AltWeeklies Wire
Why Did Gay-Rights Activist Carol Anne Burger Stab Her Wife With a Screwdriver 222 Times?new
To outsiders, it seemed Burger and Jessica Kalish were the embodiment of contemporary domestic bliss. Soon, though, all of South Florida learned the unsettling truth.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Michael J. Mooney |
07-21-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Shawna Forde is Lethally Blondenew
How a former teen prostitute and beautician became an influential anti-immigrant crusader -- and alleged murderer.
Seattle Weekly |
Rick Anderson |
07-20-2009 |
Crime & Justice
It's a Dirty Job Nabbing Horny Guys in the Park, But Somebody's Gotta Do Itnew

The Kansas City Police Department's vice squad spends a couple of days a month conducting covert stings to ferret out men seeking sex in public parks. When things go right, the job is predictable.
The Pitch |
Nadia Pflaum |
07-14-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Numbers Suggest New Vets Court in Colorado Will Be Busynew

No one knows how many veterans will find space in the specialized court -- which will try to identify current and former soldiers whose criminal activity is tied to combat experiences -- when it starts up Aug. 1 in Colorado Springs. But advocates say the aim is to find an alternative to stuffing vets behind bars.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Anthony Lane |
07-14-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Miami Heat Superstar Dwyane Wade Sure Picked a Dubious Business Partnernew

In 2007, Richard von Houtman and Wade teamed up to create a chain of upscale sports bars and invest in a charter school company. Now von Houtman seems to have a single objective: to disparage one of the National Basketball Association's most popular players.
Miami New Times |
Gus Garcia-Roberts |
07-13-2009 |
Crime & Justice
California's Ex-Attorney General Calls for an End to Capital Punishmentnew
With more than 700 Death Row prisoners awaiting execution for decades and no money in sight for improving the integrity and efficiency of the failing capital punishment system, John Van de Kamp is publicly calling for an end to the death penalty. But unlike most of capital punishment's ardent opponents, he has actually sent men to Death Row.
Pasadena Weekly |
Joe Piasecki |
07-13-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Fifteen Years After the Murder of Trent DiGiuro, His Killer Is Freenew
After a years-long investigation and a convoluted legal battle, the conviction of accused killer Shane Ragland was overturned.
LEO Weekly |
Sarah Kelley |
07-10-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: Shane Ragland, Trent DiGiuro
The Female Discount for Sexual Predatorsnew
The evidence seems mounted against Sandy Binkley as she heads for a trial on seven counts of statutory rape and two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure. But if the past offers any prediction, she's almost sure to get the female discount if she's convicted.
Nashville Scene |
Tracy Moore |
07-10-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: Sandy Binkley, rape
The Way the Adams County Coroner is Running His Office Could be Dead Wrongnew
Jim Hibbard has been a magnet for controversy. His office has been plagued by massive turnover since his arrival, resulting in a drain of seasoned death investigators and a rash of embarrassing blunders by inexperienced staff and interns.
Westword |
Alan Prendergast |
07-06-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Black-Market Cigarettes: Miami's New Vicenew
A gray-haired 57-year-old Florida man named Roman Vidal smuggled millions of cigarettes from Miami to Dublin criminals who funded a terrorist group, investigators say. The charges are just the latest link between black-market U.S. smokes and violent terrorist groups around the world.
Miami New Times |
Tim Elfrink |
07-06-2009 |
Crime & Justice
How Identity Thieves Get Away Free and Clearnew
Police and prosecutors can't seem to catch up to the growing number of identity theft crimes each year. The Houston Police Department alone receives about 1,400 identity theft complaints each month, and usually, those result in about 25 arrests. Not 25 percent. Twenty-five arrests. Meanwhile, the victims are often forgotten, left to deal with cleaning up the mess on their own.
Houston Press |
Paul Knight |
06-30-2009 |
Crime & Justice
A Grieving Son Finds No Justice on Rev. Maury Davis' Path to Redemptionnew
Ron Liles wants to tell Davis that he's a liar for bending the greatest truth in his life. To remind the mega-church pastor that the price of his spiritual rebirth, his professed salvation, was the blood of Liles' 54-year-old mother, Jo Ella.
Nashville Scene |
Brantley Hargrove |
06-19-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Can Vermont Towns Tell Registered Sex Offenders Where to Live?new
Convicted sex offender Chris Hagan is suing the town of Barre over its ordinance prohibiting sex offenders from living within 1000 feet of schools and recreation facilities such as parks and playgrounds.
Seven Days |
Sally West Johnson |
06-19-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Texas Creates Task Force on Sexual Slavery as One Trafficking Case Wraps Upnew
Despite the fact that three out of four victims of sex trafficking in the United States are U.S. citizens, House Bill 4009, now awaiting Governor Rick Perry's signature, would be the first state-level legislation to assist domestic victims.
San Antonio Current |
Greg Harman |
06-17-2009 |
Crime & Justice
How Did a Drug Dealer Rack Up 112 Convictions Over 26 Years?new
Along the way, Smooth has compiled a criminal record that's something of a record itself: He has 112 convictions. Not arrests, convictions: 94 misdemeanors and 18 felonies, revolving through the doors of juvenile court to municipal court to district court to superior court to federal court, from traffic and theft offenses and weapons and assault charges to burglary and crack sales.
Seattle Weekly |
Rick Anderson |
06-15-2009 |
Crime & Justice