In my last blog, I passed along a progressive black man's take on the massive George Floyd protests. It was written by a Harvard Law grad who is a proponent of nonviolence. I'm giving time in today's blog to a moderate black man's take on the issue of racism raised by the protests. Attorney Bryan Stevenson, also a Harvard Law grad, is having a bit of a moment. The movie of his book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption has just been released. It stars Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, … [Read more...]
Bias against women explored by Bombshell. Does it do #MeToo justice?
Over two years ago, the flood gates of the #MeToo movement starkly revealed the predation, bias and discrimination women still face in workplaces. The first accusations against Harvey Weinstein transformed a small hashtag enterprise started by a lone black woman into #meToo today...and helped bring about Bombshell. In the movie Nicole Kidman plays former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, and Charlize Theron portrays superstar anchor and personality, Megyn Kelly. Margot Robbie is a … [Read more...]
Celebrity privilege. See who are among DUI royalty?
Celebrity privilege is a type of "Special treatment!" We know the latter phrase if we grew up with a sib or if nursery school or kindergarten teachers used it. Parents in the U.S. and early teachers drilled it into our heads—no special treatment, wait your turn, share toys with others. So, it's not surprising that Americans talk about privilege, discrimination, preferential treatment a lot. Preferential crim justice treatment for celebrity privilege? Celebs have long been ordered to … [Read more...]
True Crime — do these reasons explain why you love it?
Some have called my book-in-progress a true crime memoir. Its working title is Privileged Killers...and a criminologist mugged by reality. It's tagline — When friends kill and loved ones betray him, a progressive criminologist must ditch his idealism or lose his wife and even his life. True Crime rules...these days. Whether seen as a pure true crime story, or a hybrid true crime memoir, my book's alerted me to the huge appetite we have these days for true … [Read more...]
Rape, Coverups, Bullying—Araoz, Acosta, Epstein
Another amazing week. US Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigned amid the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal. Pressure mounted against Acosta as news trickled out that he'd allowed an incredibly lenient plea deal to go forward under his watch in Epstein's Florida trial years ago. And then an accusation of rape! Rape. The allegation of rape by a then, 14-15 year old girl, trumped Acosta's fall from grace. In a TODAY interview with Savannah Guthrie, included here, Jennifer Araoz shared … [Read more...]
“Injustice with Nancy Grace.” “Inside Evil” with Cuomo.
I don't usually promote new TV shows, esp the many forensic-related ones. However, Injustice with Nancy Grace premieres with a case I lived through in a neighboring town. She covers the initial injustice in a "murder during a murder trial" in Lafayette, Ca. Each episode of “Injustice with Nancy Grace” exposes a riveting case involving wrongful accusations, botched investigations, suppressed evidence, unclear motives, unjust sentences, and a path forward in seeking justice. At … [Read more...]
Smollett case: enough twists that this timeline necessary.
Smollett celeb justice case has enough twists that we need a timeline. Here's the latest. The Senior DA in Chicago dropped all charges allegedly at the behest of Michelle Obama via her former chief of staff. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former Obama insider, and the Chief of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) were outraged and rightly so. No justice here and a total waste of $130,000 in CPD resources investigating what might've been a hoax. But just today, Inspector General Patrick Blanchard … [Read more...]