Overview

Innocent or guilty, or a more nuanced truth, in this Ripper-style killing Shortly after NYPD Chief of Detectives Thomas Byrnes publicly criticized the London police for failing to capture Jack the Ripper, he received a letter purportedly from Jack himself saying New York was his next target. Not long after, Byrnes was confronted by his own Ripper-style murder case in the death of Carrie Brown, a.k.a. ""Old Shakespeare,"" a colorful character who worked as a prostitute and had a penchant for quoting Shakespeare. Given the near-hysteria surrounding this vicious murder soon after the Jack the Ripper murders in London, people were worried that Jack might have actually come to America. The detective bureau finally arrested Amir Ben Ali, an Algerian immigrant. The newspapers, however, immediately criticized Byrnes for moving too quickly, suggesting that he had tried to save face by pinning the crime on an easy target. When the verdict of murder in the second degree was announced, the papers erupted in anger and disbelief. With the aid of the French consulate, they embarked on a 10-year campaign to have Ben Ali pardoned and finally won his release by producing new evidence. Immediately upon Ben Ali's departure for France, fresh evidence of his guilt surfaced. Was Ben Ali falsely convicted or falsely exonerated? And if he did not commit the murder, then who did? Issues of false convictions, fake news, illegal immigration, police corruption, and racial prejudice are common tropes in today's news cycles. The East River Ripper demonstrates that these are not simply matters of recent vintage and seeks to answer such questions in trying to determine whether and in what way justice miscarried.

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9781606354261

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""The investigation and trial of New York City's grisly Ripper murder case is a detailed and fascinating look at law enforcement in the late 1800s. Dekle's expert commentary skillfully navigates us through the forensic details. His brilliant analysis is spot on!""—Mark E. Safarik, criminal profiler (Ret.), FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, author of Spree Killers: Practical Classifications for Law Enforcement and Criminology ""Dekle's vast criminal trial experience and very dedicated research put his readers at the scene and in the courtroom as he explains the events of this historic case. A vivid and fascinating story, The East River Ripper is one of Dekle's best historic crime books.""—James M. Dedman III, director of academics (Ret.), National District Attorneys Association ""Award-winning author George 'Bob' Dekle has produced a masterful book about courtroom legend Francis L. Wellman. Bringing 1890s New York to life, the author tells the engrossing true story of Wellman's 'Jack the Ripper' style murder case.""—Ronald H. Clark, distinguished practitioner in residence, Seattle University Law School

The investigation and trial of New York City's grisly Ripper murder case is a detailed and fascinating look at law enforcement in the late 1800s. Dekle's expert commentary skillfully navigates us through the forensic details. His brilliant analysis is spot on! --Mark E. Safarik, criminal profiler (Ret.), FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, author of Spree Killers: Practical Classifications for Law Enforcement and Criminology Dekle's vast criminal trial experience and very dedicated research put his readers at the scene and in the courtroom as he explains the events of this historic case. A vivid and fascinating story, The East River Ripper is one of Dekle's best historic crime books. --James M. Dedman III, director of academics (Ret.), National District Attorneys Association Award-winning author George 'Bob' Dekle has produced a masterful book about courtroom legend Francis L. Wellman. Bringing 1890s New York to life, the author tells the engrossing true story of Wellman's 'Jack the Ripper' style murder case. --Ronald H. Clark, distinguished practitioner in residence, Seattle University Law School

The investigation and trial of New York City's grisly Ripper murder case is a detailed and fascinating look at law enforcement in the late 1800s. Dekle's expert commentary skillfully navigates us through the forensic details. His brilliant analysis is spot on! -Mark E. Safarik, criminal profiler (Ret.), FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, author of Spree Killers: Practical Classifications for Law Enforcement and Criminology Dekle's vast criminal trial experience and very dedicated research put his readers at the scene and in the courtroom as he explains the events of this historic case. A vivid and fascinating story, The East River Ripper is one of Dekle's best historic crime books. -James M. Dedman III, director of academics (Ret.), National District Attorneys Association Award-winning author George 'Bob' Dekle has produced a masterful book about courtroom legend Francis L. Wellman. Bringing 1890s New York to life, the author tells the engrossing true story of Wellman's 'Jack the Ripper' style murder case. -Ronald H. Clark, distinguished practitioner in residence, Seattle University Law School

Author Information

George R. Dekle Sr. served as a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, where he directed the Prosecution Clinic. His most recent book, Six Capsules: The Gilded Age Murder of Helen Potts, was the IPPY Awards Silver Medalist for US Northeast Best Regional Nonfiction, and his book Prairie Defender: The Murder Trials of Abraham Lincoln won a Superior Achievement Award for Scholarship from the Illinois State Historical Society and Gold Medals for Biography and Politics from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association.

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