Addiction on Trial: Tragedy in Downeast Maine
by Steven Kassels ’68
AuthorHouse, October 2013
When Downeast local Annette Fiorno is found at the bottom of a ravine, outsider and relapsed drug addict Jimmy Sedgwick is accused of murder. Unassuming Maine lawyer Rob Hanston and big-shot attorney Shawn Marks form an unlikely legal team as they attempt to discredit the overwhelming evidence. Addiction on Trial, the first in a series of Shawn Marks thrillers, sends a powerful message of societal discrimination toward drug addicts and explores common misperceptions about what drug addiction really is — a chronic illness requiring a similar treatment approach as other chronic diseases. Medical and behavioral aspects of addiction are woven into the thriller, which culminates in a riveting murder trial.
Dr. Steven Kassels is an author and physician, board-certified in addiction and emergency medicine. He has served as chief of emergency medicine at an inner-city hospital and is now the medical director and founder of Community Substance Abuse Centers. He is a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and shares his time between Boston and Downeast Maine.