American Taboo: A Murder in the Peace Corps

Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying Congressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here.

American Taboo Read the story of Volunteer Deborah Gardner's murder in Tonga in 1976 and how her killer has been free for the past 28 years with the help of the Peace Corps. Read an excerpt from Philip Weiss' book documenting the murder and coverup. Then read an essay by RPCV Bob Shaconis who says that Peace Corps' treatment as a "sacred cow" has exempted it from public scrutiny and that the agency has labored to preserve its shining reputation, sometimes at the expense of the very principles it is supposed to embody.

AMERICAN TABOO: A Murder in the Peace Corps, by Philip Weiss



AMERICAN TABOO: A Murder in the Peace Corps, by Philip Weiss

AMERICAN TABOO: A Murder in the Peace Corps, by Philip Weiss.

(HarperCollins, $25.95.) A tenacious investigator's account of the death of Deborah Gardner, 23, a Peace Corps volunteer in Tonga in 1976; the man who killed her, another volunteer, was found not guilty by reason of insanity and shipped back to the United States, where he was soon released and appears to be doing just fine.