American Justice

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  • : 369
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  • A&E
  • Crime Documentary Mystery

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1994
1994x1
Mass Murder: An American Tragedy
Episode overview
Studying random acts of violence. Cases include Charles Whitman, who shot and killed 16 people at the University of Texas; Patrick Sherrill, an Oklahoma letter carrier who gunned down 14 co-workers.
1994x2
Hostage Takers
Episode overview
Examining the psyche of "The Hostage Takers." Included: a segment on the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro; comments from hostage negotiators. Also: the media's role in hostage situations.
1994x3
The Wrong Man
Episode overview
Examining cases of unjust imprisonment, including that of boxer Rubin Carter, whose life sentence for murder was overturned in 1985; and a Missouri woman falsely convicted of killing her son, who actually died of a rare blood disease.
1994x4
Great Brinks Heist
Episode overview
The 1950 "Great Brinks Heist" in Boston, a $2.7 million robbery that "caught the fancy of the American public" and the attention of Hollywood filmmakers. Also: how law officials are coping with bank thefts in Los Angeles.
1994x5
Fugitives
Episode overview
Efforts by law officials to capture fugitives from justice. Cases include John List, who was on the run for 18 years after the murder of his family, and was caught in 1989.
1994x6
Death Penalty
Episode overview
A study of issues surrounding the death penalty recalls the case of Caryl Chessman, who spent 12 years on death row until his 1960 execution; and Gary Gilmore, shot by a Utah firing .. show full overview
1994x7
Juvenile Justice
Episode overview
Examining case studies of juveniles who have committed violent crimes. Included: a look at why increases in youth crime are “pushing the system to its limits.”
1994x8
Mob Rats
Episode overview
Examining “the unique contributions” of mob informants to prosecutors. Included: Salvatore (“Sammy the Bull”) Gravano, whose testimony was crucial to John Gotti's 1992 conviction.
1994x9
War Crimes
Episode overview
Examining war-crime trials. Included: the Nuremberg trials; the trials resulting from the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam; and the Demjanjuk case. Interviewed: lawyers involved in the My Lai cases, including F. Lee Bailey.
1994x10
Satan: Rituals and Abuse
Episode overview
A report on ritual abuse of children focuses on a case involving an Austin, Texas, day-care facility, whose owners were convicted of sexual molestation. Included: how such cases are .. show full overview
1994x11
Lorena Bobbitt: Women and Violence
Episode overview
“Was Lorena Bobbitt a violent criminal or was she a desperate woman driven to violence?” Host Bill Kurtis poses the question in a report on women's uses of self-defense pleas. Included: Lorena and John Bobbitt's trials; battered-woman syndrome.
1994x12
Pleading Insane
Episode overview
An examination of the insanity plea looks at the cases of John Hinckley Jr.; and David Berkowitz, New York City's "Son of Sam." Included: interviews with attorneys who represented .. show full overview
1994x13
Cops on Trial
Episode overview
A report on police corruption focuses on how officers are treated after they are convicted. Cases studied include the New York City probe chronicled in the 1973 film "Serpico."
1994x14
Fighting Words: The First Amendment
Episode overview
Considering the freedom of speech, as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Among the cases: an American Nazi parade in Illinois that was chronicled in the 1981 TV-movie "Skokie." Also: legal troubles faced by comics, including Lenny Bruce.
1994x15
Jim Bakker: Crime in the Name of God
Episode overview
Examining how the justice system deals with cases involving religious groups. Included: Jim Bakker's conviction for fraud; a Christian Scientist couple whose son died of a curable illness because their beliefs forbade treatment.
1994x16
Reginald Denny: Jury Under Siege
Episode overview
An examination of pressures placed upon juries focuses on the trial of the men accused of beating Reginald Denny during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Also: jury responsibilities in death-penalty cases.
1994x17
Attack at Waco
Episode overview
Recapitulating the 1993 standoff between the Branch Davidians and Federal agents in Waco, Texas, and the 1994 trial of Davidian survivors. Also: video footage of David Koresh, and comments by his mother, Bonnie Haldeman.
1994x18
Sex, Lies and Harassment
Episode overview
The legal aspects of sexual harassment in the workplace. Included: a review of the Hill-Thomas confrontation; interviews with essayist Camille Paglia and law professor Catharine MacKinnon, and author David Brock ("The Real Anita Hill").
1994x19
Gangbusters
Episode overview
Law-enforcement efforts to halt gang-related crimes. The hour focuses on Daryl Whiting, former leader of Boston's "New York Boys," who's now serving a life sentence for drug offenses; .. show full overview
1994x20
The Attica Riot: Chaos Behind Bars
Episode overview
A report on the 1971 riot at Attica Correctional Facility in New York focuses on the state's handling of the crisis, called "one of the most infamous massacres in American history." .. show full overview
1994x21
Private Eyes
Episode overview
“The Private Eyes” examines the growing number of private security companies, and what can happen when “rogue” guards are on patrol. Interviewed: a New York security-company executive; .. show full overview
1994x22
Prostitution, Sex and the Law
Episode overview
Examining attitudes toward prostitution, and its effect on practitioners and society. Interviewed: one-time "Mayflower Madam" Sydney Biddle Barrows; Norma Jean Almodovar, the author of .. show full overview
1994x23
The Sting
Episode overview
The use of sting operations, "one of the most effective and disputed methods of law enforcement." Cases include the 1990 arrest of Washington, D.C., mayor Marion Barry; a 1993 animal-smuggling operation that involved an agent posing as a gorilla.
1994x24
Riots: The Chicago Conspiracy Trial
Episode overview
The riots surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, and the "chaotic" conspiracy trial that followed. "It was an episode of American justice gone mad," says series host Bill .. show full overview
1994x25
Divorce Wars
Episode overview
Examining divorces among celebrities, including Donald and Ivana Trump; and Peter and Roxanne Pulitzer, whose case resulted in Roxanne losing custody of her children in 1982; and the .. show full overview