Crime

John Lee is a first-generation Korean reporter whose beat at the Los Angeles Times has been Koreatown during and since the riots. Many Korean merchants were targeted, and many wielded guns to defend themselves. He feels that the Korean side of the conflict hasn't been accurately portrayed by the media.

Sweet Alice Harris lives in Watts, in South Central Los Angeles. She started and runs Parents of Watts Working With Youth and Adults after the Watts riots of 1965. She says she knew last week's riots would be bigger than Watts. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Janet Clayton, assistant editor of the editorial page of the Los Angeles Times. We spoke with her yesterday; we check in again with her today.

William Julius Wilson, professor of sociology at the university of Chicago. He's written several books on urban poverty and the underclass.

Tony Massengale, who works with gangs in Los Angeles.

From the AME church in south L.A., where a rally was held after the announcement of the verdict, Mark Whitlock. He headed a security force organized by the church to stand between the police and protesters in order to head off violence.

From the Los Angeles Times, Assistant Editor of the editorial page Janet Clayton. In addition to functioning in her official media capacity, she'll be leaving work early to visit her mother, who lives in the curfew zone.

Writer Natalie Robins. Her new book, "Alien Ink: The F.B.I.'s War on Freedom of Expression," (published by William Morrow & Co.) is about the secret files the FBI has kept on American writers like Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, E.L. Doctorow, and Grace Paley. The author obtained access to the files going back to writers like Jack London and Lincoln Steffens. The files are still being kept and many writers are unaware that they exist.

James McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries, Inc., which was organized to free innocent men and women from prison. Since McCloskey began his work in 1980 at least ten innocent prisoners have been freed. Just this week Clarence Chance, 42, and Benjamin Powell, 44 were freed after serving 17 and 1/2 years of life sentences. They were wrongly accused of murdering a sheriff's deputy. Witnesses who initially implicated them later told officials that they were pressured to lie.

Writer Teresa Carpenter. Carpenter's new book, "Mob Girl," is the true life story of Arlyne (pronounced "Arlene") Weiss, who worked her way the ranks of the New York mafia, and then began a second career as a government informant. Carpenter won a Pulitzer Prize for her article on the murder of Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten. That article was the basis for the movie "Star 80."

Documentary film maker Frederick Wiseman. Wiseman's made more than 20 documentaries, but his most famous is his first. It was a 1967 film called "Titicut Follies," about the conditions inside a Massachusetts hospital for the criminally insane. A state court banned the film, and it took 24 years for Wiseman to get the ban overturned. The film will be RE-premiered next week at New York's Film Forum. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane).

Reporter Pete Earley. Earley spent two years observing life at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. He was given complete access to the prisoners, guards, staff, and the warden. He tells about life in Leavenworth in his new book, "The Hot House." (published by Bantam) (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Charles Dutton, star of the T-V comedy series "Roc." Dutton came to acting in a very roundabout way: while serving a manslaughter sentence in the Maryland State Penitentiary, he organized the performance of a play, and realized he loved acting. ("Roc" airs Sunday nights on Fox.)

Film director Peter Medak. Medak's new movie, "Let Him Have it," is the true-life story of two London teenagers who shot a policeman in 1952. What makes the case controversial is that the boy who actually pulled the trigger was a minor, and therefore couldn't get the death penalty. The other boy was put to death, even though there's evidence that he was trying to surrender.

Writer Edward "Hacksaw" Jones -- so named for his many prison escapes. He was the only criminal put on the FBI's most-wanted list without a history of physical violence. When he was still in prison he began writing. He's written two novels, "Cage," and "Awake," as well as an autobiography, "Hacksaw." He's got a new novel, "Stoneface." (published by Donald I. Fine, Inc., New York).

Poet Linda McCarriston. Her new book of poems, "Eva-Mary," is up for a National Book Award. Many of the poems in the book are about how her father sexually abused her and her mother. (published by TriQuarterly Book/Northwestern University). The winner of the award will be announced tomorrow in New York.

We take one last look back at the Clarence Thomas confirmation process, and look ahead to what future confirmation's may be like, with law professor David Kairys (pronounced "carries"). Kairys has a long history in personal freedom and civil rights issues.

Fresh Air producer Amy Salit talks with Wall Street Journal reporter James B. Stewart. Stewart won the Pulitzer Prize for his work on the stock market crash and the inside trading scandal. He's expanded on the insider trading story in his new book, "Den of Thieves." (Published by Simon and Schuster).

Journalist David A. Vise, deputy financial editor for "The Washington Post." He's the co-author of "Eagle on the Street," the story of the Securities and Exchange Commission's influence on Wall Street and how it contributed to the 1987 crash. The book is based on their Pulitzer Prize-winning series that ran in "The Washington Post." (published by Scribner's).

Private eye Hal Lipset. Lipset's the subject of Patricia Holt's new book, "The Bug In The Martini Olive." That title refers to Lipset's ability to plant secret listening devices just about anywhere. He also photographed adulterous couples and worked for everyone from the Senate Watergate Committee to cult leader Jim Jones. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)