Longhand Of The Law

We don't know about you, but every time The Smoking Gun tunes in to "NYPD Blue," it seems that a hapless perp is being interrogated into submission by a cagey TV cop. Shoving a pad and pen across the table, detectives Sipowicz or Simone will bark, "Write it down!" The cowering criminal then obliges with a confession. Case closed.

In real life, it's a bit tougher to convince someone to send themselves to the can. But it does happen, as some of these legal records show. Here's a collection of hand-scrawled documents--confessions, death threats, incriminating evidence--that we've compiled from a variety of court, police, and FBI files.

The Unkindest Cut (4 pages)

Club Kids Kill An Angel (5 pages)

Single White Vampire Seeks Young Blood (6 pages)

A Threat To President Presley (1 page)

Exorcising Charity's Demon (5 pages)

Clark Gable Extortion Attempt (1 page)

Empire State Building Bloodbath (2 pages)