ABSTRACT
In contrast to mass media coverage of the Starkweather crime spree, the crime Otey was convicted of did not attract nationwide news coverage. Otey was sentenced to death in 1978 for the rape and murder ofZ6-year-oldJane McManus in 1977. Although the crime itself was an Omaha story, Otey's numerous last-minute death penalty appeals attracted the attention of the CBS news magazine "48 Hours." The Otey case came to symbolize public frustration with a justice system that took 16 years to execute a condemned killer.
