DNA Exonerations: John Kogut

The Path To Exoneration: John Kogut

The Path to Conviction

When 16-year-old Teresa Fusco left work at 9:45 PM on November 10, 1984 she became one among several young girls reported missing over the past several years [Centurion Ministries, 2013; Innocence Project, n.d.(a)]. In contrast to her predecessors, however, her body was discovered a month later in a wooded area several blocks from the roller rink where she worked. According to the autopsy, Teresa had been raped and murdered. Semen and sperm were collected from her body and the marks on her neck revealed that she had been strangled with a rope or cord. Also found at the scene were her jewelry and the murder weapon. The coroner's office, however, failed to conduct a blood type analysis on the semen.

The Nassau County police were under tremendous pressure to solve these disappearances, especially Teresa's rape and…

References

Centurion Ministries (2013). Dennis Halstead, John Kogut, & John Restivo, Long Island, NY. CenturionMinistries.org. Retrieved 6 Oct. 2013 from http://www.centurionministries.org/cases/dennis-halstead-john-kogut-and-john-restivo/.

Drumm, David. (2013, May 11). Why the FBI doesn't record interrogations. JonathanTurley.org [blog]. Retrieved 7 Oct. 2013 from  http://jonathanturley.org/2013/05/11/why-the-fbi-doesnt-record-interrogations/ .

Editors. (2013, Jan. 1). America's retreat from the death penalty. New York Times, A18. Retrieved 7 Oct. 2013 from  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/15/maryland-death-penalty/1989977/ .

Gootman, Elissa. (2003, Jun. 12). DNA evidence frees 3 men in 1984 murder of L.I. girl. New York Times, B1, B5. Retrieved 7 Oct. 2013 from  http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/nyregion/dna-evidence-frees-3-men-in-1984-murder-of-li-girl.html .

While black men can be incredibly diverse-looking, she may focus on those features that tend to differentiate them from white men. This is a risk in any cross-racial identification, where someone may notice differences from their own ethnic group, but fail to look beyond those features that stand out as "other" in his mind, which makes any person in that racial group a possible suspect.

In fact, it is impossible to overplay the role that misidentification has played in so many wrongful convictions. It is difficult for many people to realize that DNA evidence did not play a role in older convictions; the technology simply was not available. Furthermore, when DNA evidence first became available, it was a new technology that was not fully understood by all of the actors in the criminal justice system. In those early times, there were investigators, prosecutors, and fact finders who would believe a…

References

Innocence Project. (2011, October 21). New Orleans man wrongfully incarcerated for 30 years exonerated of rape that new DNA evidence proves he didn't commit. Retrieved from  http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/New_Orleans_Man_Wrongly_Incarcerated_for_30_Years_Exonerated_of_Rape_that_New_DNA_Evidence_Proves_He_Didnt_Commit.php

Wrongful Conviction of Steven Avery

Steven Avery was arrested in 1985 for the rape of Penny Beernsten, even though his family testified as to his whereabouts at the exact moment the crime took place. 18 years later, Avery was exonerated via DNA evidence, in which a hair from the crime scene was matched to Gregory Allen (who was actually suspected of committing the crime at the time but whom law enforcement agents neglected to pursue because of an apparent vendetta they had against Avery and their desire to see him behind bars). Manitowoc County District Attorney Denis Vogel was particularly complicit in this wrongful conviction (Griesbach, 2011; Messer, 2016).

Avery and his family had gotten under the skin of authorities in their neighborhood. Avery himself had a record of reckless and mildly deviant behavior. However, his big mistake was offending his cousin, who also happened to be the wife of…

References

Griesbach, M. (2011). The wronged guy. Isthmus. Retrieved from  http://isthmus.com/news/news/a-new-book-revisits-steven-averys-conviction-for-a-crime-he-didnt-commit/ 

Messer, L. (2016). 5 Things to Know about Steven Avery from 'Making a Murderer'.

ABCNews. Retrieved from  http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/things-steven-avery-making-murderer/story?id=36090236 

Ricciardi, L., Demos, M. (2015). Making a Murderer. Netflix.

Criminal Justice System

Challenges of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) to law enforcement

Law enforcement agencies view the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) the most harmful street gang in the U.S. The aggressive nature of MS-13 members have led to a variety of killings and terrible beatings. Various trials held in New York and Maryland have led to significant jail terms even extending to life imprisonment for MS-13 members. The FBI was first attracted by violence, but proof of the gang's escalating level of organization has drawn public attention. Organization is an indicator of a future where MS-13 is will be a transnational network of criminals extending from the United States to suburban communities in a multitude of U.S. towns (Mandel, 2013).

Despite functions of violence, it is worrying to note that MS-13 movement is improving its structure and organization. Many major security experts are comparing it to the illegal groups of the 50s…

References

Erbschloe, M. (2001). Information Warfare How To Survive Cyber Attacks. New York: Osborne/McGraw-Hill.

Mandel, R. (2013). Global Security Upheaval Armed Nonstate Groups Usurping State Stability Functions. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Scheck, B. (2010). 250 Exonerated, Too Many Wrongfully Convicted: An Innocence Project Report On The First 250 DNA Exonerations In The U.S. New York: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University.

Siegel, L., & Senna, J. (2009). Essentials of Criminal Justice (6th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Post response questions, requires a position support position evidence assigned readings. Please correct sources APA. Each question 1.5 pages length. The reading attached. 1. Critics death penalty contend evidence wrongful conviction offenders sentenced death powerful evidence favor abolishing death penalty

One of the foundational principles of the American system of justice is that it is better to let a guilty man go free than it is to condemn an innocent man as guilty. The existence of the death penalty seems to belie this principle. Once someone has been put to death, there is no way to reconsider the verdict. No matter how heinous the crimes of the clearly guilty people put to death, there also have been innocent persons convicted of capital crimes. Despite all of the controls put into place within the American justice system, mistakes have been made in the past and fortunately many of these defendants were…

Corrections/Police - Criminal Justice

Innocents Project Exoneration

On November 19, 1991, 14-year-old Cateresa Matthews left her great-grandmother's house in Dixmoor, Illinois. She was not seen again until December 8, 1991, when her body was found on a well-worn path running along I-57 as it passes through Dixmoor. "She had been shot in the mouth at close range with a .25 caliber pistol. She was also an apparent victim of sexual assault, as her body was naked from the waist down. A pair of white panties was found around her right ankle, and her jeans were draped across her chest. Seminal fluid was recovered from the vaginal and rectal swab of the victim" (obert Taylor, n.d).

The Investigation

The police made no arrests and apparently had no leads in the case for over ten months, until October 20, 1992. On that date, a police report specified that Keno Barnes, 15, supposedly…

References

Exonerated, freed and facing a new life. (2011). Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-25/news/ct-met-dna-freedom-

20111127_1_stateville-correctional-center-prison-new-life

Law School's Exoneration Project helps free wrongly convicted man. (2011). Retrieved from  http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2011/11/04/law-school039s-exoneration-project-helps-free-wrongly-convicted-man 

Robert Taylor. (n.d). Retrieved from  http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Robert_Taylor.php

economic compensation enough for wrongfully convicted inmates?

The pronouncement of a crime charge against a person marks the begging of a legal battle for freedom of that individual. When the accused stand in court, their sole hope, is to have a plea of not guilty, which convinces the judges to let them free? At the end of any hearing, the prosecutors present their submissions, from which the court makes the final judgment. The expectations are either, a declaration of innocence or guilt. The incarnated have a chance to apply an appeal against the case progressively, until the highest order of court authority (Butler 11). Those declared innocent need and deserve equal treatment as the other free people. This necessitates a call for compensation of the released persons.

The cases of wrongfully convicted inmates

Statistics indicate that, every year, the American prisons releases approximately 700,000 men and women from their custody.…

References

Petersilia, Joan. When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry. Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2009. Internet resource.

Gould, Jon B. The Innocence Commission: Preventing Wrongful Convictions and Restoring the Criminal Justice System. New York: New York University Press, 2008. Internet resource.

Schehr, Robert Carl. "The criminal cases review commission as a state strategic selection mechanism." The American Criminal Law Review 42.4 (2005): 1289-

'" (Aspen, 1997, p.95).

The primary step is to change the mindset of lawyers. They have to stop believing that they run the show and instead focus them as members of a team along with the judge to ensure that the legal system works for the innocent people in the right direction. Its important that every lawyer strikes a balance between his or her obligations to the clients and the justice system.

As a supplement, more stringent laws should be implemented and the actions of the prosecution should come under closer scrutiny to ensure that they will abide by the ethics and professional code of conduct as laid down by the lawmakers.

Plan for administrators

"Few problems can pose a greater threat to free, democratic societies than that of wrongful conviction -- the conviction of an innocent person. Yet relatively little attention has been paid to this problem, perhaps because…

References

Hon. Aspen, Marvin. (July 1997). Let Us Be Officers of the Court. ABA Journal.

Huff, Ronald; Rattner, Arye; Sagarin, Edward; MacNara, Donal. (October 1986). Guilty Until Proved Innocent: Wrongful Conviction and Public Policy. Crime Delinquency. 32 (4). 518-544.

BERGER v. UNITED STATES, 295 U.S. 78 (1935).

Miller v. Pate, 386 U.S. 1 (1967)

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter has become a symbol, both negative and positive, for American's judicial system.

Rubin carter's case has had a profound impact on accused and convicted criminals today. The advent of DNA technology has helped to reduce the number of wrongful convictions, and has also been instrumental in exonerating a number of convicted prisoners. hile DNA technology has had an important impact on the criminal justice system, experts argue that the number of wrongful convictions is an increasing problem in the United States. One website lists 22 potential wrongful convictions on Texas' death row alone. Racism played an important role in Carter's original conviction, and today allegations of racism continue to plague the criminal justice system. The legal damage to the right of habeas corpus by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 has reduced the ability of prisoners to demand the right to be brought before…

Works Cited

Bos, Carole. RUBIN "HURRICANE" CARTER. Law Buzz. 23 March 2004. http://manhat1.spfldcol.edu/manhat2-bin/link_visit?crs=0340/ENGL11422&id=byihmhzoBDvJsR&loc=584&url=  http://www.lawbuzz.com/justice/hurricane/hurricane.htm 

Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CUADP). 22 March 2004. http://manhat1.spfldcol.edu/manhat2-bin/link_visit?crs=0340/ENGL11422&id=byihmhzoBDvJsR&loc=6132&url=  http://www.cuadp.org/pris/pot.html 

Hurricane. 2000. Starring: Denzel Washington, Vicellous Reon Shannon, and Deborah Kara Unger. Director Norman Jewison.

Roberts, Paul Craig. From Blackstone to Bentham: Why Wrongful Conviction Is On The Rise. 22 March 2004. http://manhat1.spfldcol.edu/manhat2-bin/link_visit?crs=0340/ENGL11422&id=byihmhzoBDvJsR&loc=6424&url=  http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts4.html

Criminology-Review

Criminal Justice Research Review

Ricciardelli, R., Bell, J., & Clow, K. (2009). Student attitudes toward wrongful conviction, Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 51(3), 411-427.

There has been considerable research addressing the underlying factors regarding wrongful conviction; however, minimal research has been completed that investigates attitudes toward wrongful conviction. First and third year Canadian undergraduate students in criminal and non-criminal justice majors were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward various facets of wrongful conviction, the need to educate criminal justice personnel regarding contributing factors to wrongful conviction, the Blackstone ratio ("better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer), and the question as to whether wrongful conviction causes individuals to lose faith in the criminal justice system.

The problem was sufficiently narrowed down into a researchable problem, and is certainly formidable enough to warrant formal research efforts. The authors complete a significant comparison to the most…

Hickle, K., & Roe-Sepowitz, D. (2010). Female juvenile arsonists: An exploratory look at characteristics and solo and group arson offences, Legal and Criminological Psychology, 15, 385-399.

The purpose of the study was to examine a sample of 114 female juveniles charged with arson in a large juvenile justice system, as there is limited descriptive literature about female juvenile arsonists. The methodology included looking into familial characteristics, abuse, neglect, school related issues, mental health, substance abuse, and crime characteristics. Individual and group offenders were explored in depth, and were followed over a five-year period of time.

The literature review was very detailed and provided comparative as well as empirical information that highlighted the current gap that this study was designed to address. T test and chi square tests were used to establish whether the 86 that were excluded from the study demonstrated any significant differences than those who participated in the study. The 114 females included represented 22 counties in the state of Florida. The supervision Risk Classification Instrument was completed by juvenile probation officers within 6 hours of custody. This is a standard tool used for all juvenile offenders. It was difficult to discern from the study whether or not the participants assented to participation in the study, or whether it was required. The study did indicate that permission for the study was granted by the Florida Juvenile Justice Review board. The research design is appropriate to address the research problem; and issues of internal and external validity are adequately addressed. Data collection instruments are adequately described and the statistical tests are correct for answering the questions posited by the hypothesis.

Eye Witness Memory and Identification

In the contemporary legal environment, an eyewitness plays a critical role in the legal system. A correct eyewitness identification has helped in advancing an investigation, and can be used to solve a complex case. Despite the importance of eyewitness identification in a legal system, eyewitness misidentification is being identified as the contributing factor to wrongful convictions based on the DNA testing. Typically, the eyewitness misidentification leads to 70% of wrongful convictions based on the DNA evidence in the United States. In cases after cases, it has been proven by the DNA that eyewitnesses are mostly inaccurate. For example, a review of 311 cases reveals that 73% of the convictions have been due to the eyewitness errors leading to wrongful convictions. Evidence have also revealed that eyewitness identifications can sway strong alibis, juries and police. Unfortunately, the memory of some eyewitnesses is either unable to recall…

Reference

Arkowitz, H. & Lilienfeld, S.O. (2010). Why Science Tells Us Not to Rely on Eyewitness Accounts. Scientific America Mind.

Green, M. (2013). Eye Witness Memory is Unreliable. Visual Expert.

Hope, L., & Sauer, J.D. (2014). Eyewitness memory and mistaken identifications In book: Investigative Interviewing: The Essentials, Carswell: M. St.-Yves.

Malpass, R.S. & Topp, L.D. (2005) Eye Witness Memory and Identification. The Defender

Criminal Justice

Gaetz, S. (July 2004). Safe streets for whom? Homeless youth, social exclusion, and criminal victimization. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice.

This journal article reports the researcher's survey findings regarding the prevalence of victimization among street youths compared to domiciled youths. Gaetz defines the street youth operatively as "people up to the age of 24 who are 'absolutely periodically, or temporarily without shelter, as well as those who are at substantial risk of being in the street in the immediate future" (433). Survey findings show that just as expected, victimization mostly occur among the street than domiciled youth. Moreover, street youth reporting of criminal victimization is not common among both males and females. 41.7% of the respondents who have been victimized "told a friend" about the incident of victimization, 33.1% "did not tell anyone," and a far 17.2% reported the victimization to their partner (boyfriend or girlfriend)…

Felson, R. et. al. (August 2002). Reasons for reporting and not reporting domestic violence to the police. Criminology, Vol. 40, Issue 3.

Felson et. al.'s research utilized the National Crime Victimization Survey as its primary instrument in determining, assessing, and measuring the factors that lead to reporting (or not reporting) incidences of domestic violence. Survey findings show that there are three primary factors that are significantly relevant in inhibiting victims to reporting domestic violence to the police: "the desire for privacy, the desire to protect the offender ... And fear of reprisal."

The NCVS survey findings illustrate how the prevalence and continuous occurrence of abuse and domestic violence, especially among females, is still a social problem that needs unwavering attention by the government and civil society. New findings such as hesitance of male victims to report on their victimization reflect the changing nature of domestic violence in American society. In the same way that females need protection through the dissemination of proper and useful information about domestic violence, males are also in need of protection as well. Another important implication of the study is the changing nature of the respondents' (victims) concept of domestic violence, which varies significantly across gender.

eye witness testimony and the use of lineups have long been considered reliable mainstays of prosecutorial evidence, misidentification has been the "greatest contributing factor to wrongful convictions," according to the Innocence Project. As many as one in every four eyewitness identifications prove to be incorrect (California Innocence Project, 2015). The Innocence Project therefore works in part to train law enforcement departments to develop eyewitness interrogation procedures that eliminate bias and prevent misidentification of suspects.

The case of onald Cotton highlighted some of the specific problems with witness identification through the use of police lineups. Inadvertent use of pressure and subtle verbal or nonverbal cues may cause eyewitnesses to misidentify a suspect, especially when the law enforcement officers administering the lineup knows who their suspect was in the case. The victim of the crime might be misled by officer support for their decisions. Stress, trauma, and general anxiety may also be…

References

California Innocence Project (2015). Eyewitness identification. Retrieved online:  http://californiainnocenceproject.org/issues-we-face/eyewitness-identification /

Innocence Project (n.d.). Eyewitness misidentification. Retrieved online:  http://www.innocenceproject.org/causes-wrongful-conviction/eyewitness-misidentification

One of the most brutal crimes in North Carolina occurred in 1984 when a young white newspaper reporter, Deborah Sykes, was assaulted, raped, sodomized, and stabbed to death a few blocks from her workplace in Winston-Salem (Stern & Sundberg, 2006). Darryl Hunt, a 19-year-old black man was charged with this crime despite the absence of any physical evidence linking him to the crime. Hunt’s charges were largely based on an eyewitness’ identification that was made by a former member of Klu Klux Klan. He was later convicted of the crime and sentenced to life imprisonment by a jury of 11 whites and one black. However, in 1994, DNA testing showed that Hunt did not rape the victim, which generated significant doubts on his involvement in the murder of Deborah Sykes. Despite these findings, Hunt stayed behind bars for another decade for a crime he did not commit before his release…

Discussion 1
Considered policies and programs
1. Criminal Justice system: Impact caused by a lengthy criminal justice system on crime suspects
2. Border Control Program: Significance of enhanced boarder control in preventing crime, drug trafficking and counterfeit goods
3. Innocence Program-Suspect Conviction processes: Consequences of wrongful conviction of inmates and measure needed to alleviate wrongful convictions

Impact of relevant political and ethical issues associated with the program evaluation
The criminal justice system has many good but also negative consequences. To the extent that there still are wrongful convictions and the policy makers may have to reevaluate the program with an objective of rethinking the loopholes. Zalman (2006) describes the importance of developing what he terms as an innocence movement. The objective is to litigate matters in the best interest of likely exonerates and promote a research and policy agenda that takes care of innocent convicts. Zalman (2006) proposes a research…

Murder cannot be a decried and yet practiced by the same entity without being hypocritical. Innumerable individuals on death row have been wrongfully convicted due to any number of reasons. The appeals of death row inmates sometimes never get heard. Those inmates who cannot afford to fight a good appeal are the worse off of all. Because DNA testing and more traditional forms of evidence can be used to reverse the death penalty, caution should be used when sentencing a citizen to death. Death is irreversible; life in prison is not. The families of the wrongfully convicted deserve such consideration.

Moreover, the death penalty is meted out unjustly to a greater number of poor, minority, and disabled population. Capital punishment reveals biases and flaws in the American judicial system. The death penalty is also extremely costly even though it would seem that killing a convict costs less than feeding one.…

Works Cited

ACLU. "Race and the Death Penalty." 2003. Retrieved Feb 21, 2008 at  http://www.aclu.org/capital/unequal/10389pub20030226.html 

Amnesty International. "Cost of the Death Penalty." Retrieved Feb 21, 2008 at  http://www.amnestyusa.org/Fact_Sheets/Cost_of_the_Death_Penalty/page.do?id=1101084&n1=3&n2=28&n3=99 

Bonner, Raymond and Fessenden, Ford. "States With No Death Penalty Share Lower Homicide Rates." The New York Times. 22 Sept 2000. Retrieved Feb 21, 2008 at http://www.truthinjustice.org/922death.htm

Death Penalty Focus. "Cost Studies." Retrieved Feb 21, 2008 at  http://www.deathpenalty.org/index.php?pid=cost

Death Penalty

Viewpoint Summary

Convicted wrongfully for the murder of a man by the name Delbert Baker, Juan Roberto Melendez-Colon spent more than seventeen years on death row awaiting his execution. His eventual release came after Mr. Baker's real killer confessed to the said murder. Now a free man, Melendez-Colon adds his voice to the call for the abolition of the death penalty. In his opinion, wrongful conviction cases cannot be resolved using DNA testing. In response to proponents of the death penalty who are somehow convinced that DNA testing could easily resolve persistent cases of wrongful conviction, Melendez-Colon points out that DNA "is quite limited because it is not present in the great majority of murder cases." To back up his assertion, Melendez-Colon observes that since 1973, only 17 of the 139 death row exonerations involved DNA. In his opinion, there is a huge amount of money that the…

Like Melendez-Colon, Philip Brasfield and Carl M. Cannon are also of the opinion that DNA testing cannot help resolve the inherent shortcomings of the capital punishment system. According to Brasfield, although post-conviction DNA testing has been of great significance in helping expose the fallibility of the said system, "DNA tests are useless in cases where no evidence is found at the crime scene." This statement effectively reinforces Cannon's assertion that DNA is largely irrelevant in a significant number of other cases including but not limited to non-rape cases. For this and several other reasons, the authors appear convinced that the execution of innocents cannot necessarily be prevented through the utilization of DNA evidence. In the opinion of both authors, the death penalty should be abolished so as to bring to an end the killing of innocents in the name of justice.

My Opinion on the Topic

It is highly likely that a significant number of people have been wrongfully convicted and subsequently executed since the 1976 reinstatement of the death penalty in the U.S. In my opinion, embracing the utilization of DNA testing (both pre and post-conviction) could help solve some of our capital justice system's fundamental flaws. Given that the said testing has in the past helped exonerate quite a number of death row convicts, its widespread utilization could help solve many more innocent lives. With that in mind, the federal government needs to further increase funding to programs that seek to enhance both the availability and quality of DNA testing. That way, we do not necessarily have to abolish the death penalty.

Therefore, even staunch proponents of capital punishment share the concern that it be (1) imposed only where extreme punishment is appropriate to the nature of the crime, and (2) applied in a manner that does not cause unnecessary pain or prolonged suffering. Assuming those elements are satisfied, capital punishment is warranted in certain situations.

The prospect of conviction in error is one of the strongest positions against capital punishment, precisely because the concept of valuing the preservation of the freedom of the innocent from wrongful conviction over the value of ensuring punishment for the guilty is fundamental to American justice. By extension, one could argue convincingly that protection against wrongful execution is even more important than wrongful criminal conviction in general. However, it is possible to establish more stringent standards of proof, judicial review, and myriad other conceivable procedural safeguards short of abolishing capital punishment altogether. Therefore, that approach would…

References

Dershowitz, Alan, M. (2002) Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age. New York: Little Brown & Co.

Friedman, Laurence, M. (2005) a History of American Law. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Hall, Kermit, L. (1992) the Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press.

Nowak, John, E., Rotunda, Ronald, D. (2004) Nowak and Rotunda Hornbook on Constitutional Law, 7th Edition (Hornbook Series). St. Paul, MN: West

She had been struck several times in the head with a Toney Penna golf club -- so ferociously that the club had shattered into multiple pieces -- and then stabbed in the neck with the broken shaft the club's handle and part of the shaft had vanished. (Kennedy Jr., 2003, Martha Moxley section, ¶ 1)

From evidence retrieved from the autopsy, police determined Moxley's murder occurred at approximately10:00 P.M..

On July 10, 1998, 23 years after Moxley's murder, "Connecticut authorities convened a one-man grand jury consisting of Judge George Thim. The state's attorney Jonathan Benedict took over the Moxley case and began a multimillion-dollar effort to convict Michael Skakel" (Kennedy Jr., 2003, Mark Fuhrman section, ¶ 5). Until this time, Greenwich police and state investigators considered Ken Littleton as the primary suspect for the murder of Moxley (Fuhrman, cited in Kennedy Jr., Mark Fuhrman section, ¶ 7). According to prosecutors'…

References

Caldwell, Lori. (2004, June 8). Post-Tribune. Gun missing as evidence, so Gary man acquitted. Post-Tribune (in). Retrieved November 20, 2008 from HighBeam Research database.

Givens, Ann. (2006). Evidence bungled?: Blood work in DWI death trial might have been mishandled, according to testimony of troopers, others. Newsday (Melville, NY). McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Retrieved November 20, 2008 from HighBeam Research database.

Caldwell, Lori. (2004, June 8). Post-Tribune. "Gun missing as evidence, so Gary man acquitted." Post-Tribune (in). 2004. Retrieved November 20, 2008 from HighBeam Research: www.highbeam.com/doc/1N11032253A4EBD8A1C.html

Complete coverage: Limo crash. (2008). Retrieved November 20, 2008 at  http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-licrashsg,0,390101.storygallery?coll=ny-linews-headlines

This creates a conflict that is not easily resolved.

In conclusion, it is unlikely that the capital punishment debate in the United States will resolve itself soon. Although the public tends towards opposing it, there is a significant proportion of citizens still supporting it. Furthermore, judicial processes are slow and difficult to change, further complicating the matter. Nonetheless, the best alternative so far suggested by researchers is life without parole. This is a very severe punishment, imposing lifelong suffering and deprivation for the convicted. This is a viable alternative for the death penalty, as it does in effect deprive the convicted of life. It also addresses the main concern of capital punishment -- the irreversible execution of the innocent.

ibliography

"A Matter Of Life And Death: The Effect Of Life- Without-Parole Statutes On Capital Punishment." Harvard Law Review 119.6 (Apr. 2006): 1838-1854. Academic Search Premier. ESCO. ESCO U. Of MD…

Bibliography

"A Matter Of Life And Death: The Effect Of Life- Without-Parole Statutes On Capital Punishment." Harvard Law Review 119.6 (Apr. 2006): 1838-1854. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. EBSCO U. Of MD U. Coll. Info. And Lib. Services. 12 May 2009 .

Cholbi, M. "Race, Capital Punishment, and the Cost of Murder." Philosophical Studies 127.2 (15 Jan. 2006): 255-282. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of MD U. Coll. Info. And Lib. Services. 14 May 2009 .

Dieter, Richard C. "A Crisis of Confidence: Americans' Doubt About the Death Penalty" A death Penalty Information Center Report, June 2007. http://uspolitics.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=uspolitics&cdn=newsissues&tm=49&gps=303_96_988_609&f=10&tt=15&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/CoC.pdf

Johnson, Robert & McGunigall-Smith, Sandra. "Life Without Parole, America's Other Death Penalty." The Prison Journal, Vol. 88, No. 2, June 2008.  http://ft.csa.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/ids70/resolver.php?sessid=e1ptn71nrdccnehb6mb103l6r4&server=csaweb112v.csa.com&check=820d391703772b6c5ebf97825cbea5c0&db=sagecrim-set-c&key=0032-8855%2F10.1177_0032885508319256&mode=pdf

Threat or perception of threat is best described by protection motivation theory:

This theory states that the extent to which people show preventive behavior in light of a threat depends on their protection motivation (. W. ogers, 1975, 1983). According to this theory, the level of protection motivation depends on the seriousness of the threat, the probability that the threat will manifest itself, the judged efficacy of the recommended behavior (called response or outcome efficacy), and the self-efficacy expectation relating to that behavior. (Wiegman & Gutteling, 1995, p. 235)

In a practical sense what this theory says about the perceived threat is that as incidences of observation occur in the lives of individuals, be they real or imagined they will likely become more protective and therefore attempt to engage in avoidance of behaviors that have been identified with the production of environmental threat. By doing so this the individual, and…

References

Agnew, R. (1985). A Revised Strain Theory of Delinquency. Social Forces, 64(1), 151-167.

Lesko, Wayne a (2006). Readings in Social Psychology (6th ed).

New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Lyddon, W.J., & Sherry, a. (2001). Developmental Personality Styles: An Attachment Theory Conceptualization of Personality Disorders. Journal of Counseling and Development, 79(4), 405.

Moreover, it is not necessarily even clear that capital punishment through humane means is worse than life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The many prisoners who choose not to appeal their capital sentences and (especially) those who purposely commit capital offences while incarcerated for the express purpose of qualifying for capital punishment provide evidence that life imprisonment may be comparable in "harshness" to the death penalty.

With respect to the issue of mistaken prosecution, that represents a completely valid concern; to the extent capital punishment is justified in principle, it must be applied through procedures that preclude erroneous sentences. However, that is not a valid objection where evidence of guilt in uncontroverted. Likewise, both the general moral obligation and the U.S. Constitution require that execution of capital sentences not involve unnecessary or prolonged physical suffering. At law, that issue has long-been decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which specifically…

References:

Dershowitz, A. (2002). Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age. New York:

Bantam Books.

Friedman, A. (2005). A History of American Law. New York: Touchstone.

Schmalleger, F. (2008). Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st

In other words, did Grisham begin writing in order to reveal the innate ambiguities and machinations of the legal system - or were there other unrecognized facets and factors at play that led to this turning point in his life?

These questions become even more pronounced when we take into account his expressed views about his own writing. In many interviews, Grisham tends to assert that his literary work is not of a very serious or profound nature and instead of having any deeper social intentions his writings are essentially only meant to entertain. As he states in one interview:

I'm not sure where that line goes between literature and popular fiction...I can assure you I don't take myself serious enough to think I'm writing literary fiction and stuff that's going to be remembered in 50 years. I'm not going to be here in 50 years; I don't care if…

References

Time to Kill" by John Grisham. Retrieved April 27, 2008, at http://www.schoolunity.de/schule/hausaufgaben/preview.php?datensatzkey=004747&query=action%3Dsuchen%26seite%3D2%26suchbegriff%3Dnone%26fach%3D11%26nosave%3D1&session=a78afa575fac023f63f342 eafa0329ab

For Posterity: The John Grisham Papers. Retrieved April 27, 2008, at  http://library.msstate.edu/grisham_room/writer 

Interview: John Grisham, Author. Retrieved April 27, 2008, at  http://www.slushpile.net/index.php/2006/03/01/interview-john-grisham-author/ 

John Grisham has no illusions about Writing. Retrieved April 27, 2008, at  http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/20470275.html/posterity.htm

Criminal Justice System

The civilized society is one that is founded on laws and values where each member of society thereto should abide by and adhere to. Any breach or non-conformance to said statutes and principles will be met with corresponding sanctions and more particularly in cases that are criminal in nature. Thus, the criminal justice system is the law enforcement mechanism that involves the investigation, arrest, prosecution, defense, all the way to sentencing and commitment to the penal institution for those accused of, suspected or charged with criminal offenses. Despite the raison d'etre of the criminal justice system existing to protect the members of society, the system is far from perfect and there are several issues that continually needed to be addressed. These issues vary such as the disparity between the types of defense the rich and the poor accused can avail of where the former can seek the…

Bibliography:

Leipold, A.D. (2010). What's wrong with the criminal justice system and how we can fix it? Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, 7(515): 516-519. Retrieved July 4, 2011 from  http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/osjcl/Articles/Volume7_2/Leipold-FinalPDF.pdf 

West, T. (2009, May 7). Criminal justice system -- A pipeline with many problems. Philadelphia Public Record. Retrieved July 4, 2011 from http://www.dc47afscme.org/local_810/public%20record/90507.htm

However, this difficulty can be avoided by examining van den Haag's distinction between justice and equality. The physical reality of administering justice can never match its theoretical guidelines. Justice is a necessary tool in the aim of producing a functional society. Accordingly, inequities that arise in its practice must be tolerated -- although fought against. State sanctioned killing, on the other hand, is not a logistic necessity for any society. Death is the most severe and permanent form of punishment American society has to offer. Mistakes and breeches of justice cannot be rectified. The most direct, simplest, and easiest way to eliminate the arbitrary factors in a form of punishment not essential to society is to remove that form of punishment. Justice is intrinsically unequal, so assigning it the responsibility of life and death decisions is unwarrantable. Stephen Nathanson writes,

To do away with punishment entirely would be to do…

Bibliography

Baird, Robert M. And Stuart E. Rosenbaum. (1995). Punishment and the Death Penalty. New York: Prometheus.

Bessler, John D. (2003). Kiss of Death: America's Love Affair with the Death Penalty. Boston: Northeastern University.

Kurtis, Bill. (2004). The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice. New York: Public Affairs.

Sarat, Austin. (2001). When the State Kills: Capital Punishment and the American Condition. Princeton: Princeton University.

Capital Punishment in Texas

Khalil, Samy. "Doing the impossible: Appellate reweighing of harm and mitigation in capital cases after Williams v. Taylor, with a special focus on Texas." Texas Law Review, 80(1): November 2001. Proquest Database.

In this article, Khalil examines how state and federal courts have overturned death sentences, from a period covering the reinstitution of the death penalty in 1976 to 2001. The author focuses on sentences that have been upset due to the failure of defense lawyers to both investigate and present mitigating evidence during trial. The author makes a strong argument by referring to Williams v. Taylor, which argues that appellate courts cannot be expected to reweigh harm and mitigation when attorneys present adequate defense representation. In the case of Texas, the author rightly observes that appellate courts would have difficulty reviewing all capital cases arising from Texas, since even fact-finders in Texas are not required…

Owens, Virginia Stem and Owens, David Clinton. Living Next Door to the Death House. New York: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003.

In this book, the authors present the effects of executions in the town of Huntsville, Texas, known as "the death penalty capital of the United States." While other accounts focus on the victims or the offenders, Owens and Owens conduct in-depth interviews with prison guards, wardens, chaplains and other people who are involved in executions, many of which are Huntsville residents. Particularly affecting are the interviews with the technicians who directly administer the lethal injections to the inmates who are executed.

These interviews show that many of the people whose lives are directly affected by the death penalty system have conflicted feelings regarding capital punishment. This honestly written book presents a balanced account regarding a community's views regarding the death penalty. The fact that the community in question is directly involved

False Identification and Lineup Instructions Biased/Unbiased

There are many instances where people have been wrongly accused only because they were falsely identified or either because there was not enough evidence present that would prove them guilty. George Allen Jr. was convicted in 1983 on the charges of capital murder, rape, sodomy and first degree burglary. It has been noted that the reason for his false conviction was false confession, invalid or improper forensic evidence and government misconduct (Innocenceproject.org, 2013). Another case is of Barry Gibbs who was charged with second degree murder in the year 1988. He was wrongly charged due to eyewitness misidentification and government misconduct. It was noted that Barry Gibbs served 17.5 years of jail time before he was exonerated in the year 2005. (Innocenceproject.org, 2013)

These cases therefore give an idea that eyewitness misidentification is a very important cause of wrongful convictions all over the country…

References

Brandon, R. & Davies, C. (1973). Wrongful imprisonment. [Hamden, Conn.]: Archon Books.

Buckhout, R. & Others (1974). Determinants of eyewitness performance on a lineup.. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 4 (3), 191-192.

Christianson, S. (1992). Emotional stress and eyewitness memory: a critical review. Psychological bulletin, 112 (2), 284.

Grether, W.F., & Baker, C.A. (1972). Visual presentation of information. In H.P. Van Cott & R.G. Kinkade (Eds.), Human engineering guide to equipment design (pp. 41-121). Washington, D.C.: American Institutes for Research

omen and the Death Penalty Analysis

An Analysis of the Historical Effect of Gender and Race on the Application of the Death Penalty in the United States

hile the debate over capital punishment continues to rage in the United States, questions of why the death penalty is viewed as ethical by some, while others would view it as unethical become increasingly significant. In addition, there are new controversies concerning the ethical nature of the death penalty in view of new technology such as DNA evidence that has cleared many death row prisoners. The ethical debate over the death penalty has resulted in the practice being abolished in most industrialized nations, and the United States remains the only advanced country in the world with the death penalty (with the exception of Belgium, where the practice is legal but is virtually nonexistent). However, capital punishment remains a viable punishment for capital crimes…

Works Cited

Baird R.M. And S.E. Rosenbaum. Punishment and the Death Penalty. New York: Prometheus, 1995.

Bright, Stephen B. (1994). "Counsel for the Poor: The Death Penalty not for the Worst Crime but for the Worst Lawyer." Yale Law Journal, 103.

Conrad, Ann Patrick and Kathleen A. O'Shea. Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1999.

These authors ask whether, from a social justice perspective, any consideration of the death penalty raises questions about the right of society to take the life of a person. Citing the case of the televised countdown to executions of Karla Faye Tucker in 1998, some critics now maintain that there is never a valid reason to do so, while others contend that the death penalty is valid because it can act as a deterrent.

Officer Misconduct

Disclosing Officer Untruthfulness to the Defense: Is a Liar's Squad Coming to Your Town?

Officer misconduct scenario

Police officers must not simply be held to the same standards as members of the public. They must be held to a higher standard. This is illustrated in the following scenario: a police officers is found to have searched for pornographic materials on a work computer and when initially confronted about this violation of department policy he lied, claiming he had no idea how the search history of the pornographic materials made its way onto his computer. He only confessed once the link was made between his log-in information and the search. This combination of dishonesty and poor judgment is a compelling argument for the officer's immediate dismissal, despite the fact that he has an otherwise largely unblemished record.

If an ordinary citizen was found to have been searching pornographic websites…

Works Cited

Brady v. Maryland. (1963). Cornell University Law School. Retrieved from:

 http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/373/83 

Giglio v. United States. (1972). Find Law. Retrieved from:

 http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=U.S.&vol=405&invol=150

Paradoxically, states with harsher criminal statutes and higher conviction rates tend to maintain fewer inmate developmental programs because high-volume prisons tend to be run on a for-profit basis that discourages "unnecessary" spending. The most cynical suggestion is that decreasing recidivism is against the financial interests of private prisons and (although to a lesser extent,) those of government-run prisons as well (Schmalleger, 2008).

Other aspects of many types of contemporary criminal trends may also significantly undermine any strategy of deterrence through awareness of strict prosecution and sentencing. In that regard, law enforcement authorities across the nation have catalogued volumes of information about criminal subcultures in general and of the street gang mentality in particular (Pinizzotto, Davis, & Miller, 2007). Urban street gangs in particular have given rise to a culture of remorseless violence and disregard for the consequences of even the most violent crime that largely precludes any real deterrent value…

Works Cited:

Dershowitz, A. (2002). Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age. New York:

Bantam Books.

Friedman, A. (2005). A History of American Law. New York: Touchstone.

Gerrig, R, Zimbardo, P. (2008). Psychology and Life. New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Equal Protection:

Equal protection is a fundamental constitutional protection, that in modern times, guarantees the equal effect of law to all persons. In that regard, the Supreme Court has established specific suspect classes of individuals, such as membership in a minority race, whose rights to equal protection must be guarded most scrupulously, primarily because the need to do so has been more than adequately demonstrated by aspects of relatively recent American history.

According to criminologists and researchers who have conducted studies of the impact of criminal laws in general, and of capital punishment in particular, criminal defendants who are members of minority races (as well as those who are poor) are statistically much more likely to receive the death penalty in comparison with non- minority (and wealthier) criminals convicted of identical death-penalty-eligible offenses (Schmalleger, 2007; Zalman, 2008). This discrepancy suggests that capital punishment in the U.S. still violates one of…

References

Dershowitz, a. (2002). Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age. New York: Bantam Books.

Friedman, a. (2005). A History of American Law. New York: Touchstone.

Kaveny, C. (2008). Justice or vengeance: is the death penalty cruel and unusual?

Commonwealth; Feb 18/08.

Hair is also in contact with chemicals in shampoos, and any dyes, gels, sprays or other cosmetics that may be placed on the hair (11).

Since there is no standardized method for cleaning these external contaminants off of the hair prior to analysis, the potential for inaccurate results from external contamination is widespread. There is no way to tell in the laboratory if a chemical is contained within the hair, and therefore came from with in the body, or if it is on the surface of the hair and did not come from within the body (12). An enormous amount of scientific research studies have indicated that hair analysis is unreliable as a diagnostic tool in crime solving. For example, in one study, the researchers took hair from the head of a single individual and sent portions of the sample to six laboratories; the results varied widely from laboratory to…

43. Lee, H. 2004. Advances in Forensics Provide Creative Tools for Solving Crimes. Bulletin of the Council of Science and Engineering, 19(2).

44. Lee, H. 2004. Advances in Forensics Provide Creative Tools for Solving Crimes. Bulletin of the Council of Science and Engineering, 19(2).

45. Lee, H. 2004. Advances in Forensics Provide Creative Tools for Solving Crimes. Bulletin of the Council of Science and Engineering, 19(2).

Legalizing Death Penalty

Pro-death sentence

In civilized states like the U.S.A., there are various means of punishment that are meted out against offenders and capital punishment is one of them. This goes on in chagrin of many pressure groups who argue that this kind of punishment denies the convicts the chance to change and become good to the society and can also fall on the wrongful conviction. This is just one of the major argument fronted by the campaigners against the death sentence within the U.S.A. And several other countries.

It is important to know that deaths sentence, in as much as it is loathed by many people in several countries, it still persists in majority of the countries. In the U.S.A. alone, at the states level, there are 32 states that still have the death penalty as compared to the 18 states where death penalty has been abolished and…

References

Death Penalty Information Center, (2014). States with and without Death Penalty. Retrieved November 24, 2014 from  http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/states-and-without-death-penalty 

Michelle Maiese, (2004). What Retributive Justice is. Retrieved November 24, 2014 from  http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/retributive-justice 

National Museum of Crime & Punishment, (2008). Crimes Punishable By Death. Retrieved November 24, 2014 from  http://www.crimemuseum.org/library/execution/crimesPunishableByDeath.html 

Stephen & Abigail, (2011). "America in Black and White: One Nation Indivisible." pp. 273.

However, even with the restriction of capital punishment to crimes involving murder, several issues still remain that contribute heavily to public opinion.

Specifically, the methods used for execution in several states are susceptible to errors capable of causing extreme and prolonged suffering too often. That is because lethal injection involves the administration of several different intravenous drugs in a precise order; mistakes in the sequence can cause the condemned person to suffocate slowly while paralyzed instead of dying nearly instantaneously after the heart is stopped, as intended (Kaveny, 2008).

Another basis for moral concern expressed by many people is that poverty and minority racial classification are both statistically linked to higher conviction rates and capital sentences than non-minority citizens with financial resources (Schmalleger, 2001). Furthermore, DNA-based forensic techniques are now being applied to evidence preserved after its use at criminal trial decades ago. In several highly publicized instances, convict have…

Bibliography

America. (2008) "Chaldeans Criticize Death Penalty for Assassin"; Jun 9-16.

Dershowitz, a. (2002). Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age. New York: Bantam Books.

Elliott, J. (2008). "Death penalty ruling's impact on Texas." Houston Chronicle, Jun 26.

Friedman, a. (2005). A History of American Law. New York: Touchstone.

At the time that yrd was tried in 1985 DNA technology was not capable of forensic analysis of biological evidence however; in 1997 a comparison was conducted of yrd's DNA with the bodily fluid in the rape kit that had been collected at the time of the incident resulting in yrd's exoneration for this crime. The importance of proper preservation of biological evidence is highlighted in this case and not only for the purpose of obtaining a conviction but also for the purpose of ensuring that the wrong individual is not charged, found guilty and sentenced to prison for a crime that they did not commit.

VI. Most Common Applications of lood Evidence

The work of George Schiro entitled: "Collection and Preservation of lood Evidence from Crime Scenes" states that prior to the documentation and collection of blood evidence the value of the evidence must be recognized by the crime…

Bibliography

Catalin, Marian; Andrei, Anghel, and Mitrasca, Oana (nd) Modern Methods of Collection and Preservation of Biological Evidence for Human Identification by DNA Analysis. Biochemistry Department, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy from Timisoara. Online available at:  http://www.oglethorpe.edu/faculty/~k_aufderheide/Forensic_Science/Web_Documents/Catalin_Andrei_Mitrasca.pdf 

Jones, Cynthia E. (2005) Evidence Destroyed, Innocence Lost: The Preservation of Biological Evidence Under Innocence Protection Statues. The American Criminal Law Review. 1 Oct 2005. Online available at:  http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/laws/1047368-1.html 

Ladd, HC and Ladd, C. (2001) Preservation and Collection of Biological Evidence. Croat Med J. 2001 Jun;42(3):225-8. Online available at:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11387627 

Schiro, George (nd) Collection and Preservation of Blood Evidence From Crime Scenes. Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory. Online available at:  http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/blood.html

Ultimate Punishment

There are many topics which are controversial in the modern society. People constantly debate the merits of abortion or women's rights. Perhaps one of the most controversial topics for debate at present is over the ethical right of the death penalty. Some feel the penalty is too severe and inhumane. Others feel the penalty is just and not used often enough in this country. How does each individual feel about this most severe of punishments? Is it right for the government to execute criminals or is it wrong? Presently, 34 of the United States of America have death penalty statutes (Facts 2011). In each state, there are rigorous proceedings which go on when dealing with a death penalty situation. First and foremost, prosecutors must be absolutely certain that they have the right man or woman as defendant. Secondly, they must ensure that there is enough concrete evidence to…

Works Cited:

Ebert, Michael E. "Comparing Costs of the Death Penalty vs. Life in Prison Without Parole

(LWOP)." George Mason University. 1. 2007. Print.

"Facts About the Death Penalty" 2011. Web. Dec. 2011. www.deathpenaltyinfo.org

Ryan, George. "Report of the Governor's Commission on Capital Punishment." State of Illinois.

Capital Punishment

An Ethical Analysis & Position Statement

Against the Practice of Capital Punishment

Talia Villella

Ethics Final

An Historical Overview

Issues and elevant Facts

Application of Ethical Theories

Support for Capital Punishment

Arguments Against Capital Punishment

An Historical Overview

The practice of capital punishment is often known by other names such as the death penalty or an execution, but the basic concept is that someone convicted of a crime that is worthy of their life (capital crime) is put to death after their conviction by some form an authority figure taking the life of the convicted. There are many different methods that have been employed to take a convicted person's life and history and it is striking to read about the creativity in which brutal forms of executions have been designed over the millennia. Even the Old Testament is riddled with a plethora of different crimes that are considered…

References

Binghamton University. "The Death Penalty." 6 March 2011. Paren Ethical. .

Chalfin, A., A. Haviland and S. Raphael. "What Do Panel Studies Tell Us About a Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment? A Critique of the Literature." Journal of Quatitative Criminology (2013): 5-43.

Dezhadbksh, H., P. Rubin and J. Shepherd. "Does Capital Punishment Have a Deterrent Effect? New Evidence from Postmoratorium Panel Data." American Law and Economics Review (2003): 344-376.

Mocain, H. and R. Gittings. "Getting off Death Row: Commuted Sentences and the Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment." Journal of Law and Economics (2003): 453-478.

Proposition 34

California's Proposition 34 calls for the end of the death penalty and replaces death sentences with a sentence of life without parole. The proposition would: (1) repeal the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; (2) retroactively remove all current death penalty sentences and replace them with life without parole; (3) require all people convicted of murder to work while in prison and apply their wages to victim restitution and/or fines; and (4) create a $100,000,000 for law enforcement agencies specifically to solve murder and rape cases (Ballotpedia). Currently, there are 725 people on death row in California, though current challenges to California's lethal injection procedure means that none of them are currently facing execution. In fact, in 2006, a federal court judge halted all executions in California due to concerns over administration of the penalty in the state (Ballotpedia).

The death…

Works Cited

Ballotpedia.org. "California Proposition 34, the End of the Death Penalty Initiative (2012)."

Ballotpedia, 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 20120.

California Secretary of State. "California Prop 34: Death Penalty. Initiate Statute." California

General Election Official Voter Information Guide. California Secretary of State. 2012. Web.

Forensic Pathology as Scientific Evidence

Forensic Pathology is generally understood as having to do with the investigation of causation of injuries or death as a legal requirement. In the pursuit of this, pathologists usually investigate injury or death scenes and other relevant records to ascertain the cause of death.

Practically, forensic pathology incorporates the performance of post-mortem examination, which is an examination of body tissues and organs as well as investigations such as X-rays and toxicology testing. Forensic pathology makes it possible to interpret such results and reveal cause of end point of death as required by the law.

Interpreting Evidence

The results driven from forensic pathology are bound to be subjected to interpretations. The body can transform during the process of death or after, this transformation or changes are referred to as post-mortem changes or "artefacts," these changes can be misinterpreted as ailment or injuries that took place when…

Bibliography

Goudge, S.T. (2008). Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario. Qubec: Ministry of the Attorney General.

Hickman, M., Hughes, K., Ropero-Miller, J., & Strom, K. (2007). Medical Examiners and Coroners Offices. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

National Research Council of the National Academics. (2009). Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. washington DC: The National Academies Press.

R. v. Sherret-Robinson, [2009] O.J. No. 5312 . (n.d.).

Vienna and Paris

in the Decade 1900-1910

Vienna and Paris in the Decade 1900-1910

Europe of 1900 -- 1910 saw the rise of several cultural meccas, including Vienna and Paris. Vienna was a center of literary, cultural and artistic advancement in "middle" Europe, enjoying booming population and innovative developments in all those spheres, even as it endured the rising tide of anti-liberal, anti-Semitic Christian Social forces. In keeping with this innovation, Vienna's music enjoyed avant garde developments of Art Nouveau from Paris, notably represented in Vienna by the works of composers Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schonberg. As Vienna became the literary, cultural and artistic center of "middle" Europe, Paris became the literary, cultural and artistic center of the orld. Drawing exceptionally gifted people from the entire globe, Paris boasted the first Olympics to include women and the orld's Fair of 1900. Reveling in its invention of Art Nouveau, Paris also…

Works Cited

Bloy, M. (2011, January 5). The third republic: 1870-1914. Retrieved from Historyhome.co.uk Web site:  http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/3rd-rep.htm#dreyfus 

Bonyhady, T. (2011). Good living street: portrait of a patron family, Vienna 1900 . New York, NY: Pantheon Books.

Brandstatter, C. (2006). Vienna 1900: art, life & culture. New York, NY: Vendome Press.

George, H.S. (2008). Paris 1900. Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Canadian criminal justice system corrections

The Canadian justice system

Since the last decade, there's been a huge hue and cry pertaining unjust convictions and its disastrous consequences. As in the case of Canada, there have been numerous high profile cases which concluded with unjust verdicts, putting the Canadian justice system and its judicial process in question. Even though, the media's attention has increased on this matter, academic literature on the issue is razor-thin in case of Canada (Denov & Campbell, 2005). The media's coverage of crimes and criminal justice is now excessively given coverage during the last decade, since it's a form of entertainment and news. Criminal justice and crime have emerged as a viable form of entertainment across the media spectrum. In case of TV shows, depictions of criminal justice and crime are observed in courtroom TV seasons as well as daily talk's shows.

Popular culture and criminal courts…

Bibliography

Blatchford, C. (2015, Febuary 27). News. Retrieved from National Post:  http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/02/27/christie-blatchford-canadians-seem-to-imagine-that-slow-justice-is-better-justice-but-thats-not-the-case/ 

Denov, M., & Campbell, K. (2005). Understanding the Causes, Effects, and Responses to Wrongful Conviction in Canada. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice.

Entmann, R., & Gross, K. (2008). Race to judgment: stereotyping media and criminal defendants. 93-133. Retrieved from:  http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1495&context=lcp 

Gallant, J. (2015, Febuary 23). Crime. Retrieved from The Star:  http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/02/23/ontario-courts-slow-to-speak-up-about-hush-orders.html

The death penalty is a vestige of the past, a time when vengeance and retribution were the standard means of dealing with transgressions or deviance. While there are significant drawbacks with the American penal system and corrections institutions, a life term in prison is a far more reasonable sentence for the most heinous of crimes than capital punishment is. There are several reasons why the death penalty plays no role at all in a civilized democracy, and why it also threatens to undermine the very foundations of Constitutional law. The worst criminals—those who prove themselves incapable of rehabilitation or reform due to their psychological constitutions—can be effectively dealt with in prison, promoting public safety without putting at risk the integrity of the criminal justice system.
One of the main reasons to avoid using the death penalty is the possibility of false confessions and wrongful convictions. DNA evidence overturns convictions often…

However, if it were the case that the Chinese legal system protected the innocent and executed only those criminals who have been properly, duly, and fairly convicted and sentenced for crimes appropriately punished by execution, it is much harder to argue against the use of their organs to benefit society. From an objective point-of-view, once a person dies, it is wasteful not to use his or her organs to benefit living people. The attachment we have to the body after death is primarily a function of social learning and nonsensical superstition in the first place. Logically, it would be ethically permissible, to require that organs be harvested from all deceased persons once their families have had the opportunity to pay their respects.

The ethical problem in this case is much more about the way that Chinese citizens become prisoners in the first place and the way that the decision to…

Finally, torture is the best means to try to get this information from the suspect (McCoy, 2006). Taken as a whole, these circumstances are so unlikely to occur that, even if the ticking bomb scenario would justify the use of torture, it has not ever occurred and, therefore, cannot be used to justify torture.

In fact, what many people who advocate in favor of torture fail to acknowledge is that while torture may be guaranteed to elicit information from even the most reticent of subjects, there is no reason to believe that torture will elicit truthful information. The theory behind torture is that, with the application of sufficient pain and fear, people will talk, and that does appear to be true in the vast majority of cases. However, it is more important to wonder what they will say than whether they will talk. In the non-terrorist scenario, "About 25% of…

References

Armbruster, B. (2011, October 3). Obama's successful counterterror strategy. Retrieved March 21, 2012 from Think Progress website:  http://thinkprogress.org/progress-report/obamas  -successful-counterterror-strategy/

Bufacchi, V., & Arrigo, J.M. (2006). Torture, terrorism, and the state: A refutation of the Ticking-Bomb argument. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 23(3), 355-373.

Gathii, J. (2004). Torture, extra-territoriality, terrorism, and international law. Albany Law

Review, 67, 101-138. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from:

org. "It is stacked again and again in the killers' favor and victims are an after-thought. It would be unlikely to ever lead to an execution in Massachusetts."

Chief among the group's gripes is that the bill does not specifically call for death in child or sex slayings but would put death on the table for inmates serving life who kill behind bars. Romney's bill provides the death penalty for killings involving terrorism, the murder of a law enforcement officer and slayings involving multiple victims or torture - all backed by irrefutable DNA evidence.

Paranzino also said a requirement for "no doubt" scientific proof conflicts with existing "reasonable doubt" standards. "This bill itself deserves to die of lethal injection," he said. "America is safer without this bill than we would be with it."

Romney aide Shawn Feddeman said the governor "focused on the worst of the worst murders (in drafting…

Other articles and books are: 13,14,15

There are some indicators that it acts as an anti-deterrent i.e. The death penalty actually increases the homicide rate:

In 1996, those states which had the death penalty

Eyewitness and ecalling

Shook hands

I shook hands with Bugs Bunny... Describe and evaluate the role of schemas and stereotypes on recalling past events. What implications does this have for the accuracy of eyewitness accounts of events?

I shook hands with Bugs Bunny... Describe and evaluate the role of schemas and stereotypes on recalling past events. What implications does this have for the accuracy of eyewitness accounts of events?

Literature on Schemas

Literature on Schemas and Stereotypes and their role in Eyewitness

I shook hands with Bugs Bunny... Describe and evaluate the role of schemas and stereotypes on recalling past events. What implications does this have for the accuracy of eyewitness accounts of events?

Introduction

To investigate and prosecute crime the criminal justice system heavily depends on eyewitness identification (Wells & Olson, 2003). An eyewitness goes through different psychological procedures prior to the courtroom testimony. It is evident that before…

References

Brewer, W.F., & Treyens, J.C.(1981). Role of schemata in memory for places. Cognitive Psychology, 12(2), 207-230

Charman, S., & Wells, G.(2008). Can eyewitnesses correct for external influences on their lineup identifications? The actual/counterfactual assessment paradigm. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 14(1), 5-20.

Christianson, S., & Hubinette, B.(1993). Hand up A study of witnesses' emotional reactions and memories associated with bank robberies. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 7(5), 365-379

Duffy, E.L.(1948). Motivational theory of emotion. Psychological Review, 55, 324-328.