Charles Thessen: the Lane Hotel fire and the sentences that followed
Charles Thessen was convicted of 14 counts of manslaughter after the Lane Hotel fire in Anchorage on 12 September 1966. His sentences were later cut on appeal.
Major Trials
Major trials from around the world, reported fairly from open court: charges, verdicts, sentences and appeals, with legal terms explained in plain English.
One L. Goh: the Oikos University shooting and its court outcome
On 2 April 2012, One L. Goh shot seven people dead at Oikos University in Oakland. He later pleaded no contest and received seven life terms without parole.
Joran van der Sloot: the Peru murder and the Alabama extortion case
Joran van der Sloot is serving sentences in Peru for murder and drug trafficking, and a US term for extortion. He has said he killed Natalee Holloway but has not been tried for it.
Stepping Hill: the nurse wrongly held and the nurse convicted
In 2011 a nurse was charged over insulin poisonings at Stepping Hill Hospital, then freed when the case failed. Victorino Chua was later convicted of two murders.
Russell Brand convicted of rape and three sexual assaults
A jury at Southwark Crown Court found Russell Brand guilty of one rape and three sexual assaults on 5 November 2026. He denied all charges and will be sentenced on 9 November.
Ted Bundy: the trials, death sentences and execution
Ted Bundy was sentenced to death three times in Florida in 1979 and 1980 and executed in 1989. This article sets out the cases against him, the escapes and the legal outcome.