crime

According To a Friend, George Zimmerman 'Couldn't Stop Crying' After Killing Trayvon Martin

Emma Carmichael · 03/26/12 12:36PM

We're finally learning more about the details of Trayvon Martin's death, thanks to the Orlando Sentinel's extensive report today, in which 28-year-old George Zimmerman alleges that 17-year-old Martin "punched and pummeled" Zimmerman before he killed him. An ABC interview with Joe Oliver, Zimmerman's friend of six years, also attempts to reveal more about the man, who has gone into hiding since the Feb. 26 incident.

White People in Williamsburg Want Your Sympathy, Too

Louis Peitzman · 03/25/12 12:48PM

We talk a lot about white privilege, but what about the prejudices white people face on a daily basis? In a New York Daily News article, members of Williamsburg's white male population sound off on profiling. Of the 17,566 stop-and-frisks by police last year, 10 percent were white people.

George Zimmerman Could Be Charged With a Hate Crime

Louis Peitzman · 03/25/12 10:39AM


To many following the Trayvon Martin case, racial bias seems clear. But in order to charge George Zimmerman with a hate crime, prosecutors would have to prove that the shooting was racially motivated. The best piece of evidence so far is Zimmerman's 911 call, during which he may or may not have said "fucking coons."

Clementi Webcam Peep Breaks Silence: 'I Never Thought He Would Find Out'

Maureen O'Connor · 03/23/12 10:59AM

Following his conviction in the webcam spy scandal that preceded gay Rutgers student Tyler Clementi's suicide, Dharun Ravi has broken his silence. "Energized" by the verdict, Ravi plans to fight his conviction. He maintains that he didn't commit a hate crime, and adds that he doesn't think he contributed to Clementi's death. "I was an insignificant part of his life," Ravi tells 20/20's Chris Cuomo in an interview that will air tonight. "That's what's giving me comfort now."

Trayvon Martin: All This Has Happened Before and Will Happen Again

Mobutu Sese Seko · 03/20/12 02:30PM

Last night, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would investigate the death of Trayvon Martin, after watching outrage build as Florida authorities appeared to do nothing for 23 days. The 17-year-old Martin was walking through a residential development in Sanford, Fla. and was chased down and shot by a 28-year-old man named George Zimmerman. If this sounds painfully familiar, it should.

Tyler Clementi Webcam Spy Found Guilty of Hate Crimes

Adrian Chen · 03/16/12 11:36AM

19-year-old Dharun Ravi, the Rutgers student who spied on his gay roommate Tyler Clementi kissing a man shortly before Clementi committed suicide, was convicted of multiple charges of invasion of privacy today and bias intimidation, a hate crime. (Note: We previously wrote that Ravi had been convicted only of invasion of privacy, based on incorrect early reports.)

Prostitute's Period Saved Drug Boss from Arrest, Say Mexican Authorities

Maureen O'Connor · 03/16/12 10:50AM

The anti-heroic menstruation of a Mexican prostitute has saved fearsome Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman from arrest, Univision reports. Apparently a third party hired the prostitute without telling her she'd be servicing Guzman, a billionaire druglord who has been on the lam since escaping prison 11 years ago. According to Mexican daily Reforma, the prostitute was blindfolded and taken to a rented home in Los Cabos without being told who her client would be.

Rape Cop: My Rape Was Only Attempted Rape, So Chill

Hamilton Nolan · 03/16/12 08:48AM

Last summer, police say, off duty NYPD officer Michael Pena, drunk late at night, grabbed a Manhattan woman off the street, pulled her behind a building, and raped her at gunpoint. This case, which could be just another NYPD Rape Cop case, is remarkable for its wondrous levels of twisted logic.

Rebekah Brooks Arrested Again

Hamilton Nolan · 03/13/12 08:16AM

It looks like the biggest guillotine thus far has fallen (again) in the News Corp phone hacking scandal: British police have reportedly arrested Rebekah Brooks—former editor of the tabloids News of the World and The Sun, as well as former CEO of News International, News Corp's UK newspaper division, and a close friend and confidante of the Murdoch family. Brooks resigned from News International last year and was arrested last summer in the earlier stages of the phone hacking investigation. She was given a hefty going-away package last year.

This Is By Far The Grossest Fetish Discovered This Week

Danny Gold · 03/12/12 10:16PM

Vice published a story today that they are referring to as the "chain pub piss dungeon." It is not for the faint of heart. You would think with all of the weird Internet fetishes out there, we would be used to them by now but for some reason this one seems to have struck a chord. This perhaps trumps even the eel sex documentary they did in Japan.

NYPD Officer Sent To Psych Ward By Superiors After Reporting Corruption

Danny Gold · 03/09/12 11:27PM

Graham Rayman at the Village Voice brings us more on officer Adrian Schoolcraft, the modern day Serpico who was sent to a psych ward for reporting on corruption in the NYPD. While working out of the 81st precinct in Brooklyn, Schoolcraft became aware of a pattern of crime victims getting caught up in bureaucratic hurdles that seemed to have purposely been set up to make it hard to report serious crimes. Schoolcraft reported a number of these incidents to investigators. That's where things take a turn for the insane: