A Primer on Pedophiles

People worldwide have now watched the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland” featuring two men who said, as children, they were repeatedly sexually abused by Michael Jackson.  The documentary delved into how such abuse can occur, a predator’s methods and the lifelong damage it can do to a child victim.  I’m not convinced most Americans truly understand…

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Shame on Washington For Allowing Immigration Mess to Fester

What was that all about? After months of defending his policy that separated children from their illegally immigrating parents, after searing images of crying children being held in chain link cages were met with howls of worldwide disapproval President Trump declared, “We want to keep families together. It’s very important.” Then he signed an executive…

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Readers Sound Off on the Death Penalty

Serial killers, guns and the death penalty. Whenever I write about one of those topics my mailbox blows up. Last week’s column about convicted murderer Dylann Roof and America’s policy of capital punishment — public support for it, the costs associated with it and its usefulness in deterring others – definitely stirred passions.

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No Justice For Jon Benet Ramsey

All crime reporters have a story from their past they cannot shake, a case that either touched them on a profound personal level or remains mysteriously unsolved. This time of year, I think of a story I covered 20 years ago this week, which remains with me for both reasons: the Christmastime death of 6-year-old…

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Time For Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Retire

US Supreme Court justices are appointed to the highest court in the land for life. There Is no mandatory retirement age. But I would suggest it is time for 83-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg to hang up her robe. We should all take a moment to acknowledge her long and spectacular legal career. Ginsburg has been…

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Keeping Track of Rogue Cops

Truth be told we do a pretty good job in this country keeping track of automobiles, doctors and teachers. We do a pretty lousy job keeping track of rogue police officers. That’s right, there is no comprehensive national system for tracking bad seed officers who should find another line of work. The result? So-called “gypsy…

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