Scott Turow: 'I Really Didn’t Like Having a Gun Pointed at Me"

Part 4 of The Patch Interview with Author Scott Turow

Q: Last time we met, you told me about an experience that led you to question the credibility of eye-witness testimony…
Turow: I was held up at one point. My ex-wife and I, we drove into a parking lot of a restaurant in Marin County, and our beloved landlord, Albert, was going to be our host. And I saw these two young men come running up, and I thought they were the parking attendants! [laughs] We got out of the car, and they pointed the gun at me and they wanted our wallets.

My ex was so petrified that not only did she hand over her wallet, she handed over her glasses. [laughs] For which I do not blame her, at all. I was always proud that I had the courage just to put my arm around her. ’Cause it’s a bad moment and your natural instinct is to think about your own survival. Albert, on the other hand, got out and started fighting with them.

I finally just turned around and said, “Albert, give him your f**king wallet before he kills you.” And he did, and he said afterwards, “The gun was plastic! I felt it!”

And I said, “Well, why didn’t you say that instead of what you were doing?”

Q: What was the resolution?
Turow: They caught a young man using my credit card. So they called me down for a line-up. And I couldn’t identify him. So I show up for court to testify. And he’s a poor kid, so what does he do? He’s no longer in the jail jumpsuit. He’s now wearing exactly the same clothes he wore the night he stuck me up!

And of course, all the sudden when I see the pants and the silhouette, I grab the prosecutor: “That’s the guy, right? That’s the defendant!” But I absolutely could not make him without those clues. The accomplice was never identified.

So, I testify against him in the preliminary hearing, and all they can get him on is using my credit card for $3 worth of gas and a can of oil. But it’s three years in jail for that. So, after I testify, I wait, talk to the prosecutor, I get on the elevator and who gets on with me alone but the defendant.

He said, “Oh, those were some heavy charges, man, those were some really heavy charges.”

I said, “Well, I gotta be honest with you, I really didn’t like having a gun pointed at me. But, maybe you didn’t do that.” And I said, “And three years for $3 worth of gas and a can of oil. Yeah, I’ll grant you, that’s kind of heavy.”

And he looks at me and he says, “Yeah man, that’s the law though, and when you use the card, you know that.” And the elevator doors opened and we went our separate ways and we sort of had our little peace. And you know, he pled for a great deal less than that. The prosecutors told me he was going to catch between 90 days and six months.

Q: How did that affect you?
Turow: What I learned from that experience is, when you have a gun pointed at you, you are not much of an observer. All you’re thinking about is “am I going to be okay? Is my wife going to be okay?” I mean, you almost don’t want to look him for fear that it’ll offend him and they’ll blow you away. But oddly, when I was a prosecutor, I remember Elizabeth Loftus, who’s a great psychologist, and one of the pioneers in this area. Somehow I met her inside the doors of the U.S. Attorney’s office, and she started telling me that eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. My initial inclination was to go, “No, no, no, no, no!” But she was right.

Scott Turow will present the sixth Barbara Ballinger Lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 7:30 pm at Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street in Oak Park. A reception, book sale, and signing will follow the lecture. The event is free and open to the public. Doors will open at 7 pm. The Main Library's Parking Garage will remain open through the reception.

Read more of this interview

Introduction: Turow on ebooks and the future of publishing. "I refer to Amazon as the Darth Vader of the publishing industry."

Part 2: Turow on his writing process, the book he's currently working on and the influence of Chicago writer Saul Bellow on his work.

Part 3: Turow on Studs Terkel, the roots of corruption and Illinois politics.

Part 5: For fanatical Turow fans, we offer the longer, more complete interview.

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