Equivocal Death Investigations: Case Analysis

The Eighth Amendment was created to prohibit cruel punishments that the colonists would receive from the British. The British brought colonists over to an unfair trial and then received punishment that sometimes would be death. The writers of the wanted to make sure that the colonists received the fair trial and fair punishment they deserve. The Eight Amendment was ratified in December 5, 1791 as a part of the Bill of Rights. The Eighth Amendment has not been changed since the ratification in 1791.

The court case Roper vs Simmons was one of the most influential Supreme Court cases that dealt with the issue of whether or not juveniles should receive the death penalty if they were under the age of 18 at the time they committed the crime. In this case, Simmons and a group of his friends planned to commit a burglary and a murder. On the night of the crime, “Simmons and his two friends entered the home of Shirley Crook. Simmons recognized Crook from a car accident they were involved in before; he “later admitted to the police that “this confirmed his resolve to murder her.” Simmons and his friends tied Crook up and put her into the truck of her car. Then the defendants took her to a bridge and threw her off where she drowned. The day following the crime, the police came and arrested Simmons and his friends and charged them with burglary, kidnaping, stealing, and murder in the first degree.” (Roper v Simmons-No. 03–633. Supreme Court of Missouri. 1 Mar. 2005. Print.). The jury found Simmons guilty and sentenced him to

The Hill v. Ohio County involves a wrongful death case in which the hospital refused to admit Juanita Monroe. She thought she was in labor. As a result, she delivered her child at home without medical attention and died shortly after giving birth. The plaintiff was Lorene Hill, administer of Monroe’s estate, against Ohio Country Hospital. The question arises whether there was a breach of duty by the hospital in accordance to the institution’s admission policy. The staff nurse followed all protocols defined by the hospital. When Monroe arrived at the hospital there was no apparent emergency. Moreover, the nurse went above and beyond to provide for her, she gave Monroe information where to get OB services and even offered an ambulance

A blood spatter proved in a case study that a teen could not have murdered her parents. In a murder case where an 18-year-old, Sarah Johnson was sentenced to life in prison for committing a first degree murder for both her and dad. The case reopened when a retired crime lab technician Michael Howard “testified that whoever shot Diane and Alan Johnson at close range on September 2, 2003, would have been hit by a "rain" of blood spatter” (http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/03/johnson/index.html?eref=sitesearch). Howard came up with his theories proving that, Sarah was not even close in committing those murders and it is a wrongful conviction. Based on blood spatter, Howard disclosed that the shooting which took place was at a very close range and

Do you remember what you did on this day, exactly one week ago? You might remember some things about that day, or you might remember nothing. How about if I asked what you did 6 weeks ago on this day? Could you tell me? This was quite the battle for Adnan Syed, a young oriental male who was accused of murdering his long-time girlfriend in January of 1999. Hae-Min Lee, Adnan’s girlfriend, went missing in January and her body was found buried in a local park 3 weeks later. Adnan Syed is innocent of killing Hae-Min Lee because of three reasons: Cristina Gutierrez, Adnan’s lawyer, failed to put him in a position to win the trial, Jay is not an effective witness, and the window of time does not match up. Adnan is not at fault

Fradella, Henry, Lauren 'Neill, and Adam Fogarty. "The Impact of Daubert on Forensic Science". Pepperdine Law Review 31.4 (2004): 322-361. Print.

The evidence one could observe where there is a major difference between the theory and the reality of the case is how the mode of death was discovered and how that played a role in the trial and later appeal. According to Michael D. Lyman, author of Criminal Investigation: the Art and the Science, the type of death and how the individual dies can, “be discovered through careful examination of both the deceased and the crime scene” (275). However, Foddrill’s corpse was in bad condition due to her being kept in the shed. This decomposition made it difficult for investigators to be certain how she died. For example,

Assisted suicide is a rather controversial issue in contemporary society. When a terminally ill patient formally requests to be euthanized by a board certified physician, an ethical dilemma arises. Can someone ethically end the life of another human being, even if the patient will die in less than six months? Unlike traditional suicide, euthanasia included multiple individuals including the patient, doctor, and witnesses, where each party involved has a set of legal responsibilities. In order to understand this quandary and eventually reach a conclusion, each party involved must have their responsibilities analyzed and the underlying guidelines of moral ethics must be investigated. Even though assisted suicide was not discussed throughout the sixteen to eighteen hundreds, ethical philosophers investigated the roots of human morals in an attempt to create an overarching rule that would help determine if “death with dignity” is morally justified.

In this case, the victim was found south of where he was initially kidnapped from a few yards away from the road, hidden in the weeds. The pathologist found hemorrhaging on the top of the skull, which was assumed to be from being tossed around in the trunk of Joubert’s car. He also found a total of eleven stab wounds on Eberle’s body. Eight of the stab wounds penetrated the skin, but three of those were less deep. Nine of those eleven stab wounds happened before death. The victim had no shirt or pants on, and there was a slice on the back of his neck and the back of his left leg. There was also the rope used to tie him up, which could not be identified by trace analysts because they had never seen it before. He wiped his knife clean on Eberle’s shirt, and left the

The judge declares the “Murder in the first degree—premeditated homicide—is the most serious charge tried in our criminal courts. One man is dead. The life of another is at stake. If there is a reasonable doubt in your minds as to the guilt of the accused … then you must declare him not guilty. If, however, there is no reasonable doubt, then he must be found guilty. Whichever way you decide, the verdict must be unanimous. I urge you to deliberate honestly and thoughtfully. You are faced with a grave responsibility. Thank you, gentlemen” (Judges Voice). The jury enters the jury room and twelve men shuffle in. This play sets up a murder mystery that keeps the audience on their feet and looking for answers.

In 1892, a young woman named Lizzie Borden was accused of murdering her father and stepmother (“Lizzie Borden on Trial” 2). This accusation was influenced by the lack of evidence at the scene of the crime. There appeared to be no murder weapon, very few witnesses, and the house did not show any signs of an intruder (“Lizzie Borden on Trial” 5). Once the scene was investigated, it was determined that the cause of death for both victims was multiple blows to the head by an axe. Two axes were found in the home, and neither had a speck of blood (“Lizzie Borden on Trial” 14). As it were, there was not enough evidence to convict a killer, nor was there enough evidence to convict Lizzie Borden. She was declared not guilty (“Lizzie Borden on Trial”

In 1998, Dr. Linda Reynolds of the Brooke Surgery in Hyde reached to John Pollard, who was the coroner for the South Manchester District, about Dr. Harold Shipman’s high rate of deaths of all of his patients. This was brought to the police attention and the police did not pay so much attention to it, assigning some of the newer police officers, which of course had little experience in being a police officer. These assigned police officers were unable to find enough evidence to charge Dr. Harold Shipman. Shipman’s investigation was then dropped and that same year Shipman killed 3 more people, with last victim being Kathleen Grundy, whose death certificate was recorded by Shipman stating that the cause of death was “old age.” Angela Woodruff, Kathleen Grundy’s daughter became concern of what could have really happened to her mother when solicitor Brian Burgess informed her that a will has been made by Kathleen, excluding her and her children, leaving most of the money to Harold Shipman. Once Woodruff reported this, Kathleen’s body was dug out and examined, containing traces of diamorphine. Shipman was then arrested on September 7th 1998. The police then did some more investigation of deaths Shipman has certified and created a list of 15 specimen cases. All of the 15 specimen had the same things in common which were lethal doses of diamorphine, signing patients’ death certificates, and falsifying medical records. With these many trials and many more that were brought to court

On 07/01/17, at 3:21pm, I Deputy Warden N. Christian was dispatched to Kids Kingdom Childcare and Learning Center (970 Oakland Park Ave), on a dog at large, no known owner. I arrived at the location and met with complainant Latanya Cox and victim Jamaal Cox Jr. Ms. Cox stated that she sent her grandson outside to retrieve something from her vehicle. When her grandson returned, he stated that a brown and white pit bull was outside growled and approached him. He was able to get inside before the pit bull caused any harm. Ms. Cox escorted me outside where she point out a white house just behind the childcare center. Ms. Cox and Jamaal stated the pit bull escaped through a hole in the fence from that location.

Brittany Maynard chose to the “Death with Dignity” option after learning that she only had six months to live after her brain cancer became more aggressive and turned to a grade 4 glioblastoma. She moved from California to Oregon in order to legally receive a prescription of a lethal dose of barbiturates. Oregonis one of five states in the U.S that has the passed the Death with Dignity Act. Brittany chose this option because she did not want to go through radiation or live the last of her days in pain while her family watched. Brittany stated, “Because the rest of my body is young and healthy, I m likely to physically hang on for a long time even though cancer is eating my mind, and my family would have to watch that,” (page 565). Brittany

A homicide occurred at the defendant’s filling station. At the filling station the deceased was previously drinking and was sweet talking the defendant’s wife in a whispering conversation. The deceased was asked to leave the building, yet the defendant order him more than once. The deceased would not leave the filling station. While, the deceased had alcohol in his system, they took off their hat and slammed it on the counter. The deceased uttered some very foul words to the defendant. In the other hand, the deceased picked up a hammer. Unfortunately, the defendant fired his gun because he thought the deceased was going to hit him or kill him with