True Crime Stories

I believe that this case is a bit different than any that I have done, at least from a judicial standpoint. I have done cold cases and cases that may have not had a lot of evidence available directly linking the defendant to the case but nothing quite like this. This was a case that after a conviction was procured the defendant appealed the case and had his conviction overturned and a new trial was ordered. That is not unusual, I have blogged about several cases where this has happened. The difference here is that the prosecution appealed this ruling not once, but twice. They lost the first time but won the second time and the conviction was reinstated. This action has me on the fence as to how I feel about it. I feel like the prosecution was able to appeal until they got someone to agree with them. Now, this does not mean that I think the defendant was innocent or even that I agreed with the two courts that thought he deserved a new trial but often for me it is the point...

Once again I find myself looking over a case in which not only must I be very careful in examining the information due to the time period of the crime but it is a crime that to this day, over 60 years later seems to be a debate.  Now, I will state right out of the gate that unlike some, I do not believe it is likely that Burton Abbott was framed or that he was innocent of the crime that he was ultimately convicted and executed for.  With that said, I do believe Burton Abbott's rights were violated and his execution should have never taken place when it did... but I will get to that later. On April 28, 1955, fourteen year old, Alameda County California (near Berkeley for those who know) resident Stephanie Bryan did not arrive at home after school. A massive manhunt was formed but no trace of Stephanie could be found.  On May 2nd a textbook belonging to Stephanie was found in a field that would have been on her route home, but nothing else was found.  The textbook it...