ipl-logo

What Are Ray Lewis Mistakes

1089 Words5 Pages

Notoriety, a noun, is the state of being well known for something bad. Many infamous trials have taken place over the years and, at first, one may think that notoriety affects such cases. This is not true; although public opinion may convey its decision on one verdict, it is always possible that the opposite will be chosen. Based on the general procedures instituted in a courtroom, the decision will be made according to how the evidence is presented to the judge and/or jury, regardless of how strongly the people may feel. Therefore, criminal court proceedings are not immensely impacted by notoriety. Ray Lewis, the Baltimore Ravens linebacker, was arrested for the murder of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar. The murder took place in Atlanta, …show more content…

Inside the club known as the Cobalt Lounge, a fight occurred between people in Lewis’s party and other patrons. The fight continued on outside as they were leaving; a brawl began when Reginald Oakley, a friend of Lewis, was hit on the head by Jacinth Baker with a champagne bottle. The fight resulted in the deaths of Baker and Richard Lollar. They had been stabbed to death and their wounds were directly to vital organs. The Fulton County medical examiner deduced that they had to have been stabbed by someone with knowledge of anatomy. Lewis had fled with 11 others; among them were Oakley and another friend, Joseph Sweeting. As the limousine left, witnesses reported hearing 5 shots. Later, police found the limousine parked behind the hotel Lewis was staying at; he was immediately arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. First-degree murder is a premeditated killing. Oakley and Sweeting had disappeared without a trace. Lewis’s statement was that he “denied any direct involvement in the deaths and claimed that it was just a case of a well-known public figure being in the wrong place at the wrong time” (Petts, Ray Lewis Trial: …show more content…

“Most juries in America have 12 jurors; Florida has six-person juries in all but death penalty cases” (Bloom, The Only Non-White Juror in the George Zimmerman Trial). The courtroom was enlightened on what happened the night of Martin’s death. Zimmerman had been following him, even after making a 911 call to police and being told that he did not need to shadow Martin. Later, a fight ensued between them where someone had been recorded screaming for help during a 911 call made by a neighbor. Throughout the course of the trial, this evidence was deemed it unlikely to truthfully identify the person the voice belonged to due to the extreme emotional state they were in. By the time police had reached the scene, Zimmerman had already shot Martin, who was pronounced dead a few minutes after their arrival. Zimmerman was willingly taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder in the death of a teen by shooting. Second-degree murder is a killing that wasn’t calculated and resulted from an assault in which the victim’s death was a definite possibility. Zimmerman claimed that it was only after Martin had attacked him, hitting his nose and knocking him against the pavement, that he, in self-defense, shot the 17-year-old (Botelho, What happened the night Trayvon Martin

Open Document