It was praised for its spectacular and realistic special effects, its thrilling and suspenseful action sequences, its dramatic and emotional performances, and its social and moral commentary on the issues of greed, corruption, and responsibility. The film grossed over $116 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing film of 1974 and one of the highest-grossing films of all time at that point. The film also received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song. It won three Oscars, for Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Song. Simpson’s performance as Jernigan was well-received by the critics and the audiences, …show more content…
He also showed that he could hold his own among the big names in Hollywood and that he had the potential for a long and successful acting career. Simpson’s role in The Towering Inferno was one of his best and most popular roles, and it enhanced his fame and reputation as an entertainer. OJ Simpson continued to appear in movies throughout the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in the action and comedy genres. Some of his notable films include The Cassandra Crossing (1976), a thriller about a train carrying a deadly virus; Capricorn One (1978), a sci-fi film about a faked Mars landing; The Naked Gun trilogy (1988–1994), a spoof of police movies; and Back to the Beach (1987), a parody of beach movies. He also had cameo roles in films such as Roots (1977), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), and In the Heat of the Night (1988). He showed his versatility and humor as an actor, and he often played against his image as a football star. He was especially popular in the Naked Gun series, where he played Nordberg, a clumsy and unlucky detective who was the source of many gags. Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, Martin Sheen, and Burt Lancaster starred in George P. Cosmatos' disaster movie The Cassandra
On May 7th 2000, fifteen year old Brenton Butler was accused of the murder of Mary Ann Stephens, who had been fatally shot in the head while walking down a breezeway of a hotel with her husband. Two and a half hours later, Butler is seen walking a mile away from where the incident occurred, and is picked up by the police because he fit the description of the individual who shot Mary Ann Stephens. However, the only characteristic of the description that Butler featured was the color of his skin. Police then brought Butler to the scene of the crime in order for Mary Ann Stephens’s husband, James Stephens, to confirm whether or not Butler was the individual who had shot his wife. Almost immediately, Stephens identifies Butler as his wife’s killer.
Once in Chicago, Bundy hitched a train and traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Five days later Bundy stole a car and drove all the way to Atlanta, Georgia. In Atlanta, Bundy entered a bus and reached Tallahassee, Florida on January 8, 1978. He ended up in a small room in a boarding house near the campus of the University of Florida State; this is when Bundy went back into his psychotic way.
On the morning of April 20, 1999, Eric Davis Harris and Dylan Bennet Klebold went into the Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and went on a rampage killing spree leaving 12 students and 1 teacher dead and over 20 people injured before killing themselves. This crime is known as one of the most deadliest school massacres in the United States history (Pittaro).
Former NFL Star, Heisman trophy winner, Orenthal James Simpson, better known as O.J. Simpson, has a lengthy history of encounters with law enforcement. He was incarcerated when he was fifteen for gang related fighting (“O.J. Simpson” Contemporary). In 1989 he pleaded no contest to beating and threatening to kill Nicole Brown, his wife at the time, and faced minimal consequences (Mydens). In 1995, after a yearlong criminal trial, he was acquitted of the murder of Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, and later found liable for the murders in a civil case in 1997. His final account with the law, that defined his destiny, was in 2007 when he was arrested in Las Vegas on ten felony charges. The final case went to trial in 2008, when he was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping and sentenced to up to thirty three years in
Do you think O.J. Simpson should have been found guilty of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman? Orenthal James Simpson, also known as O.J. or the Juice, used to be known as a running back in the NFL, until he was accused of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in June of 1994. Nicole and Ron were found murdered outside of Nicole’s condominium in Los Angeles, California. The trial that attempted to seek justice for Nicole and Ron’s families gained attention across the nation. Many people followed the O.J. Simpson trial to see if the Pro Football Hall of Famer would be found guilty or not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife and her friend. At the end of the trial in October of 1995, Orenthal
The sentencing of underage criminals has remained a logistical and moral issue in the world for a very long time. The issue is brought to our perspective in the documentary Making a Murderer and the audio podcast Serial. When trying to overcome this issue, we ask ourselves, “When should juveniles receive life sentences?” or “Should young inmates be housed with adults?” or “Was the Supreme Court right to make it illegal to sentence a minor to death?”. There are multiple answers to these questions, and it’s necessary to either take a moral or logical approach to the problem.
On June 22nd, 1994, one of the most high-profile crimes to hit the media will occur at the home of one of the most adored football players in American history. O.J. Simpson was at one time considered to play the lead role of The Terminator, but producers thought the public wouldn 't be convinced that he could be a robot on a murder spree on film. O.J. was that likable that no one could believe he could be a killer, and people today still don 't believe it.
The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri became a controversial media sensation. The shooting created uproar and mistrust towards police officers. Many believed the shooting was unjustified and even an act of racism on the behalf of the police Officer Darren Wilson. The Department of Justice issued an investigation in order to understand the basis of the shooting and to decide whether or not to charge Darren Wilson in the shooting. Despite the evidence and the investigation which portrayed the shooting as an act of self- defense, the shooting still remains controversial.
Carcasses attract scavengers. The Guilty Party by O. Henry showcases the untimely death of a girl of twelve, Liz. Above Chrystie Street on the east side, a strange bird stalks the children of the playground. Although people say it’s a stork, locals call it a vulture. In this case, Liz is the carcass that the vulture sets its eyes on.
He was the “most powerful crime boss of his day” by 26, a mindless brute turned criminal mastermind (Sifakais, “Capone, Al,” The Encyclopedia, 157). The legendary Al Capone is one of the most well known mob leaders today and his legacy will continue on, but the infamous leader of the Chicago mob started off as a very different person. Before he was a businessman with the greatest empire in Chicago, he was just one more brutish bodyguard to the real masterminds (Sifakais, “Capone, Al,” The Encyclopedia, 157). Beginning with his expulsion from school and him meeting Johnny Torrio, Capone’s succession to Torrio’s throne culminated in their takeover of Big Jim Colosimo’s empire and the aftermath of an ambush during a gang war.
Have you ever wondered what could cause a person to kill another person? How they could do it time and time again and not feel one ounce of regret? Serial killer Joel Rifkin asked himself this same question after he was convicted of killing 17 women. He wondered why he could commit such a violent act, and he decided to have scientist explore his brain to give him the answers that he wanted. Dr. Daniel Amen examined Joel’s brain scans, “When I looked at Joel Rifkin’s scan, I thought to myself, this is a brain that is vulnerable to violence. He had low activity in his prefrontal cortex that most human thoughtful part of the brain” ("Joel Rifkin - Psychopathic Brain"). Joel is not alone on this, 13 out of every 20 serial killers that have been
Every year, innocent people are given prison sentences to crimes they did not commit. Statistics are kept by the Criminal Justice Department on the number of wrongful convictions but according to research, it has been estimated to 5% of the cases tried have resulted in a false conviction. Reasons due to false convictions are misidentification from a witness, false confessions, forensic mistakes, DNA testing, coercion, and more. A number of ideas will be argued as possible solutions to help lower the number of wrongful convictions that are given the innocent people who fall trapped to this system. A study by Barry Scheck [2008] on forensic evidence revealed that not more than 20% of the felony cases involved biological evidence [Scheck, 2008, p.4]. Although the number seems low, the proper handling and testing of biological evidence can offer some hope to an innocent suspect. Other variables that lead to wrongful convictions are false statements and confessions. Which that can be taken from suspects through questionable actions of methods. [Leo, Ofshe, 1998] or that pooled from jailhouse snitched, informants, or cooperators. Many people believe that the use of evidence has been corrupted in the system while others believe that cases where evidence is used are deviations from the typical process. “Eyewitness misidentifications were a factor in over 70% of wrongful convictions.” The knowledge that a free citizen could be unreasonably sentenced to prison or executed by the State is totally opposed the thought of shrewd treatment likely in the United States. DNA is the leading cause to wrongful convictions. If the problem is to be talked and fixed, it must first be understood; not as it is seen, but as it is. It is difficult to express...
Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, the BTK Killer. The names and assumed names of these cold-blooded serial killers are forever branded into the cognizance of people everywhere. This is mainly due to the mass media coverage, including newspapers, movies, television specials and books. This media coverage brought to light that these killers were, on the surface, normal, successful, attractive, productive members of society – that is, until the time that their heinous crimes came to be discovered.
Brenna Courtemanche Professor Crombie ENC 1102 4 April 2014 The Mind of Serial Killers There is no specific manual or "how to" book to depict what a serial killer would potentially act or look like. It would be comforting if real-life serial killers were like those in the movies. If they were obviously masked like Jason on Friday the 13th, we would be aware whenever they approached. If they were introverted loners like Psycho's Norman Bates, they could not trick us so easily into their deviant plan.
Michael Sanders, a Professor at Harvard University, gave a lecture titled “Justice: What’s The Right Thing To Do? The Moral Side of Murder” to nearly a thousand student’s in attendance. The lecture touched on two contrasting philosophies of morality. The first philosophy of morality discussed in the lecture is called Consequentialism. This is the view that "the consequences of one 's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct.” (Consequentialism) This type of moral thinking became known as utilitarianism and was formulated by Jeremy Bentham who basically argues that the most moral thing to do is to bring the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number of people possible.