Pros And Cons Of The Daubert Standard

In Roper v. Simmons there are two issues that must be addressed, the first being the issue of moral maturity and culpability. The defense in the trial phase of this case argued that Mr. Simmons was an at an age where he was not responsible enough to fully understand the effects and consequences of his actions. The majority draws on Atkins v. Virginia to argue that this specific precedent supports their case that the death penalty should not be imposed on the mentally immature or impaired. However, an important point to be made is that the Atkins v. Virginia decision is geared towards the clinical definition of mental retardation: significant limitations that limit adaptive skills. Also, another important question to consider is the competency and premeditation of Mr. Simmons’ crime in this case. The argument that four months would be

As of 1992, the Canadian Criminal Justice system introduced a new Law to its Criminal Code. NCR stands for “Not Criminally Responsible.” It is defined in section 16 of the Criminal Code." (LawFacts, N.d) This law enforces a program which contributes to progress, provides treatment, and just trial towards those with a mental illness. The NCR Law, was established to enforce just trial and stability to those who are mentally ill, within a mental health care facilitation rather than a prison. Therefore NCR, should remain as part of the Criminal Code in Canada

Since the time decision about Daubert was made, later decisions of the supreme court have increased the Daubert’s application to all expert fields, not only in those which is technically scientific. The impact of Daubert, though, is not restricted to federal courts for many stated have also accepted the Daubert test for acceptability of testimony. The Daubert implication also extended towards scientific forensic anthropology. Daubert has offered many applications in federal courts. The first and foremost thing which judges must determine is whether a guilty person is enough to qualify by knowledge, experience, training or education to give expert testimony. It implies that a

Innocent until proven guilty; this is America's renowned criminal justice principle. It states that a suspect is to be considered innocent until proven guilty with solid evidence; however, this was not the case in Lester Bower's death row sentence. After enduring thirty arduous years on death row upon reasonable doubt and being executed on June 3, 2015, Bower's innocence was confirmed (Executed But Possibly Innocent). Not only does this wrongful conviction contradict what America stands for, but a life that could have been justifiably spared has unpardonably perished. The world wide debate over capital punishment has been a heated topic over the years and is not going to appease any time soon. Capital punishment is not only immoral, but contradicting

Joshua Marquis is neither a scholar, a jurist, or a crusader for the wrongly accused. Instead he has spent most of his time as a prosecutor. His essay is written from a personal point of view where he supports the death penalty; however, his essay is unlike the average supporter. Joshua Marquis believes capital punishment should be decided based on the following: each case on its own, within its own context, using the specific facts of the case, considering the community where the crime occurred and the background of the defendants. With that being said, Marquis believes that for certain cases the death penalty is appropriate. In fact, in 1991 and again in 1997 he stood before the jury and ask them to impose the death penalty.

Although in In Cold Blood, Truman Capote is illustrating the aftermath of the murders, his prime motive is to humanize and create sympathy for Perry; therefore he asserts that the Law is biased and cruel to those who commit crimes.

To begin, the death penalty is unnecessary since it is ineffective at deterring rates of murder. In fact, 88% of the country's top criminologists do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to homicide, according to the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. In opposition, supporters may argue that it may indeed help to deter murder rates as they have

That's just over 1.5% of all the death penalties. Unfortunately, the rate of innocence is over double that, coming in at above 4%. These stats prove the point some dread: Many people have been killed for crimes they didn't do. Ledell Lee, a man from Arkansas, was executed on April 20th, 2017 for the murder of his neighbor in 1993. Up until he was killed, he claimed his innocence. He called for DNA tests, none of the results pointing to him. Witnesses from the crime scene had claimed there was blood everywhere, but not on Lee. He was executed anyways. The world may never know if he was truly innocent or not, but the decision was made and carried out before there was proof he even did anything wrong. In another case, a man named Carlos DeLuna was sentenced to death and executed in the year 1989 for stabbing a gas clerk to death. DeLuna claimed he was innocent to the end. After he was killed, a report was published proving his innocence. If for no other reason, the death penalty should be abolished for the one in twenty-five innocent people that have been

In the State of Texas v. Cameron Todd Willingham case, smalltown Todd Willingham was convicted and put on death row after being unjustly convicted of setting his house with arson and murder. The police’s preconceived opinions of him played its role in this case. However, when clouded judgment is involved mistakes are made. In this case, the results may have been an innocent man's life was destroyed and he ultimately died because of it. Police took his lack of injuries and the fact that he never tried to re-enter the house to save his kids as evidence in their case against him. Yet the only thing this proves he's guilty of is being a coward.The town found evidence that at the surface helped to create a sinister image of Willingham, however, if a more in-depth investigation along with a more

In the article, “Beware the Biomarkers for Criminal Behavior,” Kira Peikoff analyzes the expanding use of brain imaging and biomarkers to predict criminal behavior. She describes the expansion of these technological advancements as a possible violation to an individual’s basic civil rights of innocent until proven guilty. Piekoff expresses that with these growing advancements in this technology a fine line between science and morality should be explored with caution. Our society today may consist of individuals with mental defects, but where is the line drawn in depicting a future crime without infringing on an individual 's basic civil rights.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee depicts the tragic case of Tom Robinson, an innocent African American man, who was wrongly accused of a crime that never existed, a dream of a white woman who broke a moral code in the 1930s. For this crime of fantasy he was subject to the truth of an electric chair, although he never saw this chair, the result was the same, death. This brings us to our next question, how do we have the power to take a life? Will we ever have enough facts or an unbiased jury to carry out this ultimate punishment? The answer is no. There will always be a biased jury, or inconclusive evidence to support that a crime, like that of Tom Robinson’s, to kill a human being. We will be taking an in depth look at the faults of this

When one thinks about the court systems and the way justice is served they see a system that is fair and just. A system that correctly provides punishment to the guilty party, and one that can discover the truth within the innocent party. On the surface level this appears to be true. Hundreds of thousands of people are incarcerated each year in the United States, which in reality provides a false sense of safety to citizens. While a large percentage of incarcerations are of guilty parties, according to a study in C. Ronald Huff’s book, Convicted But Innocent: Wrongful Conviction and Public Policy, approximately 100,000 innocent people are convicted every year. Huff predicts that this number is in fact lower than the true number, due to the

What are the causes of wrongful convictions? Criminal law examines why there are many wrongful convictions and the causes to them. Theories has shown that wrongful convictions have revealed disturbing fissures and trends in the criminal justice system. Other theories indicates that an overlapping array of contributing factors has emerged; from mistakes to misconduct to factors of race and class. The state’s obligation to do more to correct wrongful convictions is in proportion to the rate at which they are currently allowed to occur. But our knowledge of the frequency of wrongful convictions is inevitably limited. The criminal standard of proof is demanding, but absolute certainty is unachievable and not required (Hammer 2014). Some risk of

In conclusion the idea that the death penalty should be abolished can be supported by many reasons that include extensive evidence. With the death penalty still established we are putting innocent people's lives at risk, spending millions, and continue with racial segregation. The idea that someone's opinion in court can decide the fate of another person is

The most debated reason over the death pentaly is if it is right or wrong morally. There are many angles to look at this question. One of the biggest concerns is how many innocent lives are taken by accident