David M. Crane Collection
Scope and Content
The largest component of this collection is David M. Crane's personal diaries during his time on Sierra Leone's Special Court, which are all handwritten. The subjects covered in these diaries are quite diverse. Sometimes, he will describe rather small, regular things, like how his lunch at TGI Friday's in the airport was delicious; other times, he will address more sensitive, complicated topics, such as through attaching snippets of newspaper articles about his prosecution against war criminals and describing the process of transferring prisoners.
One of the notebooks, which appears to be a diary at first, is actually a book on poetry, verse, and thought. As he describes, his passion for legal work was accompanied, and perhaps matched, by an equally fervent love for creative writing.
There is a small flip notebook which concisely summarizes the meetings he attended and the work he accomplished each day. It is formatted like a bullet-pointed list rather than a diary, with descriptions kept brief and concise.
This collection also includes an official collection of Crane's writings, lectures, and commentary about the situation in West Africa between fall 2002 and 2004. One lecture that was included was a commencement address at Syracuse University in 2003 where he spoke about his time on the Special Court to stress the value of seeking out and seizing extraordinary opportunities.
Finally, there is a folder, dated March 2003, containing a long list of the general allegations of crimes against Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor. Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, was the sitting African head of state in history to be held accountable for war crimes. The allegations against him included rape, sexual slavery, outrages upon personal dignity, pillaging, murder, and other inhumane acts.
The prevalent themes of this collection are war crimes, law and order, international justice, threats to national security, power and corruption, international indifference to human suffering, the challenges of prosecution, how to build sustainable peace, and recovering from trauma.
Dates
- Creation: 2000-2005
Creator
- Crane, David M. (Person)
Language of Materials
The records are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Ohio University Libraries.
Conditions Governing Use
Ohio University retains all property rights to the collection.
Ohio University retains all copyrights unless retained by the donor, other correspondents, or other artists.
Biography of David M. Crane
David M. Crane is most famous for his time serving as the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court of Sierra Leone. Upon his appointment, he was given the heavy responsibility of prosecuting those charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. Crane was the first American to be the Chief Prosecutor of an international war crimes tribunal since the Nuremberg trials in 1945. He served in this position from 2002-2005.
After returning to the United States, Crane joined the faculty of Syracuse University College of Law, his alma mater, as a professor. He founded the Syria Accountability Project, which is internationally acclaimed for its efforts to document war crimes during the Syrian Civil War, and served on the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism.
Throughout his entire life, Crane was a passionate and fervid writer. He founded Impunity Watch, which is an online student-run publication centered around public service and law, and continued to write throughout his entire life.
Crane retired from Syracuse University in 2018.
Background of the Collection
In Sierra Leone Civil War, the Revolutionary United Front, supported by Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front, attempted to overthrow the existing government. The coup was successful, but violence, including horrific crimes against humanity, continued, and several coups occurred in following years. The war lasted from March 1991 until January 2002, when the United Nations and the government of Sierra Leone signed a joint agreement creating the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The Special Court of Sierra Leone was formed to provide peace and to prove that justice can exist and be delivered fairly everywhere, even in war torn West Africa. The Special Court of Sierra Leone was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, then dissolved in December 2013.
Biographical / Historical
Background of the Collection
In Sierra Leone Civil War, the Revolutionary United Front, supported by Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front, attempted to overthrow the existing government. The coup was successful, but violence, including horrific crimes against humanity, continued, and several coups occurred in following years. The war lasted from March 1991 until January 2002, when the United Nations and the government of Sierra Leone signed a joint agreement creating the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The Special Court of Sierra Leone was formed to provide peace and to prove that justice can exist and be delivered fairly everywhere, even in war torn West Africa. The Special Court of Sierra Leone was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, then dissolved in December 2013.
Extent
.66 Cubic Feet (2 manuscript boxes)
Abstract
This collection contains a published compilation of Crane's various speeches, lectures, statements, press releases, and commentary; a folder; a flip notebook; a book of his personal creative writing titled Musings at Dawn; and three diaries.
Statement of Arrangement
This collection is organized chronologically, starting with his creative writing book from 2000 and ending with his diary from his third year is Sierra Leone, from September 2004 through July 2005.
SUBJECTS
Sierra Leone--History--Civil War, 1991-2002
War crimes
Acquisition Information
The Ohio University Archives received this collection in 2019. The materials were given to the Mahn Center with the permission of David Crane.
Existence and Location of Copies
Ohio University will entertain requests to photocopy reasonable amounts of material from the collection for the convenience of individual researchers.
Bibliography
- Dana, Shahram. "The Sentencing Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone." Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. Volume 42, Issue 3 (2014): 615-680. http://ssrn.com/abstract=2701104
- Gberie, Lansana. "The Special Court for Sierra Leone rests—for good." African Renewal. April 2014. https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2014/special-court-sierra-leone-rests---good
- "David M. Crane: Former Chief Prosecutor Special Court for Sierra Leone." Justice Consultancy International. https://www.jcihq.net/david-m-crane
- "Professor of Practice David M. Crane L'80 Announces Retirement from the College of Law." Syracuse College of Law. March 30, 2018. http://law.syr.edu/news_events/news/professor-of-practice-david-m.-crane-l80-announces-retirement
Description Note
Original, legacy collection inventories may contain inaccuracies or be incomplete. Collection descriptions may change or be updated as they are verified. Please contact Mahn Center staff if you note any errors or discrepancies.
Subject
- Taylor, Charles Ghankay (Person)
- Special Court for Sierra Leone (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the David M. Crane Collection
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Julia Schneider
- Date
- 2022
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Revision Statements
- 5 January 2024: Subjects and other notes added from ALICE MARC records and Mahn Center Microsoft Office finding aids by Ohio University Libraries Metadata Services Department Python scripts.
Repository Details
Part of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections Repository
