As part of his 12-step program, William Beebe apologizes to Liz Seccuro for the harm he caused her. He and others expect Seccuro to forgive and move on. Not surprisingly, this is not something she can do. This excellent piece reconstructs a series of events with good detail; it also gets at the perspectives of both characters. Gelineau portrays them both three-dimensionally: Beebe is not a cookie-cutter villain; Seccuro is not simply a passive victim. As a result, the story offers surprises and touches on interesting ideas.
Notice the way Gelineau handles the he said/she said aspect of the story: She reports what each recalls.
It’s an unusual tale, the kind that readers talk about with friends.
Kristen Gelineau joined The Associated Press in Seattle in 2002. She went on to cover the state legislature in the Olympia, Wash., bureau, with a focus on criminal justice issues. She later completed stints in the Cleveland bureau and again in the Seattle bureau before transferring to the Richmond, Va., bureau in 2004. As Virginia's public safety writer, she covers crime, courts and prisons, specializing in death penalty and DNA issues. She also serves as the designated media witness to all Virginia executions. In 2005 she received an honorable mention for The Associated Press Managing Editors association's John L. Dougherty Award, given to outstanding young journalists. In 2006 she won APME's feature writing award. Gelineau earned a degree in journalism from Boston University in 2001.