Since March 3rd, the Oscar Pistorius murder case, which is The State vs. Oscar Pistorius, has been on an international stage. This case is over the murder of Pistorius’ girlfriend and model Reeva Steenkamp. It is taking place in Pretoria, South Africa in the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa with Thokozile Masipa as the sitting judge. Oscar Pistorius is known for being a disabled runner who was able to compete at a high level for South Africa in a number of Paralympic Games as well as the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. On February 14, 2013, early in the morning, Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed by Pistorius at his home in Pretoria, South Africa. Pistorius claims that he shot her to death thinking that she was some type of intruder in his home. Pistorius was eventually taken into police custody and officially charged with murder on February 15, 2013 in a Pretoria court. Like any court case, both sides have made moves toward either defending Pistorius or prosecuting him, all leading to an eventual verdict by the judge, and her two assessors, who will help her evaluate the case.
In South Africa, criminal law states that murder can be defined as deliberate, unlawful killing of someone. The defense has to make the case that when Pistorius shot at what he thought was an intruder, that he did not do this intentionally, and he really did this in a mistaken self-defense, which when the self-defense is proven valid, it is lawful. Therefore, the defense has to bring up a reasonable doubt in Pistorius’s favor that it was mistaken self-defense, like he claimed, and the court would then consider if it was a realistic mistake that a sensible person would make in a similar, or the same, situation. The defense has used w...
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...is in order to prove him guilty of murder.
The Oscar Pistorius murder case is one that has been at the attention of an international audience for almost two months, since March 3rd. Based on the cases brought up by both sides, my opinion is that the verdict is not guilty. To me, the whole situation and everything seems to show that what he did was out of mistaken self-defense and not unlawful murder. It will be interesting to see the eventual true outcome of the case when the judge declares a verdict, but until then, one can only make their assumptions based on all that has been presented by either side. Like in any case like this, there will always be questions as to truly what happened. With all of this Pistorius has gone from fame to shame, and whether or not the verdict is guilty or not guilty, someone still killed another, and someone is still lost their life.
While researching this case I stumbled upon many others and I became aware of how many people have suffered from the injustice of being found guilty. While reading parts of the book “Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death the Story of Steven Truscott” I learned that the police played a large role in why 14-year-old Truscott was found guilty of murder. The book showed that they forced witnesses to change their story to further “prove” Truscott’s guilt of the crime. This led to the conclusion that in this case (like many others) the police were solely and unjustly targeting one
Trayvon Martin was killed by a neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman. He says that it was self defense, but after the tragic phone call was released to the media everything took a huge turn questioning if it was a hate crime. If Zimmerman would have stayed in his car that night then Trayvon would still be alive. It could not be self-defense if all Travon had in his hand were skittles and some tea. The whole thing blew up right after it was released to the news. Then when it was time for the trial it was live on television. During the trial and after the verdict is when the social media started to go crazy.
The case involved a neighborhood watchman, who happened to be on duty when he saw a young black man wearing a sweater jacket called a “hoodie”, walking through the neighborhood. George Zimmerman, the watchman, who was twenty-eight years old at the time, called authorities about a suspicious character walking around in his neighborhood. The authorities told him not to do anything; just continue with his rounds and not worry. Zimmerman, however, decided he would take matters into his own hands. He confronted the young man; they got into a brawl and Zimmerman pulled out a gun and shot and killed Martin. That premise will play a role in this paper as an argument as to why George Zimmerman should have been convicted of committing a crime. Even if the jury could not have reasons to convict him of the second degree murder of Trayvon Martin; they had other choices.
The Greenland Natives were killed around 1000 A.D and many assumed that Leif Erikson was the murder. However, the time that this occurred Erikson was around the age of 8. How could an 8 year old kill all those natives? The answer is that he didn’t kill them, his father did. Erik the red was Leif’s father and the culprit of the Greenland Native’s deaths. Some people may have associated Leif with his father or just thought Leif did it all. But according to Saga Of Erik The Red, c. 1000 Red did it all.
Murder at the Margin is a murder mystery involving various economic concepts. The story takes place in Cinnamon Bay Plantation on the Virgin Island of St. John. It is about Professor Henry Spearman, an economist from Harvard. Spearman organizes an investigation of his own using economic laws to solve the case.
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...
After a lengthy two hundred and fifty-two-day trial “not guilty” were the words that left the world in shock. O.J Simpson was your typical golden boy. He had it all, the nice car, the football career, and his kids. Unfortunately, this all came to an end when two bodies came to be spotted deceased in Nicole Browns front yard and was a gruesome sight. O. J’s ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman both found with brutal stab marks. Unfortunately, all his glory days now brought to an end, he went from playing on the field to begging for his freedom when becoming the main suspect of their murders. Since this trial has not only altered the way Americans viewed celebrities, but it also racially divided society,
Shooting innocents just by the way they dress or walking it’s a disgrace in our country. In the case of Trayvon Martin he was shoot on February 26, 2012 just because he was wearing a hoody and he was black. George Zimmerman the man that killed him said that he acted in self-defends. What would a 17 year old have done that Zimmerman acted in self-defends? I disagree George Zimmerman acted in self-defense and I feel there is something wrong with the stand your ground law. He already had previous problems with his ex wives and ex girlfriends.
The Jodi Arias trial captured American attention very rapidly and soon become nearly the only thing on television news networks. The trial nearly monopolized Fox News for several months. There are several murders that happen every day in the United States, so how did this murder case gain so much attention? Because it contains many themes that are enticing to the American population. According to Elliott McLaughlin at CNN.com, “It's rife with sex, lies and digital images, many of them naughty, and the dueling attorneys are lively -- nay, bombastic -- in their arguments...
Murder is still a crime, and there is a fine line between murder and a
...t I do not think that the evidence presented is enough for a conviction to sentence any man or woman to death.
Witnesses and forensic evidence suggest that the officers fired a second round of shots after a brief pause and that Diallo's frame absorbed a majority of the bullets after having hit the ground. These facts clearly show that Diallo's human and civil rights were violated that night, and that these four white police officers are guilty of murder. However, they were acquitted of all charges.
... 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.
This case is about a 16-year-old kid from Miami named Trayvon Martin. On the night of February 26th, Trayvon walked from his father's house in a gated community to a nearby store. When walking back, he was spotted by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer. There have been a number of break-ins in the neighborhood over the last few weeks and Zimmerman thought that a young black man walking in the rain and wearing a hooded sweatshirt looked suspicious. Zimmerman then called 911 to report the person who "might be on drugs."
In the final analysis we see that it is hard to prove either side. For both arguments can become faulty by debate. Murder no matter how it is done is wrong, how we go about prosecuting those who act against our fellow kind is in the hands of our legal system. However, I do not want them on the streets where the people I love are, nor do I believe that a murderer can change. A person who is capable of killing another human being without cause will never fit into society and thus should not be a part of it.