Karas On Crime

Standard-Times writer Curt Brown discusses the day Michelle Carter, 20, was sentenced for involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 texting/suicide case of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. Carter received a 2.5 year sentence but must serve only 15 months in a Bristol County, Massachusetts House of Correction followed by a probationary sentence with conditions until 2022. The incarceration portion of her sentence is stayed pending appeal. Brown discusses courtroom and community reaction, and the next steps in the case. The victim's family is now suing Carter for $4.2 million.

Matt Zarrella spent 25 years with the Rhode Island State Police, where he founded its K9 Unit. Today, Zarrella lectures and trains not only around the nation but also the world. He discusses the amazing work his dogs have done, and continue to do, whether its rescuing live persons or finding decades-old remains. Zarrella, a Search & Rescue and Human Remains Master Trainer, says this work isn't a job, it's a calling. He's also the subject of a new documentary, Searchdog.

In July 2013, Ryan Singleton, 24, disappeared in Baker, California. He was waiting for a friend to pick him up after his rental car broke down. When the friend arrived from LA, Ryan had vanished. His body was found 74 days later, partially clothed. What happened to Ryan? Was his death an accident, by natural causes, or was it murder? Former death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan weighs in, based on a review of the autopsy report.

On June 16, 2017, 20-year-old Michelle Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend via text messages to commit suicide on July 13, 2014 by carbon monoxide poisoning. She was 17 years old at the time, 40 miles away, and knew exactly where Conrad Roy III was at the time. Rather than prevent a depressed Roy from killing himself, she goaded him on and did nothing to stop it. The criminal case against Carter has sparked much debate about whether she should have been prosecuted at all. Curt Brown, a reporter who covered the case and attended the trial, shares his thoughts and observations.

On June 7, 2017, Steven Avery's attorney filed a 220-page motion for post-conviction relief, together with 1,000 pages of exhibits. Author and USA TODAY-Wisconsin reporter John Ferak has reported extensively on the case and discusses the major points raised in the motion. Avery's attorney even names the person she believes to be the true killer of Teresa Halbach. Halbach was murdered on October 31, 2005 in Wisconsin.

Polygraph examiner Dan Ribacoff discusses how the lie detector test works, how it is used by law enforcement and the military, and how effective it is in detecting deception. Ribacoff regularly appears on the Steve Wilkos Show. His show-The Lie Detective-airs in Europe and is coming to Lifetime in the US.