IN March 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt received a letter from a desperate mother. Her son, who was black, had been killed two years earlier, his body pulled from a river near Pickens, Miss. “I am sending a contract in regards to the lynching of my son Willie Jack Heggard,” wrote Jane Heggard. “I have […]

Last Spring, as the weather warmed and the semester began to wind down, I, like many of you, began to look forward to summer vacation. This break was particularly exciting for me this year as my wife and I were expecting our second child in May. Sure enough, one week — almost to the day […]

It’s not unusual for murders to emulate and idolize others, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University. He said other people’s actions set a precedent for them. He added media attention is not the main reason for these kind of attacks, though it is a fringe benefit. “They see themselves as the good guy who’s […]

According to Daniel P. Aldrich, political science professor at Northeastern University, closing the gender pay gap comes down to institutional and social norm changes. “Studies have shown that women are less likely than men to advocate for higher wages, and need coaching and a supportive environment to make this behavior more regular,” Aldrich told WalletHub. […]

And while there are some areas in which Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State cooperate, such as areas around Damascus and Aleppo, many say Jabhat al-Nusra’s ambitions should not be dismissed. “As Islamic State gets weaker in the Levant, perhaps the biggest beneficiary is the al-Qaida affiliate,” Northeastern University terror analyst Max Abrahms told VOA […]

Emmett Price, a professor at Northeastern University, is on the same page as Vincent. “There’s something about the power of our music that says when the music’s playing and everybody’s heart and minds are on one accord — that we can do this. There’s a courage that comes up,” Price told me. “In the midst […]

Daniel Medwed, a Northeastern University law professor who focuses on criminal law and wrongful convictions, said there are well-established legal opinions that say the personal death penalty views of victims are too inflammatory — and not relevant — to the jury’s final deliberations. He said Fagan’s recent statements, indicating that he could have been swayed […]

“There’s been a big decrease in murders by outsiders and largely connected to the downturn in crime,” said James Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University. “If you look at the cases involving grudges, arguments and workplace issues, they haven’t gone down—they’re not at epidemic levels, but there continue to be many Americans who feel they’re […]

“He is a work place avenger and like so many other work place avengers he sought sweet revenge through the barrel of a gun,” Dr. Jack Levin, a criminology professor at Northeastern University, told the Daily News. In Flanagan’s twisted video clip, the 41-year-old, who went by his TV name of Bryce Williams, is seen […]

The defense attempted to submit the Richard family’s view as part of the case, but the evidence was excluded by the judge because of “endless loop” that may have resulted, says Daniel Medwed, a professor at the Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. “Especially in death penalty cases with a lot of victims, you […]

It was ten years ago this Saturday that Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southeastern Louisiana. With 127-mile-an-hour winds, it was the most powerful storm to hit the US in decades, and, ultimately, it was the costliest in American history. When the levees broke around New Orleans, about 80 percent of the city and its surrounding […]

Last week the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for America published its latest post on the many conflicts of Boston Globe columnist John E. Sununu, a former Republican senator and the son of former New Hampshire governor John Sununu. Now the Globe’s editorial-page editor, Ellen Clegg, says she’s dealing with Sununu in several ways: […]