Category prison
The Vampire of Sacramento — Richard Trenton Chase
It somehow seems appropriate to talk about a character named the Vampire of Sacramento as we approach Halloween. This vampire didn’t go from home to home looking for full-sized Snickers or KitKat bars. The Vampire of Sacramento went from door to door in search of victims… Richard Trenton Chase is an example of the failings […]
Serial Killer Profile – Morris Solomon, The Sacramento Slayer
In this installment of the Serial Killer Profile series, we will dive on one of Sacramento’s “forgotten serial killers,” The Sacramento Slayer — Morris Solomon Jr. In any other city, Solomon’s killings would have captured national attention. However, the regional media was busy covering another serial killer, Dorothea Puente, who had been burying seven victims […]
Bouchercon 2018
It’s that time again–the annual pilgrimage to the worldwide mystery convention known as Bouchercon. The moveable Mecca of the mystery writing scene sets up its tents in St. Petersburg, Florida this year and it’s always a big draw bringing writers and avid readers together. Last year’s convention in Toronto drew over 1,400 participants to […]
Private Prisons in Crime Fiction
Build it and they shall come… Private prisons have been a popular recurring theme in crime fiction and television drama. Most of the stories I’ve come across involve some smoky backroom deal between a corrupt judge and a private prison operator. Newly sentenced offenders, often kids, are portrayed as victims who wouldn’t have come to […]
All The Justice You Can Buy
I had a bit of a “Get Off My Lawn” moment this week. When we last circled around the campfire, we talked about the tale of convicted drug trafficker, Alice Johnson and a push for clemency on her behalf by the Queen of the Selfie, Kim Kardashian. There’s the link, if you want to check […]
Celebrity Prison Reform
This week, in the bizzaro world of celebrity political influence, Kim Kardashian had a meeting in the White House to discuss prison reform. Yes, you read that right, the Queen of vapid, self-absorbed empty brands, met to discuss of all things–prison reform. Not that we don’t have a national system that is overdue for a […]
Prison Facts: A Lethal First
Recently, at the Left Coast Crime convention in Reno, I held a round of Nevada-centered prison trivia. Prison lore and operation play a role in my books, particularly in the most recent, Bury The Past. Folks seem to enjoy finding out if they have what it takes to survive behind the walls. One of the […]
Spiraling Prison Costs
It’s no great state secret that maintaining a prison system is expensive. Since California has the largest prison system in the nation, it should also be no surprise that it is the most costly. The official state budget for the operation of the California prison system is teetering on $12 Billion annually–nearly $2 Billion more […]
Authors on the Air Podcast and #NotMyCat Strikes Again
I enjoy talking to people about what I write and how I come up with the stories and characters. Pam Stack, of Authors On The Air Global Radio Network, and I had a chance to sit down and chat about BURY THE PAST, my life in prison, and #NotMyCat. As I’m writing this, I hear […]
Prison Trivia
Those of us who worked in prison, or out on the street managing parole or probation caseloads, know a few things. Things we took for granted as we went about our daily grind. Some things, we try to forget. Others are simply hard to explain. But, having left that world of bars, walls, and wire, […]
James L'Etoile 