Almost Midnight: An American Story of Murder and Redemption
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A GOOD BOY TURNED BAD...Kind, well-liked, and a good student, Darrell Mease was the pride of his tiny Ozarks town of Reeds Spring, Missouri. His mother even thought Darrell had a special calling and might be a preacher someday. But when he returned from the Vietnam War, everyone agreed something had changed in him. Darrell was no longer the even-tempered, sweet kid they all remembered, but instead a heavy drinker who soon became immersed in the drug underworld.A BRUTAL TRIPLE MURDER...Drug dealer Lloyd Lawrence was accustomed to getting his own way, especially when someone double-crossed him. So when Darrell Mease fled with a hefty stash of Lawrence's crank, methamphetamine, he took a contract out on the Vietnam Vet. But Lawrence had underestimated Darrell, who got tired of running and decided to fix the problem once and for all. He drove back to Missouri and gunned down Lawrence on his property along with his wife and paraplegic grandson. A LIFE SAVED... It wasn't long before authorities caught up with Darrell and his young girlfriend on the run. Convicted of murder, he was sentenced to die by lethal injection. In prison, Darrell found his faith again and became convinced that "God was his lawyer" and would save him from execution. Many thought he was living in a fantasy world. But the miracle Darrell was waiting for finally happened when in a bizarre twist of fate, he received a death row intervention from none other than the visiting Pope John Paul II... "A fascinating-and often chilling read."—MSNBC"Crisp, informative, and evocative...compelling, vibrant, rich with winning details."—The Washington Post Publishers Weekly Darrell Mease, the Ozarks-born convicted murderer who got a death row intervention from Pope John Paul II in 1998 (the execution was to take place on the day the Pope visited St. Louis), is at the center of this true crime saga. Cuneo (American Exorcism) follows Mease from his religious upbringing in the backwoods of Missouri, through his tour in Vietnam and baptism into the crystal methamphetamines trade to his love affair with Mary Epps and brutal murder of a drug kingpin, his wife and disabled grandson. Cuneo looks closely at Mease's time in prison, where he rediscovers religion and, while professing "God is my lawyer," is miraculously delivered from lethal injection just as he predicted he would be. Cuneo's detailed descriptions of the virtues (loyalty, self-reliance, faith, family) and negatives (violence, chemical dependency, lawlessness) of the Ozarks' culture not only fleshes out Mease's personality but also vividly portrays this overlooked area of Americana. Cuneo's skillful writing allows him to convey the romantic notions of Mease's outlaw ways and travels on America's back roads, while never romanticizing the violence or the hand-to-mouth living. The book could use a little more analysis, however, on the impact Vietnam and crystal meth had on Mease's psyche and behavior. When all is said and done, one cannot help but appreciate Cuneo's in-depth, interwoven stories of Mease and the Ozarks. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
