The BEST episodes of American Justice

#1 - KKK: Hate Crimes in America

Season 1993 - Episode 24 - Aired 12/15/1993

Racially motivated crimes in the U.S., such as the murders of three civil-rights workers in Mississippi, and the 1988 beating death of an Ethiopian student in Oregon. Included: comments from attorney Morris Dees.

#2 - Vigilante Justice

Season 1993 - Episode 25 - Aired 12/29/1993

Cases of vigilantism in the U.S., including the 1984 Bernhard Goetz subway shooting in New York City; the 1984 murder of an alleged child molester; and the 1987 torching of a Detroit crack house.

#3 - Attack at Waco

Season 1994 - Episode 17 - Aired 8/3/1994

Recapitulating the 1993 standoff between the Branch Davidians and Federal agents in Waco, Texas, and the 1994 trial of Davidian survivors. Also: video footage of David Koresh, and comments by his mother, Bonnie Haldeman.

#4 - The Massacre of the Tsar

Season 1996 - Episode 24 - Aired 11/17/1996

The execution of Nicholas II and his family by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

#5 - Marriage and Murder

Season 1998 - Episode 11 - Aired 8/12/1998

The stories of three people accused of murdering their spouses are chronicled. Included: the trials of Debra Hartmann, Steven Steinberg and Charline Brundidge. Interviewed: attorneys, investigators and a psychiatrist.

#6 - Justice Denied: The Hurricane Carter Story

Season 1999 - Episode 18 - Aired 6/14/1999

Examining the case of boxer Hurricane Carter and his friend John Artis, who in 1967 were wrongly convicted of a 1966 triple homicide. Artis was eventually paroled in 1981, while Carter's conviction was finally overturned in 1985. Included: comments from Artis, Carter and their attorneys.

#7 - Don't Mess with Texas

Season 2003 - Episode 16 - Aired 8/27/2003

A case involving a man convicted of murdering a Texas Ranger over 25 years ago. Included: legal aspects of his crime and punishment.

#8 - The Hillside Stranglers

Season 1992 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/18/1992

#9 - City Killer Gangs

Season 1993 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/28/1993

Organized crime during the Prohibition era, including profiles of Al Capone, Bugs Moran and Lucky Luciano. Brooklyn DA Charles J. Hynes joins host Bill Kurtis.

#10 - The City-Killer Gangs

Season 2001 - Episode 15 - Aired 9/9/2001

A chronicle of the rise of major crime syndicates in America.

#11 - Hired Guns

Season 1995 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/28/1995

Case studies of people who were murdered by contract killers include a New York journalist whose death was ordered by Colombian drug barons in 1992. Also: a history of organized crime's “Murder, Inc.” in the 1930s.

#12 - Fame, Football, Fatality

Season 2022 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/25/2022

In a murder case that makes headlines around the globe, a professional football player stands accused of killing his friend in cold blood.

#13 - The Great Midwest Gangs

Season 1992 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/11/1996

In the Depression-torn dust bowl of the 1930s, a new kind of desperado is born. Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillinger, and Bonnie & Clyde become as well-known and admired as movie stars. Bill Kurtis narrates their murderous rise and deadly fall

#14 - Shots Fired

Season 2021 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/3/2021

On October 20, 2014, white Chicago PD Officer Jason Van Dyke fatally shoots 17-year-old African American Laquan McDonald in an act that he and the Chicago PD called “self-defense.” However, when freelance journalist Jamie Kalven gets word from a source that there is more to the story, his search for the truth uncovers a disturbing cover-up. Through his efforts, as well as the efforts of fellow journalists and activists, officials are finally forced to release the police dash cam footage from that fateful night. Public uproar results in Officer Van Dyke’s arrest on first-degree murder charges, and in the midst of a media circus, the case goes to trial.

#15 - Friends Til the End

Season 2021 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/20/2021

When 19-year-old aspiring artist Sarah Stern goes missing just weeks before Christmas 2016, investigators initially suspect she may have died by suicide or run away from home. Then, in January 2017, one of Sarah’s former high school classmates comes forward with chilling information that leads to an undercover police sting and the shocking arrests of two very familiar faces. Armed with a bombshell, caught-on-tape confession from one of the suspects and the damning testimony of the other, Monmouth County, New Jersey prosecutors face the uphill task of trying to secure a murder conviction without a body for only the second time in the state’s history. Features interviews include Sarah’s father, detectives and prosecutors, along with complete access to archival materials detailing the search and the undercover sting operation.

#16 - Who Is the Lipstick Killer?

Season 2002 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/20/2002

The case of 1940s serial killer William Heirens, known as “The Lipstick Killer,” is recalled.

#17 - Death in a Small Town

Season 2001 - Episode 22 - Aired 12/19/2001

The case of Alvin Ridley, who was acquitted in 1999 of charges that he killed his wife in 1997. Host:

#18 - Till Death Do Us Part: The Barbara Stager Story

Season 1999 - Episode 25 - Aired 8/25/1999

The case of Barbara Stager, a North Carolina woman who was convicted in 1989 of the 1988 shooting death of her second husband, Russ. Stager claimed the killing was accidental, but hindering her defense were similarities in the deaths of her first and second husbands; and an incriminating tape recorded by Russ shortly before his demise.

#19 - The Sam Sheppard Story

Season 1996 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/15/1996

A detailed examination of the case of Dr. Sam Sheppard, the Cleveland surgeon convicted of murdering his wife in 1954. Included: crime scene photos; the investigation and trial; legal appeals resulting in Sheppard's release; his son's effort to exonerate him.

#20 - Cops on Trial

Season 1994 - Episode 13 - Aired 5/18/1994

A report on police corruption focuses on how officers are treated after they are convicted. Cases studied include the New York City probe chronicled in the 1973 film "Serpico."

#21 - The Wrong Man

Season 1994 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/19/1994

Examining cases of unjust imprisonment, including that of boxer Rubin Carter, whose life sentence for murder was overturned in 1985; and a Missouri woman falsely convicted of killing her son, who actually died of a rare blood disease.

#22 - Vanished

Season 2002 - Episode 14 - Aired 9/4/2002

Recalling the case of Wesley Shermantine, who was convicted of murdering Cyndi Vanderheiden in 1998. Her body has not been found.

#23 - Jonestown Massacre

Season 1992 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/7/1992

The 1978 mass suicide of followers of Rev. Jim Jones, a cult leader who founded Jonestown in Guyana for the work of his People's Temple. Also: the murder of Rep. Leo J. Ryan, who was investigating allegations made by temple members.

#24 - Rape in Connecticut: The Alex Kelly Story

Season 1999 - Episode 28 - Aired 9/29/1999

The case of Alex Kelly, a high-school athlete who fled the country for Europe just before his 1987 rape trial. Kelly surrendered to authorities in 1995, and was convicted in 1997.

#25 - The Perfect Wife

Season 2004 - Episode 30 - Aired 12/29/2004

The case of Roger Scaggs, a Texas businessman who was convicted in 1998 of murdering his wife.