"West Texas cops knew, in 1981, that just about anything could happen at the Sand and Sage Motel in Odessa. An oil boom that year had brought droves of fortune seekers, almost all of them men, ambitious, but some of them hungry for trouble. Roughnecks and wildcatters drank and fought when they weren't deep in the dangerous oil fields and by 1982, Odessa had become the murder capital of the United States."
"The tragic story of the brutal death of a Limerick priest in Texas, and the man wrongfully convicted of his murder"
West Texas law enforcement recognized in 1981 that the Sand and Sage Motel in Odessa was a volatile location. An oil boom drew large numbers of predominantly male fortune seekers, including roughnecks and wildcatters. These men often drank, fought, and worked in dangerous oil fields. Violence escalated and by 1982 Odessa had become the murder capital of the United States. A Limerick priest was brutally killed in Texas. A man was wrongfully convicted of the priest's murder. The case exemplifies the chaotic social conditions and miscarriages of justice tied to rapid economic booms.
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