Crime and Punishment

I was right. The case against John Mark Karr for the killing of JonBenet Ramsey has collapsed, to the surprise of almost no one. Prosecutors abruptly dropped their case Monday against John Mark Karr in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, saying DNA tests failed to put him at the crime scene despite his insistence he sexually assaulted and strangled the 6-year-old beauty queen. … [Read more...] about Karr Didn’t Do It

I found this sign in a small park-like area in Glenview, Illinois: I'm amused by the little figurines of the dog and its owner with the pooper-scooper. I'm also fascinated with the kind of thinking that must have gone into deciding on a maximum leash length. Were there incidents with long-leashed dogs? Was 8 feet the compromise value after a debate? But what really … [Read more...] about Beautiful Crime-Free Glenview

In response to an article I wrote last month about Police Shootings that Make You Go Hmmmm..., a Chicago SWAT team member named Erick left an interesting comment. I responded to part of it yesterday in Too Much SWAT, Part 1. Here's the rest of Erick's comment: In response to raids including non-violent crimes let me shed light onto the fact that it's not unusual for a pot … [Read more...] about Too Much SWAT, Part 2

In response to an article I wrote last month about Police Shootings that Make You Go Hmmmm..., a commenter named Erick writes: I've been on the Chicago Police SWAT team now without incident for over a year. SWAT teams don't just take random phone calls from anonymous callers, gear up and go smashing in peoples doors. If this were the only criteria people would call in false … [Read more...] about Too Much SWAT, Part 1

You don't really need to know the rest of this story about a "zombie dance party" to appreciate this paragraph: Police say the group was uncooperative and intimidated passersby with their "ghoulish" makeup at a time when officers were on high alert in reaction to a bulletin about men in other states who wear clown makeup while attacking and robbing people. Now that's great … [Read more...] about Zombie Dance Party