Posted inNonfiction, Quotes

The Roots of the Insanity Defense

For centuries, courts have struggled to protect the mentally ill while also trying to distinguish between sanity and insanity. In the 1700s, the British courts relied on the “wild beast” test as their barometer for the latter: if the defendant’s understanding of his crime was no better than that of a infant or beast, he couldn’t […]

Posted inNonfiction, Quotes

The 1944 Court Decision That Changed Hollywood

The showbiz press has been abuzz all day with news of a surprise shake-up (a group of high-powered talent agents defected en masse from one top agency to another). Most of the coverage has been inside baseball, but an analysis in The Hollywood Reporter by Matthew Belloni provides some interesting insight into Hollywood history: Consider the case of the late legendary agent, who […]

Posted inCollege, Nonfiction

Suspended Justice: The Story of a Wrongful Conviction, Our College Pick

Every week, Syracuse University professor Aileen Gallagher helps Longreads highlight the best of college journalism. Here’s this week’s pick: There’s a marvelous detail buried deep in Indiana University senior Katie Mettler’s story about the wrongful conviction of David Camm, who was tried three times for the murder of his wife and children. At a diner […]

Posted inCollege, Nonfiction

Suspended Justice: The Story of a Wrongful Conviction, Our College Pick

Every week, Syracuse University professor Aileen Gallagher helps Longreads highlight the best of college journalism. Here’s this week’s pick: There’s a marvelous detail buried deep in Indiana University senior Katie Mettler’s story about the wrongful conviction of David Camm, who was tried three times for the murder of his wife and children. At a diner […]