Dixie's Last Stand

Dixie Shanahan had a terribly troubled and abusive marriage in the sleepy little town of Defiance, Iowa. Then one summer day in 2002, Dixie's mean and wicked husband was gone. Some of the local residents presumed that Scott packed his bags and left town. But others were skeptical. After all, Scott's brown Ford pick-up truck was still parked in his driveway. The disappearance mystified Defiance for more than a year. Then in late October, 2003, the truth emerged ... or did it? The gray ranch along Third Avenue in the sleepy Midwestern town of less than 400 people was the recurring site of screaming, mad chaos and horrific domestic violence. Then one day, abusive husband Scott Shanahan was gone. Some thought he packed his bags and left town. Weeks passed. Months went by. Still no sign of the volatile wife beater. But what really happened to him was so shocking and so unbelievable that even grizzled, long-time law enforcement officials were aghast by the sight and awful smell. The town wondered why Dixie Shanahan managed to live with her husband's rotting body inside her master bedroom - for fourteen months. "In Dixie's Last Stand, journalist John Ferak gives us an impeccably researched and well-written account of the Dixie Shanahan case. The Iowa woman killed her husband after enduring years of abuse. Ferak weaves a gripping narrative while exploring important topics such as battered wife syndrome and mandatory sentencing laws. Highly recommended." - Robert Sberna, author of HOUSE OF HORRORS, the shocking true story of Anthony Sowell. "A well-written, and gripping depiction of 'battered wife syndrome'. ... This fascinating story will leave you asking yourself one question: Was the punishment that Dixie received in her case justified? Highly recommended for all true crime readers." - RJ Parker, bestselling true crime author and publisher at RJ Parker Publishing Inc. From the author: DIXIE'S LAST STAND: WAS IT MURDER OR SELF-DEFENSE? presents a number of interesting dilemmas for America's criminal justice system. Do these get-tough-on-crime mandatory prison sentencing laws that tend to treat all violent crimes in a cookie-cutter fashion need to be abolished? And what's the fine line between self-defense and intentional, premeditated murder in a case that involves repeated instances of domestic violence? Under that scenario, should it be OK for the spouse who feels trapped and threatened in a horribly abusive and rocky marriage to go ahead and kill her lousy, no-good husband? On the other spectrum, what if the facts of the death scene were pretty black and white. What if the domestic violence victim was not being beaten or threatened at that particular time? What if the woman just killed her abusive husband during the night while he comfortably slept? If those were the cold, hard facts, should the woman be thrown in prison and treated like any other hardened, cold-blooded killer who takes up space in one of our country's many maximum security prisons?