A Scape Goat For Murder

Kevin Cooper was convicted of the brutal murders of a Chino Hills, California family and a young houseguest in 1985 and has been on death row at San Quentin ever since. In his new explosive expose, "Scapegoat," investigative journalist J. Patrick O'Connor reveals how the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office of San Bernardino County framed Cooper for these horrific murders. "Scapegoat" provided a rare direct examination of the broken justice system in the United States, where homicide detectives and district attorneys all too often become blinded by their goal of winning convictions rather than searching for justice for both the victims and the accused.

An engrossing and richly panoramic novel from a major new writer, based on a true story... In 1948, the body of an American journalist is found floating in the bay off Thessaloniki. A small-time Greek journalist is tried and convicted for the murder...but when he's released twelve years later, he claims his confession was the result of torture. Flash forward to contemporary Greece, where a rebellious young high school student is given an assignment for a school project: find the truth. And as he begrudgingly takes it on, he begins to make a startling series of gripping discoveries--about history, love, and even his own family's involvement. Based on the real story of famed CBS reporter George Polk—journalism’s prestigious Polk Awards were named after him—The Scapegoat is a sweeping saga that brings together the Greece of the post-World War II era with the Greece of today, a country facing dangerous times once again. As told by key players in the story—the dashing journalist’s Greek widow; the mother and sisters of the convicted man; the brutal Thessaloniki Chief of Police; a U.S. Foreign Office investigator, and, finally, the modern-day student, in the novel's most stirring narration of all--The Scapegoat confronts questions of truth, justice, and sacrifice...and how the past is always with us.

From its largest cities to deep within its heartland, from its heavily trafficked airways to its meandering country byways, America has become a nation racked by anxiety about terrorism and national security. In response to the fears prompted by the tragedy of September 11th, the country has changed in countless ways. Airline security has tightened, mail service is closely examined, and restrictions on civil liberties are more readily imposed by the government and accepted by a wary public. The altered American landscape, however, includes more than security measures and ID cards. The country's desperate quest for security is visible in many less obvious, yet more insidious ways. In Scapegoats of September 11th, criminologist Michael Welch argues that the "war on terror" is a political charade that delivers illusory comfort, stokes fear, and produces scapegoats used as emotional relief. Regrettably, much of the outrage that resulted from 9/11 has been targeted at those not involved in the attacks on the Pentagon or the Twin Towers. As this book explains, those people have become the scapegoats of September 11th. Welch takes on the uneasy task of sorting out the various manifestations of displaced aggression, most notably the hate crimes and state crimes that have become embarrassing hallmarks both at home and abroad. Drawing on topics such as ethnic profiling, the Abu Ghraib scandal, Guantanamo Bay, and the controversial Patriot Act, Welch looks at the significance of knowledge, language, and emotion in a post-9/11 world. In the face of popular and political cheerleading in the war on terror, this book presents a careful and sober assessment, reminding us that sound counterterrorism policies must rise above, rather than participate in, the propagation of bigotry and victimization.

One of Canada's finest reporters reveals the true story of the murder in Somalia, the scapegoating of the wrong man, and the shocking cover-up by the Canadian army. March 16, 1993. A Somali teenager is tortured and beaten to death by Canadian peacemakers from the Airborne Regiment. Kyle Brown, a young trooper from Edmonton, is initially present, but he commits only a minor offense. He is not there when Shidane Arone is killed, and he is later commended for coming forward with information. Two weeks later, however, Brown is under arrest for torture and murder. Those most responsible go free and lower ranks are punished more. Kyle Brown, eventually convicted of torture and manslaughter, has become the scapegoat in one of the most shameful events in the history of the Canadian army. Who killed Shidane Arone? Who covered it up and why? What has happened to those responsible? What went wrong in the Canadian Airborne Regiment?

Life After Kes examines the history and legacy of the 1969 award-winning British film, Kes, about a boy's (Billy Casper) relationship with a kestrel. This fascinating book not only pays homage to the vision and extraordinary talent involved both in front and behind the camera but also looks at subsequent changes in the educational system, posing some important questions. Are we any better off today? Have schools and teaching staff moved forward over the last few decades? Have successive government's learnt anything from the mistakes of the past? Life After Kes explores the lives of the cast and production team since the making of the film including David (Dai) Bradley who played the lead role and examines why the legacy of Billy Casper and the national perception of Kes cast a shadow over South Yorkshire. Does Casper’s ghost still haunt this ex-mining community and is director Ken Loach’s gritty northern drama as relevant today as it was then? This book is a must-have for all film fans, anyone who enjoyed Kes and all those with an interest in British social history.

Kevin Cooper was convicted of the brutal murders of a Chino Hills, California family and a young houseguest in 1985 and has been on death row at San Quentin ever since. In his new explosive expose, "Scapegoat," investigative journalist J. Patrick O'Connor reveals how the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office of San Bernardino County framed Cooper for these horrific murders. "Scapegoat" provided a rare direct examination of the broken justice system in the United States, where homicide detectives and district attorneys all too often become blinded by their goal of winning convictions rather than searching for justice for both the victims and the accused.

Every few months there's a shocking news story about the sustained, and often fatal, abuse of a disabled person. It's easy to write off such cases as bullying that got out of hand, terrible criminal anomalies or regrettable failures of the care system, but in fact they point to a more uncomfortable and fundamental truth about how our society treats its most unequal citizens. In Scapegoat, Katharine Quarmby looks behind the headlines to question and understand our discomfort with disabled people. Combining fascinating examples from history with tenacious investigation and powerful first person interviews, Scapegoat will change the way we think about disability - and about the changes we must make as a society to ensure that disabled people are seen as equal citizens, worthy of respect, not targets for taunting, torture and attack.