Two socially prominent peoplea man and a womanare found murdered. Her estranged husband is accused of the crime and indicted. But the real drama is only just beginning . For sheer human interest, nothing else in real life equals a good murder trial. Yet how many of us follow the latest courtroom spectacle with fascination, without knowing the ins and outs of how a murder trial is conducted? In How to Try a Murder, noted crime writer Michael Kurland delves into the art and craft of a murder trial, using a fictional narrative and real-life stories to illustrate each step of the process, from the discovery of the body, to trial procedures and strategy, to the conviction and sentencing. This engrossing look at our legal system includes explanations of the various elements of a trial, including: the amount and kind of evidence needed to make an arrest the purpose of the grand jury defense strategy and prosecution tactics the criteria attorneys use when selecting a jury examination and cross-examination of witnesses what a jury must consider when rendering a verdictReaders intrigued by true crime will find court documents and questionnaires from the headline-grabbing trials of O.J. Simpson, Theodore Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, and Erik and Lyle Menendez, as well as anecdotes from America's "trials of the century," including those of Sacco and Vanzetti, Bruno Hauptmann, Dr. Sam Sheppard, and others. Whether you're an armchair attorney or a murder maven, How to Try a Murder gives everything you need to prosecute, defend, render a verdict, and pronounce sentence on the trial of the moment. Visit our website at http://www.mcp.com/mgr/macmillan
The complete collection of true crime stories and articles by the New York Times –bestselling author and former prosecutor. In this collection of horrifyingly true stories, Linda Fairstein provides an in-depth look inside the minds of such psychopaths as Ted Bundy and the Craigslist Killer. Drawing on decades of experience as a sex crimes prosecutor in New York City, she delves into the atrocities of these cold-blooded criminals and explains how they target their unsuspecting victims. A true victim advocate, she deftly touches on taboo subjects like law enforcement’s astounding failure to process rape kits, as well as the false rape claims that ruin innocent people’s lives. With her background in the Special Victims Bureau, Fairstein offers an unfiltered view of rape in the United States. But she doesn’t stop there: She uses her understanding of the inner workings of violent criminals’ minds to outline ways for women to protect themselves. Originally published in Cosmopolitan magazine and collected here for the first time, each essay features a new introduction by the author.
At some point, everyone living in the United States has some type of interaction with the American judicial system. For most, this contact is relatively minor: contesting a traffic ticket, suing or being sued in civil court, being a witness in a civil or criminal trial, or serving on a jury. Others are caught up in the criminal justice system - as defendants, as victims, as witnesses, as jurors, or as relatives of a victim or a defendant. For still others, contact comes via an important policy issue affecting their lives in the hands of judges and justices sitting in judgment in marble temples to the law. Yet whatever the level of contact, the American judicial system affects peoples' lives. What courts and judges do matters. This book provides a very short, but complete introduction to the institutions and people, the rules and processes, that make up the American judicial system. Jargon free and aimed at a general reader, this Very Short Introduction explains the 'where,' 'when,' and 'who' of American courts. It also makes clear the 'how' and 'why' behind the law as it affects everyday people. It is, in a word, a starting place to understanding the third branch of American government at both the state and federal levels; a guide to those wishing to know the basics of the American judicial system; and a cogent synthesis of how the various elements that make up the law and legal institutions fit together.
A harrowing investigation into law enforcement’s failure to process hundreds of thousands of rape kits across America—allowing many rapists to walk free. In 2011, advocacy groups estimated that up to 250,000 rape kits sat untested in police storage across the country. These kits, some from crimes dating as far back as the mid-1990s, represent a disturbing breakdown in law enforcement that has allowed many violent criminals to remain on the streets. In some cases, rape victims are kept in the dark about the investigations into the crimes committed against them. Legal expert Linda Fairstein illustrates this injustice with the story of a Los Angeles woman whose experience, Fairstein writes, “is a tragic example of the outrageous backlog of untested rape kits that has existed nationwide for more than a decade.” In The Rape Scandal that Puts You at Risk , Fairstein lays bare these failures of law enforcement and issues a rallying cry for women everywhere to demand change. Originally published in Cosmopolitan , this essay is now available in digital format for the first time and features a new introduction by the author.
The story of the author's thirty-year career in Texas prisons, from his first night as a shotgun-wielding guard to the last man he accompanied to the death chamber, Willett remembers not just the big events of his career but the small ones that give prison life its texture. In measured but powerful prose, he describes the efficient actions of the tie-down team, the prisoner's often meandering last words, and the way that he himself lifted his glasses from his nose to signal the executioner to start the IV flow.
A legal expert’s investigation of why some women falsely claim rape, and the devastating effects on those who have been wrongfully accused. For each criminal category, a small percentage of claims are proven to be unfounded. Unfortunately, cases of rape are no exception. As a district attorney in New York City, Linda Fairstein encountered these false claims more than a few times. This kind of accusation not only results in the unjust punishment of innocent men, but also serves to trivialize the experiences of rape survivors. In Why Some Women Lie About Rape ,Fairstein draws upon her decades of experience to shed light on this difficult issue, including the motivations behind a false rape accusation. Originally published in Cosmopolitan , this essay is now available in digital format for the first time and features a new introduction by the author.