Oklahoma has had more than its share of sensational crimes with national implications, but for the first time in one volume, attorney/historian Kent Frates reveals the facts behind six infamous cases that remain the talk of courtrooms everywhere. From bloody murders, to political scandal, to a horrific act of domestic terrorism, Oklahoma's Most Notorious Cases captures the stories, the times, and the import of these landmark trials. Populated by a host of stranger-than-fiction characters--a machine-gun toting gangster, a Cherokee outlaw, a blood thirsty conman, a crooked governor, and a twisted soldier, the stories reveal the cold calculation inherent in the perpetrators and the guts, guile, and tenacity required of the dedicated law enforcement professionals who brought these men and women to justice.

On the heels of the award--winning Oklahoma's Most Notorious Cases, attorney and historian Kent Frates returns to the evidence files to retrace the stories of seven more notorious cases set in Oklahoma -- from crime scene to courtroom.

On June 22, 1978, Melvin Lorenz, his wife, Linda, and son, Richard, were killed near Purcell, Oklahoma. Twenty-four days later, on July 16, six employees of a Sirloin Stockade Restaurant in southwest Oklahoma City were herded into a freezer and shot to death. Hundreds of law enforcement members worked for eight months to track down the killers. In October and November 1979, Roger Dale Stafford was convicted of first degree murder of nine people. However, he was not executed until 1995. This murder story coming from the heart of Oklahoma deserves to be told. It includes the behind-the-scenes perspective of law enforcement officers involved.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LOOK FOR THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES • “Both an American tragedy and [Grisham’s] strongest legal thriller yet, all the more gripping because it happens to be true.”—Entertainment Weekly John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction: a true crime masterpiece that tells the story of small town justice gone terribly awry. In the Major League draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the state of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa. In 1982, a twenty-one-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder. With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row. If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you. Don’t miss Framed, John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, co-authored with Centurion Ministries founder Jim McCloskey.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1953: an impoverished Cherokee named Buster Youngwolfe confesses to brutally raping and murdering his eleven-year-old female relative. When Youngwolfe recants his confession, saying he was forced to confess by the authorities, his city condemns him, except for one man—public defender and Creek Indian Elliott Howe. Recognizing in Youngwolfe the life that could have been his if not for a few lucky breaks, Howe risks his career to defend Youngwolfe against the powerful county attorney’s office. Forgotten today, the sensational story of the murder, investigation, and trial made headlines nationwide. Oklahoma’s Atticus is a tale of two cities—oil-rich downtown Tulsa and the dirt-poor slums of north Tulsa; of two newspapers—each taking different sides in the trial; and of two men both born poor Native Americans, but whose lives took drastically different paths. Hunter Howe Cates explores his grandfather’s story, both a true-crime murder mystery and a legal thriller. Oklahoma’s Atticus is full of colorful characters, from the seventy-two-year-old mystic who correctly predicted where the body was buried, to the Kansas City police sergeant who founded one of America’s most advanced forensics labs and pioneered the use of lie detector evidence, to the ambitious assistant county attorney who would rise to become the future governor of Oklahoma. At the same time, it is a story that explores issues that still divide our nation: police brutality and corruption; the effects of poverty, inequality, and racism in criminal justice; the power of the media to drive and shape public opinion; and the primacy of the presumption of innocence. Oklahoma’s Atticus is an inspiring true underdog story of unity, courage, and justice that invites readers to confront their own preconceived notions of guilt and innocence.

Compellingly written, accessible, and interpretive, Melvin I. Urofsky's stories of major Supreme Court cases and the impact of each ruling on American constitutional law make a readable book for every student.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Wager and The Lost City of Z, “one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."—New York Magazine • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NOW A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE “A shocking whodunit…What more could fans of true-crime thrillers ask?”—USA Today “A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery.” —The Boston Globe In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager!

Together for the first time in one box set, four thrilling stories featuring profiler Maggie O’Dell, only from New York Times bestselling author Alex Kava. AT THE STROKE OF MADNESS With only an old man afflicted with Alzheimer’s as a material witness, FBI Special Agent Maggie O’Dell is fast on the trail of a diabolical serial killer who targets people with physical disabilities, removing each victim’s imperfections to keep as a twisted trophy. A NECESSARY EVIL When a monsignor is found knifed to death in an airport restroom, FBI special agent Maggie O’Dell is called in to profile the ritualistic murder, the latest in a series of killings. Maggie soon discovers a disturbing Internet game that’s popular among victims of abuse by Catholic priests, and wonders if the group has turned cyberspace justice into reality. EXPOSED Maggie knows dangerous minds, but she must tackle a new opponent from within a biosafety isolation ward—someone targeted Quantico with a deadly virus, and Maggie might have been contaminated. She just fears her last case might end with the most intelligent killer she’s ever faced escalating from murder…to epidemic. BLACK FRIDAY On the busiest shopping day of the year, a group of idealistic college students believe they’re about to carry out an elaborate media stunt at the largest mall in America. What they don’t realize is that instead of electronic jamming devices, their backpacks contain explosives, and they’re about to become unwitting suicide bombers. Agent O’Dell has to work quickly to figure out who is behind the terrorist plot.

This book includes difficult-to-find information about significant Oklahoma outlaws who lived and worked during the 100-year period �from horseback to Cadillac.� While criminal history within Oklahoma is the focus, famous crimes committed elsewhere by Oklahomans, such as the Barker Gang, Wilbur Underhill, and Machine Gun Kelly, as well as Oklahoma connections to legendary outlaws like Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, John Dillinger, and Baby Face Nelson are also mentioned.