Crime

Tens of thousands of African-American men, women, and children were lynched by mobs in the United States between 1882 and 1968. Some of these lynchings were photographed, and the photos were saved as souvenirs, and were even sometimes used as postcards. Antique dealer James Allen came across these disturbing images and began to collect them. His collection is currently on display at the New York Historical Society. The book about Allen’s collection, called “Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America” (Twin Palms Publishers) was published earlier this year.

The 84 year-old former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet flew home to Chile today, after the British Home Secretary ruled against extraditing him to Spain where he would have faced trial for torture and human rights violations. He was found mentally unfit to stand trial. Pinochet had been under house arrest In England for over a year, as legal efforts were made to hold him accountable for the thousands of people who died or disappeared during his 17-year regime In Chile. We talk with Peter Kornbluh, ("corn-blue") Senior Analyst at the National Security Archive.

Attorneys Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld. They co-founded the Innocence Project, dedicated to freeing innocent people from jail using DNA tests to do so. Barry Scheck is best known for his DNA analysis on the OJ Simpson defense team. They've collaborated on a new book (along with columnist Jim Dwyer) about their efforts, "Actual Innocence: Five Days to Execution, and Other Dispatches From the Wrongly Convicted." (Doubleday).

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction by historian Linda Gordon (Harvard Press).

We remember crime novelist George V. Higgins. He was found dead at his home on Saturday, apparently of natural causes. He was 59. He was best known for his best seller, "Friends of Eddie Coyle," published in 1972. (REBROADCAST from 9/30/1986)

Pierre-Richard Prosper served as a prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal in Rwanda. In 1994, more than a half-million Rwandans were killed in a massacre. Last year, he successfully prosecuted the former Mayor of Taba, Rwanda for genocide. He also convicted the former official on rape charges. This is the first time rape has been recognized as a instrument of genocide. Prosper is an American attorney who worked for the Justice Department and for the Los Angeles County D.A.'s office.

Executive director Richard Feldman of the American Shooting Sports Council which represents gun manufacturers.

Last year New Orleans became the first city to file suit against the gun industry. Chicago followed. And now many other cities (including Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, San Francisco and L.A.) are considering similar actions. Journalist Fox Butterfield writes about crime and criminal justice for The New York Times. He'll discuss these suits as well as one filed in New York by a group of individuals who lost family members from gun violence. Butterfield was a member of the Times writing staff that won a Pulitzer Prize for its publication of The Pentagon Papers.

Senior policy analyst Tom Diaz at the Violence Policy Center, a non-partisan non-profit public policy institute working to reduce gun violence. He's the author of the new book, "Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America" (The New Press). In the book, Diaz writes how in an attempt to increase profits, the gun industry has introduced more aggressive and lethal guns to the public. DIAZ says they do this free from regulation and under a cloak of secrecy.

Criminologist Richard Wright. He teaches at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He'll discuss the statistics released last month by the Justice Department showing that the crime rate has been falling steadily since 1991. He'll also discuss the link between the crime rate and the decline in crack use which he has studied. Wright is the co-author of the book, "Armed Robbers in Action: Stickups and Street Culture" (1997, Northeastern University Press).

Film critic John Powers reviews "A Simple Plan" by filmmaker Sam Raimi. The quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over four million dollars in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small airplane.

Husseini writes for the Jordan Times, the country's only English-language daily. Her reporting on "crimes of honor" has brought to light the practice of a woman being murdered by her own relatives when it's thought the woman brought dishonor upon them. In one instance a 16 year-old schoolgirl was killed by her older brother because her younger brother raped her. Police and prosecutors have taken little notice of "honor killing" but that attitude has begun to shift because of Husseini's efforts.

Journalist Eric Schlosser talks about who is profiting from America's prison boom. He is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly. He wrote this month's cover article entitled "The Prison Industrial Complex."

An expert on prison systems around the world, Vivien Stern. She's written the new book, "A Sin Against the Future: Imprisonment in the World" (Northeastern University Press). Stern is Senior Research Fellow in the International Centre for Prison Studies at King's College and Secretary-General of Penal Reform International.

In 1980, Debbie Morris was a 16 year-old high school junior who was kidnapped, raped, and beaten by Robert Lee Willie. Willie's story was portrayed by Sean Penn in the film "Dead Man Walking." She has written about her life in "Forgiving the Dead Man Walking." (Zondervan)

Film critic John Powers reviews "Happiness," the ironically titled new film by Todd Solondz.

TV critic David Bianculli previews the ABC telemovie "Columbo: Ashes to Ashes" starring Peter Falk. It airs tonight at 9:00.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews "The Practice" and "Homicide."

Reeve Lindbergh joins us to talk about life with her father. She's a writer whose memoir about her father and mother Anne Morrow Lindbergh, "Under a Wing" (Simon & Schuster) will be published in October 1998. Her other books include the children's titles "The Midnight Farm," and "The Day The Goose Got Loose." Other books include "The Names of the Mountains" and "Nobody Owns the Sky: The Story of 'Brave Bessie' Coleman."

Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix talk about the 1995 shooting incident that brought them together. Assign's 20 year-old son, Tariq Khamisa was fatally shot by Felix' 14 year-old grandson Tony Hicks. Azim Khamisa reached out to Ples Felix in the aftermath and became friends. Azim later founded the Tarik Khamisa Foundation in San Diego and both men work to educate children on the devastating impact of youth violence. Azim Khamisa has written a new book about his experience in "Azim's Bardo: A Father's Journey from Murder to Forgiveness." (Rising Star Press)