Should Oscar Pistorius be found guilty for the death of Reeva Steenkamp? To what extend will his status as a celebrity affect his ruling.
Oscar Pistorius is a double amputee that has been herald for his achievements as a sporting icon. His achievement at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics has made him into the first notable handicapped sporting icon who has been praised for doing what no other disabled person has done before. His athletic prowess has not only won him 7 gold medals as a Paralympic sprinter but also Silver at the 2011 world championships in Taegu. Now, at what is arguably the peak of his career, Pistorius has been charged for the murder of his Girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The trial has been set for March 3rd of 2014. However currently there is a huge debate as to whether he should be found guilty of manslaughter or not. So far public opinion has not reached consensus on whether he deliberately, with malicious intent shot his girlfriend. However because of his popularity and public appeal he has received a lot of sympathy from fans that support him regardless of the trial’s outcome. As a result the case has attracted attention on a global scale and one can only wonder in such a situation, whether the South African justice system will bend to public influence.
South Africa and its inhabitants have generally assimilated a defensive nature of living. High walls, electric fences and lurid headlines are all features of life that the population has become accustomed to. The crime statistics, however, still remain staggering and annual crime reports still manage produce waves of anxiety amongst the country’s inhabitants, as well as making the rest of the world fearful.
In recent years crime has risen to astonishing heights. A survey from the period 1998 to the turn of the century, compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ranked South Africa second for assault and murder per capita and first for rapes per capita in a data set of 60 countries. Total crime per capita was 10th out of the 60 countries in the dataset. (Nation Master, The Eighth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems, 01/04/03, Web, 04/11/13)
With these somewhat astounding statistics in crime, it was still shocking news to find out that famed super model Reeva Steenkamp had been murdered, shot down, in her own home.
sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. The case against him was largely
In 2 years the trial ended with the verdict of guilty on the account of
The Casey Anthony trial has been arguably the most controversial case since the trial of O.J. Simpson and has been speculated over ever since the verdict had been given in July of 2011. It was decided by a jury of her peers that Anthony was not guilty of murder, for the death of her daughter Caylee. Many believe that Anthony should have been found guilty however, very little Americans actually comprehend the justice system.
After more than 28 years, amidst the controversy surrounding Mumia's guilty conviction and later receipt of the death penalty, there are those who are not convinced. Many Mumia supporter and some advocating for abolition of the death penalty believe corruption in the Philadelphia Police Department, coupled with a flawed judicial system, backed by racist judges, have lead to a conspiracy to commit murder on the part of the State. Abu-Jamal Mumia, a well known journalist and community activist from Philadelphia has been on death row since 1983 for the shooting death of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981. Because of his political views and his former involvement with the Black Panther Party, Mumia has been viewed as a hero by some and a "menace to society" by others. At this point, guilty or not guilty is merely a rhetorical question that may never be answered. Many believe that Mumia is being set up as the “fall guy” for a "hit" ordered on Officer Faulkner by the "Mafia". On the other hand, there are those who believe that him is an insensitive, cold blooded "cop kil...
Through the first chapter of this book the focus was primarily on the notion of controlling crime. The best way to describe crime policy used in this chapter is comparing it to a game of ‘heads I win, tails you lose’. This chapter also addresses the causes for decline in America’s
The Jodi Arias trial has been incredibly sensationalized by the media. It has been on every large news network, and undoubtedly will be again when sentencing recommences. All of the evidence has been laid out on the table and was taken into account when the verdict was reached. Jodi Arias should be sentenced to death because she has met all the necessary criteria to have deserved the sentence under Arizona state law. She killed Travis Alexander in a way that could reasonable be assumed to be cruel. She has been convicted of murder, and the facts of the murder are no longer under dispute. She committed the crime without thought for the suffering of the victim.
On September 11, 2014, Judge Masipa dismissed much of the state’s circumstantial evidence, while also describing Pistorius as a “very poor witness.: Judge Masipa said the state had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder and also ruled out common murder, accepting that “he did not subjectively for see this as a possibility, that he would kill the person behind the door, let alone the deceased as he thought she was in the
Should Kraigen Grooms serve time for his crime? Did the judge make the right decision on
Muncie, J., Talbot, D. and Walters, R. Crime: Local and Global, William Publishing, (Devon). P. 3.
...t I do not think that the evidence presented is enough for a conviction to sentence any man or woman to death.
There was a decline in crime during the 1990s. Our country enjoyed seven years of declining crime for the period 1991-98, the most recent data available. During this period crime declined by 22% and violent crime by 25%. These are welcome developments, particularly following the surge of crime and violence of the late 1980s. This decline occurred during a time when the national prison population has increased substantially, rising from 789,60 in 1991 to 1,252,830, a 59% rise in just seven years and a 47% increase in the rate of incarceration, taking into account changes in the national population (Mauer 21-24).
In the 21st century, crimes have been and remains as one of the post-major threats towards
... on trial killed a loved, anybody would want that person in prison. Even though it hurts to see a family member suffer people have to do the right thing.
Conscious efforts to critique existing approaches to questions of crime and justice, demystify concepts and issues that are laden with political and ideological baggage, situate debates about crime control within a socio-historical context, and facilitate the imagination and exploration of alternative ways of thinking and acting in relation to crime and justice. (p. 3).
Everyone is affected by crime, whether they are a direct victim, a family member or the victim’s friend. It can interfere with individual’s daily life, their personal sense of safety and their ability to trust others.