Fuhrman, Mark 1952–

PERSONAL: Born February 5, 1952 (some sources say February 6), in Eatonville, WA; son of Ralph (a truck driver) and Billie (a waitress) Fuhrman; married Barbara Coop (divorced 1977); married Janet Sosbee (divorced 1980); married Caroline Lody; children: Haley, Cole.

ADDRESSES: Home—Sandpoint, ID. Office—1510 KGA Radio, 1601 E. 57th Ave., Spokane, WA 99223.

CAREER: Writer, consultant, and radio host. Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles, CA, began as street patrol officer, became detective, 1975–95; worked as an electrician's apprentice, c. 1995–97; Murder in Greenwich (television show), producer, 2002; KXLY Radio, Spokane, WA, host of It's All about Crime with Mark Fuhrman, c. 2001–04; KGA Radio, Spokane, talk show host; has appeared on numerous other television news and talk shows. Has also worked busing tables and in sawmills. Military service: U.S. Marine Corps; served two tours in Vietnam.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

Murder in Brentwood, Regnery (Washington, DC), 1997.

Murder in Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley?, Cliff Street Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Murder in Spokane: Catching a Serial Killer, Cliff Street Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Death and Justice: An Exposé of Oklahoma's Death Row Machine, Morrow (New York, NY), 2003.

Silent Witness: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo's Death, Morrow (New York, NY), 2005.

A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, Morrow (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Former Los Angeles police detective Mark Fuhrman gained notoriety during the highly publicized trial of O.J. Simpson in 1995. Fuhrman was one of the detectives called to the scene to investigate the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson's wife, and Ron Goldman. His testimony at the trial came under scrutiny when tapes made in 1985 surfaced that proved he had perjured himself on the stand. He is recorded on those tapes using racist language, including "the 'N' word," an expression which he denied, under oath, ever having used. "I am not a racist," claimed Fuhrman, quoted by Bill Hewitt, Cathy Free, and Michele Keller in People Weekly magazine. Murder in Brentwood "is his attempt to set the record straight," reported the journalists. They further quoted Fuhrman: "I decided I needed some closure." Furhman added: "I needed to get this off my chest."

Fuhrman has continued his writing career since releasing Murder in Brentwood. His next book, Murder in Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley?, focuses on the 1960s murder of a Greenwich, Connecticut, teenager. Fuhrman's investigation helped to reopen the case. Kennedy family member Rushton Skakel was finally convicted of the murder. Fuhrman primarily focuses on the police work done in the case and explains how, in his view, the police failed to perform their job adequately from the beginning. Andrew Stuttaford, writing in the National Review, called the book "a compelling read."

Murder in Spokane: Catching a Serial Killer presents Fuhrman's eventual involvement in solving a series of murders in Spokane, Washington. The author recounts his view of how the police handled the case and also his efforts through his radio show to spur the police into further action to solve it. Booklist contributor Mary Frances Wilkens felt that the author "writes compelling true-crime stories." Writing in the Library Journal, Deirdre Root commented that the book "is essential for all true-crime collections."

Fuhrman explores the use of the death penalty in Oklahoma in his book Death and Justice: An Exposé of Oklahoma's Death Row Machine. The author focuses largely on the high number of convictions obtained by a specific Oklahoma county district attorney and how they resulted in the death penalty. In the process, Fuhrman explores what he believes to be the prosecutor's incompetence and questionable practices. A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that the "book makes for an engrossing read." Mary Frances Wilkens, writing in Booklist, noted that the author "is showing himself to be a courageous man who dares to take on his own industry."

In Silent Witness: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo's Death the author looks into the famous case of a comatose woman whose husband eventually won a court battle to remove her from life support. A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963 takes another look at the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. "There is some newsworthiness in Fuhrman's take on the theories surrounding the assassination—and in his perhaps surprising verdict," attested a Kirkus Reviews contributor.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

America's Intelligence Wire, June 10, 2004, Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, "Ten Years After O.J. Trial, What Have We Learned?"; March 17, 2006, Greta Van Susteren, "Interview with Chief Darlington County, South Carolina, Sheriff's Deputy Tom Gainey/Interview with Former LAPD Homicide Detective Mark Fuhrman/Interview with South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster."

Booklist, April 15, 2001, Mary Frances Wilkins, review of Murder in Spokane: Catching a Serial Killer, p. 1506; July, 2003, Mary Frances Wilkens, review of Death and Justice: An Exposé of Oklahoma's Death Row Machine, p. 1843.

Entertainment Weekly, August 8, 1997, Matthew Flamm and Alexandra Jacobs, "Life without O.J.," p. 72.

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2003, review of Death and Justice, p. 892; February 15, 2006, review of A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963, p. 169.

Library Journal, May 1, 2001, Deirdre Root, review of Murder in Spokane, p. 109; August, 2003, Karen Sandlin Silverman, review of Death and Justice, p. 107.

Nation, September 7, 1998, Jeanne Schinto, review of Murder in Greenwich, p. 32.

National Review, September 25, 1995, William F. Buckley, Jr., "Where Does Fuhrman Take Us?," p. 103; September 14, 1998, Andrew Stuttaford, review of Murder in Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley?, p. 62; October 27, 2003, Jack Dunphy, review of Death and Justice.

People, March 3, 1997, Bill Hewitt, Cathy Free, and Michele Keller, review of Murder in Brentwood, pp. 97-100; September 15, 2003, Mike Neill, "A Changed Man: Mark Fuhrman Believed in the Death Penalty; Then He Went to Oklahoma," p. 125.

PR Newswire, July 27, 2000, "Mark Fuhrman Accepts Offer to Debate O.J. Simpson on Entertainment Network, Inc. Theirside.com Web site."

Publishers Weekly, October 21, 1996, Judy Quinn, "Regnery Buys Fuhrman Book," p. 26; October 6, 1997, "Furhman: from Regnery to Reverand," p. 11; May 7, 2001, review of Murder in Spokane, p. 229; June 16, 2003, review of Death and Justice, p. 58; February 27, 2006, review of A Simple Act of Murder, p. 49.

Reference & Research News, November, 2005, review of Silent Witness: The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo's Death.

ONLINE

1510 Spokane Radio, http://www.1510kga.com/ (May 2, 2006), brief biography of the author.

Bookreporter.com, http://www.bookreporter.com/ (May 2, 2006), Joe Hartlaub, review of Murder in Spokane.

Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com (May 2, 2006), information on author's film and television work.

Mark Fuhrman Home Page, http://www.markfuhrman.com (May 11, 2006).

NNDB, http://www.nndb.com/ (May 2, 2006), biographical information on the author.

Speakers International Web site, http://www.speakersinternational.com/ (May 2, 2006), brief biography of the author.