The Truth Begins to Brew...

(The following is taken directly from www.crimerant.com. Finally, the voices of truth are begininning to be heard.....listen up Matt Lauer.)

Women’s Work
Guest blog Kathryn Casey

Okay, the truth? We love guys. (Matt and Gregg, actually, are two of our favorites.) So why a women-only true crime blog? Because we’ve decided it’s time for us to have our say. The result: Women in Crime Ink (WCI), a unique crime blog opening today at www.womenincrimeink.blogspot.com.

It started innocently enough, when a bunch of us gals in the crime business, from prosecutors and defense attorneys, investigators and forensic specialists, profilers, authors and TV producers, cyber-talked about founding our own blogsite. The concept took shape as word spread, and our roster of professionals expanded. Soon, we had members from coast-to-coast, including best-selling and award-winning authors, and professionals who’ve investigated, defended, prosecuted, and covered sensational cases.

The women who make up Women in Crime Ink profile the nation’s most intriguing criminals, interview murderers, survivors and witnesses, prosecute and lock up serial and sexual killers, recreate faces on skulls to help identify victims, investigate and solve cases, defend the accused, witness death row executions, and uncover truth in the face of jail time and death threats.

Since we’re a disparate bunch, there are bound to be differences of opinion and spirited discussion. We hope that’s part of what makes us interesting. Each day one of us will post a blog. It could be on a high profile case, a behind-the-scenes glimpse of crime-fighting, reporting, or maybe we’ll take you with us into the courtroom. Some days, we’ll probably just mouth off about what’s bugging us in the news.

Now, as I said, we’re far from anti-male, and we’re hoping the guys will join us (especially Matt and Gregg). Off and on, we’ll showcase a blog from a “Mystery Man,” whose identity will be kept secret until his post appears. We’ll also run survivors’ stories, on-topic movie and book reviews, and, on Sundays, there’ll be live chats with some of our members. We’re also dedicated to giving our readers – men and women – their opportunity to be heard. It’s called “Your Turn,” and anyone interested is encouraged to submit a blog for consideration. The topic can range from personal experiences to thoughts on the day’s headlines. If your blog appears on WCI, we’ll reward you with our virtual version of the Oscar, our pen-wielding goddess, Justitia.

So starting today, March 10th, give us a look at www.womenincrimeink.blogspot.com. Then along with clicking onto Crimerant.com (We know we can’t replace these guys. Who could?), you can check us out with your morning donut and coffee. Here’s a rundown on our members:

Pat Brown: nationally renowned Criminal Profiler media personality and the author of Killing for Sport.

Andrea Campbell: forensic artist and the author of books on forensic science and is an American College of Forensic Examiners International Diplomat and Fellow.

Kathryn Casey: an author of critically acclaimed true crime and mystery books who has appeared on Oprah, Montel, Leeza, CourtTV, Nancy Grace, and A&E.

Tina Dirmann: a true-crime author, reporter, and television commentator who has reported for The Los Angeles Times and Us Weekly, now an editor-at-large for Star Magazine.

Stacy Dittrich: a police officer specializing in sex crimes, is the author of true crime books and mysteries.

Diane Fanning: the Edgar-nominated author of seven true crime books and one mystery novel, has appeared on 20/20 and Forensic Files.

Jenna Jackson: a producer for the CBS newsmagazine 48 Hours , who coauthored her first book, Perfectly Executed, with CBS correspondent Peter Van Sant.

Vanessa Leggett has written for Newsweek, Texas Monthly, the Houston Chronicle, and the Justice Department, which jailed her for protecting sources on a murder case.

Michele McPhee is a true-crime author and talk-radio host who has covered crime for the New York Daily News and the Boston Herald.

Donna Pendergast is a career prosecutor who has appeared on 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, Cold Case Files, and other programs featuring her serial and sexual homicide cases.

Robin Sax is an L.A. prosecutor specializing in sex crimes against children and an author, legal analyst, and adjunct professor at Cal State, teaching Women in Crime.

Katherine Scardino, a defense attorney who handled 39 capital murder cases and received the first not guilty verdict in a death penalty case in Texas, has appeared on Court TV, TODAY, Bill O’Reilly, MSNBC, and American Justice.

Donna Weaver is an investigator, who got in to the field after her husband’s disappearance and murder. She’s an area director for The Doe Network – International Center for Unidentified and Missing Persons.

Drop in and check us out at Women in Crime Ink: www.womenincrimeink.blogspot.com.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 8:04 am and is filed under Guest Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.