Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 3, Volume 8 | Page 21

production company Nutopia, expressing
an interest in purchasing the rights to the
book. After negotiation an agreement was
reached and a sizzle real was shot in Vegas
over the summer. The project is moving
forward and I’m optimistic it will be picked
up by a TV network.
That is fantastic news for an author who
was ready to give it all up in 2004. What a
difference 14 years has made for you.
And, I understand you have launched
another project. Please tell our readers
about it.
I have embarked on a new endeavor by
creating the Facebook group The Transpar-
ency Project (TTP). The impetus for that
move was the number of unsolved murder
and unresolved suspicious death cases, that
have come to my attention through my
Crime Wire podcast. In many cases the sur-
vivors of the victims have credible evidence
that the authorities may have mishandled
their investigations or not investigated at
all. Unfortunately, when the survivors seek
information about how the investigation
was conducted via a FOIA request, the in-
vestigating agency denies their request cit-
ing the “open case exemption.” While there
are often valid reasons for withholding in-
formation, that exemption can also be used
to conceal incompetence or malfeasance.
With the police agency having the sole dis-
cretion as to what if anything the family has
access to, they have no place else to go—
nowhere to appeal.
Amazing. What do you hope to accom-
plish with that project?
F ALL 2018
The goal of The Transparency Project is
to help families who are survivors of vic-
tims of murder or suspicious death, to gain
access to police records related to the in-
vestigation of the death of their loved one.
This will primarily involve making sure the
police agency involved is complying in full
with the Sunshine or Open Records laws in
effect in their particular jurisdiction. It can
include filing appeals when requests for
records are denied, and/or recommending
changes to existing laws that are overly re-
strictive.
Are there any recent developments that
have made this a little easier to pursue?
Based on Molly’s Law that was recently
passed in Illinois after the tragic death of
Molly Young, TTP members across the
country are contacting their legislatures
seeking enactment of laws that will require
the police to prove their investigation is not
merely open, but active, to deny a FOIA re-
quest. If they fail to meet that bar, the state
Attorney General can order the requested
records be released. It would also extend
the statute of limitations in which to file a
wrongful death lawsuit in certain types of
cases from the usual two years to five
years, giving the family a valuable tool by
which they can compel persons of interest
to testify under oath.
Is this a very difficult procedure?
This effort certainly is not easy and is
actually very time-consuming. However, in
the interest of justice it must be done. In
addition to legislative efforts, I am gather-
ing stories from survivors for an anthology
P AGE 16
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE