Losing the Victim in the Story
I’ve been thinking a lot about creating balance in the sort of memoir I’m trying to write. It’s tricky striking the right mix of focusing on the cold case versus focusing on my experience trying to uncover the details of said case. What triggered my thinking about this was listening to an NPR broadcast about […]
Back to School
Here’s my chapter 3 — I already posted a version of chapter 2 as a stand-alone piece in another blog post. I’ll get back to posting material that does not consist of my draft chapters when I get settled from a recent move. Meanwhile, you can read this chapter only, or refer back to […]
The Search
I am going to use a draft of my Chapter 1 as my blog post this time around. It references the Prologue in parts, so if you’re interested, you can scroll down to look at the Prologue which I entered as a post weeks ago. Besides my writing critique group, I haven’t shown anyone […]
No One Way to Mourn
I’ve been pondering mourning lately. My situation is different from most people’s I assume in that I was in such dire straights myself at eighteen, that my friend’s death hardly registered. I was emotionally flat lined, struggling with transitioning from my teens into adulthood. So, I wanted to take a look at what might be […]
The Cost of Prosecuting a Suspected Murderer in California
I was interested in finding out exactly what it might cost the state of California if the suspect in Patty Vance’s murder was arrested and prosecuted, found guilty, and sent to prison. I was curious to know if cost might be a factor in whether or not the San Francisco DA choses to prosecute cold […]
The Numbers on Cold Cases
This is taken from an article called “Open Cases: Why One-Third of Murder In America Go Unresolved” by Martin Kaste. If you’re murdered in America, there’s a 1 in 3 chance that the police won’t identify your killer. To use the FBI’s terminology, the national “clearance rate” for homicide today is 64.1 percent. Fifty […]
Paulette Brown Walks the Walk
I know this page is dedicated to sharing the story of my friend’s cold case. Although I might not always write about my experiences directly, I am writing what inspires me at the time. Of course, what inspires me is always going to be related to my story, albeit at times peripherally. Take for […]
More Than The Sum Of Her Odds
Here are some disturbing facts about prostitution from nobullying.com: According to Prostitution Research: 70-95 percent of prostitutes experience physical assault during work. 60-75 percent of prostitutes are raped while working as a prostitute. 95 percent of prostitutes experience sexual harassment that in other industries would result in legal action. Women who are prostitutes are raped 8-10 each year […]
Shout Out To The Co-Founder Of Sage Project
Though Norma Hotaling, a nationally recognized advocate for the sexually exploited, died at 57 in 2008, she left an amazing legacy. Specifically the founding of SAGE (Standing Against Global Exploitation). Ms. Hotaling, tapped by Oprah Winfrey’s “Angel” award program, overcame her own childhood sexual abuse and drug addictions to become an innovative and passionate leader […]
My Friend the Statistic
Last Saturday night, I was talking to a childhood friend who also knew Patty Vance and he wondered aloud about whether her murder might have gotten less attention than it deserved because she was a known prostitute. This is what he said: “She didn’t have the social status to warrant…who knows what the cops are […]