True Crime Stories

In 1992 the state of Virginia executed Roger Keith Coleman. Coleman had proclaimed his innocence right up to the end and there were many who believed after his execution that an innocent man had been killed by the state. There had been DNA testing done prior to his execution but through his defense attorney's Coleman had fought the results. Now of course at the time of his execution DNA was not what it is today so the results were not as conclusive as they could have been many years later. There was a push by those who believed he was innocent to have more modern DNA testing done after his execution, mainly to show the flaws in the death penalty. A decade later the Governor of Virginia allowed those tests to be done and it left absolutely no question that Coleman was guilty. There were many in high places left to “eat crow.” Coleman's case proved that no matter how staunchly someone claims their innocence it proves nothing. While the case of Wayne Kubsch is not as drama...

As I have said before, when I go through my list of names to research I sometimes find myself with clusters of things that are similar. Sometimes it is a state; sometimes it is a sentence; and sometimes it is just a similar type of crime or criminal. Just as in the last case that I published this one took place in Indiana, and the defendant was executed by the state. However, this case is not only much different as far as circumstances, it was also a case that brought many changes to the state and a spotlight was shown throughout the nation. On March 4, 1989 some residents of Mishawaka Indiana watched in horror as their neighbor, twenty-nine year old Lisa Bianco was being beaten in the middle of the street in front of their eyes. Also watching were Lisa Bianco's two young daughters. The only thing that could have possibly been more horrible for them to see their mother beaten was to know she was being beaten by their father, Alan Matheney. By the time Matheney was...