Outrage: The Peg Cuttino Story

Coerced Confession

Crime Library Executive Editor Marilyn Bardsley recently received this document dated October 2, 1971 written by Georgia State Prison's Dr. Schlinger who was asked to investigate injuries inflicted on William Pierce Jr. during his April, 1971 questioning at the Appling County, GA, jail.

This document appears to substantiate William Pierce's allegation that his confession to the Peggy Cuttino murder was coerced by physical abuse consisting of burns, bruises, and cuts to his "privates." Had this document been provided to attorneys representing Pierce before his trial, it seems unlikely that, with the other evidence exculpating Pierce that was never presented at his trial, he would not have been convicted of the murder of Peggy Cuttino.

Medical department record

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1. A Child in the Woods
2. A Death in Sumter
3. A Ghost in Flesh and Blood
4. Confession is Good for the Soul
5. Trial and Error
6. Justice Undone
7. Breaking Ranks
8. The Grand Jury
9. Pee Wee's Playhouse
10. Lingering Questions
11. Coerced Confession
12. New Developments, New Questions
13. A Distinguished Jurist
14. Trail of Trials
15. Blow Wind Blow
16. Stashed in the Attic?
17. A New Trial?
18. Legal Complications
19. Bibliography
20. Photo Gallery