Introduction : a national history of infamy -- From transparency to darkness : justice and publicity in the mirror of criminal juries -- A look at the crime scene : the nota roja and the public pursuit of truth -- Lost detectives : policemen, torture, ley fuga -- Horrible crimes : murderers as authors -- Careful guys : pistoleros and the business of politics -- Our times, our perspectives : the emergence of Mexican crime fiction -- Our models of dread : crime as revenge, justice, and art -- Conclusion : trying to keep our eyes open.
Summary:
"A History of Infamy explores the broken nexus between crime, justice, and the truth in mid-twentieth-century Mexico. Facing the violence and impunity that defined politics, policing, and the judicial system in post-revolutionary times, Mexicans sought truth and justice outside state institutions. During this time, the criminal news beat and crime fiction flourished. Civil society's search for truth and justice lead, paradoxically, to the normalization of extrajudicial violence and neglect for the rights of victims. As Piccato demonstrates, ordinary people in Mexico have made crime and punishment central concerns of the public sphere during the last century, and in doing so have shaped how crime and violence took form over time"--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.