When Alaric Hunt was chosen as the winner of a mystery-writing contest that comes with a publishing contract and a $10,000 advance, the judges didn't realize he was serving a life sentence for murder. Hunt wrote the novel, Cuts Through Bone, while incarcerated for starting a fire that killed a woman, Joyce Austin, as he was robbing a jewelry store. In an article for The New York Times Magazine, Sarah Weinman describes how Hunt, though he had been in prison since age 19, used Law & Order episodes and novels set in New York to piece together descriptions of the city for his private-eye story.

She had initially assumed that Hunt wouldn't get the money from his book sales because of "Son of Sam" laws, which prohibit criminals from profiting from their crimes. But South Carolina repealed its version of the law, so Hunt can profit from his sales. Weinman added, "[S]ince he wrote a novel that is so markedly different from the crimes that landed him in prison — that in many ways is closer to the unpublished science fiction and fantasy he wrote for years before — instead of a memoir directly referencing Joyce Austin's death, that adds yet more nuance to the debate."

For the Times article, Weinman interviewed the mother of Hunt's victim, who told her, "This is America. I can't prevent him. Can't even try. But knowing this creates a lot of emotions I don't want to deal with." Weinman told NPR, "I knew I could not possibly report the piece without contacting Joyce Austin's family, as they needed to have a voice here. I hope they speak up further, but it's their choice to do as they wish."

Weinman says that she was drawn to his story after receiving a galley copy of the book and noticing that Hunt's bio said he "is currently serving a life sentence." In an email to NPR, she writes, "I knew there had to be so much more to the story." Asked about the ethics of Hunt profiting from his writing, Weinman says that, "I thought about the ethical issues a lot while reporting out the piece, and I don't believe there are easy answers — nor should there be."