The Hanging Judge of California

by Don Lasseter, Gregg Olsen (Introduction), M. William Phelps (Introduction)

THE HANGING JUDGE OF CALIFORNIA (formerly Perfect Justice) probes outrageous decisions by the Federal 9th Circuit Court in overturning death penalties. California Judge Donald A. McCartin, who sent nine men to death row, speaks out in fury when convicted child-killer Rodney Alcala’s verdict was overturned after twenty-three years. The book chronicles Alcala’s crimes and trials as well as the horrific murders committed by eight other killers who were sentenced by McCartin. The judge, called "Solomon with the sense of humor of Roy Bean reincarnated," provides a glimpse into his personal memoirs with a caustic insight into the appeals process and his encounters with rich and famous personalities. A must read for true-crime fans and those interested in the convoluted system of the appeals courts.

Genres: True Crime, Crime, Nonfiction

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 2, 2015

About the author

Don Lasseter has written five true crime books for Pinnacle plus 16 magazine articles that were reprinted in Pinnacle's anthology books about murders. In addition to being a crime writer, Mr. Lasseter is a WWII historian who frequently lectures on the subject in schools, at service clubs, and for veteran's groups. He accompanies his talks with slide packages titled "WWII, Then and Now", consisting of photos he took while actually retracing most major battles in Western Europe and in the South Pacific. Taking black and white combat photos with him, Mr. Lasseter laboriously searched for the exact spots on which the photographers stood and shot the same scenes as they look today. He accumulated over 1500 such pictures associated with various battles including the Normandy invasion, Battle of the Bulge, crossing the Rhine, taking Berlin, and other major engagements.

A native Californian, Mr. Lasseter resides in Orange County. He has served as guest lecturer in criminology classes at California State University, Fullerton. Hollywood history is Mr. Lasseter's third major interest. His personal library includes an extensive collection of movie books, and he takes pride in being able to name hundreds of old character actors whose faces are often seen in classic films. One day, Lasseter says, he will write books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the golden era of film production and the people involved.

Reviews

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was originally published under the title “Perfect Justice” in October of 2004. The book was re-published under “The Hanging Judge of California” in February 2015. The book looks at the Federal Ninth Circuit Court’s overturning the death penalty. California Judge Donald A. McCartin, who sent nine men to death row, speaks out in fury when convicted child killer Rodney Alcala’s (known as “The Dating Game Killer”) verdict was overturned after twenty-three years. Alcala was retried and again found guilty and sentenced to death for a third time.

The book chronicles Alcala’s crime and trials as well as the murders committed by eight other killers sentenced by McCartin. The book is well written and informative. Lasseter obviously thoroughly researched the subject matter.

The Orange County Judge presided over the most watched criminal cases from 1978 to 1993 including the eleven month trial in 1987 of serial killer Randy Kraft, who was one of the men McCartin sentence to death. I particularly enjoyed the part of the book that tells about the life of McCartin. Judge Donald McCartin died in September of 2012 at the age of 87. Don Lasseter is a well known true crime writer. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. Don Orders narrated the book.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great nonfiction book about several serial killers and the judge who sentenced them to death.

[Lorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read thousands

of books, good true crime novels a favorite, but there is nothing comparable to this work. Amazingly written storyline, beginning with one case, then introducing Judge McCartin with a segue into his 9 death penalty cases, and finally collating the three parts together which created a masterpiece. Much insight into a difficult debate (death vs life w/o parole) and yet if Lasseter was arguing for one or the other, you'd never know for sure because both sides are given equal weight. And amazingly that debate isn't the crux of the book, it's an unavoidable truth.

Loved the judge, too bad there aren't more like him. Also, love this author's style and prose.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting history of criminal acts. Very disjointed reporting. I was surprised at the incoherence of the Judge's section of the book.