America has a fascination with criminals. Some of the most-watched television programs are one depicting the lives of serial killers and thieves. The nation’s fascination with a crime goes back centuries. If you are an individual who takes pleasure in learning about the criminally insane and deranged then you might have found this page because you are interested in finding out about some cases that shocked the American people (which says a lot when you consider most people’s interest in crime!)
Here are the stories of some of those cases:
Hiring Legal Representation
You can’t always predict when you are going to get into trouble with the law. Even crimes committed by other people can wind up getting you into trouble. On an alarmingly regular basis, people are convicted of crimes they did not commit in this country. If you have been arrested then it’s absolutely vital that you seek out professional legal support. It does not matter if you are guilty or not guilty; what matters is that you have an expert defending you. One criminal lawyer in Chicago stresses the importance of finding qualified legal representation on their website. When searching for a lawyer it is always important to read their reviews and see what has been written about them online.
The reason that you need to read reviews is so that you can see what other people’s previous experiences with that specific firm or individual are. In an organization’s reviews you will find detailed descriptions of what working with them is like. An absence of reviews is not a bad sign. You might be surprised to learn that no reviews can actually be an indication that a business’s customers have absolutely nothing negative to say about them.
The OJ Simpson Case
To write an article about the most shocking crimes in American history and not mention OJ Simpson would be criminal in itself. OJ Simpson was a famous television and movie actor and a very popular football player whose wife and her lover were brutally murdered. The actor was quickly arrested, charged, and taken to court. The trial that followed Simpson’s arrest created headlines around the world and shocked millions of people. The case’s most shocking aspect was not the heinous crimes committed by the murderer but instead the fact that despite overwhelming evidence, Simpson was found not guilty.
Many years after Simpson’s not-guilty verdict was delivered the athlete was arrested in Las Vegas for attempting to rob a casino. After this arrest, he was sentenced to a stint in prison that only ended recently. OJ Simpson was later found guilty of the murders in civil court and was told to pay compensation to the families of his victims. Despite being found guilty in civil court because the athlete was found not guilty in criminal court he has never spent a day in prison for the crimes he is said to have committed on that night.
Bonnie and Clyde
In America’s storied history, there have been countless outlaws and countercultural rebels. A pair of criminals who shocked the nation, Bonnie and Clyde, were lovers who traveled the country leaving death and destruction in their wake. Bonnie and Clyde’s crimes were so surprising to many people because of the involvement of Bonnie, a woman. At that time it was unheard of for women to commit acts of such violence. While now female criminals are as common as male ones and nobody bats an eyelid when they are arrested, America at that time was not used to such things.
Bonnie and Clyde were not the only outlaws to have shocked the nation, however. Another more sinister individual, John Dillinger, attracted media attention when his gang of robbers went on a crime spree. Dillinger was later shot to death after firing at federal agents. Many of his gang members were killed around the same time or after. Dillinger was supposedly connected to gangland figures of the same time, like ones in New York and Chicago. There have been a lot of books written about these individuals and others like them. If crime history interests you then consider reading some of them.
Jeffery Dahmer
Jeffery Dahmer is an individual who needs no introduction. In recent years media production companies have released films and documentaries about his life. However, despite how much the media has glamorized this individual, he was a sick, depraved pervert. Dahmer’s crimes shocked the nation. He was responsible for the torture and murder of several individuals and on more than one occasion had sex with dead bodies. Dahmer’s crimes were supposedly born out of a troubled childhood but even that has been debated. Dahmer was murdered in prison by another inmate while he was cleaning bathrooms.
John Wayne Gacy
Another serial killer whose crimes shocked America was John Wayne Gacy. Gacy’s crimes were particularly shocking because many of them involved teenage boys. Gacy was known as the ‘Clown Killer’ because he frequently dressed up as a clown and is even said to have killed in clown makeup. Gacy’s life has been told and told again in documentaries and books. As mentioned earlier the American people seem to have a fascination with criminals and it is because of this that Gacy’s story is constantly retold. If you are interested in learning more about it then you could potentially buy one of these books or watch one of these documentaries.
Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy is the serial killer most people have an interest in. Bundy was described as charming, handsome, and personable. It was not his winning personality that captivated the nation however, it was his shocking crimes. On more than one occasion Bundy killed young women. At one point he even broke into a dormitory and killed women while others were sleeping around them. While many of Bundy’s crimes are known it is speculated that there are many more he committed that are to this day unknown.
Crime is interesting, there’s no denying it. What makes a criminal’s mind tick? People watch documentaries and read about criminals to escape from their lives or just to study the criminally insane. Some cases are more prolific than others due to the insane levels of violence they involve.