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The Best Episodes of American Justice

Every episode of American Justice ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of American Justice!

Hosted by Bill Kurtis, American Justice looks at groundbreaking criminal cases, presenting viewers with an inside look at the case through the eyes of those...
Genres:CrimeDocumentary
Network:A&E

Best Episodes Summary

"Death Row Prostitute: Aileen Wuornos" is the best rated episode of "American Justice". It scored 9.1/10 based on 11 votes. Directed by N/A and written by Don Morfoot Jr., it aired on 11/18/1998. This episode scored 1.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Hillside Stranglers".

  • Death Row Prostitute: Aileen Wuornos
    9.1/1011 votes
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    #1 - Death Row Prostitute: Aileen Wuornos

    Season 7 Episode 16 - Aired 11/18/1998

    Aileen Carol "Lee" Wuornos was an American serial killer and prostitute who murdered seven men in Florida in 1989 and 1990 by shooting them at point-blank range.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Don Morfoot Jr.

  • The Hillside Stranglers
    8.0/107 votes
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    #2 - The Hillside Stranglers

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 11/18/1992

    Profiling the case of two American serial killers who terrorized Los Angeles between October 1977 and February 1978, with their nicknames originating from the fact that many of the victims' bodies were discovered on the sides of the Hollywood Hills.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Dahmer: Mystery of a Serial Killer
    7.7/1023 votes
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    #3 - Dahmer: Mystery of a Serial Killer

    Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 11/10/1993

    A graphic account of the crimes of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer who became, his attorney Gerald Boyle says, "the embodiment of evil." Included: footage from Dahmer's trial; comments from experts on serial murder.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Donnie Brasco
    7.4/1012 votes
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    #4 - Donnie Brasco

    Season 6 Episode 16 - Aired 11/26/1997

    An account of how FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone, a.k.a. Donnie Brasco, infiltrated the New York mob in the late 1970s. The undercover operation became the subject of a 1997 feature film starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. Pistone discusses the operation, various mobsters and the strain on his family.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Kennedys and the Mob
    NaN/100 votes
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    #5 - The Kennedys and the Mob

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/7/1992

    The 1978 mass suicide of followers of Rev. Jim Jones, a cult leader who founded Jonestown in Guyana for the work of his People's Temple. Also: the murder of Rep. Leo J. Ryan, who was investigating allegations made by temple members.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Boston Strangler
    NaN/100 votes
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    #6 - Boston Strangler

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 11/4/1992

    The police investigation of "The Boston Strangler," who murdered 13 women from 1962 to 1964. Included: techniques such as psychic consultation and hypnosis.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Murph the Surf
    NaN/100 votes
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    #7 - Murph the Surf

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 11/11/1992

    Profiling Jack Murphy, a.k.a. "Murph the Surf," who was convicted of stealing the Star of India sapphire and other precious gems from New York's American Museum of Natural History in 1964.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Ted Bundy
    NaN/100 votes
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    #8 - Ted Bundy

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 12/2/1992

    Profiling the case of Ted Bundy, who was executed in 1989 for several murders and who was suspected of killing 25 women in six states.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • John Wayne Gacy
    NaN/100 votes
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    #9 - John Wayne Gacy

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 12/16/1992

    Profiling the case of John Wayne Gacy Jr., who was convicted in 1980 of murdering 33 young men and boys and who was executed by the state of Illinois in 1994.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald: The Green Beret Killer
    NaN/100 votes
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    #10 - Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald: The Green Beret Killer

    Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 2/13/1993

    Examining the case in which a man's wife and children were brutally murdered, he claimed, by drug-crazed hippies.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Trial of Adolf Eichmann
    NaN/100 votes
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    #11 - The Trial of Adolf Eichmann

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 4/21/1993

    Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi official captured by Israeli agents in 1960 and taken to Israel to be tried for war crimes.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • City Killer Gangs
    NaN/100 votes
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    #12 - City Killer Gangs

    Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 4/28/1993

    Organized crime during the Prohibition era, including profiles of Al Capone, Bugs Moran and Lucky Luciano. Brooklyn DA Charles J. Hynes joins host Bill Kurtis.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Jean Harris
    NaN/100 votes
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    #13 - Jean Harris

    Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 5/9/1993

    The case of Jean Harris, the former headmistress convicted of murdering her lover, Dr. Herman Tarnower, in 1980.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Howard Hughes Biography Hoax
    NaN/100 votes
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    #14 - Howard Hughes Biography Hoax

    Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 6/16/1993

    Recalling a hoax in the 1970s involving an alleged authorized biography of Howard Hughes by Clifford Irving.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Charles Starkweather
    NaN/100 votes
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    #15 - Charles Starkweather

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 6/23/1993

    Charles Starkweather, executed in 1959 for committing 11 murders.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Richard Speck
    NaN/100 votes
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    #16 - Richard Speck

    Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 6/30/1993

    The case of Richard Speck, who was convicted of the 1966 murders of eight nurses and student nurses in Chicago.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Wayne Williams
    NaN/100 votes
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    #17 - Wayne Williams

    Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 7/28/1993

    Wayne Williams, convicted of two of the Atlanta child murders that terrorized the city between 1979 and 1981.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Mafia Wars
    NaN/100 votes
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    #18 - Mafia Wars

    Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 8/11/1993

    Examining the battles waged against gangland families by the Gambino organized-crime family, led by "Boss of Bosses" Paul Castellano, until his 1985 assassination that was masterminded by John Gotti.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Bonnie and Clyde
    NaN/100 votes
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    #19 - Bonnie and Clyde

    Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 9/1/1993

    Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, whose string of robberies and killings made them two of the most notorious criminals of the 1930s.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Target: Mafia (The Prohibition Years)
    NaN/100 votes
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    #20 - Target: Mafia (The Prohibition Years)

    Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 9/8/1993

    Profiling crime during Prohibition. Examining Assistant Attorney General Mabel Walker Willebrandt's efforts to curtail bootlegging; battles between ethnic gangs.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Target: Mafia (Birth of the American Mafia)
    NaN/100 votes
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    #21 - Target: Mafia (Birth of the American Mafia)

    Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 9/15/1993

    Examining the birth of the American mafia from its origins in Sicily to mob activity during Prohibition. Included: the roles of Al Capone and Charles "Lucky" Luciano; rivalry among Italian, Irish and Jewish gangs.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Target: Mafia (The Kennedys and the Mob)
    NaN/100 votes
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    #22 - Target: Mafia (The Kennedys and the Mob)

    Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 9/22/1993

    Examining efforts by President Kennedy and his brother Robert to curtail mob activity; the possible link between JFK's assassination and organized crime.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Target: Mafia (Gangbusters)
    NaN/100 votes
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    #23 - Target: Mafia (Gangbusters)

    Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 9/29/1993

    Profiling "gangbusters" such as Harry Anslinger, first commissioner of the Bureau of Narcotics; and Thomas E. Dewey, who successfully prosecuted Charles "Lucky" Luciano on charges of running a prostitution ring.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Target: Mafia (Empire of Crime)
    NaN/100 votes
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    #24 - Target: Mafia (Empire of Crime)

    Season 2 Episode 15 - Aired 10/6/1993

    Examining mob activity during World War II; the murder of Benjamin Siegel; nightclubs, casinos and racetracks linked to organized crime.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Mobfathers, Part 1
    NaN/100 votes
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    #25 - Mobfathers, Part 1

    Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 10/13/1993

    A three-part history of mob activity in Philadelphia. [Part 1 of 3] shows how Nicodemo Scarfo gained power by supplying concrete to the growing casino industry in Atlantic City.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A