True Crime Stories

I bet you guys thought I would be done with Kentucky cases! Well, to be fair, I thought I was for a while too. I checked out a few more on my list that were clustered with the last several I have done recently and nothing “caught my bones.” So I moved on and it just so happened the next case that I decided to write about is from Kentucky. But, I will say this is not a death penalty case so it is not completely like the others. In fact, this case is quite interesting because it first involves what is called the “dual sovereignty doctrine.” Basically it means that state governments and the federal government are considered to be separate with their own laws and their own ability to prosecute. You may have often heard about “double jeopardy.” That is the law that says you cannot be tried twice for the same crime. But, with all things there are exceptions and this case is an example of one of those. This case also addresses the power given to officials. We have heard a lot ...

In my last blog I discussed the issue that when outgoing governor, Matt Bevin left office in Kentucky in late 2019 he commuted a lot of sentences and issued pardons. There was huge controversies surrounding them and there was indications that the FBI was looking into several of them. It was said that a majority of them were low level drug crimes but there were a few that stuck out.... this is one of them. On the night of March 12, 1991 sixty year old Charles Westerfield opened the door of his Owensboro Kentucky home and saw a man dressed in a surgical suit. The man opened fire on Westerfield as he daughter (I was not able to determine how old she was) stood nearby. He would die from his injuries. Charles Westerfield worked at Southwire Rod and Cable Company in nearby Hawesville Kentucky. He also had only what I could find as described as a “side business.” His partner in this business was Irvin Edge who also worked at Southwire. Authorities would later say that ...

If I had done this blog anytime before December of 2019 it would have had a much different tone to it. It surely would have been on that I would have researched at some point as it was a notorious crime that took place in 1983 in Lexington Kentucky and resulted in the death of three people. In my opinion what it has now become is a symbol of how politicians use crimes, criminals and the death penalty for political gain. It also shows the hypocrisy of such people. I will definitely get into the details of this case as we go along but I want to start at the end, instead of the beginning. In November of 2019 incumbent Governor Matt Bevin lost his re-election bid to Andy Beshear. One thing I find interesting about Kentucky is that while most of their Congressmen and Senators are Republicans and they appear to be a very red state, when it comes to electing governors it is quite a different story. They have had more Democratic governors than Republican ones and a large ma...