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Mark Gado
was a detective with the City of New Rochelle Police Department in New York for the past twenty-nine years. He was also a
federal agent assigned to a D.E.A. Task Force from 1997 to 1999. During that assignment, he received the International Award
of Honor in New Orleans, LA. Mark was also named Investigator of the Year 2000 and received dozens of other awards and commendations
during his long police career. His the author of Killer
Priest: The Crimes, Trial, and Execution of Father Hans Schmidt and Death Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press.
According
to the description of Killer Priest: The Crimes, Trial, and Execution of Father Hans
Schmidt, “He was a Catholic priest and a killer. Hans Schmidt, ordained in Germany in 1904, arrived in the United
States in 1908 and was assigned to St. John's Parish in Louisville, Kentucky. Arguments with the minister resulted in Schmidt's
transfer to St. Boniface Church in New York City. There he met beautiful Anna Aumuller, a housekeeper for the rectory who
had recently emigrated from Austria. Despite his transfer to a Church far uptown, Father Schmidt and Anna continued a romantic
affair and, in a secret ceremony he performed himself, they were married. When he discovered she was pregnant, Father Schmidt
knew his secret life would soon be exposed. On the night of September 2, 1913, he cut Anna's throat, dismembered her body,
and threw the parts into the Hudson River. When the body was discovered, he was arrested and charged with the murder. A media
circus ensued, as the New York papers became fascinated by the priest and his double life. After feigning insanity during
his first trial, which ended with a hung jury, Father Schmidt was eventually convicted of first degree murder and sentenced
to death. He remains the only priest ever executed for murder in the United States.”
According
to the description of “Death Row Women:
Murder, Justice, and the New York Press, “During the 20th century, only six women were legally executed by the
State of New York at Sing Sing Prison. In each case, the condemned faced a process of demonization and public humiliation
that was orchestrated by a powerful and unforgiving media. When compared to the media treatment of men who went to the electric
chair for similar offenses, the press coverage of female killers was ferocious and unrelenting. "Granite woman," "black-eyed
Borgia," "roadhouse tramp," "sex-mad," and "lousy prostitute" are just some of the terms used by newspapers to describe these
women. Unlike their male counterparts, females endured a campaign of expulsion and disgrace before they were put to death.
Not since the 1950s has New York put another woman to death. Gado chronicles the crimes, the times, and the media attention
surrounding these cases. The tales of these death row women shed light on the death penalty as it applies to women and the
role of the media in both the trials and executions of these convicts. In these cases, the press affected the prosecutions,
the judgments, and the decisions of authorities along the way. Contemporary headlines of the era are revealing in their blatant
bias and leave little doubt of their purpose. Using family letters, prison correspondence, photographs, court transcripts,
and last- minute pleas for mercy, Gado paints a fuller picture of these cases and the times.”
According to a Choice review of Death
Row Women: Murder, Justice, and the New York Press, “Using a small but rich data set to write about an
obscure research topic, former New York police detective and federal DEA agent Gado provides insight into contemporary practices
associated with punishment, media, and the way social institutions interact to justify capital punishment. He discusses in
detail the stories of six women executed in New York's Sing Sing prison. Media accounts from the era in which these women
were accused, tried, and eventually executed lead readers to question the media's true intent. Referring to headlines,
selective facts, colorful nicknames, and wild exaggerations, Gado describes how these women, their crimes, and the state response
were socially constructed. Media contributions offered in a competitive environment are contrasted with police reports, court
transcripts, prison files, letters written by the condemned, photographs, and eyewitness accounts. Although Gado gives preference
to this evidence, the media's role cannot be discounted. He raises gender issues when contrasting stories about the demonization
of these women with the routine coverage of condemned men. Without providing answers, Gado's text highlights moral inconsistencies
that many continue to confront when examining capital punishment. Highly recommended. General, undergraduate, and graduate
collections.”
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