Famous American cereal killer, John Wayne Gacy, had murdered and raped 33 adolescents, many of whom were teenagers, the justice system made sure this man could never do this again. The public is turning a blind eye to the many contributions the justice system makes, we should look at not only how we can reform, but how it contributes to society The justice system creates many contributions to society, such as the safety it provides for children and their chances of exploitation, the many instances where they convict dangerous individuals therefore creating a safer environment for the present and future of society, and the fact it provides all citizens of the public and private sectors, to have the right to a fair, speedy, and public trial, …show more content…
The Constitution states “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” ( US Constitution) As you can see, the Bill of Rights 6th Amendment allows the accused to understand the charges against them: the accused is told what he/she is being accused of, who is accusing them, and is allowed to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Moreover, it allows for the movement of rightful convictions. As we read, the average length of a trial will vary depending on the crime and the state where the crime took place in. The average trial lasts four to five days. However, it may last up to eight months if continuous postponements are granted. Also 79% of all court hearings are held within 30 days of being accused. (Schewbel,p2) The government must comply with the fairness requirements of the Due Process Clause during each juncture …show more content…
“‘Death sentences represent less than one-tenth of 1% of prison sentences in the United States…,’” (Von Drehle, 9). Furthermore, death row is just a small fraction of the criminal justice system and can not be based on that alone. For instance, what many don't take into account is the justice systems allows for many states, such as the populous state of New York, to ban the death penalty. (state laws, p1) Therefore, this is an outdated claim, due to our justice system changing and adapting to public beliefs. There may be a few wrongful convictions in the criminal justice system, however that does not make it cause more harm than good. In any system there are flaws, we cannot disregard all the good the justice system does. Although this system has flaws like all others, it is what safeguards our society's
There are some very important rights granted to you jfrom the 6th amendment which I think if you are going to trial you should try and use to your advantage. you will get a trial by a jury and also with that jury they will be able to hear all witnesses and see all evidence received for the case. The opportunity to see, hear, and confront the witnesses presenting the case against them as well. They will get an chance to call witnesses and even have the court give subpoenas to make sure the witnesses appear they also can testify themselves it they would like to if not they can refuse to testify. they will have the right to cross-examine a witness who is trying to testify against them as well.
The 6th amendment orders, to some extent, that "in every criminal indictment, the charged should appreciate the privilege to a rapid and open trial. " The Speedy Trial Act of 1974 indicates time limits intended to secure a litigant's expedient trial right. To figure out if or not there has been a fast trial-right
Lauren Monroe Wendy L. Eddy English 1213 Section 21 March 2016 Gacy on Trial John Wayne Gacy is famously known for the sadistic murders of thirty-three young men. He would lure each of them in, some with the promise of a job with his self-made construction business and others with the promise of sex. On December 13th 1978, detectives requested a search warrant of Gacy’s home. The judge ordered the warrant, and when detectives arrived to the scene they discovered plenty of suspicious items in his house.
Being on death row often prolongs the pain for the inmate. They spend their time in prison fearing the inevitable which for them is death. Today, we live in a society that is very divided on this issue. There are many in support of the death penalty, suggesting that it acts as a positive deterrent against future crime. There are also many
After only four hours of deliberation, the jury decided that Simpson was not guilty. The case has been described as the most publicized criminal trial in American history. Some people believe that he should have been proven guilty, while others think that he should remain innocent. Five weeks before she was murdered, Nicole makes out her will. Nicole was actually intimidated by O.J.
Imagine this was you, does this sound in any way fair? The sixth amendment has a cluster of rights that guarantees to make criminal prosecutions more accurate, legitimate, and fair. The rights guaranteed by the sixth amendment are tied to law and order. A speedy and public trial is one of these.
The creation of the United States and the colonies that came before, brought about many legal traditions and precedents. Among these legal traditions and precedents, is an essential precedent present in all interrogation related proceedings and court ones—the Miranda warning. When an individual is detained, they may be subjected to an interrogation by designated officials. During an interrogation certain rights are guaranteed to an individual through the provision of the Bill of Rights to prevent self-incrimination and the historical precedent established before it. However, in certain situations, these rights were not always guaranteed as they should’ve been.
The Sixth Amendment of the U. S. Constitution, the Speedy Trial Act of 1974 and the states’ constitutional or statutory provisions establish the right to a speedy trial of criminal defendants. In particular, the 6th Amendment’s Clause states that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial” (Susskind, 1993).While the U. S. Constitution does not provide a precise frame of time, states’ laws specify the time within which prosecution must try a defendant. However, the computations are so complex that cases are rarely dismissed on the ground of violation of the speedy trial right (Shestokas, 2014). In fact, ironically defendants have to demand a speedy trial for these time periods to run and their
Life sentences in America today stand at an unprecedented level: as of 2012, 159,520 people in prison were serving a life sentence and 49,081 (30.8%) of them have no possibility for parole. Nationally, one in every nine people in prison today are serving a life sentence (Hugo 132). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) stated, “Life without parole provides swift, severe, and certain punishment. It provides justice to survivors of murdered victims and allows more resources to be invested into solving other murders and preventing violence. Sentencing people to die in prison is the sensible alternative for public safety and murdered victims’ families” (ACLU Hill vs
Plea bargains are growing to resolve many cases. (Shetokas, 2014) According to the legal dictionary the sixth amendment to the U.S. Constitution affords criminal defendants seven discrete personal liberties: (1) the right to a Speedy Trial; (2) a public trial is allowed (3) have the right to have a fair jury; (4) knowledge of charges that are pending; (5) being able to cross-examine and confront the eyewitness; (6) the right to compel favorable witnesses to testify at trial through the subpoena power of the judiciary; and (7) legal rights to have an attorney. ( legaldictionary). With the fourteen
John Wayne Gacy is a serial killer who killed 33 people in total. He was born on May 17th 1942 in Chicago where he was physically and verbally abused by his father. Since this age he showed unusual behaviours and avoiding society, but then was determined that he has a psychological disorder. He moved to Los Angeles and was living a normal life however he started showing his real face in 1968 where he raped a young, male employee.
The accused person has the right to enjoy a speedy trial but that does not mean that the trial will be done within two days but rather means that, "The country or state cannot make the person sit in jail for a very long time, for example 5 years, while they wait for their trial. This would be very unfair to anyone who is not guilty." ; that was mentioned by the website Laws.com. This means that a person can not get punished for committing a crime the rest of his life, that would go against his right of pursuiting happiness. The sixth amendment also allows the accused person to know the cause of accusation and his accuser, and that leads to the second ideal which is opportunity or chance to defend oneself or even ask a lawyer to defend
This also required that a new trial be conducted with the advantage and constitutional right of legal counsel appointed by the court. Justice Sutherland proceeded to state that no attempt was made to investigate the trial, that the trial was rushed, and the defendants had no time to prepare a case. The majority of the United States Supreme Court concluded that a defendant, who is charged with a serious as well as heinous crime, must not be omitted of his constitutional right to have ample time to discuss and prepare his
The criminal justice system may be more corrupt than the people who fill our prisons. It is amazing to see the many ways that certain parts of society actually benefit from the current system we support. This book,The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Prison, by authors Jeffrey Reiman and Paul Leighton, has open my eyes to a very corrupt idealism. They are very precise in their supporting examples as well by walking the reader through each step and analogy.
The biggest issue within the Criminal Justice system is the large number of wrongful convictions, innocent people sentenced to die for crimes they did not commit. People are put in prison for years, even executed for false convictions. This affects not only those put in prison but friends and family of the accused. Wrongful convictions aren’t solely a tragedy for those directly involved either. It weakens the faith the public has for the justice system as well as poses safety issues; when innocent people are put away, the real criminals are still out there.