S6 Ep1: Brief Against Death: The Murder of Victoria Zielinski

About this episode

The episode discusses the case of Edgar Smith, who was sentenced to death for the murder of Victoria Zielinski and his efforts to argue his innocence through writing.

In 1957, Edgar Smith was sentenced to death for the murder of a teenage girl in New Jersey. From his prison cell, he began writing letters, essays and arguments build a case not in court, but on the page. One of those letters landed on the desk of William F. Buckley Jr. Others found their way into elite literary circles. Soon, a condemned man had powerful allies, a book deal and a growing audience convinced the system had gotten it wrong. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com

People in this episode

Host: Amber Hunt

Topics covered

• murder
• death penalty
• justice system
• literary advocacy
• true crime
• historical crime

Keywords

• Edgar Smith
• Victoria Zielinski
• murder case
• death penalty
• William F. Buckley Jr.
• true crime
• 1957
• New Jersey

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Crimes of the Centuries

Places: New Jersey

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