When we watch TV, go to the movies, or attend concerts (admittedly before Covid), we enjoy watching our favorite stars. But despite being role models for millions, celebrities sometimes break the law. The justice system's credibility then takes a hit when it all too often looks the other way. Of course, stars weaken the justice system's credibility because of their talent, charm, good looks, or wealth which shines so bright it often dazzles judges and juries. When judges and … [Read more...]
Stanford Serial Killer murders daughter of football legend
Somebody has recently been convicted of one of the killings attributed to the Stanford Serial Killer. He's John Getreu. But before getting into the case, a few words about why the case intrigues me. (A recent blog suggests why these cases intrigue most of us.) Stanford University played a big role in my life since it strongly supported the schools and youth programs in Palo Alto, California where I grew up. I rode my bike to summer jobs at Hewlett Packard's first HQ near Sand Hill Road … [Read more...]
CRIME INVESTIGATION Tutorial III— fingerprint techniques.
Officer TenDigits* here, Welcome students, mystery writers, and true crime authors. Oh, and any others seeking info about fingerprint techniques. Whatever your reasons to master this arcane subject, be sure to check out the other fingerprint tutorials in this series. Go here and here. Another similar tutorial's coming soon. In today's class, ahem, I won't be talking about any newly-created forensics methods requiring gold and zinc that local police jurisdictions can use. … [Read more...]
CRIME INVESTIGATION Tutorial II— How the FBI used fingerprints to catch MLK’s Assassin- the climax..
As noted in my prior blog, we can learn a lot from perhaps the greatest fingerprint sleuthing effort in recent American history. That would be how the FBI used fingerprints to nab MLK's assassin in 1968, two months after the history-changing event. Besides budding criminalists, criminology students, and the general public, crime writers may be interested in how a talented writer utilized his knowledge of fingerprint ID tactics. Thus, much of this blog showcases paragraphs from … [Read more...]
CRIME INVESTIGATION Tutorial – How the FBI used fingerprint ID tactics to nab MLK’s Assassin.
As I've done from time to time, I'm starting another tutorial series. This one's for everyone, but specifically for crime writers and students of criminology, crim justice, and forensics. For writers, it's intended to help them incorporate fingerprint ID tactics in their novels. And, as they - and the teachers of students like you - know, it's a good way to introduce a topic is via a story. ID tactics So I'm starting off this series with a story. It's about how the FBI … [Read more...]
Bill Cosby’s special treatment by the justice system.
As you may've read in a former blog of mine, Bill Cosby and a few other top celebs got their just deserts over the last 25 years. But wait, suddenly it looks like Bill Cosby's special treatment finally materialized. So he joins the many other celebs who get special deals. Bill Cosby's special handling. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently sprung him from prison for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2005. The case at first ended in a mistrial but resulted in a conviction when he was … [Read more...]
Settlement in James Franco’s Sex Misconduct case
I've followed a celeb who graduated from my high school for some years now. James Franco's been impressive. He was nominated for an Oscar in 2011, and has studied and shown promise as a filmmaker, writer, and painter.** These fields, except for acting, have been fields I've explored. And Franco's been involved with three universities I've attended - UCLA, Yale, and Columbia. Needless to say, he's intrigued me. But when he got into … [Read more...]