A half century ago, before there was a John Wayne Gacy, before there was a Richard Speck, Chicago had William Heirens, also known as "the lipstick killer."

The serial killing of two women and a 6-year-old girl was the "crime of the century" in post-war Chicago, and the biggest story of 1946.

Banner headlines welcomed Heiren's capture, every new development in the evidence, and loudly praised the resolution: his confession to the serial killing, and sentence of three life terms. He has been behind bars ever since.

The trouble is, according to Heirens, he was the wrong man. On this episode of American Justice, we'll explore his troubling case, from the near hysteria of the media coverage, to the disturbing inconsistencies in the physical evidence used to wring a confession from him.

We'll also explore Heiren's extraordinary life behind bars. He was the first inmate in Illinois ever to earn a college degree, and is now one of the most accomplished inmates in the state's history. While the family of the murdered 6-year-old girl is fighting to keep Heirens in prison, his lawyer counters by saying "the public was furious with these murders and demanded that somebody pay. And the system served Bill up on a platter."