THROUGH THE GLASS

A young woman's page-turning account of how she faced the trauma that came in the aftermath of sadistic sex crimes perpetrated by her husband.

When Canadian restorative-justice advocate Moroney met Jason Staples, she thought she'd found the perfect man. Not long after their first encounter, however, Staples revealed his troubled past, which included his incarceration for a murder he committed at 18. Troubled as she was by his confession, Moroney eventually decided to begin a relationship with him—"[e]verything in my heart, mind, and body told me it was the right choice.” The couple married after a happy three-year courtship that included more than two years of cohabitation. But just one month after their union, their picture-perfect world collapsed when police confronted Moroney with the news that Staples had kidnapped and raped two women. Neither she nor anyone else (including his parole officer and psychologist) could believe what had happened, and public outrage began to swirl around the case. Soon, the young newlywed found herself jobless, abandoned by friends and victimized by the justice system. Yet for all the hardships she endured, Moroney refused to sever ties with Staples. Instead, she chose to work through her grief and anger by trying to understand what had driven her husband to commit such heinous crimes. It was only by forgiving the man she had once loved that she believed she could learn to love and trust again.

Moroney's compassion and courage are remarkable, but her story is disturbing because of the questions it raises about the effectiveness of criminal rehabilitation, particularly where violent felons are concerned.