

On the level of the individual case, the power of true crime has been apparent since Errol Morris’ 1988 film “The Thin Blue Line” helped exonerate Randall Dale Adams, wrongfully convicted of murdering a police officer. The point is that we don’t use these documented failures of our justice to push for common-sense changes.”
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In the show, Brendan Dassey, currently serving life in prison for his part in the murder of Teresa Halbach, was interviewed and confessed at age 16 without an adult present: “Why has that not triggered recording ?” (She also points to the interrogations of the Exonerated Five as depicted in Netflix’s scripted series “When They See Us.”) She continues: “There’s this denial that it’s not a common problem, and I think we’re really missing out. Mumma points to Netflix’s 2015 docuseries “Making a Murderer,” which sparked an outcry from viewers over treatment of a minor. If it was, we would be looking at, a minimum, expanding recording of all interviews at police departments where what is happening behind closed doors is literally a matter of life and death, particularly for those who are vulnerable because of race, addiction or mental health.” And I don’t think being used for nearly enough. In ‘Moment of Truth,’ it is all based on fact. “I don’t think there is nearly enough ,” says Christine Mumma, attorney for defendant Daniel Green in the killing of James Jordan (Michael Jordan’s father), recently profiled in IMDb TV’s “Moment of Truth.” “We’re seeing all this legislation happening across the country as a result of the George Floyd case, but we have these cases that are being used for fascination in true crime reporting rather than reform.
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Not everyone agrees that TV shows or podcasts like these are making a difference, though.

The HBO docuseries “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” executive produced by Patton Oswalt, documents the late Michelle McNamara’s quest to find the Golden State Killer. Television In HBO’s new series, the Golden State Killer is not the story. Long-running series such as “Unsolved Mysteries,” “America’s Most Wanted” and Britain’s “Crimewatch UK” may feature sinister music and ham-fisted reenactments, but they’ve also helped nab criminals: “America’s Most Wanted,” which was canceled after 25 years in 2013 and revived earlier this year (with a team including, who else, Holes), recently marked its 1,187th capture, while “Unsolved Mysteries,” rebooted by Netflix in 2020, has helped to solve more than 260 crimes. Like most things, there are nuances - “It’s complicated” was a phrase I heard from almost every source interviewed for this article. Even Holes, who co-hosts a podcast that crowd-sources clues, admits that. four decades after his murders began.ĭespite the genre’s proliferation on streaming platforms and podcast networks, then, it’s unclear whether, and how much, true crime media has changed the way law enforcement conducts investigations or solves crimes. Subscriber exclusive: Of the many mysteries that surround the Golden State Killer, one of the most consequential is exactly how authorities caught Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. Michelle brought attention to the case, but it didn’t cause the case to be solved to be solved any faster.”Ĭalifornia The untold story of how the Golden State Killer was found: a covert operation and private DNA We had a task force underway well before Michelle even knew about the case, and her involvement with the case didn’t cause us to work any harder, nor did any of us pay any attention to what was in her book. “However, I’d been involved in the case for 24 years. “Michelle and I were very close,” says Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator in the Contra Costa Country Sheriff’s Office who features heavily in HBO’s adaptation, which premieres a follow-up special on Monday. But while McNamara’s investigation sometimes ran parallel to the detectives’ discoveries on the cold case, the timing was pure coincidence. the Golden State Killer, was finally caught after half a century, 50 rapes and 13 murders because of “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark.” Based on Michelle McNamara’s bestselling book of the same name, published posthumously in 2018, the HBO docuseries, which weaves together McNamara’s personal narrative with her citizen detective work, premiered last summer the day before DeAngelo pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and kidnapping. You’d be forgiven for believing that Joseph James DeAngelo, a.k.a.
