Posts by Diane Dimond
No Justice For Jon Benet Ramsey
All crime reporters have a story from their past they cannot shake, a case that either touched them on a profound personal level or remains mysteriously unsolved. This time of year, I think of a story I covered 20 years ago this week, which remains with me for both reasons: the Christmastime death of 6-year-old…
Read MoreDon’t Be Faked Out By “Fake News”
Here comes another one of those things branded as an imminent threat to public safety, something evil lurking out there which is poised to infiltrate our minds and poison the republic. It is described it in two words: Fake News. Now some are clamoring to legislate, regulate or eliminate this thing called Fake News.
Read MoreLove DOES Trump Hate Crimes
Today’s headlines seem full of horrible crimes. Teenagers committing gruesome and senseless murders; a young California mother kidnapped off the street as she jogged, then branded by her captors and tortured for weeks; a young father in Georgia convicted of deliberately leaving his toddler son in a hot car to die. Sometimes I just can’t…
Read MoreThe Cost of Burying Forgotten Souls
The average cost of a funeral these days is between $7,000 and $10,000. Imagine then, what it costs each state to bury inmates who die in prison, those whose bodies are unclaimed by family members. Just like the population in general, the average age of prisoners is getting older. Coupled with the past trend of…
Read MoreSchool Bus Safety Laws Long Overdue
If children are our most precious resource, then why aren’t we doing more to protect them as they travel to and from school? For decades, there have been concerns about the lack of seat belts in school buses. Yet today, only six states have laws requiring them.
Read MoreNote to Anti-Trump Protesters: Stop Whining
Stop it. I’m tired of turning on the news or picking up a newspaper and seeing your pouty faces, screaming for what you think you are due. I’m sick of reading your ill-informed signs adorned with swastikas and promising to beat back fascism. Makes one wonder if you’ve ever studied the real evils of history.…
Read MoreCops and Kids – Perfect Together
Elegantly simple ideas are often the best. And here’s a great example, brought to you by the folks at the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. Following a spate of police shootings of unarmed civilians and several chilling assassinations of on-duty officers, no one can deny there is major tension in cities across the nation. So,…
Read MoreWanted: A Better Understanding of When and Why Police Use Force
It has been more than two years since Ferguson, Missouri erupted into riots following the deadly police shooting of an unarmed teenager named Michael Brown. It was exactly two years ago this month that Tamir Rice, a 12-year old playing with a toy gun, was shot dead by a cop in Cleveland, Ohio. There have…
Read MoreTime For Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Retire
US Supreme Court justices are appointed to the highest court in the land for life. There Is no mandatory retirement age. But I would suggest it is time for 83-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg to hang up her robe. We should all take a moment to acknowledge her long and spectacular legal career. Ginsburg has been…
Read MoreKeeping Track of Rogue Cops
Truth be told we do a pretty good job in this country keeping track of automobiles, doctors and teachers. We do a pretty lousy job keeping track of rogue police officers. That’s right, there is no comprehensive national system for tracking bad seed officers who should find another line of work. The result? So-called “gypsy…
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