Book Review: Crimes that changed our world: Tragedy, outrage, and reform

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0734016820916752
• Author: Cody Stoddard,R. Shaffer Claridge
• Date: 01 December 2023
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Robinson, P. H., & Robinson, S. M. (2018).

Crimes that changed our world: Tragedy, outrage, and reform. Rowman & Littlef‌ield. 387 pp. $24.00, ISBN

9781538138984.

Reviewed by: Cody Stoddard and R. Shaffer Claridge, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016820916752

Context and history are critical to the understanding of where we were, where we are, and where

we are going. Crimes That Changed Our World: Tragedy, Outrage, and Reform, by Robinson and

Robinson, provides an account of major events that have shaped various social institutions. The

central focus of the book is a close examination of various events that created public sentiment

and drove fundamental changes within society.

Each of the book’s 21 numbered chapters follows a similar pattern in three parts: (1) describing the

factual events that gave rise to the incident, (2) explaining how the societal outrage manifests, and (3)

detailing the practice and policy reforms that occurred in response. This tragedy, outrage, and reform

structure to each chapter allow the reader to quickly identify the similarities and differences between

many of the events that lead to signif‌icant societal reform.

Robinson and Robinson examine cases that result in public reform in chronological order through-

out the book’s 21 chapters. They begin by reviewing notable events that took place in the early part of

the 20th century, including the Triangle Factory Fire of 1911, which, due to public outrage, resulted

in new building codes, changes in the New York State Department of Labor, and the creation of a

Factory Investigating Commission. The Chloroform Killer of 1915, which, due to outrage over

botched investigations, ushered an era of professionalism in the medical examiner system. The

Lindbergh kidnapping and Dillinger robberies in 1932, which lead to legislation that strengthened

federalization of law enforcement in the United States, and the Sulfanilamide crisis of 1937,

which resulted in stronger regulation of products and the strengthening of the food and drug

administration.

Seven chapters are dedicated to major events from the 1950s and 1960s: The New York City

bomber in 1956, which resulted in widespread support of offender prof‌iling, particularly within

the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Maf‌ia Commission Appalachian Meeting in 1957,

which resulted in federal acknowledgment of maf‌ia-related crime and subsequently created the

Racketeer Inf‌luenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The Harlem heroin epidemic 1962 that

rallied the public against heroin and inf‌luenced the creation of the Rockefeller drug laws and the

broader war on drugs. The Murder of Kitty Genovese 1964, which prompted the creation of the

9-1-1 system. The Watts riots and the Texas Sniper in 1965, which resulted in the greater militari-

zation of the police, including broader use of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams. The

Calabrese Testimony and Intimidation in 1967, which led to the Federal Witness Security

Program (WITSEC) and other efforts to protect witness and family members of witnesses who

testify at trial. Lastly, the Santa Barbra oil spill and Cuyahoga River f‌ire 1969, which stirred

public consciousness about environmental pollution and profoundly inf‌luenced the creation of the

Environmental Protection Agency. The single chapter dedicated to the 70s reviews the Trans

World Airlines (TWA) Bombing and various hijackings that occurred in the 1970s, which led to

public outcry for greater airport security and other policies to act as deterrents against hijackings.

A total of seven chapters cover events between the 1980s and 1990s: The killing of Cari Lightner

1980, which led to the creation of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and signif‌icant reforms

regarding drunk driving. The attempted assassination of Ronald Regan in 1981, which drove major

changes to the insanity defense at both the state and federal level. The Beirut Barracks bombing of

1983, which led to the expansion of the FBI to include international jurisdiction in which Americans

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