The Ten Most Wanted

Valuable Publicity.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's "Most Wanted" program began in March 1950, after a news story distributed by the International News Service on the "toughest" criminals currently at large appeared in 1949. The success of that story convinced the bureau that publicity might be a valuable tool in the capture of wanted fugitives. The more known a fugitive's face was through news reports and widely circulated wanted posters, the greater the chance he would be recognized and apprehended.

ANCIENT JUSTICE

As late as the 1950s some American judges were still using unusual methods to arrive at a suspect's guilt or innocence. In March 1951 in Charleston, South Carolina, Magistrate Gene Herron balanced a Bible on the forefingers of a woman accused of stealing money from a restaurant. "By Saint Peter, by Saint Paul / By the grace of God who made us all, / If this woman took...

[The entire page is 835 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass