Crime & Law Enforcement

Dickey is the author of the report What Every Policy Maker Should Know About Imprisonment and the Crime Rate. Professor Dickey of the University of Wisconsin Law School, has a new way of viewing crime in our society. Based on his recent report issued by the Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy, he and officials have concluded that incarceration has little effect on crime rates. They believe that there are number of factors which limit the impact of prison on crime.

Investigator Michael Reynolds with the Klan watch Militia Task Force, with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The task force assisted in the investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing. Reynolds outlines the beliefs of many of these right wing groups.

William Adler is author of, Land of Opportunity: One Family's Quest For The American Dream In The Age of Crack. It tells the story of the Chambers brothers, who moved to Detroit from Mississippi in the mid-80's in search of economic freedom. They found it by setting up the biggest drug business in the city -- complete with quality control, discounts, employee bonuses and a dress code.

The two time Pulitzer Prize winning novelist joins us to talk about his new book Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery. Mailer says we must ask "Who was Oswald?" as a prelude to asking "Who killed JFK?" The book profiles Lee Harvey Oswald's life. It's Mailer's 28th book.

Rochelle and Anthony Yates. On July 18, 1988 the Yates' five year old son Marcus was killed in gun crossfire between two drug dealers fighting for turf in a corner store. There were 11 children in the store playing video games, two others were shot but survived; one of them was Marcus' six year old brother. Since the incident, the Yates' have become activists against senseless violence; they lecture to high schools, take in foster children who have lost family members to violence, run a day care center and organize community activities to take back neighborhoods.

Robert Jay Lifton is an expert psychologist on mass social trauma and psychological after affects from anger, rage and vulnerability. He directs the center on violence and Human Survival at the City University of New York John Jay College.

Patrick Mcguigan, editorial page editor of the Daily Oklahoman. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the Oklahoma City bombing and how he's been covering it in the news.

David Fisher is the author of the book Hard Evidence, which lays out how the FBI examines evidence to track down bombing suspects.

An interview with Frank Salomon, a member of the Phoenix Fire Department's Urban Search and Rescue Unit, which is one its way to Oklahoma City to help with the rescue efforts there.

Kaminer's new book, It's All the Rage offers insights into our culture's larger questions of individual responsibility, victimization, punishment, innocence and guilt. Kaminer is also a contributing editor to the Atlantic Monthly and Public Fellow at Radcliffe College.