• Home
  • True Crime
  • Thrillers
  • Mystery
  • Sci-Fi/Fantasy
  • Horror
  • Business
  • History
  • Reader Favorites
    • Award Winners
    • Bestsellers
    • Box Sets
    • Coming Soon
    • New Releases

WildBlue Press

Great Reads from Exceptional Authors

Great Reads from
Exceptional Authors

  • Subscribe
  • Interested Authors
  • Blog
    • In the Media
  • About Us
    • Catalog
    • Privacy Policy
  • Partners
    • ImaginePublicity
    • MacGregor Literary
    • The House Of Mystery with Al Warren
  • Contact Us

Reflections From FAILURE OF JUSTICE Author on Week 1 of Beatrice 6 Trial

FAILURE OF JUSTICE bookLincoln, Nebraska.

That’s where the media spotlight returned this past week. A handful of journalists are covering the plight of the Beatrice 6. It’s now been eight years since Beatrice, Nebraska, a city of 12,000, became the new home of the country’s worst nightmare involving a miscarriage of justice. A total of 6 people lost 70 years of their lives for somebody else’s rape and murder. The threat of Nebraska’s dreaded electric chair played a role in their wrongful convictions.

For the entire story, you can read my new 400-page book FAILURE OF JUSTICE about America’s largest mass exoneration involving DNA evidence.

Find out more about FAILURE OF JUSTICE here.

In 1989, Burt Searcey, a rural Gage County farmer turned sheriff’s deputy, secured six convictions against three troubled young men and three women who were not involved in the predatory rape and murder of Helen Wilson, an older widow. Wilson lived in a three-story apartment building along the community’s main downtown business district.

On Feb. 6, 1985 police found the body of Helen Wilson inside her apartment.

On Feb. 6, 1985 police found the body of Helen Wilson inside her apartment.

This past week, three major media outlets- the Lincoln Journal Star, the Omaha World-Herald and Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET) flocked to the federal courthouse in Lincoln. The federal civil rights trial for the Beatrice 6 is taking place. A jury of Nebraskans will determine whether or not the defendants – including Gage County – should be held financially liable for the nation’s largest wrongful conviction case.

The trial judge is Richard Kopf, who is widely regarded as a flaky judge.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-blogging-judge-20140710-story.html

In other words, don’t take anything for granted in Judge Kopf’s courtroom. The first Beatrice 6 civil rights trial ended in a mistrial. Kopf, in mid-trial, actually dismissed Gage County as one of the defendants. In an embarrassing moment for Kopf, the appeals court reversed his decision. This time around, Kopf was ordered to keep Gage County as a key defendant in the Beatrice 6.

Over the past week, Lori Pilger of the Lincoln Journal Star provided the most reliable ongoing daily coverage and she’s also active on Twitter. Her twitter posts are timely and they are concise.

The Omaha World-Herald, where I worked from 2003 through 2012, has provided spotty trial coverage, but that’s by design, I’m told. Omaha, which is the state’s largest metropolitan paper, has been in a significant tailspin since 2008 with daily newspaper circulation in deep decline. Omaha just doesn’t have enough reporter bodies available anymore to staff the entire Beatrice 6 trial in Lincoln, which was anticipated to go a few weeks, maybe longer, we’ll see.

Key events from last week’s trial coverage:

On Friday, the Lincoln paper’s Pilger detailed the trial testimony from disgraced Gage County Sheriff’s Corporal Burt Searcey. He continues to run around Beatrice, Nebraska, like the Emperor With No Clothes.

Burt Searcey, Gage County Sheriff's deputy. In 1989, he netted six arrests in Helen Wilson's unsolved murder.

Burt Searcey, Gage County Sheriff’s deputy. In 1989, he netted six arrests in Helen Wilson’s unsolved murder.

Here’s Pilger’s June 10 story:

Man Behind Beatrice arrests: There were 7 people involved

http://journalstar.com/news/local/911/man-behind-beatrice-arrests-there-were-people-involved/article_a479b588-1f79-5cf7-8e6d-0b3f0a91df46.html

“There were seven people involved,” Searcey testified on Friday in U.S. District Court, Pilger wrote.

If you ever watch the wonderfully scripted Alexander Payne 2013 movie Nebraska https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuIBvmxIN4w you’ll hopefully gain a better understanding of why a lot of unsophisticated people in rural Nebraska still back Searcey to this very day. A number of people are actually rooting for him and the defendants to prevail rather than the Beatrice 6!

Now 67, Searcey continues to wear a police uniform and represent the Gage County Sheriff’s Office. He’s one of the agency’s highest paid supervisors.

From Thursday, June 9 trial testimony:

Pilger reported that the original lead investigator on the Helen Wilson murder case, now-retired Beatrice Police Department detective Sam Stevens, testified he always harbored strong doubts about Searcey’s subsequent investigation.

Beatrice 6 investigator: ‘I never did believe they had the right people’

http://journalstar.com/news/local/911/beatrice-investigator-i-never-did-believe-they-had-the-right/article_8bf52a67-ca45-5d26-99a8-5018fefb16a9.html

Now in his early eighties, Sam Stevens came to the federal courthouse on Thursday. Stevens hopes his testimony in the federal courtroom is beneficial to the Beatrice 6 and not to Searcey or the other defendants.

“I never did believe they had the right people,” Stevens told the jury, as reported by the Journal Star.

Stevens retired from the Beatrice Police Department in the late 1990s. Before walking out the door, he asked a fellow worker to make sure the Helen Wilson murder case evidence remained well-preserved well into the future. In 2008, that well preserved evidence proved the real killer and rapist was a drifter named Bruce Allen Smith.

“I guess it was just a hunch, knowing these people weren’t guilty,” Stevens testified on Thursday, the Journal Star reported.

If the Beatrice 6 were innocent all along, is this the face of Helen Wilson's murderer?

Omaha reporter drops by the trial on Friday, June 10

Meanwhile, former award-winning Journal Star reporter Joe Duggan, who is mentioned in the Introduction of FAILURE OF JUSTICE, dropped by the trial on Friday. He came to cover the testimony of Deputy Searcey. Nowadays Duggan works at my old newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald.

Here’s Duggan’s story from Friday’s testimony with Searcey on the witness stand.

http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/deputy-behind-beatrice-six-murder-investigation-it-wasn-t-reckless/article_23d97774-2f87-11e6-8c2e-176223ea3ff9.html

Duggan captured this courtroom exchange between the Beatrice 6’s lawyer Jeffry Patterson and Searcey:

“Did you and Sheriff DeWitt stop and consider whether you had arrested the right people?” Patterson asked Friday.

“No,” Searcey replied.

Photo 15My takeaways from Week 1:

Civil trials where juries are asked to assess monetary damages are highly, highly unpredictable. Keep in mind, this trial is taking place in Nebraska and that state does not have a reputation for the kinds of police corruption that has been more sweeping in major U.S. cities such as Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago. The defendants in this case are: Searcey, fellow deputy/psychologist Wayne Price, the estate of the late sheriff Jerry DeWitt and Gage County. Gage County has the most to lose.

The dwindling rural county of less than 25,000 people in southeastern Nebraska has already spent more than $1 million in outside legal fees since 2009. The county’s elected politicians have put forth a valiant effort in in trying to avoid being held financially culpable for the conduct of Searcey, the late Sheriff DeWitt and deputy Price.Photo 26

This jury has to decide whether Searcey’s incompetency rises to the threshold of reckless police misconduct. If it does, the Beatrice 6 will prevail and be awarded millions. But nothing is ever predictable inside Judge Richard Kopf’s courtroom, just remember that.

Filed Under: Blog, FAILURE OF JUSTICE, True Crime Tagged With: Beatrice, Beatrice 6, Burt Searcey, death penalty, FAILURE OF JUSTICE, false confession, Helen Wilson, John Ferak, Joseph Duggan, Lincoln Journal Star, Lori Pilger, Murder, Nebraska, Omaha World-Herald, True Crime, wrongful conviction
June 12, 2016 By John Ferak 2 Comments

Comments

  1. Chelsey dean says

    November 13, 2016 at 1:52 am

    Can’t believe they finally are gonna do something… now hope my dad n the rest can get time with there kids

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Order FAILURE OF JUSTICE

Order FAILURE OF JUSTICE today:
Star Rating
Amazon Kindle eBook  eBook
Amazon Trade Paperback  Paperback
Audible Audio BookiTunes Audio Book  Audio Book

INTERNATIONAL KINDLE EBOOKS
USA  UK  Canada  Australia  Germany  France  Spain  Japan  Italy  Brazil  India  Mexico

GET A FREE AUDIBLE AUDIO BOOK

Get this Title for FREE at Audible with a free trialGet this Audible Title for FREE with a 30-day free trial
LISTEN TO THE FIRST CHAPTER

Burl Barer Interview

Burl Barer interviews John Ferak about the "Beatrice 6" case and FAILURE OF JUSTICE .

Posts by John Ferak

Audiobook Offer

Free Audiobooks!

It's always a good day for free audiobooks! That's right! Free audiobooks! Just a gift from us to you, our readers.   Browse by genre and select the cover to get more information and your … More...

Holiday 2020 Audiobook Giveaway, get free audiobooks

Holiday 2020 Audiobook Giveaway

We know how hard 2020 has been. To help you end the year on a better note, we wanted to give you the gift of free audiobooks! Hence, the Holiday 2020 Audiobook Giveaway! You're probably thinking of … More...

Brandon L. Garrett Is Now Helping To Free “Making A Murderer’s” Brendan Dassey

Read On About WildBlue Press Author John Ferak's Connection To The Case WildBlue Press author John Ferak has done extensive work on the Steven Avery case featured in Netflix's "Making A Murderer." … More...

John Ferak True Crime TV Interview 1/2

WildBlue Author John Ferak’s Latest Work On the Steven Avery “Making a Murderer” Case

Investigative journalist and WildBlue Press author John Ferak has done extensive work on the Steven Avery Case, which has been detailed on the Netflix original "Making a Murderer." Check out John's … More...

FAILURE OF JUSTICE’s John Ferak: Cutting Wrongful Conviction Book Can Be Challenging

Since embarking on this wrongful conviction book project in January of 2014, A FAILURE OF JUSTICE underwent multiple revisions. One of my early drafts contained a curious older gentleman named Earl. … More...

John Ferak’s Media Appearances

WildBlue Press 2018 Year in Review

In 2018, WildBlue Press released 29 new titles! Among those titles, twenty-one were under the true crime genre, four were thrillers, two mysteries, and one business book as well as one fantasy book. From winning awards to being featured on

True Murder Dan Zupansky Logo

FAILURE OF JUSTICE’s John Ferak on True Murder Radio Show With Host Dan Zupansky

John Ferak, author of WildBlue's hit true crime book FAILURE OF JUSTICE, was recently featured on the True Murder radio show with host Dan Zupansky to discuss his book. FAILURE OF JUSTICE details the case of the Beatrice Six, which is the largest

Watch John Ferak’s Interview With Al Warren on The House of Mystery

Watch John Ferak's interview with Al Warren on The House of Mystery Radio Show. John discusses his new true crime book, FAILURE OF JUSTICE, which details the largest wrongful conviction case in U.S. history! Get your copy of FAILURE OF JUSTICE

All of John Ferak’s WildBlue Press Books

TERROR TOWN USA John Ferak Kindle Cover

TERROR TOWN, USA

During the early morning hours of July 17, 1983, fatigue became a factor for the young couple from central Illinois who spent their day under the hot sun at Marriott’s Great America amusement park

WRECKING CREW Kindle Cover

WRECKING CREW Gives An Inside Look Into Kathleen Zellner’s Efforts To Free Steven Avery

“Ferak chronicles the long and sordid history of the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s department and the reason Sweaty’s license was suspended. Framing Avery was just par for the course." -- Kathleen

FAILURE OF JUSTICE: A Brutal Murder, An Obsessed Cop, Six Wrongful Convictions; A True Crime Thriller By John Ferak

'MAKING A MURDERER' TIMES SIX! If the dubious efforts of law enforcement that led to the case behind MAKING A MURDERER made you cringe, your skin will crawl at the injustice portrayed in FAILURE OF

Body of Proof Cover-Final

Discredited CSI Commander At The Heart of John Ferak’s True Crime BODY OF PROOF

Tainted Evidence In The Murder of Jessica O'Grady? Jessica O’Grady was a tall, starry-eyed co-ed in search of finding her Mr. Right. Christopher Edwards was a 19-year-old deceitful and

Dixie's Last Stand Cover

Readers Asked To Decide “Was It Murder Or Self-Defense?” in DIXIE’S LAST STAND

A WildBlue Press True Crime By Award-Winning Journalist John Ferak Dixie Shanahan had a terribly troubled and abusive marriage in the sleepy little town of Defiance, Iowa. Then one summer day in

Genres, Types

New Releases
Featured Books
Coming Soon
Award Winners

Business
History
Horror
Mysteries
Romance
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Thrillers
True Crime

eBooks
Paperbacks
Audio Books
Box Sets

Available

True Crime
• Ted Bundy
• The Last Jewish Gangster
• Carmine And The 13Th Avenue Boys
• Vampires, Gators, And Wackos
• The Curse Of The Turtle
• Deadly Associates
• Jane Doe 9
• Watch Me Die
• Mystery At The Blue Sea Cottage
• The Wheels Of Justice
• 16 Minutes
• Terror Town, Usa
• Raging On
• Grilling Dahmer
• The 'Peyton Place' Murder
• Cold Blooded
• Faith Based Fraud
• The Real Mr. Big
• The Son Of Seven Mothers
• 'The Son Of Sam' And Me
• Serial Killers
• Satin Pumps
• Out Of The Mouths Of Serial Killers
• True Crime Chronicles Volume Two
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers Volume Three
• The Enigma Of Ted Bundy
• True Crime Chronicles Volume One
• Killing Women
• From The Mob To The Movies
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers Volume Two
• To Kill Or Be Killed
• No Angels
• Monster
• Under A Full Moon
• 'Til Death Do Us ...'
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers
• First Degree Rage
• The 'Supreme Gentleman' Killer
• Beast Of New Castle
• The Garden State Parkway Murders
• How Now, Butterfly?
• The Encyclopedia Of The Ted Bundy Murders
• Survival
• Missing ... And Presumed Dead
• Wrong Numbers
• Tantamount
• Playing Dead
• Mothers And Murderers
• Dead Reckoning
• Underworld
• Gabacho
• The Gangster's Cousin
• Race To Justice
• Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries
• Travesty Of Justice
• Railroaded
• You Have A Very Soft Voice, Susan
• A Family Business
• Pathological
• Wrecking Crew
• The Last Man Standing
• My Son, The Killer
• Inconvenience Gone
• Toxic Rage
• The Killing Game
• Shots In The Dark
• The Case Of The Golden State Killer
• His Garden
• The Crate
• Burned
• The Case Of The Zodiac Killer
• A Murder In My Hometown
• Bullied To Death
• The Beast I Loved
• Summary Execution
• The Shawcross Letters
• Better Off Dead
• Sidetracked
• My Brother's Keeper
• Targeted
• Held Hostage
• Room 1203
• A Special Kind Of Evil
• Brooklyn's Most Wanted
• Outlaw Los Angeles
• Unsolved No More
• She Is Evil
• The Rise And Fall Of A Casino Mobster
• Outlaw Southwest
• A Clockwork Murder
• Raw Deal
• The Bundy Secrets
• Betrayal In Blue
• The Politics Of Murder
• Murderers Row
• Rough Trade
• Daddy's Little Secret
• Murder In The Family
• Failure Of Justice
• Ice And Bone
• Smooth Talker
• The Trail Of Ted Bundy
• A Taste For Murder
• Sketchcop
• Body Of Proof
• Kentucky Bloodbath
• No Stone Unturned
• Repeat Offender
• Dixie's Last Stand
• Vampire
• Man Overboard
• Bogeyman
• Murderers Row Volume Two
Thriller
• Blood Red Ivory
• No One Will Hear Your Screams
• The Screaming Room
• Bone Thief
• Crux
• Sword Of The Caliphate
• Last Son Of The War God
• Leviathan
• The Strait
• Enemy Of The People
• Cain
• Dark Visions
• Hunter
• The Reckoning
• Hard Dog To Kill
• 16 Souls
• Borderland
• Paper Wings
• Lockout
• Pitfall
Mystery
• The Humanzee Experiments
• The Killing Machine
• Murder At Mardi Gras
• The Right Thing
• Raven's Ridge
• Raptor's Ridge
• Napa Noir
• Melia Ridge
• Emerald Ridge
• Created
• Crevice
• Headlock
• Identity Crisis
• The Obituary
• Naked Addiction
• The Deadline
Horror
• Four
• Acadia Event
• The Red Son
• Highwayman
• The Equinox
• The Pure And The Hated
• Savage Highway
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
• Tribulations
• Happenstance
• Destruction Of Justice
• Blunt Force Magic
Business
• Leaderology
• The Age Of Pluralism
• Bamboo Strong
• Corporate Superpower
• Wordpress Websites For Business
• Productivity Tools For Business
Cookbook
• Frank Cullotta's Greatest (Kitchen) Hits
History
• Legion Rising
• The Korean Crisis
• Tempest Tost
• Saving Sandoval
• Killing Rasputin
Politics
• The (Redacted) Mueller Report
Romance
• When Fall Fades

New Releases

TED BUNDY The Yearly Journal Volume One

TED BUNDY The Yearly Journal Volume One

Due to Sullivan’s extensive writing about Ted Bundy (which has produced six books), he’s become a sort of magnet over the years, drawing out many people who were part of the Bundy story, but have otherwise kept a low profile over the decades; and … [More...]

THE LAST JEWISH GANGSTER Volume One The Early Years David Larson Kindle Cover

THE LAST JEWISH GANGSTER

Volume One The Early Years In 1944 Brooklyn, newborn Michael J. Hardy is rejected by his mother so she can run with gangster Bugsy Siegel, Hardy’s godfather. Shirley Rook rose to the top of the criminal ranks. As the Queen of New York City … [More...]

CARMINE AND THE 13th AVENUE BOYS Craig McGuire

CARMINE AND THE 13th AVENUE BOYS

This is the true story of Carmine Imbriale – a gambler, a brawler, a bandit, a bookie, an enforcer. For two decades, Imbriale was a street-level operative in one of the most violent crews in the Colombo Family, and he endeared himself to some of the … [More...]

THE HUMANZEE EXPERIMENTS Terry Persun

THE HUMANZEE EXPERIMENTS: This Time Science Went Too Far

Ten must track down and stop rogue scientists behind the development of criminal technology in THE HUMANZEEE EXPERIMENTS, the next installment of The 'Ten' Mystery Series! The International Security for Technological Innovations, a federal … [More...]

Coming Soon

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER William Craig

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

It was a dreary winter afternoon in Ayer, Massachusetts, a quintessential New England town, the type which is romanticized in Robert Frost's poems. But on January 30, 1979, a woman’s scream was heard piercing the northeast tempest wind. In an … [More...]

Recent Posts

  • TED BUNDY The Yearly Journal Volume One
  • THE LAST JEWISH GANGSTER
  • ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
  • CARMINE AND THE 13th AVENUE BOYS
  • Massive True Crime Sale. Today Only!
  • THE HUMANZEE EXPERIMENTS: This Time Science Went Too Far
  • VAMPIRES, GATORS, AND WACKOS: True Crime Stories From A Florida Newspaperman

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

eZine SignupJoin our email list and be the first to get hot deals, new releases and...
* Author updates
* Free eBooks
* Free audio books
* Enlightening and entertaining posts
* Advance notice of book deals, special offers

Follow Us

Blog Tag Cloud

best true crime books Bogeyman Bradley Nickell Brian Whitney Burl Barer Caitlin Rother Cold Case Crime Fiction Crime thriller Detective Detectives Facebook True Crime John Ferak Kevin Sullivan Las Vegas memoir Murder murder book murder mystery Mysteries Mystery mystery thriller Non-Fiction Ron Franscell Serial Killer serial killer books Serial Killers Steve Jackson Suspense suspense thriller Ted Bundy Thriller Thriller Books Thrillers True-crime truecrime True Crime True Crime Authors true crime book true crime books True Crime Original true crimes true crime stories True Murder WildBlue Press

Privacy Policy

As Seen On:

Our Authors Have Been Seen On...

Interested Authors Click Here
See Our Entire Catalog
SSL Secure Connection

Copyright © 2022 WildBlue Press. All rights reserved.
Website design by Denver Local SEO Marketing Company
Reflections From FAILURE OF JUSTICE Author on Week 1 of Beatrice 6 Trial