Another technique used by law enforcement to catch the Son of Sam was ballistic matching. David Berkowitz used a very specific gun to carry out his crimes; a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver gun. After each investigation, investigators found shell casings and bullets that were from a .44 caliber gun, they just couldn’t figure out which one. They did, however connect the shootings through the bullets. As more shootings occurred, law enforcement figure out that the bullets came from a Bulldog revolver. Police officers soon tracked down every legal owner .44 caliber Bulldog revolver in New York. They asked every owner questions and forensically tested each gun that they were allowed access too. When nothing turned up, they were at a standstill. It …show more content…
Officers completed every tasks by the book and lawfully. The only failure that happened, occurred in reference to the Son of Sam letter to NYPD Captain Joseph Borrelli. Angry with how the police were referring to him, Son of Sam wrote a letter to describe his feelings. The letter itself did not have any fingerprints that could be useful to the case. However, the envelope that the letter came in could have been helpful, but too many people handled it. There were numerous amounts of fingerprints on it, so it is unknown as to whether or not the Son of Sam’s prints were actually on it. (David Richard Berkowitz …show more content…
Checking to see if someone is competent to stand trial is another investigative technique used by law enforcement. Every citizen has equal protections under the law, so making sure David Berkowitz was able to comprehend the trial was vital. A psychiatrist test was ordered to see if Berkowitz was competent. It determined that Berkowitz was not able to assist in his own defense and did not completely understand the charges against him. They believed he had the capacity to understand these killings were wrong, and know of the charges against him but he suffered from paranoid psychosis that left him emotionally dead, therefore he couldn’t aid in his own defense. The Brooklyn DA, Eugene Gold decided to challenge this report. He asked the prosecution’s psychiatrist, Dr. David Abrahamsen to interview Berkowitz. After several interviews, Dr. Abrahamsen concluded that Berkowitz’s demons were an invention in his mind that he was able to control. He also stated that Berkowitz could aid in his own defense and understand the trial proceedings, if he chose to do so. (Son of Sam Trial
In the case State v. Mark Ducic, Mark is on trial for the murders of Barbra Davis and Donald (Don). Ducic had allegedly murdered Barbra for thinking she was going to tell the police about him dealing drugs, and Don for being the only witness to the murder. When Barbra died, her body was found with numerous drugs in her system and later her friend, Don was found dead too. When the coroner first received the bodies, she believed they had died to accidental overdoses, then after reviewing the police reports changed her mind to homicides that were done out through strategic planning. Ducic was said to have mixed oxycontin with other drugs to create a “hot shot” to make the drug injection look like an overdose.
Interestingly enough, ABC News reported that Blake was a known gun collector and the Walther P-38 was confirmed to be a World War II gun. A suspicious list of supplies found in Earle Caldwell’s vehicle led prosecutors to believe that Blake had sent his handyman Caldwell to shop for items to get rid of Bakley’s body, described Murderpedia. Amongst the supplies listed were two shovels, small sledge, crowbar, 25-auto, get blank gun ready, old rugs, duct tape-black, draino, pool acid, and lye. Blake’s attorneys debated that the supplies were necessary for the ongoing remodeling occurring in Blake’s home during that
On April 29, 2001, in Detroit, Michigan, police were immediately called to the scene of a shooting. Found by the police on the ground of a gas station parking lot, Anthony Covington had suffered a shot to the abdomen. When asked the standard questions such as, who, what, and when, Covington responded, “Rick.” After being shot through a door at Rick Bryant’s house, Covington drove to the nearest gas station and called 911. The questioning occurred for about five minutes until emergency medical services arrived to assist Covington.
In the documentary Making a Murder, Brendan Dassey, nephew of Stephen Avery, gave a testimony that implicated himself and Avery in the murder of Teresa Halback (Demos, Ricciardi, 2015). Among one of the many issues presented within the documentary was the treatment that Dassey received. Dassey had an IQ of 70 and was taking special education classes (Demos, Ricciardi, 2015). Dassey’s IQ was lower than average but almost on the edge of intellectual disability (Dassey v Dittman, 2016, p.5). After giving the confession, he asked if he would be able to get back to class by a certain time to turn in a project (Demos, Ricciardi, 2015).
Even though Loughner wasn’t fully competent, they had to proceed the case, because the Government could drop the charges if Loughner was still incompetent. Loughner wasn’t fully competent; however, he was doing much well than his first hearing after receiving the treatment he needed. Based on evidence and professional opinion of experts, U.S District Judge Burn found Loughner mentally competent to stand his trial. He said, “My personal observation of him leave no questions in my mind that loughner knows what is going on today”. His decision was based on Loughner’s behavior in court and also on Christina Pietz who believed that Loughner was competent to stand trial.
A court-appointed examiner conducts a physical, psychiatric, and psychological test in order to deem whether a person is mentally ill and competent to stand trial. The third procedure is the discovery for the purpose of a court-ordered examination. If the judge orders this, "the defendant must give the court all of their mental health, medical, and any other test records." ("Criminal Procedure Rule 14: Pretrial discovery." Mass.gov, www.mass.gov/rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-procedure-rule-14-pretrial-discovery.).
The day Calvin Buari walked out of Green Haven Correctional Facility, was the day the scales of justice were evened a little bit more. For 22 years, Calvin was trapped behind bars for a double homicide, he didn’t commit. The podcast named “Empire on Blood” delves into the heart-tugging story of murder, betrayal, and the mistakes made by the New York Police Department who stole 22 years of an innocent man's life. Of course, it seems like the only thing Calvin actually was innocent of was the double homicide of the Harris brothers, which occurred September 10th, 1992. However, as said by Calvins attorney Maran Beldock, “A person's life was wrongly stolen” (Fishman).
As New York City crept closer to bankruptcy in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the New York City Police Department along with many other major city organizations started to partake in bribery, embezzlement, blackmail, and other forms of corruption. With many officers benefitting from this extortion, the chances of someone exposing this corruption seemed extremely miniscule. The corruption finally came to light when officer and detective Frank Serpico disclosed the rampant crime of the NYPD in 1971. While NYPD officials were not happy with the whistleblowing, it led to an abundance of praise for Serpico from outsiders and even a film made about him. After experiencing illegal actions of the NYPD firsthand and a suspicious near death experience with a criminal, Frank Serpico exposed the New York City Police Department’s graft of the 1960s and 1970s and continues to speak on issues concerning the NYPD today.
The court brought in a psychologist during the trial. The psychologist was Thomas Eliseo interviewed Gacy before the trial. The psychologist said that he found Gacy to be very intelligent. Although, he believed that Gacy suffered from borderline schizophrenia. Other medical experts testified also.
There is unethical behavior in the NYPD and although it is a small number of police officers that cause this problems it is a huge impact in the community. Once a police officer accepts gratuities, misuses their badge, practice racism and discrimination, or misuse privileged communications, or confidential information and much more it is considered unethical conduct. For example, If a person is being arrested and is cooperating with the police and not resisting arrest but simply following instructions then, in that situation their is no threat and the use of force should not be
He says “the state has not produced one iota of medical evidence.” This makes the jury think about how valid
When it comes to the case Miller V. State, I believe that trial court refused to give the jury instructions regarding the insanity defense, which the defendant wished to have comunicated, because they wanted the jury to be able to decide imoartially. Miller was examined by three medical experts and they concluded that Miller satisfied the M'naughten insanity test when he stabbed Goring. The district court had instructed the jury to determine whether Miller was actually legally insane when he stabbed Goring. They wanted the jury to find proof of insanity at that time, and to also consider Miller's mental condition "before and after the killing to throw light on what Miller's mental condition was at the time of the killing" (Schmalleger
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the term mockingbird symbolizes innocence in a person. In the novel it focuses on the fact that innocence, represented by the mockingbird, can be wrongfully harmed. There are two characters: Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley that are supposed to represent the mockingbird. In the novel, Tom Robinson is the best example of a mockingbird because he is prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Also, he was judged unfairly based on the color of his skin in his trial.
The People and the Police is a book written by Algernon D. Black. Black was born in Manhattan and faced unnecessary actions while he was in school. As a child, a teacher once slapped him, causing minor injuries in which he obtained a scholarship from. Algernon D. Black was a graduate from Harvard, a teacher, and a leader of the New York Society for Ethical Culture. Black was on several committees, including the Civilian Complaint Review Board for a police department.
David Berkowitz also known as “The Son of Sam,” was New York’s infamous serial killer in the 1970’s. Berkowitz is known for being a troubled child, which caused mental disorders and lead to various serial murders, giving him the nickname “ The 44 Caliber Killer” (“The Finer Times”) . David Berkowitz was adopted by Nathan and Peal Berkowitz in 1965. David was close with his mom, and did not have the best relationship with his dad, who was not home often. David was an outcast, and was hard to control.