American Justice

Lionel Tate was a 170-pound, 12-year-old boy who played rough one day with his friend, 48-pound, 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick. When Tiffany died from injuries, Lionel claimed that he only used wrestling holds that he'd seen on TV. But prosecutors charged Lionel with first-degree murder. Would the jury believe that Tiffany died of innocent child's play--or would they put Lionel behind bars? Interviewees include defense attorney James Lewis, who used the controversial "wrestling defense" strategy

In November 1995, close friends Halima Jones and Ruby Joyner went out shopping together in Peachtree City, Georgia, but never came home. An all-out manhunt was launched, and four days later, an abandoned mini-van was found in the long-term parking lot at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport, with the dead bodies of Halima and Ruby inside.

A look at the shocking case of 15-year-old Valessa Robinson, who was accused of killing her mother Vicki after she objected to Valessa's wild lifestyle of drugs and sex. We examine the relationship between the mother and daughter to determine how and why a young girl could take part in her own mother's brutal death.

The 1995 murder of former Los Angeles Raiders cheerleader Linda Sobek by photographer Charles Rathbun is recalled.

The case of Susan Smith who murdered her two young boys is examined. In 1994 the 23 year old mother from South Carolina claimed that she had been the victim of a carjacking and the perpetrator had taken off with her two young boys still in the car. It is later discovered that there was no carjacking and that she had in fact rolled her car into a lake while her children were still strapped in the car.

Jeff Zack is shot dead at a gas station in broad daylight, execution style. There are no fingerprints, no weapon, and no witnesses that could even come close to identifying the assailant. When police begin to dig into the victim's background, they find a long laundry list of enemies and criminal behavior, including involvement in a teen prostitution ring.

The story of Michigan lawyer Michael Fletcher, who was charged with murdering his pregnant wife, Leann, so he could carry on an affair with a high-ranking judge. The highly publicized trial, with its tales of sex, guns, and politics involving the very people who uphold American Justice, shocked the public right down to the verdict.

In the tiny town of Exeter, Va. in 1993, Merry Pease claims that her husband Dennis had shot her before he turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. However, investigators don't agree with Merry's story and she is charged with murder. American Justice looks at this case and why it spent 10 years in the Virginia legal system before Pease was finally convicted.