The Case of the Autographed Corpse

A Medicine Man and a Mystery Writer in Pursuit of Justice

Jack El-Hai

The true-crime saga of the intertwined lives of a Native spiritual leader and a prominent literary figure—and their shared work in their pursuit to right a tragic wrongful conviction.

Silas John Edwards—a charismatic Apache medicine man—was known as a controversial figure on Apache reservations in Arizona and New Mexico, where white authorities determined to maintain control over reservation life. When his wife, Margaret, was brutally murdered in 1933, Silas John was tried and convicted—receiving a sentence of life in prison. The key piece of evidence against Silas John was a rock found near Margaret's body, scratched with his initials, “S. J. E.".

Were the scratched initials an attempt to frame a man whose independent path was deemed troublesome? Eighteen years into Silas John’s sentence, the celebrated writer of the Perry Mason mysteries, Erle Stanley Gardner, received a desperate letter from the incarcerated medicine man. Gardner and Silas John met in prison and joined forces to reinvestigate the case. Under the auspices of Gardner’s Court of Last Resort, an organization like today’s Innocence Project that investigated cases of wrongful conviction, Gardner traveled through Arizona’s varied reservation landscapes to hunt for clues.

Together Silas John and Gardner attempted to unravel the flimsy evidence—including dubious footprint casts and questionable claims of Apache custom—to shatter the "cement silence" of prison and fight for the freedom of a historically important spiritual leader. The Case of the Autographed Corpse details a dramatic and little-known episode in American history and two men’s unwavering commitment to the truth.

Jack El-Hai is an author and journalist who has written for The Atlantic, Smithsonian, GQ, Wired, Scientific American, Discover, and many other publications. His books, including The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, The Lobotomist, The Lost Brothers, and Face in the Mirror, have been translated into twenty foreign languages. He often gives lectures on writing and medical history, and Jack publishes the Damn History newsletter for readers and writers of history. Jack lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for Jack El-Hai’s The Nazi and the Psychiatrist:

“The book is a page turner.” NPR

“This intimate and insightful portrait of two intersecting, outsized personalities—one an exemplar of public service and the other an avatar of evil—is as suspenseful as a classic Hitchcock film that hinges on an eerie psychological secret. Readers of The Nazi and the Psychiatrist will be riveted by Jack El-Hai's moving study of how good and evil can converge in a heightened instant and across a lifetime.” Andrew Solomon, Nation Book Award–winning author of Far from the Tree

“In the chilling tale of Dr. Douglas Kelley, a young U.S. Army psychiatrist and his secret evaluations of Nazi leader Hermann Göring, Jack El-Hai weaves a harrowing narrative that brilliantly probes the depths of evil. [A]n utterly fascinating book.” Glibert King, Pulitzer Prize–winning aithor of Devil in the Grove

“If you liked Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt, try The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai.” Psychology Today

“A detailed, meticulously researched book about a man who showed that evil can arise anywhere.” The Independent

“Gripping and compelling.” The Daily Mail

“With full access to Kelley’s notes on Nazi psychology, El-Hai infuses his story with the messy, compelling details of people’s lives. These tug the reader inside Kelley’s head for an engrossing exploration of human nature, sanity, and despair.” Science News

“Ace reportage on the unique relationship between a prison physician and one of the Third Reich’s highest ranking officials. El-Hai’s gripping account turns a chilling page in American history and provides an unsettling meditation on the machinations of evil.” Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Journalist El-Hai’s haunting historical account raises questions about the human capacity to cause harm. In this thoroughly engaging story of the jocular master war criminal and the driven, self-aware psychiatrist, El-Hai finds no simple binary.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Well researched and well written.” Library Journal