A look at HTML5 in action

More than 50 years ago, the criminal justice system was both the same and very different. The Burton Abbott case is one of the best examples of this contrast – or lack thereof.

Executing Abbott: 50 years later is nice example of HTML5 design and what kind of interactive experience that can be created with it. It’s just one part of a larger project called Behind Bars, a report on incarceration in California. The work is by a team of 14 journalists at the News21 project at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. The whole project is well done and worth spending some time with.

I have to admit the film noir design reminded me of a project I worked on a few years ago, “Doubt.” It too used file folders as a design device. There also was a theme of revisiting a crime’s evidence and then letting the reader decide what they think happened. Created in Flash, it’s one of my favorite projects. We had a great team of journalists involved.

Executing Abbott: 50 years later
The role of the media has also changed. In the 1950s, newspapers were the main source of news. Two San Francisco Examiner reporters organized the team that discovered Bryan’s body. They broke the news to her parents and published graveside photographs. It was a different era. See for yourself: Explore the Abbott case through the Examiner’s photo archive and newspaper articles.

Behind bars
A report on incarceration in California. Why? Because California has the largest prison population in the country, with nearly 170,000 prisoners, and 70 percent of them return to prison every year.

Leo Schofield is serving life for murdering his wife, but did he do it? Only he knows. Is there reasonable doubt? Yes, starting with a new fingerprint match.

 

 

Doubt: A new look at murder
Decide for yourself: Watch Leo Schofield in a videotaped interview from prison explaining his frantic search for his missing wife, Michelle, in our special multimedia report. You’ll also find intriguing audio from the man whose fingerprint was in the murdered woman’s car. Listen to both men, sort through the evidence and then decide: Should Schofield be in prison?  (Aug. 26,2007)

Explore posts in the same categories: Flash, HTML5, Journalism, Multimedia, Storytelling, Web design

Tags: Burton Abbott, Criminal justice, Flash, HTML5, Leo Schofield, Prison

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