233: A Catastrophe and a Preppy Rapist

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James Scott had a reputation for wreaking havoc. As a teen, he burned down an abandoned elementary school. A few years later, he set fire to an apartment complex and a garage. But by 1993, he seemed to have settled down. He was married and out of prison, working at Burger King. Then came the Great Flood of 1993. That summer, James Scott did what many other local residents did – he helped reinforce levees along the Mississippi River. Later, when one broke, people were certain that James was the one to blame.

Then Kristin tells us about a total shitbag named Alex Kelly. Alex grew up privileged. He was an undefeated wrestler, a football player, and an honor roll student. At a party one night in 1986, he raped a fellow student. A few nights later, he raped another teen. Investigators soon arrested Alex, but he wasn’t accustomed to facing consequences. When it came time for Alex to face trial, he was nowhere to be found.

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“The Fugitive Son,” by Jennet Conant for Vanity Fair
“The Fugitive Son,” episode of Vanity Fair Confidential
“In retrial, Alex Kelly is convicted of rape committed 11 years ago,” by Monte Williams for The New York Times
“Tiny dramas, big piques at Alex Kelly rape trial,” by Monte Williams for The New York Times
“Alex Kelly lied, former friend testifies,” by Monte Williams for The New York Times
“Fiancee testifies in Alex Kelly rape case,” by Monte Williams for The New York Times
“Without putting Kelly on stand, defense in his rape retrial rests,” by Monte Williams for The New York Times
“Alex Kelly avoids trial in second rape,” by William Glaberson for The New York Times
“Rapist famous for evading justice establishes skydiving business in North Adams, questions delays,” by Josh Landes for WAMC Northeast Public Radio

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Catastrophe” podcast episode, Criminal
“Catastrophe on the Mississippi — The Man Who Flooded a Town For Sex” by Ash Jurberg, Medium
“Revisiting The Great Flood of 1993 and James Scott” by Adam Pitluk, Huffington Post
“Man Convicted of Sabotaging Levee” Associated Press, The New York Times
“The Great Flood of 1993: The James Scott Story” ABC17 News
“State of Missouri v. James R. Scott” findlaw.com
“James Scott” wikipedia.org
“Great Flood of 1993” wikipedia.org
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