A Soul on Trial: A Marine Corps Mystery at the Turn of the Twentieth Century is the true story of an unprecedented conflict between democratic values and military justice in the age when the modern mass media was born. It is also a riveting tale of the power of the press a century ago, and of the lives of young officers whose private battles were often as challenging as their professional ones. After her son died under mysterious circumstances in 1907, Rosa Brant Sutton came 3000 miles from Portland, Oregon to challenge the Navy’s suicide finding. Inspired by her Catholic faith and several alleged postmortem visits from “Jimmie,” she embarked on a crusade to save his soul from the stigma of a mortal sin. Her spiritual battle soon became a political one that captivated the nation. ( Click on bars to the right for much more.)