5 comments about Famous Crimes Revisited: From Sacco-Vanzetti to O.J. Simpson.

1. A good, quick read if you are interested in forensics. Be aware there is a very different approach to this book then any other forensic book I have ever read, and I have read alot of them. Dr. Lee gives you the dynamics of each case in point. The cases are Sacco-Vanzetti (from the 1920's), the Lindbergh baby, Sam Sheppard (the story that spawned the movie "the Fugitive" and the TV series by the same name), President Kennedy, Vincent Foster, Jon Bennet Ramsey, and OJ Simpson. Here is the twist. He travels back in time to sit through these trials, not to decide if the verdict is correct, but to see how immature our justice system was (or is... Simpson trial). He shows how prejudices, crime scenes and evidence flawed the cases. He talks about conspiracies, planting incriminating evidence, bumbling crimes scenes, and more. It gets better. Not only does he travel back in time, even back just 8 years (1994 OJ Simpson), but even to trials he was present at(Again, OJ Simpson where he was hired by the defence). Which is not to say is a bad thing.. BUT, he has a buddy that he runs into when he goes back in time. This is where I was ambivilent. I could not decide if it was clever or unnecessary. This 'buddy' was Sam Constant. And although Dr. Lee was always unseen, Sam Constant could be seen to people at will. Sam represented public opinion of the times. He showed prejudices and followed medias. Whatever was the publics main thought, such was his.
   The largest sections of this book was of Sacco-Vanzetti and OJ Simpson. Very small sections on the others, which was the main reson for me to get this book in the first place. It certainly was not a poor read, and Dr. Lee, who just sticks to his science and does not judge, is a very intelligent man. His insights are very interesting, which thankfully were present and made the book worth the read for me. I suppose you will have to decide for yourself.



2. I really enjoy reading different experts' views on famous cases, past and present. Although that is the premise of this book, I did not enjoy reading it. The first sign of trouble is the editor's note explaining the "Sam Constant." If the literary device must be explained to the reader, then it shouldn't be used. The forensic case files in the book are very thin and Dr. Lee either breezes past each one (his excuse being that he didn't need his "time machine" - he had been there for the trial in real time) or just lists questions that have already been raised for years. He offers no solutions and sometimes, he doesn't even offer theories or suspicions. The chapter about OJ takes bizarre disbelief to a new level, and when Sam Constant is mixed into this situation, chaos reigns. The Sam Constant character is really the worst part of this book. The sections featuring him are incredibly absurd, and it is truly vexing that, while Dr. Lee barely scratches the surface of the crimes, he lists in painful detail everywhere he goes, everyone he meets, what is in his room, even what he ate at meals. If Dr. Lee wanted to write a novel, that's fine, he should write a novel. This book was supposed to be about true cases, but the hapless reader(victim) is duped. Few books are written so badly that they actually make you angry, but this is one of them.



3. Dr. Henry Lee is Chief Emeritus of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory and has extensive credentials. He investigated over 6,000 major crime cases. Dr. Jerry Labriola is an Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut Medical School and has practiced medicine for over 30 years. He is an experienced writer. "Sam Constant" is a fictional character who expresses the sentiments of the time. The `Prologue' explains the style of writing for this book, a way to journey to past events and comment on them using the latest scientific knowledge. The authors believe the same technical and judgmental errors continue to this day (p.xiv). External factors affect the legal process. This book has no index.
   
   Section 1 deal with the Sacco-Vanzetti case, both were executed for a robbery-murder they most likely did not commit. There was a "highly unusual" trial for a lesser crime prior to a major crime (p.33). Vanzetti was delivering fish to his customers at the time of the crime (p.41). The head of the Massachusetts State Police believed they were innocent (p.43). Boston agents of the Department of Justice believed the crime was the work of professional gangsters (p.49). There were problems with eyewitness evidence (Chapter 5). There was tampering and suppression of evidence (p.64). Chapter 6 discusses the ballistic evidence, and the lack of a chain of custody. Both the shells and bullets could have been tampered with (pp.78-79). Vanzetti's revolver was not the guard's gun, he was framed (pp.90-91). The claim of "consciousness of guilt" seems to be a euphemism for prejudice (p.91). Sacco & Vanzetti lied about their activities to hide their anarchistic beliefs. Reporters thought the trial was not fairly and impartially conducted.
   
   Section 2 covers five famous flawed cases. Edmond Locard noted the existence of trace evidence (p.103). The footprints outside the Lindbergh home were not measured, photographed, or cast in plaster (p.113). There were no fingerprints anywhere in the nursery (p.114)! A year later some of the ransom money was traced to Bruno Hauptmann (he entered the country illegally and had a criminal record in Germany). Hauptmann's writing was similar to the writing on the ransom note, but document examiners for the Secret Service and Army say Hauptmann did not write the ransom notes (p.118). [This is not an exact science.] Dr. Lee has 24 questions about this case (pp.126-129). One question should be about the pajamas worn by the baby; whoever had them was the kidnapper. Dr. Sam Sheppard was convicted due to commercial rivalry and prejudice. Coroner Gerber was out to get "the Sheppard clan", whose suburban hospital competed with the Cleveland Hospital. Dr. Paul L. Kirk's 1954 examination of the murder scene (after the trial!) documented the facts [Paul Holmes' 1961 book].
   
   The assassination of JFK was never solved, Oswald was neither convicted or even indicted. David Wrone's "The Zapruder Film" explains why Oswald was in the doorway when the first shot was fired, and two films from across the street show nobody at that 6th floor window. [George O'Toole's 1975 book "The Assassination Tapes" provided the evidence to reopen the investigation. The "magic bullet" was not recovered at the crime scene, but was found (or planted) at Parkland Hospital (p.152). Was Vincent Foster a suicide or murder victim? There are arguments for each theory (pp. 175-177). The Starr Report said suicide (p.165). Was JonBenet Ramsey killed by an intruder or insider? The arguments for each theory are on pages 177-178. It is still unsolved.
   
   Section 3 discusses the O. J. Simpson trial. OJ went from a sports hero to a reviled villain in just a few weeks. Has this ever happened before? There was racial bias over the trial and verdict, the facts weren't important! Nicole Brown Simpson's 911 transcript is on pages 189-195. No one was assaulted or arrested but it made people believe OJ was guilty. [Was this tamer than some Jerry Springer shows?] The grand jury was cancelled because they refused to indict OJ for murder; then they used a preliminary hearing to indict OJ. Chapter 1 does not mention that Nicole's boyfriend was about the same size and age as Ron Goldman (mistaken identity?). Chapter 2 has discrepancies in the time line from other books. Fuhrman found a still wet glove at 6am (p.207). There were problems in falsification of a legal document, and mishandling and/or fabrication of evidence (p.211). The Fourth Amendment bans illegally obtained evidence. This safeguards people against government intrusions (pp.212-213). There were conflicts in the testimony of Vannatter and Fuhrman (p.217). The coroner said the time of death was after 11pm (p.219). Two different types of stab wounds were found. Where was the bloody clothing, shoes, and murder weapon (p.219)? Why was a bloody glove placed in the backyard?
   
   Chapter 4 deals with the trial. Robert Shapiro assembled a "dream team" of experts for the defense (p.226). The defense said evidence that exonerated OJ had been disregarded (p.228). Evidence collection did not always follow protocol (p.229). There were problems in the evidence that suggested planting (p.230). The use of videotapes from this highly publicized case provided evidence on the procedures (p.231). Dr. Lee has 16 questions about the facts in this case (pp.238-239). [The answer to #16 may be that the Bronco was parked there after the limo drive exited.] Chapter 5 discusses the opposing viewpoints of the major evidence in this trial. There were many examples where the prosecution claims did not match what the defense experts observed (p.243). The `Epilogue' explains how public opinion (manufactured by the media) affects a trial. There was suspicion of evidence suppression, tampering with evidence, perjury, and destruction or falsification of records (p.250). While science has advanced, fallible human beings can still make errors.
   
   The `Appendix' discusses the past, present, and future of forensic science. It provides an outline for the general reader. [The paragraph on "voice-prints" may be outdated.] The `Bibliography' contains the names of books and articles on the seven cases in this book. [It does not list James Neff's "The Wrong Man", or "Killing Time" by Donald Freed and Raymond Briggs.]



4. Doctor Lee brings you to and through the crime scenes so much better than a TV show.



5. This the the first forensic book I got. Things have advanced since then. But it is good reading.

5 comments about Jack the Ripper: Letters from Hell.

1. Jack the Ripper (Letters From Hell), by co-authors Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner, is exactly what it purports to be in the subtitle. It is a discussion of all the letters sent by people purporting to be Jack the Ripper to the newspapers, police and assorted individuals followed by a section printing all of the letters in the police files (there is little variety in the letters themselves showing the lack of imagination shown by most of the copy cat letter writers and this could prove a little dry for some). In addition, this volume is generously filled with photos of the letters themselves. This book is not for the beginner in the Ripper mythology as it focuses strictly on the letters and will be of most interest to those who have a basic understanding of the case already. This volume is a worthy addition to the Ripper books and will keep the legend alive for the next generation.



2. If there wasn't any writing or notes in this book it would still be worth it for the pictures by themselves. The fact that it has a masterful narration is the icing on the cake. There are up close COLOR pictures of the letters that you can read and analyze. It is printed on high quality glossy paper, (not photo paper, but very nice). I bought mine from the used section in new condition. This is a "must have" for any Ripperologist.



3. Evans and Skinner present an 8x11 sized 'coffee-table book' containing letters purportedly from Jack the Ripper. The letters included are designated ones that were signed some form of JtR. The authors don't tell you they are faked or real but present them to you so you can analyze them for your own determination. There's no real way of telling if any of them were actually written by the Whitechapel murderer. The biggest bonus of this book is the fantastic photos of the letters; they are simply marvellous (5 stars). The book is worth the price for the photos alone. I found the 'discussion' of the letters dry and lacking of an actual analysis by the authors (3 stars). Also included are sample handwritings from a few Ripper suspects. Looking and comparing these were fascinating and there is quite a resemblence between the first 'Dear Boss' letter signed Jack the Ripper and a sample letter from William Bury; based on these, I'd be pretty suspicious of Bury (although that's not who I believe was the Ripper). Evans does a very good couple of chapters regarding the McCormick book about the Ripper and Dr. Dutton.
   
   Overall, the text is okay for the first 2/3 of the book but then gets better on the McCormick/Dutton, suspects chapters. However, the photos are the real seller of this Jack the Ripper text.



4. This book is a fascinating and invaluable tool for looking into the mindset of the London public while the JTR murders were taking place. While I personally believe none of the letters came from the killer (save the possible exception of the Lusk letter), the letters themselves remain fascinating some grotesque and some being very eloquent. At a time when I'm tired of the latest suspect theory being thrown about, this book is a welcome change.



5. This is well produced and it almost has every JTR letter of significance reproduced in colour. Unfortunately there isn't a photo of the important Lusk postcard, and the book was issued apparently before the discovery of the equally important "So now they say I'm a Yid" letter. Some of these JTR letters are obviously genuine and this was recognized at the time in (I think) The Times. The authentic letters include the Lusk Letter, the Dr Openshaw Letter, the Lusk Postcard, the Police Commissioner Frazer Postcard, the "So now they say I'm a Yid" Letter, the M Baynard Postcard. Like the Goulston Street writing, the killer often signatures his letters with parts of his victims (the Lusk Letter) or with drawings of such (the Frazer Postcard or M Baynard Postcard).

3 comments about The Mother's Day Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. I found this book to be fairly interesting. Once again it is all about greed and money. I feel the writer could have gone into a little more depth, but all in all a good read.



2. Living in Augusta I particularly enjoyed this book, which does a good job of summarizing the relevant aspects of the city.



3. This book is your typical true crime fare. Gina Spann wants her husband out of the way so she can collect his life insurance. She gets young impressionable men to do the crime for her. Although it's an interesting story, it's not one of my personal favorites by this author but it's worth reading anyway.

5 comments about Until the Twelfth of Never: The Deadly Divorce of Dan & Betty Broderick.

1. This is the kind of book that is hard to put down. Dan and Linda were both smart enough to realize that if you keeping poking something with a sharp stick, you're eventually gonna get an explosive reaction. Obviously, they underestimated the reaction.
   
   They asked for it and asked for it and asked for it. They finally got it.



2. I loved this book. Well-written and thoroughly researched this is a stay up all night reading book. It is still one of the classics of the genre for me.
   I was fascinated by the Broderick case and like many here disliked how Betty was portrayed as the "wronged woman" etc. Stumbo's book does portray Betty sympathetically but does not skew the facts. She shows Betty being nasty to her children, money-obsessed and, ultimately, cold blooded. For me, Stumbo portrayed a classic folie a deux - two people who should never have been married to each other trying endlessly to bend the other to their will.
   Dan did play mind games with Betty, but Betty gave as good as she got. The reviewer here who suggested that Betty may be have BPD raises an interesting idea and one that makes a great deal of sense to me. Betty's endless cries of victimization, her cruelties to her own children, etc. certainly fit the bill.
   The Broderick story is a tragedy with no heroes or heroines.
   With the talent clearly on display in this book, where is Bella Stumbo's next book?



3. This book is difficult to put down. It is very well-researched and detailed....you will almost feel what it was like to BE Betty Broderick going through infidelity, public shame and humiliation, while at the same time losing custody of her children and access to all the money she helped Dan earn. I wouldn't say this is a pro-Betty book but Stumbo, being the good reporter that she was, sets out to tell the story from both sides. Neither Dan, Linda or Betty will come out on top in this book, and that is what makes this story so fascinating.



4. I'm reading this book for the second time and really enjoying it. I think it's a very well-balanced account of the Broderick marriage, divorce and Betty's ultimate homicidal breakdown. Stumbo doesn't defend or excuse Betty's behavior, but she doesn't make Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena-Broderick into martyrs either. There's plenty of blame to go around, and reading this book is like seeing a car crash in slow motion. It's too horrible to watch, but too compelling to look away.



5. As you may know, there are a plethora of books that claim to be about Betty Broderick and claim to tell "her story." However none of those books are very accurate and don't bother to tell Betty's story in the least. IMO "Until the Twelfth of Never" is certainly the very best book ever written about Betty.
   
   Bella Stumbo (the author with a somewhat unique name,) tells Betty's life story, leading up to her current situation (as of 1994.) She describes how Betty came from a large Italian-Catholic family and how Betty always preferred babysitting or doing chores for others because she sincerely cared about helping people. I especially enjoyed reading about Betty's earlier life because most of the other books that I've read usually gloss over this. Bella Stumba took the extra effort in this regard to tell this reader who Betty was.
   
   The book also details Betty's courtship with her future husband. The author stated that there were very few happy times for Betty as far as her husband was concerned because even from the very beginning of their relationship he was a user and a taker. But Betty never knew enough to know that she was in an abusive relationship so she married this man.
   
   I also especially enjoyed reading about how Betty supported her husband for many years while he completed his education. There were many hard times for Betty when she first married her husband because he was unable to support his family; both financially and emotionally. Ms. Stumbo included many interviews with the people who knew Betty the best and this all sounded so interesting; not at all tired or hackneyed.
   
   When Mrs. Broderick's husband finally got accepted into an impressive and important firm she finally thought that he would be the husband and father to her and her children, that he never was. As the writer explains, although now she had plenty of money in the bank (thanks to Mrs. Broderick supporting her hubby all those years so he could get his fancy education,) her husband seemed more distant than ever.
   
   Some of the accounts of physical, emotional and s*ual abuse are truly riveting. The writer explains that Betty was virtually r*ed every time her husband made love to her. He would get very drunk because that was the only time that he could be intimate and during this time he was very abusive towards his wife.
   
   For many years prior to Betty's divorce her husband cheated on her. And, as the book explains, many knew about this, but no one had the nerve to tell Betty; least of all her husband. When Betty finally confronted this cheat he did what all cheats do; he lied through his pearly white teeth.
   
   Over the course of 4 years, prior to her breakdown, Betty was the victim of severe emotional, psychological and physical abuse, by her husband and his little home-wrecker (that's actually a very nice word for what she really was.) These writings were among the saddest because it was beyond violent and beyond barbaric. I don't think anyone with even a modicum of compassion would condone this treatment on a dog, let alone an innocent human being with sentient emotions, like Betty.
   
   The book isn't perfect, though. I suppose to save themselves any trouble (in the form of any impeding lawsuits,) the publisher's legal department decided to include a more "equal" account of the events leading up to Betty's breakdown. Sadly, this was hardly equal though and some text came off as biased and unfair to Betty. But as I stated, I can partially understand why this was done.
   
   To some people Betty is a shero because even after all the abuse that she had to swallow and suffer through, she still survived and lived to tell her story. But, to others, Betty is considered a maniac. Many women's groups have vilified Betty and refused to support her cause (so much for women's lib in the 21th century!) They look at Betty and see that nut from those horrible TV movies with Meredith Baxter-Birney. That wasn't Betty though, in the least. Frankly, it's a sad state of affairs when we as a society consistently choose to denigrate and disrespect the hardest, most difficult and thankless job and IMHO the most significant life-choice in the entire history of humankind. Motherhood.

3 comments about Massacre at the Palace: The Doomed Royal Dynasty of Nepal.

1. Though it failed to generate a huge amount of interest in the U.S., the killing of the entire royal family of Nepal by the country's Crown Prince is an incredible story. Had he not been a Royal, Crown Prince Dipendra would still have to go down as one of the most diabolical mass murderers in history. In all, he managed to kill his entire immediate family and five other close relatives in quick succession before turning his gun on himself.

   Author Jonathan Gregson sets the table by recounting the entire history of Nepal's royal family, which stretches back to the mid eighteenth century. To say that the dynasty has had an unhappy history is an understatement, and after awhile the numerous accounts of Royal bloodletting become monotonous. Nevertheless, this history is vital to the story.

   Flash forward to June 1, 2001. The Crown Prince is an unhappy man of thirty. An alcoholic and a drug addict, he has been denied permission to marry the woman he loves by his domineering mother and threatened with being removed from the line of succession to the throne. Gregson sets all of this up well and then recounts the bloody events as they happened. The secrective nature of Nepal's royal family and the god-like awe to which the king is still held there seems to have smewhat stunted Gregson's narrative. Still, he does a fine job with what he was able to decipher. Along the way, he paints a vivid portrait of a fiercely proud third world country that is forever wrestling with the conflict between traditionalism and modernism.

   Overall, "Massacre at the Palace" is an enlightening book that is full of surprises.




2. Drug use warning: The religious context of this book is Nepal, and the author, Jonathan Gregson, is likely to describe the Hindu temple attendants in Kathmandu as being stoned, a stunning departure from purity in a book about a curse that is described as: "It is also about ritual purity and, strange to say, the symbiotic relationship between cows and kings." (p. 6).

   I might have given up on this book, already, but it is difficult to decide. The most modern aspect of our global situation faced in this book is the enormously destructive power of modern weapons, but the psychological potential to find something beyond mere entertainment in the use of such tools of sudden destruction keeps being thwarted by shock. What was really great might already be lost. A lot of intellectual activity seems most meaningful when it still creates the impression that it is going someplace. It might be unsettling to readers and shoppers searching for modern consumer items, contemplating momentary enjoyment of the best that this market has to offer, that the best items available should be evaluated as historical artifacts, more meaningful as a memory in a lifetime that has already registered these deaths as part of the problems encountered in going with the flow. Could anything be worse than now, when shoppers merely contemplate them as objects that might be produced by prospective expenditures? This ought to make at least as much sense as page 16 of the New Republic of October 7, 2002, which quotes Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, telling my U.S. Senator, Mark Dayton of Minnesota, "What's different is three thousand people were killed!" Would this particular consumer item be worth less, if the only people who had ever been killed in Kathmandu's royal palace one day were Nepal's royal family?

   There is no index in this book, but it is unlikely that an index would have listed all the entries for cows, anyway. The first chapter is called "Of Cows and Kings," and the religious background for this book includes a curse on Prithvi Narayan Shah, the first king of the Royal family, which has ruled Nepal since 1769. "According to a legend that is as old as the Kingdom of Nepal," (p. 4) Gorakhnath was a Hindu sage, "and he lived only on milk, butter, and curd, the product of Hinduism's sacred cows." (p. 5). The story reminds me of a joke about cows which was fully explained by Calvin Trillin in a column called "Uncivil Liberties" (The Nation, 11/21/1988, p. 518). During the Iowa primary campaign, Trillin tried to suggest how the contest was overly sensitive to agricultural issues, and he later had to eat his words. "I would like to say in the most direct way possible that Michael Dukakis was never under the impression that you have to kill a cow to get the cheese. George Bush never said that the life of dairy farmers is particularly hard because they're often required to milk right through the cocktail hour." In response to his critics, Trillin wrote, "For those of you whose letters indicate that you see nothing at all strange about the proposition that you have to kill a cow to get the cheese, all I can say is that you ought to think about getting out a little more." This history of the doomed royal dynasty of Nepal applies that thinking to just about anyone who can't decide how much they should care about cows. High-caste Hindus in the Himalayas "had chosen to go into exile rather than live under beef-eating Muslims" (MASSACRE AT THE PALACE, p. 7) in India, but the army with which it had originally conquered Nepal included many warrior tribes, including beef-eaters. When there was gunfire in the Royal Palace of Nepal, it was usually "the crown prince practicing on one of the firing ranges, or blasting off at cats, bats, rats, crows, or just about anything else that moved." (p. ix). Stories about deer hunters who shoot a cow are usually about a mistake, or some kind of joke, and this book searches through history as if there must be some other possible explanation.

   For the royal family, modern times brought an inability to tell what mattered. "The king had to walk a fine line between his own liberal views and the minimum requirements of a Hindu monarch. He had little time for caste divisions nor, for that matter, the issue of cow slaughter, which is firmly linked with the Gorakhnath cult and is still a live issue today." (p. 113). It was not obvious what path would be best for the future, and the royal family was becoming too interested in personal fulfillment to offer realistic alternatives for Nepal or even for history. This is a serious book. Once you start reading it, you ought to be thinking about why it matters.




3. The book implicitly seems to think that the son killed their parents over what appears to be a minor disagreement. The only beneficiary was King Gayendra. There is a book on that - Raktakunda.
   
   Not sure who is right but assuming that King Gayendra's version as history is ridiculous.

4 comments about Murder Unpunished: How the Aryan Brotherhood Murdered Waymond Small and Got Away with It.

1. Inmates bent on running the asylum in an out-of-control prison dominated by homicidal gangs. Official corruption. Fraudulent land scales. A car bombing. Jurisdictional struggles. Hypnosis. A hung-over judge. Prosecutorial misconduct. A senile attorney.
   What might sound like the ingredients of an over-wrought novel are the facts of Durango author Thornton W. Price III's nonfiction true crime book, "Murder Unpunished," published by The University of Arizona Press on July 1.
   The cast of characters includes a future U.S. Supreme Court justice (Sandra Day O'Connor), a future Democratic presidential candidate (Bruce Babbitt) and the man who pioneered the psychological autopsy (Dr. Otto Bendheim).
   But most of the players in this extraordinary peek at Arizona State Prison run amok came straight from Satan's casting call, even down to the unfortunate Waymond Small, possibly one of the nation's least likable murder victims.
   The time is the late 1970s. In less than two years, there have been 14 murders and dozens of assaults at Arizona State Prison. The Arizona Republic has cast a relentless eye on the mayhem. The political pressure to do something ratchets up. And finally the Aryan Brotherhood takes a bridge too far with the murder of Small on the eve of his testimony to the state legislature.
   Price, the author, was a young attorney. One of the inmates charged in connection with Small's death-a group collectively known as the Florence Eleven-ends up being Price's first murder case.
   Tempting though it must have been, Price wisely avoids much use of the first-person in this economically written account of five murder trials. When he does resort to it, it's justified by the insight it offers.
   My own first nonfiction true crime book, "Someone Has to Die Tonight," is scheduled to be published as a Pinnacle mass market paperback in March. I know the challenge Price took on in combing through 16,000 pages of court records and conducting interviews with key players for his narrative.
   I also know how his involvement in the case probably made the task harder. I became a confidential informant in the case of a self-styled teen militia that I was documenting. Separating oneself from the story and keeping the narrative focused becomes more difficult when there's a personal connection.
   The Florence Eleven was the case for Price: The case that every cop, attorney or crime reporter knows about-the one you never forget. In spite of this, Price showed remarkable discipline in his writing, and it serves his readers well.
   My literary attorney, Bob Pimm, counseled me to make my book a train ride that readers wouldn't want to get off. The train needs to take off in the first chapter, he said, and the reader needs to want to say on all the way to the end.
   Price kept me on the train.
   "Murder Unpunished" has moments of writing that jumps out for its eloquence or economy. He describes one murder in two pithy sentences: "Even with a loaded gun to his head, the idiot wouldn't shut up. He'd dared him to shoot, so he did."
   And here's how one of the large cast is introduced: "With a thin, six-foot-seven-inch frame, Jerry Joe `Stretch' Hillyer looked like he'd survived the rack."
   And here, another: "Born in Scottsdale one week before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Tidwell's life began in as much ruin as the Pacific Fleet."
   Price knows we need humor in a dark tale ridden with murder, rape and drug abuse, and he finds it (somehow it always seems to be there, even in the darkest crime, often because of the extraordinary stupidity of some criminals, whose choices in life seem determined to provide job security for police and prosecutors).
   "Did you see anything?" a tired investigator asks in one of 650 inmate interviews after Small's murder.
   "No."
   "Would you tell us if you had seen anything?"
   And then there's Price's account of the state's attempts to hypnotize a witness, a chapter that may alone justify the book's $17.95 cover price.
   True crime is a tempting genre for the very reason that makes readers sometimes skeptical the writer could really know all he portrays. How could we know people's thoughts? How could we recapture dialog years after the fact?
   It's possible because of the uniquely thorough nature of investigative and court records, around which entire books can be built. It's not an easy task sifting thousands of pages for the specks of gold that add up to a compelling narrative. There are a lot of mediocre true crime books out there. Price's is not one of them.
   Here we find a writer unafraid to show a criminal's sheer enjoyment of violence. A writer who's resisted the temptation to include every fact or exchange he personally finds compelling, restraint that must sometimes have been painful.
   He knows court procedure and introduces us to terms such as the "slow-form guilty plea"-the trial of someone obviously guilty from the get-go.
   He shows us the Mau Maus, the Mexican Mafia, the Native Brotherhood and the Aryan Brotherhood out of control in Arizona's penal system and what was done to fix it. He gets the prison language of kites, fish and punks exactly right in a sometimes profane book that avoids overdosing on cussing and violence.
   He explains very well why prison crimes are so singularly hard to investigate.
   Down among the human dross, Price somehow emerges with none of the nastiness sticking to him or the reader. Better, he somehow makes us care.
   He gives fascinating insight into how the Aryan Brotherhood worked, like a business. And he offers some motivation without making excuses for his unattractive cast.
   The case comes as close to Durango as Chimney Rock, just off Highway 160.
   Despite a misprint in the spelling of Price's name on the cover (one of those palm to the forehead blunders that has probably cost some hapless copyeditor restful sleep) "Murder Unpunished" is otherwise flawlessly edited.
   This is entertaining, educational and compelling. I hope Price will find another case somewhere in his career worth writing about.



2. `Murder Unpunished: How the Aryan Brotherhood Murdered Waymond Small and Got Away with It' by Thornton W. Price III, has brought to life the events that I only remembered through newscast snippets and the occasional news paper editorial.
   
   `Murder Unpunished' allows the reader to contemplate the concepts of the law being rational, yet the interpretation of the law may seem irrational. The reader can also reflect on why a person can act despicable yet still receive grace. Mr. Price presents the reader with an opportunity to question the concepts of revenge and universal justice. These themes of duality, like old friends, are revisited here in the pages penned by Mr. Price from his autobiographical and historic perspectives that have matured over time. He is unapologetic.
   
   I for one wish to apologize for the state of Arizona's justice.



3. Murder Unpunished: How the Aryan Brotherhood Murdered Waymond Small and Got Away With It is a telling example of the truth that entering prison is like entering another culture or country. The rules, customs, and behaviors are foreign to those in the free world. People outside of the walls will never be able to appreciate or accept. The problem, however, is that the prisons are within our country and need to abide by the laws of the United States of America. This book did an excellent job of asking the question, "does justice occur after incarceration?" The short answer is, no. The bigger question to ask is, "when will this country enact laws that can adequately deal with prison gangs and the control that they have in our criminal justice system?" This book is a telling example of all the state and federal correctional facilities will experience with any prison gangs that occupy them. It is a must read for all correctional employees and lawmakers.



4. This book was very informitive about the code that convicts live under. Its a testament to learning to keeping your mouth shut when you do some dirt. Prison gangs are hardcore and the Aryan Brotherhood was formed in california with blood and sacrafice to protect white inmates, anybody who joins knows the commitment they are making as a soildier ( blood in blood out )

No comments about Deadly Intent: Crime & Punishment Photographs from the Burns Archive.

2 comments about Poison Widows: A True Story of Witchcraft, Arsenic, and Murder.

1. Really interesting story. Good colorful, funny characters. I learned a lot about life in the Italian community of Philadelphia in the 1930's. I especially enjoyed the funny "voodoo" that the killers practiced and victims believed in. Very entertaining. I can't believe they got away with so many murders before they were caught. A good "gang that couldn't shoot straight" type tale. And it's all true!



2. I originally bought this book hoping to learn more about the so-called "poison widows." What I got was a book that devotes more than two thirds of its pages to the trial. There is alot of extra info about the lawyers in this case that I really didn't think helped the flow of this book.
   The author only briefly delves into what life was like back in the early part of the century. There is even briefer mention about the women's lives. You are told in passing that some of the men beat their wives, for instance.
   The main portion of the book, the trial, isn't told very well either. I understand that there were alot of women that went to trial, but most of them get a few pages. Two of the trial lawyers get more coverage than most of these women.
   Overall, more of a general synopsis of what happened than anything with real depth.

5 comments about Love Me To Death (Pinnacle True Crime).

1. If you are a lover of true crime, this book is for you. I just could not put it down. You just want to keep turning those pages to find out what happens next. To think this man started to believe his own lies, and after treating the women in this book so gentlemanly as his mother had taught him; to then turn around and so nonchalantly do what he did to them with no care in the world is frightening. I could understand the sadness he felt when his mother passed away and the anger and rage of being raped in the military, I can relate to. But, what in fact makes a person step that foot over the line into insanity is a question, I've never got a clear cut answer to.



2. I found this book especially interesting for a few reasons, one, I live in Denver. Two this guy used to come into the bar where I worked! Talk about SCARY! I just happened to pick this book up with other true crime books and when I got to reading this one I kept looking at his face and thinking he was familuar to me, then I read about the habits he had in the bar and it clicked I remembered him. It was hard to put it down anyway but after I realized this it was REALLY hard! Great Book, I enjoy Steve Jackson's work I highly recommend this and his other true crime books.



3. the author does write well, but it gets kinda tiring when huge sections are repeated over and over. for example, an incident is described. then, described again -- almost word for word -- during the investigation chapters. then again -- again, word for word -- during the testimony chapters. obviously, the initial description was taken from the court transcripts. i don't see the need to go verbatem again during the testimony chapters. makes reading the book quite tedious. i was skipping pages at a time because it was stuff i'd read earlier -- twice or more before.
   
   however, this is a scary story and keeps you on alert for sweet-talkers.



4. Although it is a gruesome case, the relate is quite repetitive.



5. This is the true story of the Denver lady killer some call "Wild Bill Cody" self claimed to be "better than Ted Bundy." Why you'd want to say that about yourself is anyone's guess. But this guy was far from normal that's for sure. It's a good book, but the author does seem to repeat details often. But it's easy to skim it over. This is another book that IS NOT for the sweemish!! I wouldn't really see anyone under 18-20 reading this book, it's just too much. He really was terrible, which is why he's on death row.

1 comments about An Act of Kindness.

1. 
   "No act of kindness goes unpunished" might be an alternative title for this explosive and meticulously researched book. It is a fast-paced indictment of the festering Bubba subculture in southeastern Louisiana, a subculture engulfed in ignorance, seething hatred and extreme violence.
   
   In the midst of one such backwoods garden of evil lived a woman who was virtually a paragon of goodness, Jane Nora Guillory, affectionately known as Genore. She was a professional woman of color with comfortable means who worked for a local insurance office. A loving and generous woman, Genore took into her heart and her care some thirty forgotten dogs, kenneling them along with the horses that she owned. She distinguished herself by many selfless acts, such as providing money and work for white neighbors who were struggling financially.
   
   It was all the more shocking that this lovely forty-two-year-old woman would be raped and murdered in an act of unthinkable cruelty. But who would do such a thing and why? The community was unprepared for the answer.
   
   Hustmyre, a writer with 22 years in law enforcement and retired federal agent, deftly takes the reader through the intimate twists and turns of the investigation. The reader can easily feel the frustrations of a dedicated sheriff's department that had solved the unsolvable, only to find that the DA that wanted to dismiss charges against the white supremacists responsible for her death.