Lise A. Pearlman

"On the 50th anniversary of the Black Panther Party, Pearlman's new book American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton compares the explosive state of American race relations in 1968 to race relations today with insights from key participants and observers of the internationally-watched Oakland, California death-penalty trial that launched the Black Panther Party and transformed the American jury "of one's peers" to the diverse cross-section we often take for granted today. The book includes comments from Newton prosecutor Lowell Jensen, pioneering black jury foreman David Harper and TV journalist Belva Davis, as well as from Huey Newton's older brother Melvin Newton, former Panthers Kathleen Cleaver, David Hilliard and Emory Douglas. It also includes comments from civil rights experts including Bryan Stevenson, Barry Scheck and John Burris. American Justice on Trial also complements the documentary project of the same name by Arc of Justice Productions, Inc., a non-profit arts organization. The book incorporates quotes from filmed interviews for that historic project for which Pearlman is the co-producer and co-director with veteran documentarian Robert Richter. The progress of that film project can be followed at www.americanjusticeontrial.com." -- Publisher information.

"In the depths of the Depression, millions worldwide followed every twist and turn of the Lindbergh baby kidnap/murder. Yet what was reported was largely fake news. Nearly a century after undocumented immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann was executed for the dastardly crime, questions still linger. If the wrong man was convicted, who did it? When? Where? Why? How? The answers this book suggests have eluded all prior authors. Extensive research into dusty archives yielded crucial forensic evidence never before analyzed. Readers are invited to re-examine "the crime of the century" with fresh eyes focused on a key suspect -- a slim man wearing a fedora that obscured his face. He was spotted with a ladder in his car near the Lindberghs' driveway early that fateful night. The police let an insider who fit that description oversee the entire investigation -- the boy's father, international hero Charles Lindbergh. Abuse of power, amorality and xenophobia all feature in this saga set in an era dominated by white supremacists and social Darwinists. If Lindbergh was Suspect No. 1, the man who got away, what was his motive? Who else was involved? Who helped cover up the crime? Read this book and judge for yourself." [Book Jacket]