Ebook Law Disorder Inside the Dark Heart of Murder John Douglas Mark Olshaker 9780786028849 Books

Ebook Law Disorder Inside the Dark Heart of Murder John Douglas Mark Olshaker 9780786028849 Books


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Product details

  • Mass Market Paperback 576 pages
  • Publisher Pinnacle; Reissue edition (July 29, 2014)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10 078602884X




Law Disorder Inside the Dark Heart of Murder John Douglas Mark Olshaker 9780786028849 Books Reviews


  • John Douglas is one of my favorite authors. He has a keen, logical mind and knows how to express himself so the reader understands
    what he is saying and why. He is advocating a repair of our investigative system in the different states so that we have a more consistent, and fairer judicial system. As things now stand law enforcement personnel and/or prosecutor can harbor preconceived notions about the defendant that colors their research into the crime. They end up suppressing evidence that doesn't jive with their preconceived notions, sending innocent persons to prison or even to their death. Douglas also relates the cases so that you come to know both the defendant(s) and the people prosecuting them.
  • I like John Douglas's books. He makes perfect sense to me. I know others have posted things that weren't very complimentary to him, but the profiling is his baby. He helped to develop it and it has turned into a real useful tool for Law Enforcement. This is a good book, I'll read anything he writes.
  • This book breaks from the authors' previous focus on hunting and analyzing violent criminals. Here they fight and analyze the system gone wrong.

    To quote the dedicated FBI violent crimes investigator Steve Moore "FACTS DETERMINE CONCLUSIONS -- The universal truism of investigation. The instant that one's conclusions determine or change the facts, you have corrupted the judicial system."

    To quote Douglas "There is also another phenomenon well known to those of us in law enforcement, medicine, and numerous other fields The more you focus on something, the more of it you will find, if that's what you're looking for and want to find. It is like the first-year medical students who spontaneously develop symptoms of whatever disease they happen to be studying that week."

    Douglas and Olshaker analyze high profile cases where the authorities started with conclusions, then pretzeled evidence and facts to fit these conclusions. From the Texas Board of Pardons, to the Boulder police and FBI, to the West Memphis Three prosecutors and judge, to the authorities in Perugia Italy, this book examines how a dispassionate pursuit of evidence was forsaken in favor of prejudice and politics. Hopefully we wonder how often this must be happening in not so high profile cases.

    We've all seen the damage tunnel vision can do in our own respective professions. Close minded prosecutors and judges, acting with civil immunity, have a particularly nasty power to destroy innocent families and keep violent criminals out on the street.

    Another focus of this book is capital punishment. The authors both criticize it and defend it as they spotlight various death penalty cases. It's a touchy subject.

    This book has the authority of an insider, who was influential in many of the cases he describes here. The evolution of the support movement for the West Memphis Three was fascinating to me as I knew little about that angle of the case.

    Although the authors made some practical suggestions about how to improve the system, I thought the book was lite in this area. But in a democracy it's up to all of us to oversee the justice system. We get whatever we deserve. I highly recommend this book.
  • The book contained some fascinating reading, but 1/2 way through it I had decided it had way more information than I wanted to read, and was getting laborious in its content. I have read other books by Douglas and liked them but this one was too long; I am an avid reader of true crime, but even with an interest in the forensic evidence (scientific aspect), the length of each case as written here became too political at times, and too long.
  • Having read nearly all of Douglas' books to this point, I was interested in his views on miscarriages of justice. So many people assume so much about many cases--with knee jerk guilty assumptions--and do not bother to find out the facts. Douglas presents the facts of each case so clearly that the reader will wonder how we got it so wrong at first.
  • It's entertaining, but not nearly as gripping as Douglas's best books (which are among the best true crime books I've ever read). As other reviews have noted, this book takes on a different tone; mostly Douglas constantly points out how other investigators are wrong and he is right. And I don't disagree with him, he probably is right. It just doesn't make for nearly as good a book.
  • Haven't read a Douglas book in a very long time. Noticed this and had to read it. After reading a lot of the other reviews I have to say, this book is certainly an eye opener. Some may disagree with Douglas' assessment of these cases but I don't. And Douglas is not afraid to say when things can go in the wrong direction.
    Douglas, as far as I'm concerned, is a hero in so many ways. He's not just about getting the "bad guy" as he is of making sure that all parties involved are justified according to either innocence or guilt.
    For example, I always had a feeling there was something "off" with the reporting regarding the Jon-Benet Ramsey case. After reading this book I TOTALLY believe that Douglas is spot-on.
    Without giving away the books contents I think this is a must-read for many true crime enthusiasts, criminal justice pursuer's and students, and anyone who can think objectively about the criminal justice system.
  • I am a fan of John Douglas' works. This book did not disappoint and enlightened me on many cases that have been controversial. The cases are presented with facts and thorough analysis. The info presented on the Knox case opened my eyes to the actual facts instead of the salacious hearsay we were accustomed to through media, which mostly worked against the case. I can't wait to read more of his books. Highly recommend!

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