Wed, Jan 2, 2002
In Phoenix, AR 1989,Debra Milke is convicted of arranging the murder of her four year old son Christopher. The case hinges on the testimony of one man who confessed to committing the crime along with Milke's then roommate. American Justice takes an in-depth look at this case in which authorities are accused of shoddy police work putting the convictions in doubt.
Wed, Mar 6, 2002
On April 21st, 1989 Marianne McLaughlin is run down in a Boston parking garage after her husband drops her off to park their car. With serious injuries Marianne slips into a coma and is not expected to live, but after several months she is able to make a miraculous recovery. Investigators learn that her husband Joe had purchased tickets to the theater that evening as a birthday present for Marianne, but that this was actually part of a murder plot involving another suspect hired by her husband. American Justice examines this case of attempted murder.
Wed, Mar 20, 2002
The case of Willaim Heirens is examined by American Justice. Heirens was arrested in 1946 for the murder of 45 year old Josephine Ross, 34 year old Francis Brown, and six year old Suzanne Degnan in Chicago. After the dismembered body of Degnan was found an outraged public and media put intense pressure on the Chicago police department to find the killer. Heirens is pegged for the crime and then confesses. In an interview with American Justice he claims he is innocent and forced into confessing.
Wed, Apr 3, 2002
On April 17, 1989 in the small community of Kirtland, Ohio, self proclaimed prophet Jeffrey Lundgren convinces members of his religious cult to help him murder a family of five. Through interviews and archive footage American Justice profiles Jeffrey Lundgren and his 13 member religious cult, and how he convinced them to murder in the name of God.
Wed, Jul 10, 2002
On Nov. 7th, 1994 Tim Boczkowski calls a Pittsburgh 911 dispatcher to report that his wife had drowned in a hot tub. Almost immediately detectives are suspicious of Boczkowski's behavior. An ensuing investigations reveals that his first wife had drowned in a bath tub on Nov. 4th, 1990 in North Carolina after she had decided to pursue a divorce. American Justice interviews the Boczkowski children and the investigators in this case that finally found him guilty of murdering both wives.
Wed, Aug 7, 2002
The 10th anniversary show explores the role of the jury through recollections of high-profile trials and commentary from jurors who served in them. Included: Jack Kevorkian's trial in 1994; the O.J. Simpson trial (1995); and the 1998 trial of Dana Ewell, who planned the 1992 murder of his family.
Wed, Sep 4, 2002
In November of 1998, San Joaquin, California detectives who are searching for missing 25 years old Cyndi Vanderheiden learn that Loren Herzog and Wesley Shermantine are linked to not only her disappearance, but to the disappearance of 16 year old Chevy Wheeler, and to the murders of two other men as well. American Justice profiles the case in which Herzog turned evidence on Shermantine in return for a lighter sentence. Shermantine was sentenced to death, and the remains of Wheeler and Vanderheiden were finally discovered on Shermantine's former property in 2012.
Wed, Oct 16, 2002
Margaret Rudin nearly gets away with the murder of her husband, Las Vegas real estate magnet Ron Rudin, in part due to the fact some investigators felt she was simply too nice to have committed murder. American Justice looks at how she finally became entangled in her own web of lies, deceit, and murder.
Tue, Oct 8, 2002
In the spring of 1997, 16-year-old Terence Garner was arrested and charged with armed robbery and attempted murder. With no physical evidence liking him to the crime, the North Carolina teen was convicted on the basis of eyewitness testimony. Just days after the conviction, a different Terrance confessed to the crime. Despite the confession, Garner spent five years behind bars waiting to be acquitted. Today Garner is a free man and only one eyewitness remains vocally convinced of his guilt, the woman he was accused of shootings. The ordeal began when three men robbed the Quality Finance Company, a small loan company in rural Johnston County, North Carolina. Quality Finance employee Alice Wise was shot in the head and chest. She survived and went on to provide powerful eyewitness testimony that Garner was the gunman. The other two men arrested in connection with the crime, Keith Riddick and Kendrick Hederson, both admitted to their role in the robbery, yet told vastly different stories at Garner's trial. Riddick, in exchange for a reduced prison sentence, testified for the prosecution that Terence Garner was the shooter. Henderson, testifying for the defense, told the court Garner was innocent. He then repeated the same information he gave police nine months earlier: the shooter was Riddick's cousin Terrance from New York. Garner was found guilty and sentenced to a minimum of 32 years. After the trial, Henderson convinced a police officer from a neighboring jurisdiction to check out his claim that the wrong Terence had been convicted. Acting on Henderson's information, a Wayne County detective found 24-year-old Terrance Deloach. Deloach confessed to shooting Wise, but then recanted setting in motion a chain of events that reveal disturbing cracks in the American Justice system and call into question the reliability of eyewitness testimony.