Reader Views

Chessman and His Nine Lives on Death Row

Article first published as Book Review: Chessman and His Nine Lives on Death Row by Terrence W. Cooney on Blogcritics.
 
In 1956 the author of “Chessman and His Nine Lives on Death Row,” Terrence W. Cooney, was appointed by the California Supreme Court to argue the death penalty of Caryl Chessman who pleaded guilty to two murders. This was a case that captured much attention and brought prominence to the state of California.
 
During the beginning of this case, the author argued that capital punishment was cruel and unusual punishment, but this was rejected by the courts.
 
The interesting thing about this book it is not whether Chessman was guilty or innocent, but the amount of factual information readers will get about how our court system works. Another thing I found interesting is that Chessman received eight stays of execution, the last given by Governor Brown.

Chessman always felt like the system was playing the shell game with him, confess and you will be saved. But “we” are going to execute you anyhow.
 
The author does a great job of explaining how the court system works, and how each player has an important role in what happens to an inmate. He discusses the anger, resentment, power and control issues all the while not even taking into consideration the facts one has on the inmate.
 
“Chessman and His Nine Lives on Death Row” by Terrence W. Cooney is a fascinating read that gives readers a real look at what goes on in our prisons.


Chessman and His Nine Lives on Death Row
Terrence W. Cooney
Outskirts Press (2012)
ISBN 9781432795689
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (1/13)

The Humanity of Justice: Lighting Even the Darkest Path Toward Justice (Volume 1)

Article first published as Book Review: The Humanity of Justice: Lighting Even the Darkest Path Toward Justice (Volume 1) by Burke E. Strunsky on Blogcritics.

Burke E. Strunsky loves the law. He is passionate about justice and relentless in the pursuit of it with regard to those whom he prosecutes. Strunsky is a senior deputy district attorney in California and in his new book, “The Humanity of Justice,” he takes readers on a moving, insightful journey behind the scenes of the American justice system and inside the courtroom for the stories of some of the most unsettling criminal cases in the state and the nation. I believe it’s a journey that many readers will find memorable.
 
Dale Carnegie extolled the virtues of enthusiasm and passion and Burke E. Strunsky leverages both attributes in his writing of this stirring book. Strunsky’s style is part journalist, part everyman, with just a dash of lawyer, and the result makes his discussion of the law approachable and the law itself simply a matter of common sense. But one of the revelations Strunsky hits hard on in his stories is the often absurd lack of common sense inherent in our legal procedures. It is such eye-openers as this that make the book’s accounts of each case engaging, and in many cases, enraging. I believe for most readers, the significance of the book’s title, and the humanity to which the author refers, will not be lost.

The perspective of the case studies in “The Humanity of Justice” is clearly established by the first chapter, ‘Smoking Out the Smoking Gun.’ For most readers, this chapter will make it apparent that what they thought they knew about basic criminal law matters such as hard versus circumstantial evidence, is not valid and what they simply did not know was even more shocking. Simply put, chapter one left me feeling hoodwinked by TV crime programs, and mad at myself for my own obviously deficient efforts to acquire a self-taught knowledge of the law. I was hooked!
 
In each of the ensuing chapters, the author further debunked many of my perceived realities about criminal law. I was especially intrigued by the discussion in chapter five of the role language plays in the entire process, and the flaws in our laws and trial procedures relating to physical and sexual child abuse in chapters six and seven. By the time I finished the book, I was already beginning to consider what a more effective juror I would be if I ever had the opportunity to serve, and how much more intelligently I could follow significant national and local criminal cases.
 
For me, on one level, reading “The Humanity of Justice,” by Burke E. Strunsky, turned out to be like watching a DVD of the complete first season of my new favorite crime program, only better, because I could easily pour over all the details of each story. But the book was much more than that on another level. It challenged my perceptions and made me want to become more knowledgeable about criminal law. It made me think how I could help victims and help make change happen that would matter and make the law and our procedures better. And for me, “The Humanity of Justice” is a book that can make a difference.


The Humanity of Justice: Lighting Even the Darkest Path Toward Justice (Volume 1)
Burke E. Strunsky
Bookbaby Publishing (2012)
ISBN 9781620958810
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (7/12)

I, the People: How Marvin Zindler Busted the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

This book is definitely an attention grabber with its title referencing the notorious “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and the artwork on the cover being a titillating illustration of a scantily clad woman. You can’t help but pick this book up to find out more. In “I, the People: How Marvin Zindler Busted the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” author Gary Taylor writes a work of non-fiction that tells the story of the Texas political climate in the 1970s and the Houston police officer, turned TV star, who shut down the famed Chicken Ranch when no one else could.

What drew me to “I, the People: How Marvin Zindler Busted the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” was the mention of Marvin Zindler in the title. I grew up in Houston in the 70s and 80s watching Marvin Zindler every week on the TV news talking about “slime in the ice machines.” He was a local hero, a bit weird looking, and fun to listen to when he said “Marvin Zindler Eye Witness News.” So when I saw this book, I itched to learn more.
 
I was too little to remember the Chicken Ranch bust when it happened and I am only slightly familiar with it through the movie and play title. I have never thought about the details before. The first half of the book tells the story of the Chicken Ranch and how the local police let it stay in existence for so long when it was blatantly illegal. The political background is interesting, and it is especially interesting to learn how bringing the issue out into the open through news reporting is what finally brought the operation to its demise.
 
The second half of the book goes into more detail about Marvin Zindler and his background. This was my favorite part of the book, learning more about a character I had only seen on TV. I never knew Marvin Zindler had been a police officer, had plastic surgery or was the son of a clothing manufacturer.

“I, the People: How Marvin Zindler Busted the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” by Gary Taylor was great in that it told the story of Marvin Zindler as the father of consumer news journalism. I had never thought about it that way and think about things differently now when I see the segment on the current news righting wrongs for the average Joe. It meant something to him to be able to do that for people, to stand up for their rights. He did it for small matters, such as a bag of chips, or for larger moral dilemmas, such as a prostitution scandal taking place for years in a small Texas town. No act of wrongdoing was too big or too small for this reporter. I like that.


I, the People: How Marvin Zindler Busted the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Gary Taylor
CreateSpace (2012)
ISBN 9781468186628
Reviewed by April Sullivan for Reader Views (6/12)

The Evil &The Innocent

In his new book, “The Evil &The Innocent,” long-time child pornography activist Maine State Senator Bill Diamond presents a thoroughly researched accounting of what he describes as a cancerous sub-culture that is thriving and spreading just beneath the consciousness of our society – child sexual abuse. The book explores the devastation of the evil assaults on innocent infants and children, the inner workings of the minds of those who commit these horrible, inhumane acts, as well as those collaborators who will pay to watch.
 
Based on decades of experience as a public school educator at all levels, and then as a State of Maine public servant, including service as Maine’s Secretary of State and eighteen years as a state Representative and state Senator, Diamond has, over the past seven years, researched, written, and sponsored over fifty proposed laws pertaining to child sex offenders for the consideration of the Maine Legislature. Many have become laws. One clearly senses from his Introduction, and throughout the book, the toll this issue has taken on the author himself. At the outset, Diamond makes the goal of his book crystal clear. “This book may startle and sicken you because of the cold, hard facts that until now have been mostly hidden from you. Why? To protect you. It is my strong belief that the real life suffering must be brought into the light of day so that the collective ‘you’ demands that it stop – no matter what the cost.”
 
While the title of the book probably sums up the public’s perception of what child sexual abuse is about – innocence versus evil – the author actually presents a fair and balanced exploration of the numerous legal and cultural complexities that make most current laws both good and bad and of grappling with implementing better ways to deal with the safety of our children and justice for the offenders. Like all of the content included in the book, every example and case study presents real and actual cases. Even in presenting what the average person, and hopefully other legislators around the country, his own well thought-out model for a new bold, common sense approach to better laws and practices, the Senator makes fair accommodation for the relatively small number of offenders who pose any further threat to society. But he comes down swift and hard on those offenders who are found to be truly evil and inhumane. His model also reflects zero tolerance for the vast, worldwide pornography industry and those who support it. He is especially harsh on the most intolerable and sickening segment of that industry, those who produce “snuff” videos which show infants and young teen children being savagely brutalized sexually and then killed by their attacker on camera.
 
The cost of Diamond’s model is far beyond any amount of money currently budgeted by states. Much of that cost increase is accounted for by Diamond’s significantly proposed increase in funding for Computer Crime Units (CCU) which is a rescue and apprehension cornerstone resource for the battle with child sexual offenders and the porn industry. The book offers real examples of the effectiveness of the too few trained CCU investigators and shocking facts that make it clear that the collective “us” must demand that our federal and state public officials unite in funding this resource properly.
 
“The Evil &The Innocent” will disgust you. And that is what Senator Bill Diamond believes it will take to stop the horror. The book will also make you think, and never forget. In the books closing chapter, Diamond writes, “Witnessing the terrorized eyes of an innocent 3-year old toddler after being subjected to continued sexual assaults unleashed tormented images of suffering that refused to leave my mind.”
 
I will never forget “The Evil &The Innocent” by Senator Bill Diamond. And I will never stop telling people about this cause until our society does the right thing.


The Evil &The Innocent
Senator Bill Diamond
AuthorHouse (2012)
ISBN 9781468564976
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (6/12)

Lies Told Under Oath: The Puzzling Story of the Pfanschmidt Murders and of the Surviving Son-Victim or Villain?

Article first published as Book Review: Lies Told Under Oath by Beth Lane on Blogcritics.
 
Author Beth Lane takes the reader back to Saturday, September 12, 1912 to carefully establish the setting and events leading up to the discovery of the brutal murders of Charles, Mathilda, and Blanche Pfanschmidt, and Emma Kaempen. Twenty-year-old Ray Pfanschmidt is arrested for the murders and the arson attempt to cover up the crime. “Lies Told Under Oath: The Puzzling Story of the Pfanschmidt Murders and of the Surviving Son” asks the question “Victim or Villain?”
 
A cast of key players include a large number of relatives of the Pfanschmidt family, their friends, neighbors, local businessmen, doctors, attorneys, the Kaempen family, and numerous additional witnesses. Sensation-starved members of the community are mesmerized by speculation, the plague of rumors, and the mounting public opinion calling for Ray’s conviction, even before the opening day of the trial.
 
I became engaged in the brilliant oratory of the attorneys, the hundreds of questions asked, the confusing testimony, the possibility of perjury, and the likelihood of tainted evidence. All these factors added to the courtroom spectacle, played to a full house of predisposed citizens.  I felt I had a choice seat in a crowd clamoring to get into the courtroom audience each day.
 
Lane spent hours of tedious research in the basement and sub-basement of the Quincy Illinois County Courthouse as well as at the Illinois State Capitol to find documentation to follow the day-to-day development of the trials. She includes these actual findings drawn from the Coroner’s inquest transcript, and the official trial transcripts. Additional research provided newspaper accounts of the trials.
 
Bloodhounds, buggy wheels, party line telephones, timing devices, and jailhouse informants all add to the roller coaster of emotions of the trial, the verdict, and the aftereffects.

By presenting a day-by-day account of the trial, the narrative sometimes becomes bogged down with the repetition of evidence, objections from the attorneys, and the sheer number of witnesses. I became as committed as a jury member, not wanting to miss a single important bit of important testimony. Lane’s crucially placed editorial comments add clarity, continuity, and flow to the details of the narrative.
 
“Lies Told Under Oath” by Beth Lane is drawn from the real life transcripts of courtroom strategy, procedure, drama and suspense. This is a must read for true crime fans. The account reads like fiction and will also appeal to those who enjoy the genre of courtroom procedural novels. A monumental work!


Lies Told Under Oath: The Puzzling Story of the Pfanschmidt Murders and of the Surviving Son-Victim or Villain?
Beth Lane
iUniverse (2012)
ISBN 9781462076307
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (4/12)

Justice Wanted: The Kid in the University Stairwell

Article first published as Book Review: Justice Wanted: The Kid in the University Stairwell by Marlene Gentilcore on Blogcritics.

I was incredibly surprised by this book because I was expecting some boring notes and newspaper articles strung together in a haphazard way in an effort to create a story, but what I got was a page-turning mystery that almost demands you join the author as she pursues justice for a family that has encountered so many wrongs.

After a brief intro that sets the stage for the story and a little bit of background on the author that provides insight into why she dedicated a large portion of her life to a family that was nothing but strangers when she first met them, Gentilcore begins leading us down a dark and twisted path filled with numerous mysteries. I’ve read plenty of true crime books but I don’t think I’ve ever seen justice so conveniently and expertly thwarted. As each new clue surfaces, you won’t be able to resist asking yourself how such a thing could occur.

You will feel the excitement of the feisty reporter that’s busting with enthusiasm over the possibilities that are contained within this mystery, and you will still be right by her side as the weary journalist doggedly sticks to the path years later for no other reason than her desire to help this family that seems to have no other place to turn.

I love how the author holds nothing back. Our hero isn’t a perfect and flawless creature that always has the answers. She’s a real person that feels fear and doubt, sometimes using all her strength just to continue a fight that sometimes seems impossible to win. I also like how all the facts, evidence, and clues of the case are laid out for us, allowing the reader to put their detective skills to use in this quest for justice.

My only complaint is how the book ends because the conclusion seems a little rushed, with no sense of finality, but the book still receives five stars because that’s the price of true crime. Unlike fiction, real drama seldom has a conclusion packed with an overwhelming sense of fanfare; real drama just ends. Still, I wish there had been just a little more depth in the last couple of pages.

If you’re a fan of true crime or mystery stories, you need to give “Justice Wanted: The Kid in the University Stairwell” a try. I guarantee you will never again look at quiet college towns the same way.


Justice Wanted: The Kid in the University Stairwell
Marlene Gentilcore
Edgewood Pr (2011)
ISBN 9781595716484
Reviewed by Marty Shaw for Reader Views (1/12)

Consensual Consequences: A True Story of Life with a “Registered Sex Offender”

“Consensual Consequences” by Lynn Gilmore is the true story of a woman’s journey married to a registered sex offender.  After ending her first marriage, the author moves closer to family in Arkansas to start a new life.  Soon after arriving, she meets Allen, a never before married man, who, though flawed, gives her the positive attention she’s been seeking.  He confesses that he is an alcoholic yet he is never abusive to her or her two daughters.  The most shocking confession Allen makes, though, is that many years before he had had consensual relations with a girl under the age of sixteen at a party.  Though confessing to not realizing her age, he is charged with third-degree carnal abuse and required to register as a sex offender.  Gilmore marries Allen anyway and in the years she has been with him, never had any fear that this one time act in poor judgment would ever be repeated, and according to her, it has not.  However, the fact that Allen must be a registered sex offender, makes their lives (including the life of their young daughter together) quite challenging as they are faced with having to confess their secret publicly and never allow Allen on school grounds without another adult.

“Consensual Consequences” is an interesting read.  While the first part mostly highlights the love affair between Gilmore and Allen, the last part of the book comes on strong, in a good way.  I will admit that I was skeptical about “feeling sorry” for a registered sex offender and quite honestly couldn’t care less if they were all lumped together.  However, after reading this book I have changed my mind, and I assume that was the intent of the author, to educate people about the wide array of offenses that cause people to be placed on the registered sex offender list including underage teenage consensual sex, public urination, etc.  Her point is well made that placing everyone on one list doesn’t help us parents to distinguish who is most a threat to our children (by seriousness of the crime).  That point alone didn’t convince me to want to change the laws, but the point that law enforcement is then forced to spread themselves thin keeping tabs on all of the registered offenders, no matter the offense, instead of better tracking the rapists or child molesters, for example, makes perfect sense to me.  I’d much rather the energies be focused on those dangerous to society rather than a teenage boy who had sex with his seventeen-year-old girlfriend and got caught by an angry parent.  I don’t have the answers, but Ms. Gilmore’s mission seems logical.  “Consensual Consequences” will really make the reader think.

Consensual Consequences: A True Story of Life with a “Registered Sex Offender”
Lynn Gilmore
Robert D. Reed Publishers (2011)
ISBN 9781934759509
Reviewed by Marissa Libbit for Reader Views (4/11)

After the Murder of My Son

No parent should ever lose a child to death regardless of the circumstances, but for Mary and Mark Westra their child should have never been kicked to death. How do you handle the news that your child has died when you just saw him a few days before? How do you get the real information of what happened and what do you do when the justice system lets you down?

The Westra’s were a wonderful, close knit family who enjoyed doing things together. The parents were always loving and understanding of their children. Their son Peter was a successful investment banker in New York; he was handsome, fun and loved life. After he attended his grandmother’s 90th birthday celebration, he flew to Atlantic City to meet college buddies for a bachelor party. Even though the place chosen to party wasn’t something Peter or his friends normally did, they were having fun and not bothering anyone. And as Mary says “does it really matter where the party was or if the young men were drinking?” What really is important is what happened when Peter and a bouncer got into a conflict and Peter ended up being stomped to death and left in the gutter.

Even though the actual events were hard to come by, the bouncers went to trial. Trials in themselves are torture in that you have to recount in detail what others think happened. How do you sit there and listen to the inhumane events? The Westra family was still grieving and had a hard time trying to understand how someone could so callously take the life of another human being. Even though the system is in place to take care of the victim, sometimes it fails and those who are perpetrators get off with little or no prison time.

“After the Murder of My Son” is a wonderful memoir about the process of grief, shock and finally some healing. It is told with great passion, honesty and emotion. You can feel the family’s pain, and how they eventually began to help others who have had the same thing happen to their child. Mary takes her grief and healing and puts it to a good use to remember her son and others. Readers will be stunned at what happens in the criminal justice system and question everything that was done in the trial and leading up to the trial.

After the Murder of My Son
Mary Rondeau Westra
North Star Press of St. Cloud (2010)
ISBN 9780878393985
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (11/10)

Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber: The True Story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge, One of the FBI's Most Elusive Criminals

True crime stories are always a fascinating read, but oftentimes they leave me wondering what truly went through the criminal’s mind while planning or executing the crimes. “Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber” took care of this question rather nicely – most of the narrative comes directly from the perp himself, Leslie Ibsen Rogge, who at one time was on the FBI most wanted list and proved to be extremely difficult to catch.

Well, let me put the record straight. The book was actually written by Dane Batty, Leslie Ibsen Rogge’s adoring and worshipping nephew, who provided the Introduction as well a certain amount of framework on comments on the story, which was basically written by Leslie himself. I have to admit that I was not familiar with Leslie’s story, although quite a few crimes he committed actually happened close to where I live, but they happened before my times. Leslie’s way of robbing banks was rather distinctive: he would dress well and ask to speak to a manager of a bank that he’d previously checked out. He preferred smaller banks with all-female staff. Once inside, he’d say, “Let's not turn this into a homicide,” and the managers would comply. His escapes were always brilliantly simple, if somewhat daring, and for a very long time he managed to elude capture. He would usually walk away with a substantial sum, which he invariably managed to spend in a rather short period of time, and then he’d start planning the next robbery.

He was eventually captured, tried and sentenced, but he managed to escape in a rather spectacular way, simply walking out of the door before being transferred to jail. What follows are years of living on the water, cruising in the Caribbean and having lots of fun, while being constantly aware that the FBI is on his heels. They finally capture him and Leslie Ibsen Rogge is now an inmate, due to be released in 2047, when he’d be well over a hundred-years-old. Funnily enough, after reading about his adventures, this does not sound impossible.

“Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber” was a charming and unusual book, filled with humor and unabashedly unapologetic. I am certain that it will find an appreciative audience among those readers who enjoy true crime stories, as well as those who enjoy straight talk.

Wanted: Gentleman Bank Robber: The True Story of Leslie Ibsen Rogge, One of the FBI's Most Elusive Criminals
Dane Batty
Nish Publishing Company (2010)
ISBN 9780615268453
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (11/10)

The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee

This is a wonderfully-written book filled with detailed information about Chicago’s Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee. No one better than Bilek, a former chief of the Cook County Sheriff's Police and currently an adjunct professor at Loyola University, to condense years of research into a factual accounting of vice and corruption in Chicago during the years between 1893 and 1920. Included are pictures of the area along with maps of the 1st Ward and South Side Levee.

Vincenzo Colosimo (later known as Big Jim or James), was born in 1878 in the small town of Colosimi, Italy. In 1891 Vincenzo's father Luigi sent him to America hoping Vincenzo would become wealthy and send money back to Italy to help support the Colosimo family. He chose Chicago because of its huge railroad hub to the west and its great potential to find employment. Little did Luigi know that the rest of his son’s wealth would come from corruption and vice after his first and only legitimate occupation as a newspaper hawker.

Two memorable political figures in Chicago who helped Jim move up in the ranks as a vice-lord were Aldermans "Bathhouse" John Coughlin and Michael "Hinky Dink" Kenna. Although they had totally opposite personalities, they worked well together in getting the job done which was apparent in the fact that they wielded authority and power in the First Ward that lasted for years.

For readers who aren’t familiar with the prostitution that took place in Chicago during those years, Bilek goes into great detail explaining brothels, white slavery, and levees. He devotes three chapters to the infamous madams of the Levee, Ada and Minna Everleigh. The Everleigh Club, called "the most famous and luxurious house of prostitution in the country" flourished for 11 years before being shutdown by Mayor Harrison in 1911. This marked the beginning of the end of the Levee in the 22nd Street red light district.

Between 1912 and 1914 the Levee deteriorated into a slum. Colosimo’s Café where Big Jim did much of his wheeling and dealing was razed in 1958. Prior to that the building had changed hands over the years but many still remembered it as the place where Jim was gunned down in the entrance to his cafe (2126 S. Wabash Avenue) on May 11, 1920.

Many questions still remain unanswered today. Who shot Big Jim? Where were the hundred thousands of dollars in cash that Jim had stashed away? What did Ada and Minna do with the estimated one million dollars in cash and two hundred thousand in jewelry when they moved to Manhattan to live out the remainder of their lives? Perhaps Bilek will write a sequel to "The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee," if he can unearth this information.

The First Vice Lord
Art Bilek
Cumberland House (2008)
ISBN 9781581826395
Reviewed by Kathleen Dowdell for Reader Views (11/08)