Why Not Kill Her: A Juror's Perspective: The Jodi Arias Death Penalty Retrial


Paul A. Sanders Jr. - 2015
    The killer went to great lengths to cover up her crime including sending his grandmother flowers, going to the memorial service, driving by the victim’s house and calling the lead investigator, Detective Esteban Flores. This incident took place in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. It would be five years before this case of capital murder would be put in front of a jury to decide the fate of Jodi Arias although the fate of Travis Alexander had been set in stone. Was she a cold, calculating murderess or was she a victim of extreme domestic violence at the hands of an abusive boyfriend? The first jury was left to decide in 2013. It was the most watched trial of the century. The jury decided that Jodi Arias was guilty of first-degree murder with cruel and heinous circumstances which qualified her for the death penalty. The jury could not reach a decision in the penalty phase and justice was delayed. A new jury, drawn from a pool of four hundred people, was drawn for the highly anticipated retrial of Jodi Arias. On October 21, 2014, a jury of nineteen was given the responsibility of deciding whether Jodi Arias should live or die for her crime. So began a retrial that would last almost five months with Juan Martinez and Detective Flores representing the State of Arizona and the return of Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott speaking to the defense of the convicted killer. The journey will walk the reader through the meticulous actions of the courtroom and extend to an appellate court, a municipal court and a day in the in the original courthouse in phoenix, Arizona. The trial speaks toward the long arm of the law and the implications of decisions made daily. With the help of former jurors of the Jodi Arias death penalty retrial, the reader will step into the jury box when Jodi Arias was on the witness stand and reach a climax when the reader accompanies the jury foreman into the deliberation room as the jury decides the fate of the defendant. “The lambs to the law were now executors of the law. It was humbling, intimidating and powerful at the same time. It was also the time that the jurors’ souls would be tested for truths and experiences that would mark many discussions in the deliberation room. The jury would remember Travis Alexander and what was done to him.” Why Not Kill her is the suspenseful follow-up to the authors first book, Brain Damage: A Juror’s Tale, the true story of being a death penalty juror on the case of Marissa DeVault and the brutal killing of Dale Harrell. The third revised edition is now available in honor of Dale Harrell. Take a journey into the life of Travis Alexander and a search for truth and justice. Somehow, Lady Justice will wield her sword and the end of a seven year saga would be realized but in no way that anyone could have anticipated. Special thanks to True Crime Radio, Trial Talk Live, the Trial Diaries, FOX 10, ABC, NBC and CBS. The author would also like to thank those who supported this work on Go Fund Me with extra recognition to the administrators and fans of Juan Martinez Prosecutor Support Page, The State vs. Jodi Arias, Joey Jackson Fan Page, Justice For Travis, Justice 4 Dale, Justice For Travis Alexander and His Family, Court Chatter, Beth Karas on Crime, Gavel geeks, Trial Watchers, The House That Travis Built, Understanding The Travesties of Unexpected Murder Trials and For The Love of Travis. This work could not have happened without your support! Why Not Kill Her is dedicated to Travis Alexander, his family and all those whom he touched in his short life.

Notorious: The Immortal Legend of the Kray Twins


John George Pearson - 2010
    After they were jailed in 1969 for thirty years for murder, Pearson's biography The Profession of Violence enjoyed a cult following among the young and was said to be the most popular book in H.M.'s prisons, after the Bible. Ron died in 1995. Reg followed him five years later, and both of their funerals drew crowds on a scale unknown for film stars, let alone for two departed murderers. Since then, far from fading with their death, public fascination with the twins has never flagged. Their clothes and memorabilia are sold at auction like religious relics. Ron's childlike prison paintings fetch more money than those of many well-known artists. And people still refer to them like popular celebrities. Why? This is the question Pearson asked himself, and over the past three years he has been re-examining their history, unearthing much previously unknown material, and has come to some fascinating conclusions. The Immortal Murderers reveals new facts about the Krays' tortured relationship as identical twins; a relationship which helped predestine them to a life of crime; a relationship that made them utterly unlike any other major criminals. Pearson has discovered two new and unsuspected murders, along with fresh light on the killings of George Cornell and Jack 'the Hat' McVitie. There are facts about the twins' obsession with publicity, and how far this made them 'actor criminals' murdering for notoriety. Most riveting of all are the chapters which reveal how Ron Kray caused a major sexual scandal in which a prime minister, together with other leading politicians, condoned the most outrageous establishment cover-up in British politics since the war. The Immortal Murderers contains many more surprises, but the one thing that emerges is that the Kray twins were not only stranger but also far more important than anyone ever suspected. Fascination with them will forever remain; they will never lose their role as the immortal murderers.

Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas


Joyce King - 2002
    They drove Byrd out to a lonely country road, tied him to a logging chain, and dragged him three miles to his death.Joyce King, an award-winning journalist and native Texan, was assigned to cover the story, which drew international media headlines. In Hate Crime, she provides a chilling re-creation of the slaying and the subsequent trials. But she also moves beyond the details of the case to provide insight into the minds of the murderers, and to investigate the Texas prison system in which they developed their virulent racism. King also explores how the town of Jasper, Texas, endured a tragedy that threatened to divide its residents. A first-rate work of reportage, Hate Crime is also a searing look at how race continues to shape life in America.

The Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad


Stacy Horn - 1998
    Here is the first-ever inside look at the elite NYPD squad that cracks the “unsolvable” cases. Drawing on her unique access to the Cold Case Squad, Stacy Horn follows three tough, indefatigable cops as they sift through the clues to four puzzling murders, from the 1951 strangling of a young wife to a 1996 drug hit that claimed the lives of the parents of three children. As gripping as anything on TV—and much, much more authentic—The Restless Sleep is a completely addictive behind-the-scenes account of the people who offer a final resolution for the unavenged. BACKCOVER: “Masterful storytelling.” —San Francisco Chronicle “While Sleep hardly makes for soothing bedtime reading, Horn’s gripping writing and palpable sense of outrage ensure that its narrative trail never runs cold.” —Entertainment Weekly “There is rarely a dull page as Horn portrays her colorful band as they challenge the perplexing past.” —The Baltimore Sun

Family Secrets: The scandalous history of an extraordinary family


Derek Malcolm - 2017
    The secret, though, that surrounded my parents’ unhappy life together, was divulged to me by accident . . .’ Hidden under some papers in his father’s bureau, the sixteen-year-old Derek Malcolm finds a book by the famous criminologist Edgar Lustgarten called The Judges and the Damned. Browsing through the Contents pages Derek reads, ‘Mr Justice McCardie tries Lieutenant Malcolm – page 33.’ But there is no page 33. The whole chapter has been ripped out of the book. Slowly but surely, the shocking truth emerges: that Derek’s father, shot his wife’s lover and was acquitted at a famous trial at the Old Bailey. The trial was unique in British legal history as the first case of a crime passionel, where a guilty man is set free, on the grounds of self-defence. Husband and wife lived together unhappily ever after, raising Derek in their wake. Then, in a dramatic twist, following his father’s death, Derek receives an open postcard from his Aunt Phyllis, informing him that his real father is the Italian Ambassador to London . . . By turns laconic and affectionate, Derek Malcolm has written a richly evocative memoir of a family sinking into hopeless disrepair. Derek Malcolm was chief film critic of the Guardian for thirty years and still writes for the paper. Educated at Eton and Merton College, Oxford, he became first a steeplechase rider and then an actor after leaving university. He worked as a journalist in the sixties, first in Cheltenham and then with the Guardian where he was a features sub-editor and writer, racing correspondent and finally film critic. He directed the London Film Festival for a spell in the 80s and is now President of both the International Film Critics Association and the British Federation of Film Societies. He lives with his wife Sarah Gristwood in London and Kent and has published two books – one on Robert Mitchum and another on his favourite 100 films. He is a frequent broadcaster on radio and television and a veteran of film festival juries all over the world.

On Royalty: A Very Polite Inquiry into Some Strangely Related Families


Jeremy Paxman - 2006
    He scrutinizes every aspect of the monarchy and how it has related to politics, religion, the military and the law. He takes us inside Buckingham Palace and illuminates the lives of the monarchs, at once mundane, absurd and magical. What Desmond Morris did for apes, Paxman has done for the royal families. Gilded history, weird anthropology and surreal reportage of the royals up close combine to show how an ancient institution struggles for meaning in a modern country.

The Complete Jack the Ripper


Donald Rumbelow - 1975
    They were responsible for one of the most evocative legends in English folk history - Jack the Ripper. Best of all - for the myth-makers, that is - he was never caught, and there has never been a convincing identification of this man or, as some suggest, woman, who stabbed and disembowelled a succession of East End prostitutes, and left them bleeding in the gaslit streets of Victorian London. This book now lays out all the known evidence in a sumary of the facts and theories that have been written and spoken about the Ripper.

Signs of Murder: A small town in Scotland, a miscarriage of justice and the search for the truth


David Wilson - 2020
    will leave true crime readers with more to ponder than they bargained for' - The HeraldBefore David Wilson became the UK's pre-eminent criminologist, he was just a young boy growing up in the Scottish town of Carluke. When he was a child, the brutal murder of a young woman rocked this small community, but very quickly a man was arrested for the crime, convicted and put behind bars. For most, life slowly carried on - case closed. But there were whispers in the town that the wrong man was imprisoned. Over the years, these whispers grew louder, to the point that any time David would visit, he'd be asked in hushed tones, 'What are you going to do about the Carluke Case?'Carluke believed the real killer had evaded justice. A murderer was still on the loose.Forty years later, it's time for David to return home, and find out the truth.

Clevenger Gold: The True Story of Murder and Unfound Treasure


S.E. Swapp - 2016
    Once the old, cantankerous Sam Clevenger and his wife, Charlotte, hired Frank Willson and John Johnson to help with the move, their fate took a dark turn. These true events were documented by journalists through the 1887 trial and well into the 1900s, and stories have been told of Sam’s unfound treasure for nearly 130 years. But, this is the first detailed, documented, and vetted account of their bizarre and fascinating tale.

Long Island’s Vanished Heiress: The Unsolved Alice Parsons Kidnapping (True Crime)


Steven Drielak - 2020
    The crime shocked the nation and was front-page news for several months. J. Edgar Hoover personally assigned his best FBI agents to the case, and within a short time, Parsons's husband and their live-in housekeeper, Anna Kupryanova, had become prime suspects. Botched ransom attempts, clashes between authorities and romantic intrigue kept the investigation mired in drama. The crime remained unsolved and has captivated Long Island audiences ever since. Former Suffolk County detective Steven C. Drielak reveals previously classified FBI documents and pieces together the mystery of the Alice Parsons kidnapping.

The Crimes of Jack The Ripper


Paul Roland - 2006
    A pictorial excursion into the dark underbelly of Victorian London.

Death of a Jewish American Princess: The True Story of a Victim on Trial


Shirley Frondorf - 1988
    Restaurateur Steven Steinberg, who killed his wife by stabbing her 26 times, was acquitted; his legal defense portrayed the victim as an overpowering "Jewish American Princess" whose excesses may have provoked her violent end. Examining the structure of the defense's case, Frondorf, an attorney who was previously a psychiatric social worker, follows the theme that made Elana Steinberg the villain, instead of the victim, of the piece. The defense's forensic presentation, bolstered by testimony from psychiatrists, maintained that Steinberg committed the crime while sleepwalking, an abnormality allegedly brought on by the intemperate spending of his wife. Frondorf recreates the trial whose outcome scarred the tightly knit Jewish community of Phoenix.

Al Capone: A Life From Beginning to End


Hourly History - 2018
    While opinions of the infamous mob leader varied from group to group, Capone was at one point seen by many as a lovable outlaw and modern Robin Hood. How could this man who ran the most vicious criminal organization in the country become so beloved by the general public? Was it the rags to riches tale of an immigrant that rose from the bottom to make it to the big time that transfixed the nation? Or is it something else entirely? Let us discover just what is it about the life of Al Capone that seems to spark both disgust and admiration in those that hear it.

Waste Land: The Savage Odyssey of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate


Michael Newton - 1998
    More than a decade before Charles Manson warned parents to beware their homicidal children, nineteen-year-old Charles Starkweather and fourteen-year-old Caril Ann Fugate embarked on a shocking, eight-day rampage across America’s heartland that left eleven bloody bodies in its wake—including Caril Ann’s parents. In an Ozzie and Harriet era of drive-ins, malts, and tail-finned cars, Starkweather and Fugate embraced the “live fast, die young” credo of The Wild One and James Dean, and touched off the Midwest’s greatest manhunt since John Dillinger.Now, utilizing firsthand interviews, court transcripts, death-row confessions, and never-before-revealed case details, Waste Land shines new light on the dark saga of Starkweather and Fugate—from their first kisses and kills to their capture and convictions. Complete with an update on Fugate’s life today, Waste Land compellingly probes not only the mind-set of history’s deadliest juvenile delinquents—but also the tragic end of America’s innocence.

Twilight of Empire: The Tragedy at Mayerling and the End of the Habsburgs


Greg King - 2017
    Inside, he found two bodies sprawled on an ornate bed, blood oozing from their mouths. Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary appeared to have shot his seventeen-year-old mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera as she slept, sat with the corpse for hours and, when dawn broke, turned the pistol on himself.A century has transformed this bloody scene into romantic tragedy: star-crossed lovers who preferred death together than to be parted by a cold, unfeeling Viennese Court. But Mayerling is also the story of family secrets: incestuous relationships and mental instability; blackmail, venereal disease, and political treason; and a disillusioned, morphine-addicted Crown Prince and a naïve schoolgirl caught up in a dangerous and deadly waltz inside a decaying empire. What happened in that locked room remains one of history’s most evocative mysteries: What led Rudolf and mistress to this desperate act? Was it really a suicide pact? Or did something far more disturbing take place at that remote hunting lodge and result in murder?Drawing interviews with members of the Habsburg family and archival sources in Vienna, Greg King and Penny Wilson reconstruct this historical mystery, laying out evidence and information long ignored that conclusively refutes the romantic myth and the conspiracy stories.