Andy Thibault Joins Byrd's Books in Bethel to Discuss 'More Cool Justice' on Nov. 19

We welcome journalist Andy Thibault for an exciting evening as he discusses his latest book, “More Cool Justice”.
About the book:

Andy Thibault is the author of the newly released “more COOL JUSTICE”, a second collection of hard-hitting essays credited with helping to free a woman unjustly convicted of first degree murder. Novelist Chandra Prasad calls Thibault “Connecticut’s premiere journalistic warrior.” Wally Lamb says: “Thibault is a junkyard dog for justice who bares his teeth at pomposity and institutional unfairness and only bites the truly deserving.” Thibault was honored by the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information in 2014 with the Stephen Collins Award for his “many contributions to the cause of open and accountable government and a free and vigorous press.” His first collection, “Law and Justice in Everyday Life”, was published in 2002, featuring an introduction by Howard Zinn and foreword by F. Lee Bailey. (true crime, journalism)
About the author:

Thibault is chairman emeritus of the Connecticut Young Writers Trust and has taught at Western Connecticut State University, the University of Hartford and Northwestern Connecticut Community College. Mr. Thibault has been an editor at such publications as The Hartford Courant, The Stamford Advocate, The Commercial Record, Norwich Bulletin, Register Citizen and The Times Leader. His profiles of subjects including poets and prosecutors, as well as essays on the arts, have appeared in Connecticut Magazine and Northeast Magazine. His work has also appeared on “Page Six” of The New York Post. He is a former commissioner and hearing officer for the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, an agency charged with opening access to government records; a former vice chairman of the Litchfield Board of Education and a former board member of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts.

Thibault’s work as an investigative reporter and feature writer has earned numerous state and national awards. A judge from the Society of Professional Journalists writing competition said this about Thibault’s probe of the cover-up of a hit-and-run death in a Connecticut city: “The writer explores whether New London’s former mayor benefited from a widespread cover-up for the 1973 hit-and-run death of a college student. Witty, compelling — the writer has a knack for speaking in conversational tone, all the while quietly weaving in crucial facts to support his arguments that more people should be outraged by the shoddy circumstances surrounding the 1973 investigation.”

He co-authored and edited a series on the court system’s handling of a juvenile sexual assault case in 1982 and 1983 that led to changes in Connecticut law regarding the status of juveniles in adult court. The series won first place prizes from the National Newspaper Association for investigative reporting, the New England Press Association for community service and the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists for in-depth reporting. Twice since 1999 Thibault’s notes and sources were sought by a lawyer who subpoenaed him to federal court. He refused to give up the sources and notes, and the court and the lawyer eventually left him alone. His legal expenses were subsidized by friends, colleagues, pro bono assistance from attorneys Phil Russell, Roy Ward and Norm Pattis and the Society of Professional Journalists Legal Defense Fund.