Murder and Injustice in a Small Town
Death sentence

Are you innocent until proven guilty?

The constitution of the U.S.A. has the provision of being treated as though one is innocent until the due process of the law takes its course and one is proven guilty or set free on absolute innocence grounds. It should be pointed out that if you committed the crime then you are guilty regardless of the conditions. However, the American citizens have the protection of the constitution from such a presumption. The presumption of innocence is one of the basic rights in the constitution, though it is not directly inscribed and only gets to the citizen through English jurisprudence and has been in that system from time immemorial till it has been considered common law (Craig Walenta, 2010). The tricky part however is the implementation of this concept at the time of the arrest to the time when…...

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References

Craig Walenta, (2010). U.S. Constitution Online. Retrieved December 6, 2011 from  http://www.usconstitution.net/constnot.html 

Death Penalty Information Center, (2010). Sentencing for Life: Americans Embrace Alternatives

to the Death Penalty. Retrieved December 6, 2011 from  http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/sentencing-life-americans-embrace-alternatives-death-penalty 

National Museum of Crime & Punishment, (2008). Crimes Punishable By Death. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from  http://www.crimemuseum.org/library/execution/crimesPunishableByDeath.html

Murder Trial of Phil Spector
In the 1960s, Phil Spector achieved legendary status as the visionary behind countless pop music classics. The famed 'all of Sound' produces helped to create immortal hits with girl groups like the Crystals and the Ronettes. But he achieved a different kind of notoriety when his oft-acknowledged erratic behavior and affection for firearms culminated in the 2003 death of Lana Clarkson. The actress, whose body was found in the foyer of Spector's California home, was found to have been shot by the increasingly psychologically unsound pop music producer.

hen the smoke had cleared from his arrest, according to CNN, suicide had been ruled out. This would leave Spector to stand on trial for the murder of the 40-year-old actress. The charge of murder is defined as the act of purposefully taking the life of another human being by non-accidental action. In the case of Spector, reports indicate,…...

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Works Cited:

CNN. (2009). Phil Spector Found Guilty of Actress' 2003 Murder. CNN.com.

Glaister, D. (2009). How Phil Spector Was Convicted of the Murder of Lana Clarkson. The Guardian.

Murder in the Cathedral
An Analysis of Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral

Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral is certainly a uniquely dramatic work. Eliot (1951) has written his own intention concerning its style: "As for the versification, I was only aware at this stage that the essential was to avoid any echo of Shakespeare…Therefore what I kept in mind was the versification of Everyman" (p. 27). Everyman, a medieval morality play that likely influenced the Bard, is (like Murder) directly religious and unabashedly direct. Yet Everyman was written for a Christian audience at a time when Christendom had not yet quite come completely undone. Eliot's poetic drama, coming four full centuries later, hardly has the self-same audience (even if it was penned for a religious festival). Eliot's audience, whether Christian or not, is modern: and Eliot's poetry is written for a modern audience. And even though he attempts (in style) to distance…...

There is a plethora of questions result if one deduces the seriousness of the situation. For instance, should the system be reevaluated in terms of the rights of minors; especially when it comes to interrogation practices? Or did the police in Jacksonville, Florida just represent a few bad apples in an otherwise functioning system? The answers to these questions are fair from obvious and subject to intense arguments from both sides of the debate.

Another consideration that is relevant would be the frequency of occurrences in which innocent people are imprisoned. Websites such as www.injusticebusters.com have devoted an incredible amount of time and energy documenting occurrences in which individuals were wrongly convicted of crimes. It is apparent after inspection of cases represented on websites such as these, that even though Brenton Butler was able to receive a fair judgment in the courtroom, not every tried suspect receives such a favorable outcome.

3)…...

IC 18-4003 lays out the elements needed for a first-degree murder conviction, and many of those do not require aforethought. Further, IC 18-4001 does not state the definition is for first degree murder only, and thus, simply adds to the ambiguity of the law.
Still another change may need to be a redefining of phrase "an abandoned and malignant heart" in IC 18-4002. This phrase is not legally clear, and as a result, leads to confusion when attempting to interpret the meaning of the statute in first degree murder cases. This phrase, taken from common law, must be interpreted as such, according to precedence. In State v. Olin, 111 Idaho 516, 519, 725 P.2d 801, 840 (Ct. App. 1986), the court ruled that common law terminology must be given its common law meaning, and that the intentions of the cluster of ideas surrounding such language must be conveyed. In this…...

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References

American Heritage Dictionary. (2003). Common law. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

American Law Institute. Model Penal Code 210.2(1) (b) Comment, n. 4, 1980.

Blinn, K.W. (1950). First degree murder: a workable definition. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 40(6): 729-735.

Greenhoot, a.A. (1912). Supreme Court of Idaho cases. In Pacific States Reports (pp. 297-345).

Still, the ethical issue remains, as historical examples, divine command theory, and natural law theory, while all agreeing that murder is necessary in some circumstances, do not agree on which circumstances. Thus, solving this ethical dilemma will require conversation and understanding from those who view different circumstances as appropriate for murder. From individual attention to religious understanding, the law must understand the seriousness of this ethical question when attempting to govern regarding it.
eferences

Austin, M.W. (2006). Divine Command Theory. etrieved April 9, 2009, from the

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web Site: http://www.iep.utm.edu/d/divine-c.htm

Docker, C. (2003). Did you Know. etrieved April 9, 2009, from Fast Access. Web Site:

http://www.euthanasia.cc/stats.htm

Himma, E. (2009). Natural Law. etrieved April 9, 2009, from the Internet

Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web Site: http://www.iep.utm.edu/n/natlaw.htm

Holy Bible: New International Version: (1973). Colorado Springs: International Bible

Society.

"The Great Euthanasia Debate" (2009, April 2). etrieved April 9, 2009, from the

Economist. Web Site: http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13403910

Silverman, a. (2009, Jan. 4). Plot…...

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References

Austin, M.W. (2006). Divine Command Theory. Retrieved April 9, 2009, from the

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web Site:  http://www.iep.utm.edu/d/divine-c.htm 

Docker, C. (2003). Did you Know. Retrieved April 9, 2009, from Fast Access. Web Site:

http://www.euthanasia.cc/stats.htm

Family members who cannot find meaning in their loss suffer greater levels of distress. This stress may take the form of physiological alertness, anxiety, panic attacks, headaches, somatic complaints, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating (Miller, 2009). Survivors often exhibit prolonged feelings of guilt and anger. Family members regularly blame themselves for the death of the victim, creating pseudo-explanations in order to give meaning to this unexplainable trauma (Miller, 2009). Self-directed anger enables the survivor to exert some control over the situation, however, oftentimes this anger is directed outwardly at the police, the justice system, and society in general (Miller, 2009).

External factors also play a significant role in the life of the survivor. Since a murder is considered a violation against the state, victim's families can be left feeling as if the needs of the justice system take priority over the needs of the family and can leave them feeling ignored…...

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References

Armour, M. (2002). Journey of family members of homicide victims: A qualitative study of their posthomicide experience. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72(3), 372-382.

Horne, C. (2003). Families of homicide victims: Service utilization patterns of extra- and intrafamilial homicide survivors. Journal of Family Violence, 18(2), 75-82.

Miller, L. (2009). Family survivors on homicide: II. Practical therapeutic strategies. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 37(2), 85-98.

Miller, L. (2008). Death notification for families of homicide victims: Healing dimensions of a complex process. Omega, 57(4), 367-380.

e., after Kohn's death). In a way, Stanislawski is asking the reader to completely forget about contemporaneous elements of the case.
There was one man who was accused, went to trial and was convicted of Kohn's murder, but this was appealed and overturned. After the reversal of the conviction, the supreme court examined it again and the judgment was upheld. One of Stanislawski's arguments is that the accused was Orthodox and it was Orthodox writers and publishers who later tried to cover up the whole event, calling it merely a death -- not a murder. Stanislawski specifically points his finger at the publishing house Mosad HaRav Kook (p. 77), stating that they purposefully got it wrong.

Stanislawski's cover up story is great as it creates a lot of excitement and conspiracy, which is always fun to read, but the his story seems, for the most part, to be completely unsupported by the…...

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Works Cited

Stanislawski, Michael. A Murder in Lemberg: Politics, Religion, and Violence in Modern Jewish

History. Princeton University Press, 2007.

" (Lebsock 80).
This ordering of events makes more sense, but the evident fluctuations from one moment to the next make the validity of his testimony highly suspect. If these events had actually transpired, Marable should have no trouble remembering when and where Mary Barnes communicated with him. Apparently, this account takes into consideration Edward Pollard's testimony that Mary Barnes soon followed him into the fields.

Later Solomon Marable contends, "Mary Barnes told me on Friday before the murder that she had two women besides herself, and she wanted me to help them. My part was to keep Mrs. Pollard quiet, and Mary Abernathy and Pokey Barnes was to rob the house." (Lebsock 86). This constitutes three separate meeting times between Marable and Mary Barnes which he testifies to in a very short period of time. Rather than making his statements less trustworthy, in the eyes of the public and the prosecution,…...

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Works Cited

Lebsock, Suzanne. A Murder in Virginia: Southern Justice on Trial. New York W.W. Norton, 2003.

Finally, the testing and use of a polygraph examination of Fritz was inexcusable. It was based on the results of this test that the police ultimately decided to arrest Fritz and then they set about building their case. In reality, the results of the polygraph were not definitive and merely indicated that Fritz was being possibly evasive. Under normal circumstances, such results would have not motivated an arrest.
The failure of the prosecution to share vital Brady material with the defense and the trial court's failure to properly rule on the state's failure were a severe violation of the defendants' constitutional rights. The defense in both cases should have been granted, at a minimum, a request for a new trial and the prosecution should have been sanctioned for their failure to share the information with the defense. The forensic evidence as to the hair samples and the palm print should…...

Rasputin reportedly drank enough cyanide-laced wine to have consumed four times the lethal dose, in addition to the cyanide in the pastries.
Moreover, Rasputin was a known drinker and both his autopsy and a report by his door lady confirm that he had been drinking heavily the night of his murder. "Alcohol, due to its acidity, speeds up the affect of potassium cyanide poisoning."

While it is possible for glucose or carbohydrate consumption to prevent cyanide poisoning, it is unlikely that Rasputin would have consumed sufficient amounts of either to counteract the amount of cyanide that Purishkevich and Yusopov suggest the consumed.

There are also inconsistencies between the stories that Purishkevich and Yusopov tell about Yusopov encountering a still-alive Rasputin in the basement. However, those inconsistencies are not conclusive, as one might expect confusion from someone who has just discovered that the man they murdered is actually alive. What are less easy…...

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Bibliography

Cash, Carolyn. 2009. Why Felix Youssoupov killed Rasputin: Motives for Murder of Russian

Holy Man. Vancouver: Suite 101. Online. Available from Internet, http://russian

-ukrainian-belarus-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/why_felix_

youssoupov_killed_rasputin, accessed 27 April, 2009.

Robinson had apparently embezzled some money from Helen which she knew nothing of for some time. However once she learned of the truth, she decided to end her relationship with him which many believe enraged Robinson to the point that she killed her.
ohen's main thesis revolves around the personality and career success of Helen who was quite unlike others in her profession for she was very well read and could assert herself confidently in various situations. ohen appears to like Helen despite her career choice as she saw her as a financially independent woman who chose not to sell herself short by charging quite a hefty sum for her services. Helen was also very eloquent as her letters to her customers reveal. To one potential client, she wrote: "You do not know what a pleasure your acquaintance is to me . . . A single oasis in the vast…...

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Cohen's main thesis revolves around the personality and career success of Helen who was quite unlike others in her profession for she was very well read and could assert herself confidently in various situations. Cohen appears to like Helen despite her career choice as she saw her as a financially independent woman who chose not to sell herself short by charging quite a hefty sum for her services. Helen was also very eloquent as her letters to her customers reveal. To one potential client, she wrote: "You do not know what a pleasure your acquaintance is to me . . . A single oasis in the vast desert of wretchedness, shame, guilt, blighted prospects and perverted powers which I am compelled to call my life." This was her way of generating adequate interest to make the final purpose clear: "Come and see me as soon as you can; I shall expect you every evening."

Helen's manipulative ways and her seduction skills met their match in a young man, Robinson who had come to New York to work as a clerk. Richard Robinson came from a rather affluent family of Connecticut. His highly passionate though tempestuous affair with Helen was an indication of how things would end between them. After months of exchanging love letters and spending time together, Helen was found dead on a cold day in 1836. Richard Robinson was an immediate suspect.

Her grisly murder on a cold day in 1836 has been attributed to many things including her interest in literature. One pamphleteer believed that her literary pursuits killed her for nothing good comes from reading books especially novels. As bizarre as this may sound, the fact remains that Helen's murder attracted much wider media attention than such a murder would otherwise warrant. This was precisely because Helen was not an ordinary woman. She believed in herself and in her skills in the profession she had chosen for herself. She chose to see only a certain number of clients in a week which showed that quality more than quantity was her preference. She would also charge much more than others believing she was worth the higher rate. Helen was attractive and very eloquent, something that had given her an edge over others. Her murder came as a shock to many but more importantly, it generated wide interest from all circles because suddenly there was a prostitute who had good connections and who had read Sir Walter Scott. That was enough to set her apart from many others and hence her case drew attention from a variety of social circles.

The second case, in which the individual received a verdict of reckless manslaughter, was less clear, but it was determined by the court upon appeal that the crime was not planned or premeditated, and that it was carried out due to the upset that the individual felt at the time. In other words, it was a crime of passion and a reasonable person could have been provoked to the point of taking someone else's life under those same circumstances.
The culpability and conduct elements of the two crimes differ greatly, and that is much of the reason that the verdicts for the two individuals were quite different. Of course, the first case also has the added information that more than one person was killed. While this is important and does figure into the case, it is not the central point in why the first individual received a verdict of purposeful…...

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Bibliography

2C: 11-3. Subtitle 2. Definition of specific offenses. Part 1. Offenses involving danger to the person. Chapter 11. Criminal homicide.

2C: 11-4. Subtitle 2. Definition of specific offenses. Part 1. Offenses involving danger to the person. Chapter 11. Criminal homicide.

State of NJ vs. List, 270 N.J. Super 169.

State of NJ v. Mauricio, 117 N.J. 402.

The fact that they planned and were able to commit the murder is a sign that this person is not well balanced. Instead, they are more than likely someone who is mentally disturbed enough by not thinking about how to conduct these activities on a regular basis. (Blinn, 1950, pp. 729 -- 735)
This is when the person could be considered to be a serial killer or mass murder. The reason why, is because these individuals are planning out in advance how they will conduct first degree murder. The only difference is the number of people that are being killed. As a result, anyone who is involved in these kinds of activities does not have a balanced mind, spirit of physical body. (Blinn, 1950, pp. 729 -- 735)

These elements are showing how all members of the community must help to be able to support effective personal development. This is because…...

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References

Blinn, K. (1950). First Degree Murder. Journal of Criminal Law 40 (6), 729 -- 735.

John Draper holds a different perspective regarding Iago, which aligns him very closely with Othello in terns of honor. He contends that "a careful survey of the plot as it unfolds shows Iago as an opportunist who cleverly grasps occasion" (Draper 726). He believes that Iago and Othello are similar in that they are both noble soldiers. He goes on to defend Iago, noting that he is "less culpable than the king in Hamlet... Iago has no inherent wickedness like that of Richard III" (Draper 736). Draper maintains that Shakespeare made Iago "more realistic than the original; and his motives and character are indeed human, all too human" (736). Iago is "honest as this world goes caught in the fell grip of circumstance... attempting... To vindicate his honor" (736). This is an interesting point-of-view and many would choose to debate it because, in the end, the whole reason behind Iago's…...

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Works Cited

John Arthos. "The Fall of Othello." Shakespeare Quarterly. 9:2. 1958. JSTOR Resource Database. Information Retrieved December 08, 2008.  http://www.jstor.org 

Ralph Berry. "Pattern in Othello." Shakespeare Quarterly. 23:1. 1972. JSTOR Resource Database. Information Retrieved December 08, 2008.

We are starting with the assumption that the two movies in your assignment are A Twist of Faith and Never Heard.  We cannot locate a movie called Never Hear, but Never Heard is a popular movie for pastoral or theological classes because it explores the role that faith plays in redemption set against the backdrop of some pretty significant criminal activity.  We are proceeding as if that is the movie being discussed.

Both of the movies focus on crimes, specifically on the crime of murder.  In one movie, the main character is accused of murder, though he claims....

While psychology refers to the study of the mind, clinical psychology specifically refers to that branch of the discipline that focuses on using psychology to create positive change, whether in individual lives or in the community as a whole.  There is a wide variety of topics you could approach in your thesis, depending on what topic interests you the most.  

Topic Ideas

1. The diagnosis of mental disorders in children: how young is too young to diagnose and does a diagnosis turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy for young children?
2. Diagnosing the non-patient: with many in the mental health fields....

Serial killers are a topic that has fascinated people, beginning before the term was even coined.  They have been romanticized in pop culture, but their crimes seem to be rooted in a personality disorder that keeps them from empathizing with others.  They kill in a variety of ways and, when left unchecked, the number of people that they can kill can get into the 100s. 

Some subtopics to consider when writing about serial killers for your essay topic are:

1. The role of Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) in serial murders.
2. Psychopath or sociopath?  Where on the spectrum of personality....

Criminal investigation is a broad field of study that covers any and all of the elements that go into solving a crime and building a legal case against the suspects.  Considered one of the applied sciences, there are actually several career paths for the criminal investigator.  Likewise, people from different disciplines may find themselves doing criminal investigative work.  For example, as science has evolved, the role of geneticists and genetic genealogists in criminal investigation and forensic science has really explored. 

When writing your paper, you have two distinct approaches you can take.  You can write a....