Crime Story Editor

Sean Smith presents Part 14 of his week by week analysis of the news stories aggregated in Crime Story Daily related to COVID-19 and our carceral system. You can find links to each of Sean’s analysis pieces here. This article covers the week beginning June 14. WEEK 14 (JUNE 14-JUNE 20)  Twenty-one states saw an increase in their average, daily new coronavirus cases over the week leading to June 14, with Alabama, Oregon and South Carolina recording the biggest spikes. Nearing its annual recess, the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects gay and transgender people from workplace discrimination...

N*gga Theory: An Interview with Professor Jody Armour By Amanda Knox with Christopher Robinson Jody Armour is a law professor at the University of Southern California. He studies the intersection of race and legal decision making as well as torts and tort reform movements. He has also taught about the intersection of social justice, Hip Hop culture, and the law in a workshop titled Race, Rap and Redemption. In his first book, Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism: The Hidden Costs of Being Black in America, Armour examined three core concerns of the Black Lives Matter movement — racial profiling, police brutality, and mass...

Links to all of CRIME STORY'S coverage of the Robert Durst trial are here. Episode 8: After the Jinx Episode Synopsis In March of 2015, after the debut of a pivotal episode of The Jinx, Robert Durst was arrested in New Orleans on gun charges. Deputy DA John Lewin tells the jury that this is where he first met Durst, travelling to New Orleans to interrogate him. Lewin concludes his opening statement by presenting testimony of Durst's and Susan Berman's good friend Nick Chavin. According to Chavin, when he asked Durst about Susan Berman, Durst gave Chavin a disturbing reply. You can listen...

On today’s podcast, we present part two of a two-part interview with filmmakers Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson (you can find part 1 here), who — over the last three decades — have made some of the most in depth and insightful documentaries about the overlapping American crises of crime, incarceration, societal disruption and the struggles of governments to cope with these seemingly intractable issues.  In this part we focus on their latest work, the HBO documentary Stockton on my Mind examining Stockton, California and it’s dynamic young mayor, Michael Tubbs. We begin by discussing how the film is in...

On today’s podcast, we present part one of a two-part interview with filmmakers Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson, who — over the last three decades — have made some of the most in depth and insightful documentaries about the overlapping American crises of crime, incarceration, societal disruption and the struggles of governments to cope with these seemingly intractable issues. I have known Marc and Daphne since 1992 when they were making films in HBO’s documentary department, where I worked for the legendary television executive, Sheila Nevins. At the time, Marc and Daphne were working with Marc’s dad, Al Levin,...

The Trials of Emanuel Fair By Amanda Knox with Christopher Robinson On the night of October 31, 2008, 24-year-old software engineer and motorcycle enthusiast Arpana Jinaga was raped and murdered in her bedroom after co-hosting a Halloween party at her apartment complex in Redmond, Washington. Nearly two years later, detectives charged then 26-year-old Emanuel Fair, one of the many revelers who visited Jinaga’s apartment over the course of the evening. Fair was arrested and spent the next nine years in jail, proclaiming his innocence through two trials, numerous motions, and drawn out judicial delays. It was the culmination of a long...