How The Murder Of 28-Year-Old Kitty Genovese Became America's Most Misunderstood Crime

The murder of a 28-year-old bar manager named Kitty Genovese 50 years ago this week is one of America's most famous crimes, appearing in psychology textbooks as a classic example of the "bystander effect." As The New York Times reported at the time, 38 people supposedly watched a killer "stalk and stab" Genovese without calling the police. Those 38 neighbors in Kew Gardens, Queens reportedly experienced a "diffusion of responsibility." In other words, they thought somebody else would help Genove...