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What if the biggest threat to college sexual assault victims wasn't just their attackers, but the universities that were supposed to protect them? Jennifer Fessler sits down with Emmy Award-winning producer Amy Ziering to revisit The Hunting Ground, the explosive documentary that exposed the disturbing reality of sexual assault on college campuses and the universities that looked the other way. Amy reveals how repeat offenders were able to continue assaulting women, how fraternity culture helped create environments where predators could thrive, and what happened to the survivors who dared to speak out. She also shares the heartbreaking stories that have stayed with her, why some victims never told their own families, and the backlash that followed those who came forward. More than a decade after the film's release, Amy explains why college rape culture is still a major problem, why progress is being rolled back, and whether universities have really changed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week a jury found 77-year-old Robert Kessler guilty of murdering a Florida woman and dumping her severed body parts into McKay Bay back in 2021. Sentencing happened immediately after the verdict, and that’s when Kessler heard from his victim’s family and then the judge himself who said he had never, in his forty year career, seen a crime like this one. He said the murder was horrible enough, but admonished Kessler for going “full Hannibal Lecter” on 47-year-old Stephanie Crone-Overholts, cutting her body up in at least seven different pieces. Kessler was sentenced to life in prison with an additional 15 years for abuse to a dead body. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federal authorities arrested the 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan Markle, Thomas Markle Senior, at his Florida senior care facility. The FBI released a statement charging Markle with keeping child sexual abuse material in his two LA storage units . Agents seized 78 items from the units including slides, film negatives, and books, some of which contained images showing Markle with what appeared to be naked, prepubescent girls. Markle has maintained his innocence.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In what will become the largest mass commutation of death sentences in U.S. history, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he plans to commute the death sentences of 548 inmates, allowing them to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. The state’s Supreme Court must approve the resentencing for any death row inmate with more than one conviction. If approved, Newsom’s commutations will reduce the number of people on death row in this country by 30%.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

35-year-old Jacob Pearson first threatened a Citibank employee over the phone regarding a $2500 credit card debt, and then drove more than an hour to the bank’s Tampa headquarters and opened fire. Pearson rammed through the complex gate and was armed with 90 rounds of ammunition.  Thankfully, his rifle malfunctioned after shooting one victim,  but he returned with another gun to kill 41-year-old HR employee Leanne Selman, who was trying to crawl away to safety. An armed security guard was able to shoot Pearson five times before police arrived, saving countless lives. It’s a tragic and bizarre story; Pearson had a wife, a young child and no prior criminal history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Florida executed its 19th inmate of the year, 64-year-old Jesse Guardado, the convicted murderer gave an apology to his victim’s family and his own for the pain and suffering he caused them. Guardado admitting to fatally beating and stabbing his 75-year-old mentor for money to fuel his drug habit. Guardado spent time in Florida’s notorious Arthur G. Dozier School for boys that closed in 2011 after decades of documented abuse, rapes and deaths of its students. Florida’s death row is filled with dozens of men who went to Dozier; many arguing the reform school literally created killers.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sydney Loofe went missing after a Tinder date with a woman she thought could be her dream girl… Who did Sydney actually meet the night of her death? Where do “witches” and “covens” come into play? Why was Sydney their target? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Florida is set to execute its 19th inmate of this year tonight. 64-year-old Jesse Guardado will die by lethal injection for the September 2004 fatal stabbing and robbery of an elderly woman who helped him find housing, gave him money and helped him get a job after being paroled for a series of armed robberies. Guardado admitted to the murder, but his attorneys have argued the abuse he suffered as a child should’ve been considered by the jury that unanimously voted to give him the death penalty. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a bomb destroyed Pan Am Flight 103, killing 270 people, it launched one of the largest terrorism investigations in history. And the case still isn't over. Former FBI agent Dick Marquise reveals how investigators tracked down the killers, the secrets behind the investigation, what it was like serving as a consultant on the Netflix series The Bombing of Pan Am 103 and being portrayed by Patrick J. Adams. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alabama is one of three states executing inmates on this November 5th. At 6 pm local time, 54-year-old Michael Taylor is set to die by lethal injection for the brutal murder of Ivan and Lucille Moore. The elderly couple knew 19-year-old Taylor and invited him into their home. That’s when Taylor beat them to death with a metal bar and robbed them, taking their Cadillac to go on a shopping spree for clothes and jewelry. Even though Taylor’s attorneys have tried to stop tonight’s execution, arguing he chose to die by nitrogen gas, not lethal injection, it appears Alabama is going forward with its third execution of the year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a four-week, highly publicized trial, a London jury delivered guilty verdicts for actor and comedian, 51-year-old Russel Brand. It took jurors 8 hours to find Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, they found him not guilty on two other rape charges and not guilty of attempted indecent assault. Brand was immediately remanded into custody after being denied bail and could face up to life in prison when he is sentenced on Monday. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pennsylvania police say it was “not an accident” that 42-year-old Patrick Lynch and his two children, 8-year-old James and 6-year-old Caroline, were found on the ground after falling from a parking garage. Police believe it was a shocking murder suicide, and the wife and mother of the victims has already provided some insight into what may have happened leading up to the tragedy. Anna Lynch posted that her husband was depressed after losing his job back in August and was just one day away from his first scheduled therapy session. She asked the public to remember her husband as a “wonderful father’ before jumping to conclusions after reading the tragic headlines. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Indiana is set to execute its first inmate of the year “before sunrise” on November 5th, and if this is anything like the last three, Jeffrey Weisheit will likely be dead by 1 am. Weisheit was sentenced to death for burning his girlfriend’s children to death nearly 13 years ago: 8-year-old Alyssa and 5-year-old Caleb Lynch. Weisheit has exhausted all of his legal appeals, and despite a written plea by the children’s father to spare his life, he will be the first of three scheduled executions across the country on Thursday; both Florida and Alabama each plan to execute an inmate at 6 pm local time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14-year-old Samantha Humphrey was missing for more than three months before her strangled body turned up in upstate New York’s icy Mohawk River in February of 2022. Her then 14-year-old boyfriend was ultimately charged with her murder, and this week, a jury found now 18-year-old Raymond Wright Jr. guilty of second degree murder. Wright testified in his own defense at trial, admitting to pushing Humphrey in the river, but stopping short of admitting to her murder. Wright will be sentenced in January, but because he was convicted as a juvenile, his minimum sentence could be as little as 7 1/2 years, something that is not sitting well with Humphrey’s father. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Convicted murderer, 28-year-old Jacob Morely was finally recaptured by authorities after escaping from a Tennessee prison on October 25th. Troopers used roadside cameras and a helicopter to track him down after 9 days on the run. We go over the remarkable details surrounding Morely’s initial escape and his ability to remain undetected for more than a week.  Morely managed to steal two vehicles, secure several firearms, all while traveling hundreds of miles before being caught outside of Kansas City after his truck got stuck in the muddy gravel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.