This week at Crime Story we commemorated the anniversary of a significant moment in the history of criminalizing war attrocities and we continued our presentation of Katherine Mader’s serialized presentation of her memoir.
Welcome to our summary of the week’s events at CrimeStory.com and The Crime Story Podcast.
Today, we commemorated the 75th anniversary of Hermann Goering taking the stand (on March 13, 1946) at Nuremberg’s International Military Tribunal. We marked the event by publishing a special episode of Sean Smith’s series Nuremberg, the timely and timeless tale of the effort to use international law to criminalize and condemn the menace embodied in the Nazi German leadership.
Goering was first of the accused to testify on his own behalf, and Sean’s piece captures the moment from Goering’s own words as well as from the memories of several observers of that moment. You can also find a link to a filmed excerpt of Goering’s testimony in Sean’s piece.
Sean’s Nuremberg Series (links to all episodes available here) commemorates the entirety of this Anniversary period, which runs from November 20, 2020 through October 1, 2021.
On Wednesday and Thursday, we continued our Crime Story series excerpting Inside the Robe: A Judge’s Candid Tale of Criminal Justice in America, by Judge Katherine Mader (Ret.) which best selling author Michael Connelly called: “a perfect book: engrossing and telling at the same time.”
In Part 27 of Inside the Robe, Judge Mader examines why Judges must be careful about how and when they communicate with attorneys in a case, and examines the practical application of procedural rules regarding the use of eyewitness identifications in a trial.
In Part 28 she examines a trial that involves a shooting allegedly committed to benefit a gang, a controversial subject. The Judge explores some of the nuances of such a case, and the complicated task of preparing jury instructions.
Below we present Hannah Teich’s condensed curation of the week’s more interesting stories from Crime Story Daily. (Read Hannah’s full essay including links to the mentioned articles.)
On the criminal justice policy front: Pieces from Truthout and NBC center on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act; while pieces from Slate and USA Today focus on the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer now facing murder charges in Floyd’s death. And a piece from New York Magazine highlights a promising experiment with police reform in Denver.
In muckraker/watchdog reporting: Pieces from The Crime Report and UN News highlight the deadly impact of COVID-19 in carceral settings across the globe. The New York Times reports from New York City, where jail populations have swelled to pre-pandemic levels, stoking COVID fears; while an interactive story from South Side Weekly goes inside the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois. And a piece from the Marshall Project highlights racial disparities in the juvenile justice system
In complex crime storytelling: A piece from the New Yorker explores a series of mysterious attacks in the California wilderness. A piece from the New York Times highlights three exoneration stories out of Queens, New York. And BuzzFeed News delves deep into the world of the Oath Keepers, the far-right, anti-government militia group at the center of the Capitol insurrection.
In culture/true crime: A piece from the Washington Post centers on the Derek Chauvin murder trial and the return of Court TV. A piece from the New York Times highlights a new exhibition in Manhattan and “the great art behind Hunter S. Thompson’s run for sheriff.” NPR reviews Last Call, a new true-crime book by reporter Elon Green. And a piece from The Ringer highlights two unconventional crime dramas: The Investigation, about the real-life 2017 murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall; and Clarice, a new TV interpretation of The Silence of the Lambs.
Again, you can read Hannah’s full weekly essay and find links to each of the mentioned articles.
And finally, here is your opportunity to catch up on previous Crime Story Newsletters.
Thanks again for reading and listening.
Kary Antholis
Publisher/Editor, Crime Story
