Download or read book The Wayward Girls of Samarcand written by Melton Alonza McLaurin and published by . This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wayward Girls of Samarcand is the true story of the sensational 1931 Arson Trial in North Carolina. Sixteen poor white teenage girls faced the death penalty for burning down two dormitories at the State Reform School for Girls. Crusading journalist, socialite, and attorney Nell Battle Lewis defended her clients by exposing sadistic treatment, deplorable conditions, and forced sterilization presided over by Samarcand superintendent Agnes B. MacNaughton. In this her first and last trial, Lewis saved the defendants from the electric chair.