About this season
Hosted by Bill Kurtis, American Justice looks at groundbreaking criminal cases, presenting viewers with an inside look at the case through the eyes of those directly involved, ranging from law enforcement officers to the victims.
Episodes (27)
1. Mass Murder: An American Tragedy
Aired 5 January 1994 • 43 min
Charles Whitman kills his mother and wife, then fires from a University of Texas tower.
2. The Hostage Takers
Aired 12 January 1994 • 43 min
Prominent cases show how police deal with hostage situations.
3. The Wrong Man
Aired 19 January 1994 • 43 min
Profiles of people who have been falsely accused and imprisoned.
4. Great Heists
Aired 26 January 1994 • 43 min
In 1950 the Brinks robbery nets $2.8
5. Fugitives
Aired 2 February 1994 • 43 min
How the American legal system deals with fugitives, focusing on John List, a killer who eluded the FBI for more than a decade.
6. Death Penalty
Aired 9 February 1994 • 43 min
Capital punishment; Caryl Chessman; Gary Gilmore; Sister Helen Prejean ministers to death-row inmates.
7. Juvenile Justice
Aired 23 February 1994 • 43 min
Youthful offenders; teens shoot British tourist.
8. Mob Rats
Aired 2 March 1994 • 43 min
Joseph Valachi and Peter Maas are featured in this look at mobsters who turn against fellow criminals and help law enforcement agencies convict them.
10. War Crimes
Aired 30 March 1994 • 43 min
Nuremberg, My Lai and other war-crime trials.
11. Satan, Rituals and Abuse
Aired 6 April 1994 • 43 min
Cases of psychological manipulation.
12. Lorena Bobbitt: Women and Violence
Aired 13 April 1994 • 43 min
Increasing violence in society; battered women.
13. Prison Justice
Aired 20 April 1994 • 43 min
Violence and behavior codes in America's prisons.
14. Pleading Insane
Aired 4 May 1994 • 43 min
John Hinckley Jr.; Daniel Sickles kills Francis Scott Key's son; the McNaughton rule; Kimberly Martin.
15. Cops on Trial
Aired 18 May 1994 • 43 min
Frank Serpico and Robert Leuci uncover corruption in the New York Police Department.
16. Fighting Words: The First Amendment
Aired 1 June 1994 • 43 min
The Supreme Court broadly defines free speech; Nazis march in Skokie, Ill.
17. Jim Bakker: Crime in the Name of God
Aired 15 June 1994 • 43 min
Con artists who use religion for gain.
18. The Great Brink's Heist
Aired 6 July 1994 • 43 min
In one of the most daring robberies in history, the 1950 Brink's robbery netted thieves more than $2.7 million.
19. Reginald Denny: Jury Under Siege
Aired 13 July 1994 • 43 min
Media pressure, fear and prejudice may affect jury decisions.
20. Attack at Waco
Aired 3 August 1994 • 43 min
How the authorities may have misjudged David Koresh and the situation at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.
21. Sex, Lies and Harassment
Aired 17 August 1994 • 43 min
The Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas case brings sexual-harassment issues under scrutiny.
22. Gangbusters
Aired 7 September 1994 • 43 min
New York gang moves into Boston; Iowa street gang is implicated in a murder.
23. The Attica Riot: Chaos Behind Bars
Aired 14 September 1994 • 43 min
Prison uprisings; 1971 Attica riot; New Mexico State Penitentiary.
24. Private Eyes
Aired 21 September 1994 • 43 min
Private investigators are the cowboys of law enforcement.
25. Prostitution: Sex and the Law
Aired 19 October 1994 • 43 min
Profiling the lives of street-corner hookers and high-class Hollywood call girls and examining how they are brought to justice.
26. The Sting
Aired 23 November 1994 • 43 min
Sting operations; Marion Barry; John DeLorean.
27. Riot: The Chicago Conspiracy Trial
Aired 30 November 1994 • 43 min
Events leading up to Chicago's 1968 anti-war riots; the "conspiracy to commit riot" trials.
28. Divorce Wars
Aired 14 December 1994 • 43 min
An examination of the evolution of divorce in the United States.