Laura Caldwell

Biography

Laura Caldwell is a Lawyer-turned-Author-turned-Life Saver. She is a former civil trial attorney, now Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Director of Life After Innocence, published author of 10 novels and one nonfiction book.

With novels published in over 22 countries and translated into more than 13 languages, Caldwell had left the law behind, or so she thought. Research on her 6th novel led her to the criminal case of Jovan Mosley, a young man charged with murder and sitting in a Cook County holding cell for over 5 years without a trial.

Compelled by his story, Caldwell joined a renowned criminal defense attorney to defend him, ultimately proving his innocence and inspiring her first nonfiction book, Long Way Home: A Young Man Lost in the System and the Two Women Who Found Him (Free Press, Simon & Schuster).

By working with Mosley, and witnessing his intense struggle to assimilate into a now foreign and unfriendly world, Caldwell became keenly aware that while many programs are available for ex-offenders after their release, the innocent in most states receive no assistance.

Caldwell was moved to create Life After Innocence, an innovative and first of its kind program that aids exonerees--people who have been wrongfully convicted and later found completely innocent--to begin their lives again and reclaim their rights as citizens.

Caldwell`s fictional work began in the women`s fiction genre, and she soon turned to writing mysteries and thrillers, most recently focusing her attention on a returning character, Izzy McNeil. The series has received critical acclaim and nominations for prestigious industry awards. Laura Caldwell is also a freelance magazine writer and has been widely published both domestically and internationally.

Publications

Long Way Home: A Young Man Lost in the System and the Two Women Who Found Him

Nineteen-year-old Jovan Mosley, a good kid from one of Chicago`s very bad neighborhoods, was coerced into confessing to a crime he didn`t commit. Charged with murder, he spent five years and eight months in a prison for violent criminals. Without a trial.

Jovan grew up on the rough streets of Chicago`s Southeast side. With one brother dead of HIV complications, another in jail for arson and murder, and most kids his age in gangs, Jovan struggled to be different. Until his arrest, he was. He excelled in school, dreamed of being a lawyer, and had been accepted to Ohio State.

Then on august 6, 1999, Jovan witnessed a fight that would result in a man`s death. Six months later, he was arrested, cruelly questioned, and forced into a confession. Sent to a holding jail for violent criminals, he tried ceaselessly to get a trial so he could argue his case. He studied what casework he could, rigorously questioning his public defenders. But time after time his case was shoved aside. Amiable, bright, and peaceable, he struggled to stay alive in prison. As the years ground on, he`d begun to lose hope when, but chance, he met Catharine O`Daniel, a successful criminal defense lawyer. Although nearly all cases with a signed confession result in conviction, she was so moved by him, and so convinced of his innocence, that Cathy accepted Jovan as her first pro bono client. Cathy asked Laura Caldwell to join her and together they battled for Jovan`s exoneration. Here is Laura`s firsthand account of their remarkable journey.

This is a harrowing true story about justice, friendship, failure, and success. A breakdown of the justice system sent a nice kid to one of the nation`s nastiest jails for nearly six years without a trial. It would take a triumph of human kindness, ingenuity, and legal jousting to give Jovan even a fighting chance.

Deeply affecting, Long Way Home is a remarkable story of how change can happen even in a flawed system and of how friendship can emanate from the most unexpected

Titles

Mind The Gap

Life After Innocence: Stories of Exonerees Overcoming Adversity

How to Become a Successful Leader

The Art and Craft of Writing