Remembering Catherine “Kitty” Genovese 40 years later: A public forum

The Kitty Genovese murder and the social psychology of helping: The parable of the 38 witnesses.

“…An analysis of the court transcripts from the trial of Winston Moseley, plus an examination of other legal documents associated with the case and a review of research carried out by a local historian and lawyer (Joseph De May Jr.), suggests a rather different picture of the events on that night. De May’s meticulous analysis has taken place over the past several years, and it has deservedly begun to attract attention (e.g., Rasenberger, 2004; Takooshian et al, 2005), although the implication of our argument is that it deserves still more. De May (2006) has identified errors of fact and misleading wording in the original report by Gansberg (1964).…”

“…The second and final attack took place inside the building in the stairwell of 92-96 Austin Street, where none of the trial witnesses could see. The spatial arrangement of the buildings in which witnesses were located, and the site of the first and then the second and fatal attack, made it impossible for all but one of the known witnesses (Carl Ross; see Takooshian et al, 2005) to observe the attack unfold in its entirety or to witness the sexual assault and the murder itself in the stairwell.…”

“…Skoller is in no way attempting to defend the residents of Kew Gardens, stating “I believe that many people heard the screams… . It could have been more than 38” (quoted in Rasenberger, 2004, p. 14) and reporting that two witnesses to the attack were not called as witnesses in court as “their horrible conduct could distract jurors from the death penalty Moseley deserved” (Takooshian et al, 2005, p. 67). However, the evidence suggests that there were rather fewer than the 38 eyewitnesses referred to in the textbooks, and no list of the 38 has ever been made available.…”

“…These reports also made the point that calls were made despite the difficulties of contacting the police at the time. There was no 911 system in place in 1964, and calls to the local police station were reportedly not always welcomed by officers who would often give callers “the bitter edge of their tongues” (Rosenthal, 1964/1999, p. 67), although, according to Charles Skoller, “response time was still excellent in 1964” (Takooshian et al, 2005, p. 67). The negative reaction of the police was suggested to be a particular issue for reports from places like Austin Street because there was a bar on the street that reportedly had a reputation for trouble (Taylor, 1995; Weiland, 1964).…”

An Urban Physiognomy of the 1964 Kitty Genovese Murder

“…. the secret of street crime: that criminals rely on citizens not to do anything, even when citizens are there” (“Silent Witnesses,” 1999; Takooshian et al, 2005). Press photographs of the street along which Moseley assaulted Genovese, photographed 2 weeks after the murder, and again a year later, would help articulate the vision of street crime as an effect of nonresponsive bystanders.…”