Justice History

On July 4, 1826, as Americans lit firecrackers to celebrate the country’s 50th birthday, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were on their deathbeds. The young nation had outlived the men who made it, but could it survive intensifying divisions over the very meaning of the land of the free? American Radicals is a dynamic, timely history of 19th-century activists - free-lovers and socialists, abolitionists and vigilantes - and the social revolution they sparked in the turbulent Civil War era.

Based on real events perpetrated by real people, Who Murdered Mary? is a gripping tale of shortsighted decisions, heartless animal cruelty, and needless murder of an innocent circus elephant that was aided and abetted by mob rule and officials of a prosperous railroad. The tale unfolded during three tumultuous days in September 1916 in the peaceful but ill-fated towns of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Erwin, Tennessee.

Of all the colorful characters that inhabited the West during the 19th century, the most famous of them all is Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), who has long been regarded as the embodiment of the Wild West. Considered the "toughest and deadliest gunman of his day", Earp symbolized the swagger, the heroism, and even the lawlessness of the West.

From award winning criminologist R. Barri Flowers and the best-selling author of The Sex Slave Murders 1 & 2, Serial Killer Couples, and Murder of the Banker's Daughter comes Murder Chronicles, a gripping collection of true crime tales. Includes ten compelling stories of murder, madness, and mayhem that span nearly a century of American history and homicidal criminality that will keep you reading from beginning to end, while staying with long after.

John Brown is a lightning rod of history. Yet he is poorly understood and most commonly described in stereotypes, as a madman, martyr, or enigma. Not until Patriotic Treason has a biography or history brought him so fully to life, in scintillating prose and moving detail, making his life and legacy - and the staggering sacrifices he made for his ideals - fascinatingly relevant to today's issues of social justice and to defining the line between activism and terrorism.

The controversial 1991 War Crimes Act gave new powers to courts to try non-British citizens resident in the UK for war crimes committed during WWII. Safe Haven considers for the first time why and how convictions failed to follow investigations. Within the broader context of war crimes investigations in the United States, Germany, and Australia, the authors reassess the legal and investigative processes and decisions that stymied inquiries, from the War Crimes Act itself to the restrictive criteria applied to it.

Over centuries and around the world, there is a long history of ruthless people who have wreaked havoc to get what they want. Whether empire-building or simply displaying a cruel streak, is there any excuse for the actions of people who have been responsible for the deaths of so many? Find out in these sixteen biographies of men and women throughout history who have left there deadly mark on history. From Attila the Hun and Vlad the Impaler to Adolf Hitler, listeners will learn the wicked origins of the world's most dangerous people.

In The Majesty of the Law, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor explores the law, her life as a Justice, and how the Court has evolved and continues to function, grow, and change as an American institution. Tracing some of the origins of American law through history, people, and ideas, O’Connor sheds new light on the basics, and through personal observation she explores the development of institutions and ideas we have come to regard as fundamental.

In Demand the Impossible, Robert L. Tsai traces lawyer Stephen Bright's remarkable career to explore the legal ideas that were central to his relentless pursuit of equal justice. For nearly forty years, Bright led the Southern Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit that provided legal aid to incarcerated people and worked to improve conditions within the justice system. He argued four capital cases before the US Supreme Court—and won each one, despite facing an increasingly hostile bench.

Contracts and the Legal Odyssey: Unraveling the Interplay of Power, Ideology, and Justice delves into the historical development of the legal system with a particular focus on the increasing emphasis on contracts. The exploration is rooted in a deep understanding of how legal ideologies, the interests of socioeconomic elites, and societal norms have shaped the legal landscape.

"Women's rights are human rights." The words are relevant today, but they could just as easily have been used by Elizabeth Cady Stanton at Seneca Falls in 1848. Or Susan B. Anthony when she was arrested for voting in 1872. Or Alice Paul when she was imprisoned and tortured for peacefully protesting outside of the White House in 1917.

First printed in 1977, Cops and Bobbies has become "one of the two or three consensus classics in the history of police", according to Roger Lane, author of Murder in America. In this second edition, Wilbur R. Miller provides a new preface in which he discusses how police historiography changed in the 20 years after the book's initial publication.

A major literary figure tells “a searching tale of loss, recovery, and déja vu that is part memoir and what-if speculation, part polemic and exposé” (The Washington Post) about two generations of one family - civil rights martyr Emmett Till and his father, Louis - shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Chief Justice Rehnquist's engaging writing illuminates both the high and low points in the Court's history, from Chief Justice Marshall's dominance of the Court during the early 19th century through the landmark decisions of the Warren Court. Citing cases such as the Dred Scott decision and Roosevelt's Court-packing plan, Rehnquist makes clear that the Court does not operate in a vacuum, that the justices are unavoidably influenced by their surroundings, and that their decisions have real and lasting impacts on our society.

In his astonishing new book, Edward Klein uncovers the real story behind Hillary's email scandals and the dirty political games that have kept her one step ahead of the law - for now. Klein reveals what the FBI's team of 150+ investigators really found on Clinton's server. How Comey originally threatened to resign over White House attempts to intervene in the investigation, and his secret plan to go around the Justice Department if needed.

Lord knows, Rev Al has had his personal and very public ups and downs - but he's come out bigger and better than ever. Though the host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation is as fiery and outspoken as ever about the events and issues that matter most, he's learned that the only way we can get right as a nation is by getting right from within. In this, his first book in over a decade, Rev Al will take you behind the scenes of some unexpected places - from officiating Michael Jackson's funeral, hanging out with Jay-Z and President Barack Obama at the White House, to taking charge of the Trayvon Martin case.

The Supreme Court's decisions on constitutional rights are well known and much talked about. But individuals who want to defend those rights need something else as well: access to courts that can rule on their complaints. And on matters of access, the Court's record over the past generation has been almost uniformly hostile to the enforcement of individual citizens' constitutional rights.

Thaddeus Stevens was among the first to see the Civil War as an opportunity for a second American revolution - a chance to remake the country as a genuine multiracial democracy. As one of the foremost abolitionists in Congress in the years leading up to the war, he was a leader of the young Republican Party’s radical wing, fighting for anti-slavery and anti-racist policies long before party colleagues like Abraham Lincoln endorsed them. These policies - including welcoming black men into the Union’s armies - would prove crucial to the Union war effort.

American Traitor examines the career of the notorious Gen. James Wilkinson, whose corruption and espionage exposed the United States to grave dangers during the early years of the republic. Wilkinson is largely forgotten today, which is unfortunate because his sordid story is a cautionary tale about unscrupulous actors who would take advantage of gaps in the law, oversight, and accountability for self-dealing.

Before Germany was engulfed by Nazi dictatorship, it was a constitutional republic. And just before Dachau Concentration Camp became a site of Nazi genocide, it was a state detention center for political prisoners, subject to police authority and due process. The camp began its irrevocable transformation from one to the other following the execution of four Jewish detainees in the spring of 1933.