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High Crimes and Misdemeanors: True Crime Stories in the Santa Maria ValleyHigh
Crimes and Misdemeanors: True Crime Stories in the Santa Maria Valley by Lucinda Ransick with Edward J. Zemaitis. Paperback, (2022) Illustrations, 124pp MAN MURDERS WIFE, KILLS SELF. Headlines don’t change much
over the centuries. Whether you are in a
one-horse town or a metropolis, people don’t surprise us much anymore. From Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden to Broadway
in Santa Maria, crime happens. In the small town, we all become suspect, interested
bystander and investigator. The common
thread that weaves through it all is the desire to know for certain “what happened?” We’ve come to believe all crimes can be
solved; that’s what DNA is for! Truth be told, many crimes, large or small, go unsolved,
unresolved or ignored. When we find this
to be the case, we cry out for justice. But
justice is in the eye of the beholder.
What serves for justice in the moment will be judged by history. Do people deserve a second chance? or a third?
even a fourth? What’s fair? In the absence of cold hard rules, or even
with them, we all enjoy an opinion.
Right and wrong do not balance on the scales of crime and
punishment. Right and wrong are
subjective of the judge and jury. From
the first acknowledged crimes in our valley to the ongoing violence that we
denounce today, judgement is a tricky business. J-R1466 ISBN: 978-1-59641-466-2 |