11/15/1998
Chapter one:
The
day her world changed
The fire erupted in Terri Hinson's
home
early one October morning in 1996. It killed her young son. Her
daughter
almost died. Then, in the midst of her grief, investigators charged her
with murder and arson, launching her on a quest for the truth. Her
story,
told in eight parts, begins today.
11/16/1998
Chapter two:
The
investigation leads to her, but she knows it's a mistake
In its Oct. 21, 1996, edition, The
News
Reporter in Whiteville quoted Tabor City authorities as saying the
house
fire that killed a 17-month-old boy was an accident. Privately,
authorities
believed the fire was set, the child murdered and the suspect obvious.
11/17/1998
Chapter
three:
Out on bond, her life highly restricted, Terri finds a new interest
Hours after Terri Hinson was charged
with
capital murder and arson, a judge appointed Whiteville lawyer T. Craig
Wright to represent her. In 25 years of practicing law, Wright had
defended
two people facing the death penalty. He lost both cases.
11/18/1998
Chapter
four:
On the Internet, Terri finally finds the help she seeks
Terri Hinson spent hours on the new
computer.
When she wasn't setting up programs t o help her fiance in his
construction
company, she was searching the World Wide Web. She looked for
universities
that might have put North Carolina's laws on line, but the General
Statutes
weren't available over the Internet yet. death penalty. He lost both
cases.
11/19/1998
Chapter
five:
Accused mother slowly builds defense, in part upon new friendship
In early January, as her mother lay
in
the hospital recover ing from a stroke, Terri Hinson Strickland got a
call
from her sister in Mississippi. Concerned about their mother, Ann
Hinson
said she had telephoned Terri's lawyer and blessed him out for doing
nothing
about Terri's case. She warned T. Craig Wright that she would come to
Columbus
County to picket the courthouse -- and she'd tip off the TV stations
and
newspapers, too.
11/20/1998
Chapter six:
The
expert's tests unlock the mystery of the fire's origin
Before the Texans traveled to North
Carolina
the last weekend in M arch, Ken Gibson sent Terri Strickland e-mail to
say he and Gerald Hurst, his friend of more than 20 years, were just
down-home
folks, really. In fact, Gibson wrote, Hurst would probably be wearing
his
''uniform,'' but she shouldn't be concerned.
11/21/1998
Chapter
seven:
As the prosecutor watches, chemist confronts investigator
Terri Strickland sat up in bed,
yelling.
Another nightmare. Even when good things were happening, she still had
nightmares of fire.
11/22/1998
Chapter
eight:
Terri is free and vindicated, but triumph is bittersweet
On the morning of April 17, Terri
Strickland
answered the telephone and heard the voice of her lawyer, T. Craig
Wright.
Well, Terri, it's like this, he said. They've dropped the charges.
Sources
''Terri's
Fire''
is the product of dozens of interviews, hours of document review, four
trips to Columbus County, and one to Austin, Texas, over nine months.
Terri's
Tribute
to Joshua
Terri's poetic tribute to her son
was
posted on the SpiritLink web site in remembrance of his birthday.
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