Guest Opinion | Thursday, May 20,2010

Profiles in Courage against wrongful conviction

A special event will take place in Springfield on Monday, May 24, when exoneree Rolando Cruz comes to Springfield to recognize those who helped free him almost 15 years ago.In 1983, 10-year-old Jeanin

Books | Wednesday, May 13,2009

A tale of heroism in the fight against Illinois corruption

By Larry Golden

Who among us would have thought of the little east central Illinois town of Paris as a major location for drug dealing and criminal activity? It is hard to believe Paris, Ill., is the site of the na

Books | Wednesday, January 21,2009

Memoirs of Judge Wood, our man at Wounded Knee

The late Harlington Wood, Jr.’s remarkable life

By Larry Golden

Many people in Springfield, who hold a variety of views about politics and law, have praised the late Harlington Wood as an individual of integrity and accomplishment. Wood’s memoirs, An Unmar

Books | Wednesday, November 5,2008

Could you confess to a crime you did not commit?

False confession happens more often than you think. Here’s how.

By Larry Golden

In the summer of 1989, a 19-year-old Waverly woman, Melissa Koontz, disappeared late at night after leaving work on the far west-side of Springfield. What followed was a series of events in

Guest Opinion | Thursday, June 29,2006

The price of citizenship

Why are we allowing immigration policy to turn restrictive and punitive?

By Larry Golden

The image of the United States is of a country that provides refuge for people who desire freedom and opportunity — yet the latest round of immigration “reform,” which targets &ldquo

Guest Opinion | Thursday, May 19,2005

The Prosecution Complex

By Larry Golden

With the growing number of exonerations in recent years, it is obvious that Illinois has seen more than its share of individuals who have been wrongfully convicted and given

Guest Opinion | Thursday, April 17,2003

From the top down

The inadequacy of American representative democracy

By Larry Golden

One of the stated major objectives of the American war in Iraq is to establish a "democratic" form of government. Yet when we look at the way decisions were made in our war policy, American democracy