Homeland Insecurity The Birth of an Era of Unrest in America

Homeland Insecurity is, on one hand, the story of two men accused of taking the lives of three fellow human beings—a fifteen-year-old girl in Mahwah, New Jersey and two young police officers in El Segundo, California. Two men born 8 days apart in 1934. Two men who died 57 days apart in 2017. Crimes that were committed 140 days apart in 1957. At a time when Americans were beginning to feel less and less confident about the safety of their families. One convicted murderer spent nearly fifteen years on death row at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, one-time home of Lindbergh baby kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann and Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter, where he continually professed his innocence. The other perpetrator escaped arrest and conviction for more than 45 years. At the same time, this is an account of the hits and misses of the law enforcement agencies and legal institutions which—over the course of nearly five decades—eventually stumbled upon justice. Finally, it is a look at the post-World War II American experience leading up to the murders in 1957, and the profound changes to come after. When Rock & Roll, rebels without a cause, and catchers in the rye burst upon the American scene. When the fear of nuclear annihilation and real-life scary monsters crept into the national consciousness. And when those three murders in 1957, and a growing sense of national insecurity, may have had mutual effect.