On December 24, 2002, Laci Peterson was reported missing from her home in Modesto, California by her parents and husband. The Modesto police began their search for Laci Peterson before the standard forty-eight hour limit to file a missing person’s report because she was eight months pregnant.
On July 23, 1995, Janet Downing was found stabbed to death in her Somerville, Massachusetts home. With strong compelling evidence and creditable eyewitness testimony, Edward O’Brien was arrested for Downing’s murder. O’Brien was only fifteen years old and good friends with Downing’s son Ryan at the time of the murder. The first initial hearing judged that O’Brien would be tried as a juvenile, however this judgment would later be reversed. At a second hearing, a new judge ordered O’Brien to be tried as an adult, based on the severity and cruelty of his crime. In the fall of 1997 after a two week trial, Edward O’Brien was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Janet Downing. He was later sentenced to life in prison without parole for his vicious crime.
After reviewing these, the psychological factors that I believe to have contributed to Andrea Yates’ murder of her children are, firstly biological, Andrea had a genetic predispositions, which means Andrea had an increased likelihood of developing
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 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. Luckily, it is known what causes wrongful convictions and how to fix them.
Conclusion: The murder of James Bulger was horrific and would not have happened if these boys were from good and responsible homes. Robert Thompson grew up in a criminogenic family and this must have played an
is that Enough?"). Many people who know Greg in prison have said that he have improved and that he might be an example for other juvenile. Greg’s casework manager, Dennis Hood, said that "He’s just a great worker," and that he's "enthusiastic, solves problems on his own, never complains. I have no doubt he’ll succeed in whatever he puts his mind to when he’s released." (Page 5, "Greg Ousley is Sorry for Killing His Parents. is that Enough?"). And the same people who know him, wants him to be set free early from prison because he has "grown" enough, and because what they are going to gain by keeping a person who shows total improvement in prison?. Cindy Estes, his former work supervisor, said that “This kid has jumped through every hoop the state has put in front of him,” and she finally states that “He deserves to come out. There’s absolutely nothing to be gained by keeping him in there for another 10 years.” (Page 5, "Greg Ousley is Sorry for Killing His Parents. is that Enough?"). After all, Greg Ousley as like the 95 percent of other prison inmates, are going to come out
“In 1979, Goldschmidt, who as mayor had won national renown for the development of the downtown bus mall and the city 's then-revolutionary light rail, was tapped by President Jimmy Carter to be Secretary of Transportation” (Jaquiss). Neil Goldschmidt was a very successful politician, but he was hiding a very dark secret that the people of Oregon deserved to know. Should the type of person, who raped a 14 year old girl for three years, be considered someone that the people of Oregon look up to? This is just one of the questions Nigel Jaquiss addressed in his article about the affair between Neil Goldschmidt and a 14 year old girl that occurred from 1975-1978 (Jaquiss). Muckraking is a form of investigative reporting
Society has become a place filled with so much tragedy, from natural disasters to bomb threats, to school shootings and a massive amount of murders, resulting in an increase in deaths and paranoia. The first thing in such event, is an official should try to figure out the cause of the incident. Such example, could be the Orlando Night Club Shooting where a man named Omar Mateen killed innocent people due to his hatred towards homosexuals. In most cases, those found guilty have tended to be an adult and have had a “reason” for provoking the crime, but, now what if the person convicted of such crime were a child? Questions then arise as to, if a child should be convicted as an adult for committing crimes like homicide and if their logic of doing
“You are always only one decision away from a totally different life”(Unknown). Your destiny can be such a fragile thing, you slide between the path of success and the path of failure daily with the decisions you make. Often when you make a bad decision you are give a second chance. And these decisions and chances all lead up to your destiny. Your chances are limited and eventually you are stuck with the outcome you’ve chosen, be that good or bad, success or failure. There are two men out there who know these principles all too well. Those men’s stories are documented in the book The Other Wes Moore. Two men with the same name grow up in almost identical situations and yet one has worked in The White House, and the other
“Count one, guilty, first-degree murder. Count two, guilty of felony murder. Count three, guilty of especially aggravated robbery.” This is the verdict Cyntoia, a teen victim of sex-trafficking, got on August 25th, 2006. The case of Cyntoia Brown is about an innocent victim, who had been punished for finding the courage to fight against the ones who had hurt her. Ultimately, this case is the greatest injustice act against a person ever yet. Her whole life, she had been facing abuse and inequity. She was only 16 when she has murdered Johnny Allen in 2004, and is now serving a life sentence, with an eligible parole on her 69th birthday. What the jury hasn’t been told about is that Cyntoia has been repeatedly drugged and physically and sexually
There are many children in the world who are being put behind bars and detained for alleged wrongdoing without protections they are entitled to. Throughout the world, children are charged and sentenced for actions that should not be considered as adult crimes. Here in the United States, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is age 12. Law enforcement officials and those in the juvenile justice system nationwide tend to mistreat underage individuals by trying cases while working through the lens of an adult. Unfair punishments are still handed down domestically, which is in violation of Supreme Court law. The following articles specifically address the idea that juvenile justice is unethical. In the article, “Juvenile Justice & Adolescent
On April 29, 1992, A week of non stop urban violence and mayhem erupted in the streets and cities of Los Angeles, the riots were commenced by the unjust trial that let the four white police officers set free of any charges. All four officers were captured on videotape beating on a black motorist named, Rodney King after a traffic stop gone wild. The Rodney King riots impacted society greatly by presenting the nations people with an understanding of how racism was still present in america. A reminder that "justice for all" was still a long way off being set in stone and to followed by most people. When the justice for Mr King was not given rightfully, the people from the streets who went through alike problems hear about it, they immediately want change. From gang members who initiated the truce that helped decrease street violence, to the average high school student being active in protest around the city, the riots were portrayed heavily by the people affected by the beating. At these times, around the clock news and live television coverage followed but also in Ice Cube’s “The Predator” and Rodney King 's speech to the city of Los Angeles.
Harold Wilson, the Labour Politician who became Prime Minister in 1964, passed the Criminal Justice Act of 1967, which introduced reform in three sections: the prison system and sentencing practises of courts, juvenile offenders and the law on murder. A suspended sentence was introduced which aimed at reducing mandatory prison sentences. Magistrates were encouraged to not give prison sentences to people who had only committed minor offences. This resulted in fewer people going to prison for crimes punishable by a fine or community service. Sydney Silverman managed to abolish the death penalty in 1965 which was seen as huge progress. The Criminal Justice Act of 1972 introduced fully the rehabilitation method of community service which reduced the number of people going to prison. Community service gave offenders a chance to turn their negative impact on the community to a positive one. Wilson made huge changes to the Criminal Justice System and the changes he made were positive.
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.