Joseph L. Giacalone is a retired NYPD sergeant, criminal justice educator, and nationally recognized expert in policing and investigations. With over 20 years of frontline experience, he now teaches criminal investigations and appears regularly in the media to discuss high-profile cases and law enforcement issues. He is also the author of two widely used textbooks in the field.

Connect with Joseph at his website, and on his podcast True Crime with the Sarge

Susan Hendricks is an investigative journalist and host of Headline Crime. Known for her thoughtful and fearless reporting, she brings national attention to overlooked cases and justice system breakdowns.

Listeners can learn more about Susan on IG @susan_hendricks, on X @susanhendricks, and on Headline Crime

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, welcomes back Susan Hendricks and Joe Giacalone to break down the second trial of Karen Read and y’all, it’s a mess. They lay out how John O’Keeffe deserved better, pointing to sloppy police work, mishandled evidence, and a justice system that’s falling apart. They break down the courtroom testimony that doesnt hold up, highlight signs of investigative bias, and considers how divided public opinion has become. Lastly, with the second trial underway, they raise the hard questions: Can this case be fairly tried? And what does it say about the larger issues inside the criminal justice system?

Show Notes:

• (0:00) Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum
• (0:10) Sheryl brings Joe Giacalone and Susan Hendricks back on Zone 7
• (0:30) Today’s discussion - Karen Read retrial
• (1:30) Prosecution's weaknesses and overreach
• (5:00) The missing documentation and police failures
• (9:00) Town tensions, brotherhood, and silence
• (13:30) Dysfunction and conspiracy - the system itself on trial
• (19:00) Jen McCabe's testimony and trial dynamics
• (21:30) Medical examiner's findings and reasonable doubt
• (25:00) Confirmation bias and jury considerations
• (31:00) Predictions and final thoughts
• (34:00)  ”I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.”
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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.

Social Links:

• Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
• Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

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