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Crime victims and the criminal justice system
Murder case study
Murder case study
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Marsalee a.k.a Marsy Nicholas was a student at the University of California Santa Barbara when she was murdered in 1983. Marsy had unfortunately been dealing with her ex-boyfriend that had begun stalking her and ultimately murdered her. One week had passed when Marsy's family encountered the accused at the grocery store; the family had not been made aware that Marsy's ex-boyfriend had been released on bond. During this time, the courts as well as local law enforcement were not obligated to inform Marsy's family of the accused release("About Marsy's Law – Marsy's Law", n.d.). Thus, came the creation of Marsy's Law. Marsy's Law was enacted on the behalf of victims. Victim's Rights resulted in the passage of Marsy's Law in California. The courts
The case of the State of Florida vs. Chad Heins happened in 1994 in Mayport, Florida. It was on April 17, 1994 that Tina Heins, who was pregnant at the time, was found stabbed to death in her apartment. She shared an apartment with her husband Jeremy Heins and Jeremy’s brother Chad Heins. At the time of the incident Jeremy Heins was on a ship because he worked in the navy but Chad Heins was at the apartment. Before the incident happened Chad Heins, the defendant, who was nineteen at the time, used his brothers license to buy alcohol at a strip club near the apartment. After that Chad Heins had went to another bar where his brothers license got confiscated. He left the bar around 12:45 a.m. and went back to the apartment. He then washed his
On January 27, 1964, the court released her upon recommendation of two doctors appointed by the probate court to examine her. She filed law suits for false imprisonment, assault and battery and malpractice against Wolodzko, Anthony Smyk and Ardmore Acres. The court dismissed case on Smyk and Ardmore (115, 497, & 924, 1969) and (Swainson, n.d.).
Peterson was arraigned on April 21, 2003. The Prosecution charged him with the following: Count I: On or about and between December 23, 2002 and December 24, 2002, the defendant committed a felony, murder, violation of Section 187 of the California Penal Code; the defendant did willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously and with malice aforethought murder Laci Denise Peterson, a human being. Special Allegation charges were made in conjunction with the felony murder charge of Laci Denise Peterson. It is further alleged as to Count 1, MURDER that the defendant acted intentionally, deliberately and with premeditation. Enhancement: TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY.
On the night of August 31st 1986, Angelique Lavallee a battered 21 year-old woman in an unstable common law relationship was charged with murder. She shot her spouse, Kevin Rust in the back of the head while he was leaving the bedroom. Angelique was in fear for her life after being taunted with the gun and was threaten to be killed. Hence, she felt that she had to kill him or be killed by him. The psychiatrist Dr. Shane, did an assessment and concluded that she was being terrorized by her partner. Dr. Shane concluded that Angelique was physically, sexually, emotionally and verbally abused. As a result, in the psychiatrist’s opinion, the killing was a final desperate act by a woman who seriously believed she would be killed that night. This in turn identify her as a
Dean against a pickup truck, and he pulled a knife, and cut her throat. Referring to the book “Criminal Law 11th Edition by Joel Samaha, in the chapter 9 pg.313, 314-315 in the case State v. Snowden 313 P.2d 706 (Idaho 1957)”. Later Snowden took Mrs. Dean wallet and he went back to the bar Boise, the body was found next day morning and she was cut and mutilated. The appealed judgment is that the trial court found that Snowden’s acts in taking Mrs. Dean life as a willful deliberate and premeditated. Also the trial court believed that they don’t have any other alternative option that finds him guilty to murder of first
On June 7th 2008, Sarah May Ward was arrested for the murder of Eli Westlake after she ran him over in a motor vehicle in St. Leonards. Prior to the incident the offender had been driving the wrong way down Christine Lane which was a one way street. Whilst this was occurring she was intoxicated, under the influence of marijuana, valium, and ecstasy and was unlicensed to drive. The victim and his brother who were also intoxicated, where walking down the lane and where nearly hit by the offender. This prompted the victim to throw cheese balls at the car and make a few sarcastic remarks regarding her driving ability. After a brief confrontation between the two parties the victim and his brother turned away and proceeded to walk down Lithgow Street. The offender followed the victim into the street and drove into him while he was crossing a driveway.
When viewed from a strictly medical, psychological aspect, Andrea Yates medical history indicates that after the birth of her first child, she began to suffer from various forms of depression and suicide attempts. If one only examines the paper trail and doesn’t think beyond what the medical history does or does not indicate, then perhaps, Andrea would be innocent by reason of mental insanity as the 2006 acquittal suggest. However, when viewed form a legal aspect there are several inconstancies that challenge if this former nurse was insane or if she in fact premeditated the murder of her children as well as her acquittal.
Facts: Two residents of Virginia, Mildred Jeter a colored woman and Richard Loving a white man, got married in the District of Columbia. The Loving's returned to Virginia and established their marriage. The Caroline court issued an indictment charging the Loving's with violating Virginia's ban on interracial marriages. The state decides, who can and cannot get married. The Loving's were convicted of violating 20-55 of Virginia's code.
In a study conducted by Hickey, he discovered that out of thirty-four female serial killers, almost one in two had a male accomplice committing murders with them (Holmes et al., 1991). He also revealed that 97% were white and the average age the women started committing murders was thirty-three (Holmes et al., 1991). Women serial killers differ from men in that most women kill for material gain, such as money or insurance benefits, and they usually commit murder with pills or poison. Stephen Holmes, Ronald Holmes, and Eric Hickey developed a typology for female serial killers similar to the one developed by Holmes and Holmes, discussed earlier. They begin with visionary serial killers, who are compelled by some force, such as God, or spirits, to commit murders. The second type is the comfort killer, who usually kills acquaintances and does so for a material gain, money or real estate (Holmes et al., 1991). The third category is hedonistic female serial killers, which is similar to the earlier typology in that the offender connects murder with sexual gratification. This is the least represented category for female offenders, but evidence for this type of killer can be seen in the case of Carol Bundy (Holmes et al., 1991). Bundy allegedly helped her husband kidnap, murder, and decapitate the
Nearly every aspect of law enforcement has a court decision that governs criteria. Most court rulings are the result of civil lawsuit towards a police officer and agency. However, currently, there is no law that mandates law enforcement driver training. When it comes to firearms, negligence by officers has resulted in a multitude of court rulings. Popow v. City of Margate, 1979, is a particularly interesting case that outlines failed firearms training by an agency. In this case, an officer chasing a suspect during a foot pursuit fired at the suspect, striking and killing an innocent bystander (Justia.com, 2017). The court ruled that the agency was “grossly negligent” of “failure to train” (Justia.com, 2017). As a result, nearly every agency requires annual firearms training and has written policy concerning the same. Officers must show proficiency in firearms use every year to maintain their certification. Many states even impose fines on officers for
For a belief to be justified it needs three principles: reliability, coherence, and no better alternatives to the situation. If a belief does not have reliability it is untrustworthy. For instance let’s suppose someone were to tell you that they live in a massive and luxurious mansion and you find it difficult to imagine or believe. You want to come over and they avoid the question and come up with excuses, so you can never actually see the mansion with your eyes, you basically do not have proof. If the person lives in a mansion they should eventually display evidence of it either by inviting you over or maybe showing pictures of it, but if the person never does and intentionally avoids it, then it is reasonable for us to doubt if this person really lives in a mansion and our belief has reliability. So let’s now suppose we have background information on this person, such as we know their income, occupation and their personal liabilities to the bank. This person works as a janitor and makes $22,000 a year, and he has debt obligations which include the loan on his car worth $10,000 and his credit card expenses have reached a sum of $5,000, we also know that he has trouble paying off his credit and tends to put it off. This person is clearly depicting his dependency on credit and this indicates the unavailability of cash when he
This case goes back from the year 1980. A man approached a young woman named Laura Moore at a bus stop in the Spring of 1984. The man disclosed a warning saying “ You shouldn’t be out here alone. Bad guys will pick you up, Let me take you where you have to go.” Moore, 21 at the time , agreed to take the man’s offer. As they both drove off, he then told her to put on her seat belt. When she refused, she states that the man reached under his seat, grabbed a gun and shot her six times. Moore was severely wounded, fortunately she managed to escape, but turned back to study his face. That man was Lonnie David Franklin Jr, now better-known as the serial killer the “Grim Sleeper”. Lonnie David Franklin Jr was convicted of 10-25 women 's murders. The Grim Sleeper murder’s were active during the 1980s and there was a period of time that the killings had stopped. Franklin wanted to keep a low profile. In 2002 the Grim Sleeper’s killing made a surprising return for the community of Los Angeles. For 14 years he remained inactive which raised questions for law
Cotj, Lawerence. “The Facts Behind the Angela Davis Case.” Human Events 17 June 1972: 447. Web
Put yourself in the shoes of the suspect. How do you think he feels about some of Tyler 's (1988) procedural justice considerations like the procedural justice and motive-based trust? Why?
The rule of law, simply put, is a principle that no one is above the law. This means that there should be no leniency for a person because of peerage, sex, religion or financial standing. England and Wales do not have a written constitution therefore the Rule of Law, which along with the parliamentary Sovereignty was regarded by legal analyst A.C Dicey, as the pillars of the UK Constitution. The Rule of Law was said to be adopted as the “unwritten constitution of Great Britain”.