AN EYE FOR AN EYE-
A special edition of Yesterday’s News exploring the criminal justice system at its most extreme: Inflicting the Death Penalty.
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This episode comes at the request of a faithful listener in Cincinnati who wanted to hear more about Anna Marie Hahn, the first woman to be executed in Ohio's electric chair.
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Although ‘Arsenic Annie’ had stoically proclaimed her innocence right up until her dying day, Anna Marie Hahn left a handwritten 20-page confession in her death row cell on December 7, 1938, when they led her to Ohio’s electric chair, literally kicking and screaming.
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In the letter, she not only takes responsibility for six murders, she denies other poisoning attempts and goes into details about her life and how she began her series what the governor called cold-blooded and horrifying crimes when he made the final decision to take her to the chair.
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The letter is such a remarkable and revealing self-portrait, more entertaining than her pathetic execution, that I gave it to a professional actress, my friend and colleague Emily Simer Braun, to help bring out some of the nuances in this rare insight into the mind of a mass murderer.
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Music by Dave Sams
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www.truecrimehistorian.com/1938hahn

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CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free editions of over 400 episodes in the dusty vault, early access to all new episodes, exclusive content, access to the big boss, and whatever personal services you require.

THE GANGSTER CHRONICLES A special edition of Yesterday’s News focusing on the notorious scoundrels of the Prohibition and Depression eras.
The Final Chapter of the Dillinger Saga
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The first volume of this this series has been devoted to the exploration of newspaper accounts of the trail of terror blazed by one of America’s most famous, dare I say most beloved, gangsters, John Dillinger.
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From the time he was paroled from the Michigan City prison in May, 1933, to the time he was gunned down by police on a Chicago sidewalk 14 months later, John Herbert Dillinger was one of America’s most notorious scoundrels.
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In previous chapters, we read the newspaper accounts of the escape of ten convicts from the Indiana penitentiary at Michigan City and the bloody delivery of Dillinger from the Lima, Ohio, jail; how Dillinger and his new gang blazed a trail of terror across the Midwest until he was captured in Tuscon, his second daring escape using a gun he made from broomstick, and his continuing reign of terror. Last month, we heard about one more narrow escape from the clutches of the law and one final bank robbery.
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The narration for this episode was recorded on the main stage of the Biograph Theatre in Chicago, where Dillinger saw his last film just minutes before meeting his fate on the sidewalks of the Windy City. It was a movie theater then, and Dillinger, his hair dyed black, came here with two women to see Clark Gable in “Manhattan Melodrama,” and on the way out… Well, listen to this episode to see how it all shakes out.
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Music by Chuck Wiggins
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www.truecrimehistorian.com/1934dillingers0106

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CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free editions of over 400 episodes in the dusty vault, early access to all new episodes, exclusive content, access to the big boss, and whatever personal services you require.

YESTERDAY'S NEWSA reading from America's historic newspapers in the golden age of yellow journalism.
Luke Brannon Thwarts a Lynching
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The Classic Village of Oxford, Ohio, got so riled up over a shooting in a local saloon, that they bust open the jails and drag the culprits to the local hanging tree. The tree had been  used once before, and if you go to my archives, you can hear about that tale in the episode two, "An Outrageous Murder in Oxford," in which the town got so outraged over the apparent murder of one of the town matrons that they hung a dead man. A decade later, another Oxford mob attempts another lynching, but it doesn’t really go any better for them, not when brave Deputy Luke Brannon swoops in just in the nick of time.
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Music by Chuck Wiggins

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free editions of over 400 episodes in the dusty vault, early access to all new episodes, exclusive content, access to the big boss, and whatever personal services you require.

THE GANGSTER CHRONICLES 1.5A special edition of Yesterday's News focusing on the notorious scoundrels of the Prohibition and Depression eras.
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We're beginning this series with newspaper accounts of the trail of terror blazed by one of America's most famous, dare I say most beloved, gangsters, John Dillinger.
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From the time he was paroled from the Michigan City prison in May, 1933, to the time he was gunned down by police on a Chicago sidewalk 14 months later, John Herbert Dillinger was one of America's most notorious scoundrels.
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In previous chapters, we read the newspaper accounts of the escape of ten convicts from the Indiana penitentiary at Michigan City and the bloody delivery of Dillinger from the Lima, Ohio, jail; how Dillinger and his new gang blazed a trail of terror across the Midwest until he was captured in Tuscon, his second daring escape using a gun he made from broomstick, and his continuing reign of terror. In this chapter, we’ll hear about one more narrow escape from the clutches of the law and one final bank robbery.
I’m pleased to announce that on Sunday, May 8, I will be recording the final chapter of the Dillinger saga from the main stage of the Biograph Theatre in Chicago, where Dillinger saw his last film just minutes before meeting his fate on the sidewalks of the Windy City. Please visit my website, www.truecrimehistorian.com, for updates on that event.
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Musical Direction by Chuck Wiggins

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free editions of over 400 episodes in the dusty vault, early access to all new episodes, exclusive content, access to the big boss, and whatever personal services you require.

TRUE CRIME STORY TIMEThe Sad Tale of Anna May Gamble Knapp
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Around the jails and the Indiana and Ohio neighborhoods where he lived, Alfred Knapp carried the nickname “Looney” Knapp for his bizarre, often childish behavior. He spent half of his adult life in prison for petty larcenies and attacks upon young women. When he was released from the Michigan City Penitentiary in the summer of 1902, he joined his third wife, Hannah, in her hometown of Hamilton, Ohio. Three days before Christmas that year, Knapp strangled his wife in the early morning hours and put her body in a box and put the box in the Great Miami River, then told everyone that Hannah had left him. Some in his family became suspicious, and when he remarried two months later, they had him arrested for bigamy. Alfred Knapp then not only confessed to killing his wife, but four other women in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, including his second wife. Consequently, “The Strangler Knapp” became a Midwest sensation and dozens of newspapers sent reporters to cover the case.
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One of the many things that makes the Knapp case a remarkable story worth telling is the intense family and courtroom drama that was chronicled in the extensive press coverage. One of the most colorful real-life characters in this tale is the young, simple-minded fourth wife, from whose bed he was arrested for bigamy at four in the morning. So I want to tell you her story in a series of excerpts from my latest book, The First Celebrity Serial Killer: Confessions of the Strangler Alfred Knapp.
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I invite you to visit my website, www.truecrimehistorian.com, for source information and instructions on how you can buy an inscribed edition of “The First Celebrity Serial Killer.”

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free editions of over 400 episodes in the dusty vault, early access to all new episodes, exclusive content, access to the big boss, and whatever personal services you require.

THE GANGSTER CHRONICLES 1.4-
The Gangster Chronicles is a special edition of Yesterday's News focusing on the notorious scoundrels of the Prohibition and Depression eras.
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We're beginning this series with newspaper accounts of the trail of terror blazed by one of America's most famous, dare I say most beloved, gangsters, John Dillinger.
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From the time he was paroled from the Michigan City prison in May, 1933, to the time he was gunned down by police on a Chicago sidewalk 14 months later, John Herbert Dillinger was one of America's most notorious scoundrels.
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In chapter one, we looked at the escape of ten convicts from the Indiana penitentiary at Michigan City and the bloody delivery of Dillinger from the Lima, Ohio. In Chapter Two, Dillinger and his new gang blazed a trail of terror across the Midwest. In chapter three, Dillinger gets quietly captured in Tuscon, but makes another daring escape, this time, using a gun he made from broomstick.
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With Dillinger again in the wind, state and now federal police launch a desperate manhunt while the gangster continues his trail of terror.
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For source information and clips related to this installment of the Gangster Chronicles, visit www.truecrimehistorian.com, where you can also find additional stories about the scandals, scoundrels and scourges of America's past, as well as information about my books and my TwoDollar Terror series of true crime novellas.
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And come back here next month for Chapter 5 in the Dillinger saga when the notorious scoundrel once more narrowly escape arrest in a deadly police raid at Little Bohemia.Lodge in Wisconsin.
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Musical direction by Chuck Wiggins.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free editions of over 400 episodes in the dusty vault, early access to all new episodes, exclusive content, access to the big boss, and whatever personal services you require.

THE GANGSTER CHRONICLES 1.3Yesterday's News
A reading from America's historic newspapers
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From the time he was paroled from the Michigan City prison in May, 1933, to the time he was gunned down by police on a Chicago sidewalk 14 months later, John Herbert Dillinger was one of America's most notorious scoundrels.
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In chapter one, we looked at the escape of ten convicts from the Indiana penitentiary at Michigan City and the subsequent delivery of Dillinger from the Lima, Ohio, jail that led to the death of Sheriff Jesse Sarber. In Chapter Two, Dillinger and his new gang blazed a trail of terror across the Midwest.
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Now, the wanted desperados have made their way to Tuscon, Arizona, to escape the heat of Chicago, but a hotel fire spells the beginning of the end for most of the outlaw gang.
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Musical direction by Chuck Wiggins.
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Produced by Richard O Jones

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free editions of over 400 episodes in the dusty vault, early access to all new episodes, exclusive content, access to the big boss, and whatever personal services you require.

THE GANGSTER CHRONICLES 1.2A reading from America’s historic newspapers from the golden age of yellow journalism
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Law enforcement officials and fellow bandits alike lose their lives in the hunt for the desperate criminals who escaped from the Michigan City prison and murdered a sheriff in getting John Dillinger out of jail. In the meantime, Dillinger and his companions continue their spree of mayhem across the Mid [...]

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free editions of over 400 episodes in the dusty vault, early access to all new episodes, exclusive content, access to the big boss, and whatever personal services you require.

THE GANGSTER CHRONICLES 1.1Yesterday's News
A Reading from America’s Historic Newspapers
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In this first volume of "The Gangster Chronicles," we will follow the trail of terror blazed by one of America's most famous, perhaps most beloved, gangsters, John Dillinger. From the time he was paroled from the Michigan City prison in May, 1933, to the time he was gunned down by police on a Chicago sidewalk in front of the Biograph Theater 14 months later, John Herbert Dillinger was one of America's most notorious scoundrels. Chapter One will detail some of Dillinger's earliest known robberies and his murderous escape from the Lima jail. We plan to tell the Dillinger saga in five chapters. After this first one, you can expect a new installment at 7 p.m. on the first Sunday of the month. We're considering the options for Volume 2 and are welcome to suggestions. Please email us at [email protected] with your thoughts.
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Music by Audionautix. Theme song by Josh Woodward.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free editions of over 400 episodes in the dusty vault, early access to all new episodes, exclusive content, access to the big boss, and whatever personal services you require.