The Case That Never Dies

by Gardner, Lloyd C.

• ISBN13: 9780813533858
• ISBN10: 0813533856
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-06-01
• Publisher: Rutgers Univ Pr

Summary

The Case That Never Diesplaces 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 1930s as well as contemporary arguments over capital punishment.

Author Biography

Lloyd C. Gardner, a professor of history at Rutgers University, is the author of over a dozen books on U.S. foreign relations. Among the awards he has received are two Fulbright Professorships and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments,	ix
Introduction,	1	(221)
1. Sudden Fame,	5	(6)
2. Betty Gow's Journey,	11	(23)
3. Mickey Rosner's Game,	34	(23)
4. Man of Mystery,	57	(31)
5. Interrogations,	88	(24)
6. Expert Opinions: Money, Handwriting, and a Ladder,	112	(31)
7. Confrontations,	143	(30)
8. In District Attorney Foley's Office,	173	(26)
9 Mr. Wilentz Builds His Case,	199	(23)
10. Visions of a Ladder,	222	(21)
11. The Search for Isidor Fisch,	243	(24)
12 Judge Irenchard's Courtroom,	267	(31)
13. Trial by Experts,	298	(23)
14. Cross Examinations,	321	(37)
15. The Governor and the Man in the Death House,	358	(39)
16. The Palate of Mortals,	397
Notes,	117	(346)
Bibliography,	463	(4)
Index,	467