During spring break one of the captain of the lacrosse team decided to throw a party and have two strippers there. One which was Crystal Mangum who has a mental problem and did not feel like preforming due to maybe the combination of alcohol and drugs. The party turned ugly and some people left and Kim Roberts the second dancer called the police to come and take her home or somewhere for help. The nurse asked if she was rape and the answer was yes for Crystal that knew the system well. The group of 88 of Duke facility had unequivocally asserted that something had happened to Crystal. This quickly turned into a racial motivated crime led by Mike Nifong. The lacrosse coach was forced to resign and the remained season had to be canceled due to the accusations.
In “Crime and Punishment: The saga of Richie Parker” published in Sports Illustrated, Gary Smith helps to explain just how many people are affected by a single sexual assault case. He does this in a very unique style by giving 12 sections explaining the incident from different points of view and the effects of a single crime. One person affected was Jill Agostino, the sports copy editor for Newsday. Her unnamed colleague had given her a copy of an article he was writing on Richie Parker and called asking if she liked it. Little did he know, stories like his were keeping her up at night, reminding her of the time she was raped nine years earlier. Agostino was enraged because people were sticking up for Parker, saying things like, “boys will
In contrast, Eramo immediately took action in Jackie’s case and arranged meetings with the victim and the Charlottesville Police Department to make the rapist accountable for their actions. In result, Jackie did not want to cooperate with law enforcement in describing the rape or give any names of the men involved – which concluded to no official police report.
Christopher Simmons was a seventeen year old juvenile from Missouri whom in 1993 along with two of his friends, Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer, planned to rob and murder Shirley Crook in her home (Roper v. Simmons, 2004). On the night the crime was to be committed, Tessmer pulled out of the plan, and Simmons and Benjamin would continue on as planned. The two broke into the Ms. Crook’s home, robbed her, tied her up, covered up her eyes, then drove her to a state park and threw her off a bridge. During the trial, evidence, videotaped reenactment and testimony outlining the premeditated plan, allowed for the jury to easily convict Simmons of the crime. Even though Simmons had no previous criminal record and was a minor at the time the crime was committed,
Capital punishment is one of the most controversial and talked-about topics in the United States today. It is an issue that is not explicitly mentioned in our constitution, so states have been left to interpret the law. As of April 2017, 32 states in the US legally allow the death penalty. Of the 18 states that have banned it, the most recent was Maryland in 2013. The topic is so controversial that the Supreme Court has gotten involved many times, deciding on more cases that have to do with capital punishment than most other subjects. People disagree on many aspects of the death penalty for several different reasons like moral and religious differences. When considering capital punishment, people’s opinions
Bridgett Bishop, a married, middle-aged woman, was the first colonist to be tried in the Salem Witch trials, found guilty and hung for practicing witchcraft in June 1692.
The death penalty has been a major topic of debate in the United States as well as various parts of the world for numerous years. At this time, there are thirty-one states in which the death penalty is legal. Nineteen states have completely abolished it (“States with and without The Death Penalty”). Since its initial development back in the 1600’s, the death penalty has taken a different course in the way it is utilized. In its early days, the death penalty was greatly used and implemented for several offenses. Generally, the public sought out the stern implementation of the death penalty. But contrary to this, the use of the death penalty,
Over the past few decades, hundreds of people have been falsely imprisoned. Many of their cases were founded on the account of one or more eyewitnesses. The criminal justice system often relies on eyewitness accounts to piece together a crime and identify the perpetrator. But studies showing the faultiness of our memories, particularly in stressful events, suggest that witnesses may not be as reliable of a source as we think.
The court case Roper v. Simmons was a case that questioned whether or not the execution of a juvenile violated the Constitution. This case began in 2002 and was appealed and decided in 2005. This was a Missouri case that involved Christopher Simmons, who at the time was only seventeen years old. As a punishment for a crime that he committed, Simmons was given the death penalty. Simmons tried many times to appeal his case and avoid being executed. His appeal was granted after the supreme court made a decision regarding the case Atkins v. Virginia. The case Atkins v. Virginia stated that the execution of people who suffer from mental retardation is not only a violation of the 8th and 14th amendments but is also unconstitutional. The Supreme
The lethal injection executions illustrates a constitutional violation of the branch 's overreach as described by the 8th amendment due to its cases bring either successful in the execution or providing sufferable pain to death row inmates. One of the current problems in the Judicial branch is the use of lethal injection towards execution sessions. Lethal injection is an injection that is administered for the purpose of euthanasia and capital punishment. There are two methods of lethal injection today, one using a three drug protocol and the 2nd being the large dose of barbiturate. Lethal injection is used for capital punishment as it follows the 8th amendment we have today.
Sexual violence, particularly against children, is a significant issue all around the world. In the early 1990’s in the United States, there were multiple well-publicized cases of sexual violence against children. From kidnappings, to rapes, and everything in between, violence was being committed against children and something needed to be done about it. In 1996, Megan’s Law was passed in response to the sexual assault and death of Megan Kanka, a seven-year-old from New Jersey (Corrigan, 2006). This law is still in effect. By looking at the historical context, goals, and results of Megan’s Law, one can see that Megan’s Law has had mixed outcomes.
On Sunday, March 13, 2013, at approximately 1926 hours, I responded to Conyers Police Department, 1194 Scott Street, for a previous Rape incident. I arrived on scene and met with complainant, Victoria Imafidon. Imafidon advised me she was taken advantage of sexually by her pastor at the New Trinity Assemblies. Imafidon stated his name is Emanuel Ayoola Olufowote or Ayoola Michel Kofi Olufowote.
Passed on September 25, 1789 and ratified on December 15, 1791 by Congress, the eighth amendment has been present in the United States for quite some time. Over time, the amendment has morphed and interpreted differently. In the Constitution it states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”. In the 1990s, individuals referenced the eighth amendment when discussing capital punishment or the death penalty. Death sentences were most frequent during the 1900s, resulting in some individuals declaring that it went against the amendment (Source A). Since then, opinions on the death penalty have fluctuated, some claim that is barbarous while others deem it to be necessary. The
In Miller v. Alabama, the United States Supreme Court declared that mandatory juvenile life without parole sentencing schemes violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment (Rhodes, 2012).
The death sentence, a controversial topic that was brought to our attention in this year's election in California through the means of prop 66 and prop 62. Prop 66 was to keep the death penalty, but to revise some of its aspects. While prop 62 was against the death penalty. This issue of sentencing a person for a heinous crime to death is such a critical topic because of the fact of whether to save the lives of criminals or take them away. I do not believe that the father of Hester Prynne’s child should be put to death with the crime that he has committed because the crime that he committed is not a crime that should be punishable by death.