A sadistic temptress, the aid and probable prompt of an evil and cold blooded killer. Or a 'political prisoner being used as a scapegoat by politicians and the media'? This is a very sensitive subject and people often respond with fear and anxiety when we decide to examine things like the Moors murders. We are told that our curiosity is 'unhealthy', and that wanting to know,or openly debate about a matter which is 'naturally' closed, can only be the desire of a sick mind. We are encouraged to turn a blind eye and leave well alone.
It is obvious to me that to wish to examine something is not to condone it. Yet when somebody tries to ask questions about taboo subjects today, they are assumed to be sympathetic to the subject, maybe even a little deranged, and certainly suspect. They become an outcast, and this coming adrift from the herd is also something which many fear. Many say better to be seen to be part of the lynch-mob than to become its quarry but these are the people who don't have the strength of character to even attempt to be the quarry.
During their trial, neither Hindley nor Brady showed remorse. Both were sentenced to life. They are still in prison at this time. The judge has stated that she will indeed spend the rest of her days in prison with no chance of ever being paroled, so why does she still argue against the judges decision ?
A lot of pressure is put on Governments to keep Hidley inside and whether or not she is to be released is now often stated in party political statements prior to elections, as it is feared that the overriding pubic opinion could win or lose elections. On November the twenty - first supporters of Hindley called for a review of sentencing procedures after Jack Straw reaffirmed the decision of his predecessor, Michael Howard, of never releasing Hindley from prison. The ruling came under immediate attack from penal reformers and civil liberties campaigners.
Myra Hindley is still petitioning for her release On October the seventh, 1998 Hindley concluded a hearing at the Court of Appeal trying to overrule her "whole-life tariff." In her new attempt at overturning her life sentence and win the right to a parole hearing, Hindley claimed that she can prove that she took part in the Moors murders only because Brady abused her, and threatened to kill her mother, grandmother and younger sister if she did not comply with his wishes.
After serving 5 years in prison and 40 days in maximum security over the crime, Hawi appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeal on 18 July 2013. Hawi appealed for four main reasons - insufficient evidence of Hawi’s involvement in the murder of Anthony Zervas, unreasonable verdict in charging Hawi for the main perpetrator’s case, miscarriage of justice and disregarding ‘provocation’ to the jury. The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal set
There is lots of evidence in the Lizzie Borden murders, but is it enough to say Lizzie Borden killed Mr. and Mrs. Borden? Mr. and Mrs. Borden were killed in their home on August 4th 1892. Their daughter Lizzie Borden was the suspected killer. She was found to be innocent, yet many people still think that Lizzie borden murdered her parents that day. There is a lot of evidence that points to Lizzie being the killer. A lot of things she did and said were very suspicious. Lizzie Borden is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
When she was falsely accused in her case, the FBI thought she was the one who started it all. The FBI didn’t look at all of the evidence that was found at the crime or what she had said. They falsely accused her of the crime because they thought she was the one that robbed the bank and did extortion. There were gaps in her statement, and she couldn’t think straight. She was saying random words because she was so terrified of what happened to her. The SLA brainwashed her, and she didn’t know anything after they were done with her. She didn’t even know what day it was, so she does not know what happened in her case.
Imagine being wrongfully trialled for the murders of your father and stepmother. Well, this was Lizzie Borden’s reality in the notorious 19th century case. In August, 1892, the gruesome murders of Andrew and Abby Borden took place in a small town named Fall River. Because Lizzie Borden was believed to have a lot to gain with the murders of her parents, she was the only one accused of being the murder. With this case, I believe the council was right for pleading Lizzie as innocent. The public and police tried to use theories against her in court to prove she was guilty. With the whole public against her, Lizzie still stood strong and was proven innocent for the murders.
...cause she was in custody and had not been informed of her right to remain silent or her right to an attorney. The panel of judges also decided to not allow damaging testimony from local Pharmacist Eli Bence who claimed Lizzie attempted to purchase prussic acid the day before the murders. One final blow to the States case came at the conclusion of the trial when Justice Dewey charged the jury, he told the jury to take into consideration Lizzie’s exceptional Christian character, which entitled her to every inference in her favor. Newspaper headlines identified Justice Dewey as lead council for the defense and perhaps rightfully so, today the actions of the judge would not be tolerated. Ultimately the lack of physical evidence tying Lizzie to the crime coupled with the high powered defense was enough to cast doubt in the juror’s minds, securing an acquittal for Lizzie.
...would not be convicted of murder. Convicting Lizzie of murder meant opposing the established woman stereotypes which endangered the cohesive mindset of society.
On June 18, 1999, Mrs. Yates took an overdose of medication to take her life. The jury believes that Mrs. Yates needed help and basis on their observation and testimony from experts witness that she was worse off than when she committed the crimes. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick testified that Yates believed deeply that killing her children was the right thing to do. Yates, according to defense expert Resnick, believed that Satan had taken over her body and soul and was eyeing her children 's souls next. Mrs. Yates mental illness was the basis of her found not guilty at the second trial. Resnick diagnosed Yates with schizoaffective disorder, severe depression with schizophrenic symptoms, (CNN, December
"… Cynthia Hood, 55, was entitled to a lighter sentence because she was not the ringleader of fraud and because her children would be in jeopardy without her presence"("Furst"). Cynthia Hood is one of many people who thought they would get away with criminal actions, yet her husband did the time in jail, even though she had the money behind her. Even though wealthy people believe they would get away with their crime they still had to pay the
Most of her clients to poor to make bail. Even if they did not commit the crime, it made sense for them to say they did. They would get out of jail quicker if the pleaded guilty than if they fought their
He had explained to police that women were the natural choice because he had the need to feel dominant. He had stated that he found crime easy to commit because it was what he had done before and Catherine was a crime of opportunity, she had no one to protect her, she was alone and he wanted to commit a crime. He stated that Catherine’s murder and assault was “just an idea that came into my mind, I couldn’t put it aside, it was the perfect opportunity.’ He had weighed his benefits and left with a purpose to kill someone and that night he had wanted it to be a woman, he had told police that “I knew as soon as I saw people turn away from her, I could commit a crime and chances were, I could get away with it” (Schmalleger, 2014, pg.
Now I know what you are thinking: ‘Abigail Williams should be hanged for her crimes and for the false accusations of women in Salem.’
...t I do not think that the evidence presented is enough for a conviction to sentence any man or woman to death.
In 1993, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, aged ten at the time, abused and murdered a two-year-old boy, James Bulger. There was media uproar about the case with the two boys being described as ‘evil’, ‘monsters’ and ‘freaks’ in the media (Franklin & Horwath 1998). There were many references to evil in the newspapers; with the telegraph stating that Thompson’s nickname was ‘Damien’ (from The Omen) and declaring that Venables birth date was Friday the 13th. The majority of society was united in the belief that these two boys were the epitome of evil and it was the media that nurtured this belief. ‘Newspaper reports were unequivocal in their denunciations of Thompson and Venables as inherently evil, prompted perhaps initially by Justice Morland’s description of the murder as an act of unparalleled ev...
Thatcher and the head line of 'HE FACES 15 YEARS IN JAIL' to take up
John Hinckley’s trial ended in 1982 with the verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. About a year before, Hinckley shot Ronald Reagan because he was infatuated with the famous actress Jodie Foster. He thought shooting Reagan would impress her and lead her to fall in love with him. After the verdict was announced, the public responded with dismay because they felt as though Hinckley should pay for what he had done. Following the uproar, the United States revised and limited the insanity plea with the hopes that fewer people would use it or actually receive the verdict (Hans). While on trial for any type of crime, the defendant always has the opportunity to plea not guilty by reason of insanity. However, after entering that plea, he or she has to go through extensive testing to determine whether or not insanity is truly present. Throughout this country, varying views concerning the insanity plea exist. Some believe the insanity plea should be restored to what it had been previously while some believe it works just fine now, and others think it should be abolished all together.