American Justice

- Season 2

(1993)

Examining the case in which a man's wife and children were brutally murdered, he claimed, by drug-crazed hippies.

Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi official captured by Israeli agents in 1960 and taken to Israel to be tried for war crimes.

Organized crime during the Prohibition era, including profiles of Al Capone, Bugs Moran and Lucky Luciano. Brooklyn DA Charles J. Hynes joins host Bill Kurtis.

The case of Jean Harris, the former headmistress convicted of murdering her lover, Dr. Herman Tarnower, in 1980.

Recalling a hoax in the 1970s involving an alleged authorized biography of Howard Hughes by Clifford Irving.

Charles Starkweather, executed in 1959 for committing 11 murders.

The case of Richard Speck, who was convicted of the 1966 murders of eight nurses and student nurses in Chicago.

Wayne Williams, convicted of two of the Atlanta child murders that terrorized the city between 1979 and 1981.

Examining the battles waged against gangland families by the Gambino organized-crime family, led by "Boss of Bosses" Paul Castellano, until his 1985 assassination that was masterminded by John Gotti.

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, whose string of robberies and killings made them two of the most notorious criminals of the 1930s.

"Target: Mafia" studies crime during Prohibition. Examined: Assistant Attorney General Mabel Walker Willebrandt's efforts to curtail bootlegging; battles between ethnic gangs.

Examining "The Birth of the American Mafia," from its origins in Sicily to mob activity during Prohibition. Included: the roles of Al Capone and Charles "Lucky" Luciano; rivalry among Italian, Irish and Jewish gangs.

"The Kennedys and the Mob" examines efforts by President Kennedy and his brother Robert to curtail mob activity; the possible link between JFK's assassination and organized crime.

Profiling "gangbusters" such as Harry Anslinger, first commissioner of the Bureau of Narcotics; and Thomas E. Dewey, who successfully prosecuted Charles "Lucky" Luciano on charges of running a prostitution ring.

"Empire of Crime" examines mob activity during World War II; the murder of Benjamin Siegel; nightclubs, casinos and racetracks linked to organized crime.

A three-part history of mob activity in Philadelphia. Part 1 shows how Nicodemo Scarfo gained power by supplying concrete to the growing casino industry in Atlantic City.

Part 2 of a three-part history of mob activity in Philadelphia concerns local and Federal government investigations of Nicodemo Scarfo, which led to his imprisonment. Included: Scarfo's operations---from Philadelphia to Florida.

Conclusion. Examining connections between the Sicilian Mafia and the U.S., and the influence of the incarcerated Nicodemo Scarfo on crime in Philadelphia.

Examining highly publicized rape cases, including the 1992 conviction of Mike Tyson for the rape of a beauty-pageant contestant; and the 1983 gang-rape case in New Bedford, Mass., that inspired the 1988 movie "The Accused."

A graphic account of the crimes of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer who became, his attorney Gerald Boyle says, "the embodiment of evil." Included: footage from Dahmer's trial; comments from experts on serial murder.

American Justice goes back to the 1950's and an era of the "Red Scare" to examine the evidence against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg that led to their conviction of espionage and ultimately both of their executions in 1953. The Rosenberg's who were admitted Communist's, were accused of supplying vital secrets about our atomic bomb research to the Soviets. The most damning evidence against the Rosenberg's came from Ethel's brother and his wife, but new evidence puts some of those claims into question.

Examining two arson cases: the 1990 blaze at the Happy Land club in the Bronx, which claimed 87 lives; and the 1944 Hartford Circus fire, in which 168 people were killed. Included: retired firefighter Rick Davey, who investigated the Hartford fire.

A history of Alcatraz recalls some of the prison's most spectacular breakout attempts, including one that inspired the film "Escape from Alcatraz." Also: the maximum-security prison at Marion, Ill.

Racially motivated crimes in the U.S., such as the murders of three civil-rights workers in Mississippi, and the 1988 beating death of an Ethiopian student in Oregon. Included: comments from attorney Morris Dees.

Cases of vigilantism in the U.S., including the 1984 Bernhard Goetz subway shooting in New York City; the 1984 murder of an alleged child molester; and the 1987 torching of a Detroit crack house.