All it took was one swing of the baton for it to be named the “Whack Heard ‘Round the World.” After national figure skating champion Nancy Kerrigan was bashed in the knee, many people were shocked to find that her rival, Tonya Harding, could have been behind the plot to ensure Kerrigan would not be able to compete in the upcoming Olympics. What followed the assault on Kerrigan was a long and tedious court case; the assailants claimed that Harding was behind the plan to physically assault, and at one point even kill, Kerrigan, while Harding claimed she had nothing to do with it.
It all started on January 6, 1994 (Brennan). Nancy Kerrigan was practicing for the upcoming American figure skating championships at a Detroit rink when she was attacked by a baton wielding man flanked by three other men (Moony). The baton
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connected with Kerrigan’s right knee; doctors later said that had she been hit a single centimeter lower, she would have never been able to walk again due to a smashed kneecap (Nye). Soon, the investigation launched.
The FBI began investigating to determine who could have possibly wanted to harm the figure skater (Nye). They soon turned their attention to Kerrigan’s competition. Both Nancy Kerrigan and national figure skating champion Tonya Harding had been vying for their own spot on the upcoming United States Winter Olympics Figure Skating Team that was heading for the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics (Nye).
Having no previous feuds between themselves, Kerrigan was shocked to find that her adversary could have been a co-conspirator to the onslaught (Nye). As the trial progressed, the FBI unmasked the identity of the four men who had attacked Kerrigan. Shawn Eckhardt, Derreck Smith, Shane Stant, and Tonya Harding’s ex husband Jeff Gillooly were questioned for the assault on Nancy (Nye).
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy to charge the assailants as everyone had hoped. Jeff Gillooly’s divulgences to the FBI claimed that Tonya Harding had been in on the plot from the very beginning. Gillooly’s claims place Harding at a meeting on December 28, 1193 meeting in which she turned over a photograph of Kerrigan to Gillooly and
Eckhardt. Gillooly states that at an earlier meeting, him and the three other suspects discussed various ways to attack Kerrigan, all of which included breaking her knee cap, smashing her leg with a martial arts kick, and severing her Achilles tendon. At one point, Gillooly claims Eckardt simply suggested killing Kerrigan, saying “Wouldn’t it be easier?” Fortunately for Nancy, though, they ruled it out. Naturally, Harding denounced that she had any part in planning the attack (Moony), but many were otherwise convinced considering that her live-in ex husband had masterminded the attack and disclosed many convincing statements against Harding (Brennan). Two months after Kerrigan’s knee was injured, Tonya Harding plead guilty to hindering the investigation, declaring that she had learned of the plan, but failed to disclose the information to authorities. Harding was given a sentence of three years probation, had to serve five hundred hours of community service, and had to pay a fine of $160,000. (Nye). Along with the court punishment, Harding’s 1994 national title was taken and she was banned from competitive figure skating for life (Brennan). Jeff Gillooly also plead guilty to a racketeering charge, and the other assailants followed suit (Moony). The men all received jail time (Nye). Even today, Tonya Harding still denies having any involvement in the concocting of the plan to permanently stop Nancy Kerrigan from continuing her ice skating career.
Dick and Perry, who were former employees of Herbert Clutters. Perry confessed to killing Mr. Clutter with the knife and the shooting of the rest of the family. Dick confessed that he couldn’t bring himself to do the killing.
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
The Army CID sent a new, inexperienced investigator named William Ivory to investigate the scene. Ivory decided after looking around the house that MacDonald made up the story of the killers. He also persuaded everyone that he was the culprit. This meant that everyone in Ivory’s chain...
The majestic ranges of western North America – the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, the cascades, and the Coast Ranges – arose more recently.
Fraser, Allen. “What a great gymnastics movie should be.” The New Yorker. conde Nast, n.d. May. 17 Feb. 2014
Sandra Petrocelli is the prosecuting lawyer and is good. She is pushing for the death penalty. She states that everyone involved in the crime is equally guilty including the one who wrestled for the gun, the robber and the two lookouts. She is trying to prove that Steve knew and associated with the two robbers who are bad characters.
Patty Hearst was held captive from February until April. Then after the voice message saying that she had joined the SLA and changed her name to Tania, she was believed to be a willing participant in the terrorist acts the group had committed. The first act she was a part of was robbing the Hibernia bank in San Francisco. That is when the mystery and controversy began. Was she a willing participant or was she being held at gun point? Was it Stockholm syndrome, which is described as feelings of trust or affection that occur in certain kidnapping situations? Was her gun really loaded and did she have a choice in what she was doing? Will America ever know the truth?
Some feared that playing sports could cause some health risks for women and that the competition would make them less feminine (Ederle). Although there were many who were concerned about these risks, women did not let this keep them from participating in sports and other physical activities. Women began to compete in large events and even in the 1900 Olympics where the first nineteen women participated in golf, croquet and tennis. Margaret I. Abbott was the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. She shot a forty-seven to win the 9-hole golf tournament (Ederle). Glenna Collett later won many golf championships from 1922 through the 1930s and was a member of the Golf Hall Of Fame and the U.S. Curtis Cup Team (“Female Athletes”). Madge Syers entered the all-male 1902 figure skating world championship and placed 2nd. This caused a lot of disruption among the other skaters which caused the officials to ban women from the championships. Three years later there was an event held just for women (Ederle). In 1927, the International Federation of Women’s Field Hockey Associations was formed. Teams from Scotland, Ireland, England and the U.S. competed in this association. Elizabeth Graham wore the first ever field hockey goalie mask made of wire fencing to protect her face. This was later picked up by a male field hockey player, Jacques Plante, who began to wear a similar mask after seeing Elizabeth’s (“Female Athletes”). This proved that women’s sports could influence men’s sports in a positive
On June 12th, 1994, Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman’s bodies were found Nicole’s condominium; the victims had been stabbed to death. The identity of the murderer was unknown up until O.J was suspected to be a suspect. When accused, he was in another state, and was forced to fly back. (Aaseng 1996)
It took the United States court system seven times to finally convict Assata Shakur, and even after being finally convicted, the notion was under false information and misrepresentation. She was accused of multiple bank robberies that took place between 1971 and 1972 and the murder of a drug dealer in 1973(Shakur XIX). While most of the trials were dismissed, one trial did end with the conviction of Assata. The action that caused her conviction was the accusation of murdering a New Jersey State Trooper. Whether people believe Assata Shakur murdered a state trooper in 1973, the facts prove that Assata could not have possibly murdered a man in the condition that she was (Puryear).
Patty Hearst was a normal 19 year old girl, living in an apartment with her fiance and attending university in Berkeley, California, until one day her life, and the lives of everyone around her changed forever. On the evening of February 4, 1974, some members of the left-wing radical group called the Symbionese Liberation Army barged into Hearst’s home armed with guns, and beat up her fiance before kidnapping Hearst and bringing her to their house where she was kept blindfolded in a closet for 59 days. While locked in the closet, Patty Hearst was verbally and sexually abused and she was denied the use of even a toilet or toothbrush if she didn’t tell them that she agreed with the group’s ideas and beliefs. It is believed that while being locked in the closet like this, Patty was being brainwashed by the SLA and that she may have even developed Stockholm Syndrome, a condition in which a person who was kidnapped starts to empathise with their captor, and even starts defending them. This is how the Symbionese Liberation Army convinced Patty Hearst to join their group. They released an audio tape to the public in which Patty Hearst said she was changing her name to Tania and that she had decided to join the SLA. She then helped the SLA rob a bank and steal an ammunition belt from a sports store. After this, she started travelling around the country with two members of the SLA named John and Emily Harris, to try avoid being captured by the police. During this time, the police found a house where some members of the SLA were hiding out. Attempts to make the SLA members surrender ended up in a massive gunfight, ultimately ending up in the deaths of 6 SLA members. The FBI eventually found and arrested Patty Hearst on September 18, 1975. T...
Subsequently to that, in the same year the following to Hinman’ murder in which Atkins participated , the assassination of Sharon Tate who was pregnant, Steven Parent, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, and Abigail Folger took place. According to the forensic evidence the crime was describe as brutal (Wikipedia). During Atkins declaration she confesses to be the killer of Tate during her statement. “She stated that she had stabbed Tate because she was ‘sick of listening to her, pleading and begging, begging and pleading’” (Wikipedia). During trail the audience saw a lack of remorse about the crime committed by her and the Mason Family. During one her declaration she confesses t...
From examining John F. Kennedy’s assassination, many people have come to the conclusion that there was a second party involved in the shooting of the President of the United States. The writers give great theories and facts leading people to believe that the Warren Report was false and later used to cover up the death of John Kennedy. With this great information out to the public it is obvious that the mob was involved with the planning assassination. After, all this evidence it only makes sense that the Warren Report is false, and that the mob was involved the whole time.
The murders occurred between 10:15 p.m. and 10:40 p.m., this is based on testimony from prosecution and defense witnesses who heard barking from the area of the crime scene. Ms. Simpson's blood-covered pet Akita was found shortly before 11 p.m. Nicole Brown was found stabbed multiple times in the head and her throat was cut. Ron Goldman is assumed to have come upon the crime in progress and was also stabbed more than thirty times.
I dip my toes in—feels cold. My nerves rise up and spread like fire throughout my body while I watch—while I wait. Stomach hurts. All those butterflies clash and crowd. They come every time that I race—it never fails. There is so much noise—the splash of water, talking, yelling, whistling, cheering.