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113
There are many others, but these make the intended point that criminal hoaxes need further attention from the academics, legislatives, and the courts.
A white woman, Lucille Magrone, claimed she had faced and been pushed to the ground by a black prowler. This event occurred in her yard that backs up to a forest. Magrone became overly frightened, suffering sleepless nights and anxiety since the alleged intruder surfaced.336 The Magrone family did not feel that the local police department was focused enough to solve the case or insure peace in the neighborhood. In an effort to get more police presence, Magrone wrote a series of letters over a span of time that were distributed to various neighbors.337 These letters were supposedly written by a black man and said “You white people cannot live here,” “I will see you dead,” and “You people are all dead in 24 hours.”338 Authorities tracked the paper used by Magrone in her request for more police presence to the paper used in the racially threatening letters from the neighborhood. Magrone was arrested and charged with third degree false reporting of an incident and second-degree aggravated harassment, each charge allowing for up to one year in prison. Interestingly both the police and her neighbors attributed her behavior to her fear and supported her. Her family supported her as well; her son stated, “what she did was justified. It might not have been right, but it was justified.”339
336 Mark Henry, “Letters That Lied, Neighborhood shares Woman’s Trauma,” Newsday, September 30, 1990, News.
337 Tony Schaeffer, “Arrest Made in Racial Hoax,” Newsday, September 29, 1990.
338 Roni Rabin, “Hoax Fed on Prejudice Frightened by Notes, Neighbors suspected black family,” Newsday, October 10, 1990.
339 Mark Henry, “Letters That Lied, Neighborhood shares Woman’s Trauma,” Newsday, September 30, 1990, News.
Object Description
| Title | An argument for the criminal hoax |
| Author | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Author email | user1963@yahoo.com; teachpolsci@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-20 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Wong, Janelle S. Newland, Chester A. |
| Abstract | Hoaxes are part of the fabric of history. While many provide humor and lighthearted joy, the criminal hoax does not. To date, researchers have included aspects of the criminal hoax in larger academic works. This is an original typology that sets forth the criminal hoax as a distinct part of the larger field of law and public policy. This work provides newly created definitions including four distinct categories of hoaxes: the monetary hoax, the attention getter hoax, the hate crime hoax and the racial hoax. It further illustrates these types with actual detailed accounts of hoaxes and provides insights to each one. It makes policy recommendations concerning the four categories of needs: 1. legislative action, 2. a nationwide statistical database of hoax events, 3. media involvement, and 4. law enforcement training and action to deal with criminal hoaxes. Finally, it recommends further research to identify the causes and motivations of vipers. The ultimate goal of this project is to find ways to eliminate criminal hoaxes. |
| Keyword | criminal hoax; hoax categories |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1659 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Pellegrini-2397 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Pellegrini-2397.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 119 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 113 There are many others, but these make the intended point that criminal hoaxes need further attention from the academics, legislatives, and the courts. A white woman, Lucille Magrone, claimed she had faced and been pushed to the ground by a black prowler. This event occurred in her yard that backs up to a forest. Magrone became overly frightened, suffering sleepless nights and anxiety since the alleged intruder surfaced.336 The Magrone family did not feel that the local police department was focused enough to solve the case or insure peace in the neighborhood. In an effort to get more police presence, Magrone wrote a series of letters over a span of time that were distributed to various neighbors.337 These letters were supposedly written by a black man and said “You white people cannot live here,” “I will see you dead,” and “You people are all dead in 24 hours.”338 Authorities tracked the paper used by Magrone in her request for more police presence to the paper used in the racially threatening letters from the neighborhood. Magrone was arrested and charged with third degree false reporting of an incident and second-degree aggravated harassment, each charge allowing for up to one year in prison. Interestingly both the police and her neighbors attributed her behavior to her fear and supported her. Her family supported her as well; her son stated, “what she did was justified. It might not have been right, but it was justified.”339 336 Mark Henry, “Letters That Lied, Neighborhood shares Woman’s Trauma,” Newsday, September 30, 1990, News. 337 Tony Schaeffer, “Arrest Made in Racial Hoax,” Newsday, September 29, 1990. 338 Roni Rabin, “Hoax Fed on Prejudice Frightened by Notes, Neighbors suspected black family,” Newsday, October 10, 1990. 339 Mark Henry, “Letters That Lied, Neighborhood shares Woman’s Trauma,” Newsday, September 30, 1990, News. |
