About
McCracken King Poston Jr. is an American criminal defense attorney and author. He gained national attention for several notable cases, which were featured on TV series specials such as CNN Presents, Dateline NBC, A&E's American Justice, and Forensic Files. Poston is a practicing defense attorney in Georgia and Tennessee. Poston was elected and served as a state representative in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1989 to 1997. After his defeat in a race for the U.S. Congress in 1996, Poston soon found himself representing Alvin Ridley in a murder trial, which inspired his memoir "Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom" (Citadel, 2024).
Featured Work
Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom
"Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom" (Citadel, 2024), is the true story of Alvin Ridley, a reclusive TV repairman from a small Southern town, accused of murdering his wife after allegedly holding her captive for nearly 30 years. As his lawyer, McCracken Poston Jr. uncovered tragic and misunderstood lives shaped by agoraphobia, epilepsy, and undiagnosed autism. Part courtroom drama, part Southern gothic, and part story of personal redemption, the book reveals how a man long feared by his community was ultimately vindicated, and finally seen.
FINALIST, 2024 Clue Award, True Crime Book of the Year; WINNER, 2025 Georgia Independent Author of the Year (Memoir); WINNER, 2025 Georgia Spotlight Award (Georgia Independent Authors Association); NOMINEE, 2025 Georgia Author of the Year
