Did They Really Do It?: From Lizzie Borden to the 20th Hijacker - Tapa blanda

From Abraham Lincoln's assassination to 9/11 and beyond, the guilt or innocence of many of the United States' most famous criminals remains in doubt. Looked at in the context of their era, Did They Really Do It? investigates each case anew. The book begins with Dr. Samuel Mudd. He was convicted as part of the group of Confederates who conspired to murder President Lincoln in 1865. It was Mudd who set John Wilkes Booth's ankle which Booth broke when he leaped to the stage at Ford's Theater after mortally wounding Lincoln. Claiming he never knew Booth, Mudd was sentenced to prison. While serving time, a Yellow Fever epidemic broke out, killing the prison doctor. Taking over, Mudd became a hero and President Johnson pardoned him in 1869. To his dying day, Mudd claimed innocence in the assassination plot. The last chapter focuses on Zacaharius Moussai, the alleged 20th hijacker in the "9/11" terrorist conspiracy who claims innocence. On the basis of a new investigation, this book proposes a dispassionate conclusion that Moussai is innocent. Other well known cases like Lizzie Borden, the alleged double ax murderess, and Bruno Richard Hauptmann, executed for killing the Lindbergh baby, are explored.

A former NY Times columnist, Fred Rosen writes about crime with a distinct voice, at once cynical but hopeful. Through the thirteen murder investigations he has taken part in, he has come to believe that the answers to the crimes of the present always lie in the past. Mr. Rosen is the author of 10 works of true crime, including Lobster Boy, for which he can be seen regularly as the on-air commentator on the "E!: True Hollywood Story" episode of "Lobster Boy." Born to the Mob, co-authored with Frankie Saggio, was published in trade paper in June, 2004 by Thunder's Mouth Press and sold out its first printing in four months. Prior to that Mr. Rosen's Evil Mother was published in April, 2004. Mr. Rosen is also a filmmaker with associate producer credit on the award-winning 1999 documentary Pitch People. He has an MFA from the prestigious USC Film School and currently teaches Criminal Justice and Film at Ulster County Community College.