. The cops were certain they had their man: the hooker was last seen leaving a nearby tavern with Lang, a Chicago dock worker, and a speedy investigation turned up bloodstained clothing in his apartment. Lang's alibi? He had none. But then he could not talk. Nor could he hear, read, write or use sign language. Lang was a deaf-mute who communicated solely by gestures and rough drawings. Because of this severe disability,...

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