1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910463348103321

Autore

Gardner Lloyd C. <1934->

Titolo

The case that never dies : the Lindbergh kidnapping / / Lloyd C. Gardner

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Brunswick, New Jersey : , : Rutgers University Press, , 2004

©2004

ISBN

0-8135-5447-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (495 p.)

Disciplina

364.15/4/0974965

Soggetti

Kidnapping - New Jersey - Hopewell

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Sudden Fame -- 2. Betty Gow's Journey -- 3. Mickey Rosner's Game -- 4. Man of Mystery -- 5. Interrogations -- 6. Expert Opinions: Money, Handwriting, and a Ladder -- 7. Confrontations -- 8. In District Attorney Foley's Office -- 9. Mr. Wilentz Builds His Case -- 10. Visions of a Ladder -- 11. The Search for Isidor Fisch -- 12. Judge Trenchard's Courtroom -- 13. Trial by Experts -- 14. Cross Examinations -- 15. The Governor and the Man in the Death House -- 16. The Palate of Mortals -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author

Sommario/riassunto

The Case That Never Dies places the Lindbergh kidnapping, investigation, and trial in the context of the Depression, when many feared the country was on the edge of anarchy. Gardner delves deeply into the aspects of the case that remain confusing to this day, including Lindbergh's dealings with crime baron Owney Madden, Al Capone's New York counterpart, as well as the inexplicable exploits of John Condon, a retired schoolteacher who became the prosecution's best witness. The initial investigation was hampered by Colonel Lindbergh, who insisted that the police not attempt to find the perpetrator because he feared the investigation would endanger his son's life. He relented only when the child was found dead. After two years of fruitless searching, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, a German immigrant, was



discovered to have some of the ransom money in his possession. Hauptmann was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. Throughout  the book, Gardner pays special attention to the evidence of the case and how it was used and misused in the trial. Whether Hauptmann was guilty or not, Gardner concludes that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of first-degree murder. Set in historical context, the book offers not only a compelling read, but a powerful vantage point from which to observe the United States in the 1930's as well as contemporary arguments over capital punishment.