After a lengthy trial, Dr Conrad Murray has been sentenced with committing the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson. But what’s the difference between voluntary and involuntary, asks Harrison Polites?
Murder
10,000 African albinos in hiding
At least 10,000 albinos in East Africa are in hiding from hunters looking to kill them and sell their body parts for their “magical powers”. A complete “set” of albino body parts — limbs, genitals, ears, tongue and nose — can sell for as much as $75,000.
Was Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones murdered?
Forty years after his death, police are reopening the investigation into the death of Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, with new evidence unearthed by the Daily Mail suggesting foul play may have been afoot. Can they get some satisfaction?
News outlets censor killer’s racist rant
The AP and other news outlets have omitted racist comments and references to US President Barack Obama when publishing excerpts from the diary of gunman George Sodini, who opened fire on a Pittsburgh fitness center yesterday, killing four women.
Mothers killing children: a cautionary tale
Last week’s ‘Cannibal Mom’ was perfect tabloid flodder. But the case says a lot more about young mothers and mental health than catchy headlines.
PODCAST: What it takes to kill
Crikey ditor Jonathan Green chats with Crikey regular Jeff Sparrow about his new book, Killing, in which he explores what it means to snuff out a life from roo shooting to execution.
Video of the Day: Inside the mind of a killer
Do murders have the same brains as you and me? Neuroscientist Jim Fallon explains what makes psychopathic killers tick.
Hate speech, the hijab and western media
Despite the gruesome nature of Marwa el-Sherbini’s murder in a German courtroom by her neighbour, the western media have shied away from telling her story.
Papuan shootings: we will probably never know the truth
Papua is a media black hole with foreign journalists rarely permitted to report from the province. The true story behind the latest shootings of 29-year-old Australian Drew Grant and security guard Markus Ratealo will probably never be revealed.
Forbes Russia editor murder, five years on
It has been five years since the murder of Forbes Russia founding editor Paul Klebnikov, killed for dreaming of a better, more enlightened Russia. Half-a-decade later, has anything changed?
Anna Politkovskaya murder to be retried
Russia’s Supreme Court has overturned the acquittal of three suspects in the controversial 2006 killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a murder many suspect to have been at the behest of the Kremlin.
Mexican drug cartels recruit young men for murder-for-hire rings
In the minds of many Americans, the Rio Grande divides Mexico, a corrupt land where drug cartels have the upper hand, from the US, a nation of law and order, where the authorities keep criminal gangs in check. But in reality, the border is much more blurred.
RIP George Tiller, courageous abortionist
The killing of George Tiller in Kansas is a reminder, as if we needed one, of why so few doctors dare to become abortion providers outside big cities, writes Emily Bazelon.
Eastman returns to the scene of the crime
Former Canberra Treasury official David Eastman will return to the ACT this week.
How I found out a killer was stalking me
Earlier this month, psychiatrist Jean Eric Gassy was found guilty of murder. Dr Peter Arnold writes that shortly after Gassy was charged, he was told that the accused was found carrying a photo of him.
The anti-corruption czar and the caddy
The chief of Indonesia’s anti-corruption body has been accused of ordering the murder of a business executive who was caught up with him in a love-triangle.
