Introduction
A thorough investigation can be the difference between proving an individual innocent or guilty (Reference). Investigations are highly important, however, need to be precisely accurate and contain no mistakes to prevent a wrongful conviction of an individual (reference). This essay will focus on Mr. Farquharson’s homicide Investigation process. By doing so, this essay will analyse and identify the process in which the investigation took place, failures or weaknesses made by police, recommendations that could have been made to improve the validity of the investigation and lastly the role in which social media influenced individuals to believe a certain viewpoint and convict Robert Farquharson of murder.
The Investigation Process
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As stated in the court transcript of R v Farquharson (2009) First response officers, including Senior Sargent Exton were preserving evidence by highlighting the tyre tracks left behind by the vehicle in which Farquharson was driving. Sargent Exton used yellow spray paint to make the tracks stand out and last longer so that an investigation of these tracks could begin. Photos of the tracks were taken and later used as evidence. The Major Collision Unit investigated these tracks, through the photos taken and suggested that there was a three-steer pattern. (Tyson, 2009) They reached the conclusion that only a person who was conscious could have made these markings. (Tyson, 2009) This statement suggested that Farquharson had to have been lying about his coughing fit, making him unconscious and therefore this accident was his intention all …show more content…
(Operational Procedures Manual, 2017) This police investigation, interviewed doctors for some medical opinions on Farquharsons coughing fit and an old friend of Farquharsons who had a key witness statement. (R v Farquharson, 2009) Dr Naughton and Dr King both stated that it was highly unlikely that Mr Farquharson would have become unconscious because of the coughing fit. (reference) Therefore, supporting the homicide investigation further in depth. Police also interviewed an old friend of Farquharson who testified before court that he had a conversation with Farquharson about how he wanted to kill his children as an act of revenge towards his ex-wife.
Mr. Cockburn concluded that the evidence presented in this case was misinterpret and misapprehend, the leading investigation was “unscientific and slipshod” which lead to the sentence of Edward splatt. Many questions were raised, whether police officers should collect trace elements from the crime scene? The involvemet of police officers collecting samples rather than scientific experts which could lead to wrong and misleading evidence? The scientific procedure undertaking in this investigation. And these collected samples collected from officers and tested would lead to unvaluable piece of evidence.After Edward splatt conviction, anattorney- general by the name of Mr Griffin keeped a close eye on the case and examined the moran report and
Today’s news covers up the reality that is going around the world. The new is like a distraction for the people of America. He actors, politics, and rich families. The main distraction that has most people in the edge is Ethan Couch murder. A young under age DWI that kills four innocent people for driven under the influence. The punishment that was given to him is for a minor crime like stealing or something in that category. The dead means nothing to the murder but to the family it means the world and mostly if is there children. Parents should not have to see their children die. Why the government is corrupted, wealth, morals, and parents’ education are no longer in place to protect the innocent people.
Player: case report and emerging medicolegal practice questions. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 6(1), 40-46. doi:10.1111/j.1939-3938.2009.01064.x
In May 2000 a fifteen-year-old black male was picked up by police in Jacksonville, Florida and eventually charged with the murder of Mary Ann Stephens. His name was Brenton Butler and the documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning covered his trial. Thankfully he was acquitted, but it’s easy to see how close he was to going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. It is commonly estimated that between 2-5% of all prison inmates are innocent. Brenton could have joined them because of the failure of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department to administer justice. There were multiple psychological factors that led Brenton Butler to falsely confess to and be charged with the murder. The only witness to the crime, the victim’s husband, was blinded by weapon
According to, “Murder on a Sunday Morning”, Brenton Butler was accused of a murder of Mary Ann Stephens. During the trial, there has been some moral and corrupt evidence to prove whether this “suspect” was guilty or not. Many logical pieces of evidence were provided during the trial such as, photographs of the clothing that was worn by Mr. Butler to observe whether Mr. Stephens could identify it – and proving that Mr. Butler was accused because of his race. There has been biased argumentation during this trial such as identifying racial profiling (African-American), another eye-witness name Mr. Stevens discovered a bag of Mary Ann Stephens near the garbage, been accused by the police for “taking the gun” out of bag – but failed to fingerprint
That night, many witnesses reported having seen a man changing the tire of his van and waving any possible help away angrily while others reported seeing a woman wandering around the side of the dangerous highway. More witnesses reported that Kenneth and his wife were having many violent disputes at their home that usually resulted in Kenneth pursuing an angry Yvonne around the block. The most compelling evidence against Mathison, however, is purely scientific. Detective Paul Ferreira first noticed that the extensive blood stains inside the Mathison van. After hearing Mathison’s original account, he summoned the assistance of famed forensic expert Dr. Henry Lee to analyze what he thought was inconsistent evidence. Blood stains on the paneling and the spare tire in the cargo area reveal low-velocity blood stains meaning that the blood probably dripped from Yvonne’s head onto the floor. The stains found on the roof and steering wheel were contact transfer patterns probably caused by Mathison’s bloody hands. Blood stains on the driver’s side of the van were contact-dripping patterns which indicate that Mathison touched the inside of the van multiple times before and after moving his wife’s body. The final groups of blood stains on the instrument panel of the van were medium-velocity stains which show investigators that Mathison probably struck his wife at least once in the front seat causing the blood to fly from her open head wound. The enormous amounts of blood inside the van lead prosecutor Kurt Spohn to investigate the Mathison case as a murder instead of a misdemeanor traffic violation.
Muncie J, Talbot D and Walters R, (2010) ‘interrogating crime’ Crime: Local and Global, William Publishing, (Devon). The Open University. pp. 16 – 17.
Lyman, D. Michael; Criminal Investigation, The Art and Science; 3rd edition, 2002 Prentice Hall. Pgs. 188-200.
Johnson, J., Keyzer, P., Holland, G., Pearson, M., Rodrick, S., & Wallace, A 2011, Juries and social media, Victorian Department of Justice, viewed 8 May 2014, < http://www.sclj.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/sclj/documents/pdf/juries%20and%20social%20media%20-%20final.pdf>.
Fisch, Harmanpreet Kaur drank alcohol and did cocaine. She then went to Mrs. Fisch’s address,
Forensic evidence can provide just outcomes in criminal matters. However, it is not yet an exact science as it can be flawed. It can be misrepresented through the reliability of the evidence, through nonstandard guidelines, and through public perception. Forensic science can be dangerously faulty without focus on the ‘science’ aspect. It can at times be just matching patterns based on an individual’s interpretations. This can lead to a miscarriage of justice and forever alter a person’s life due to a perceived “grey area” (Merritt C, 2010) resulting in a loss of confidence in the reliability of forensic evidence.
While reading the case about Mr.Hossack 's murder i saw the wife, Mrs.Hossack, as innocent at first. The children all claimed that the two did not argue for over a year, so why would she kill him now verses a year ago? When the youngest child, Ivan Hossack, came to the stand and "told his story in a straight, unhesitating manner" it made it easier for me to believe in Mrs. Hossack 's innocence. The child even said that he saw his mother aiding his father when he called out for help. If she had been the one to swing the axe, why would she help him and risk getting in trouble? Most importantly, if he was conscious and talking, why wouldn 't he say who to murderer was? He could have easily identified his wife in the dark after being married for over twenty years, and yet he didn 't identify who had tried to kill him. Dr. Dean first stated that the axe did not hit the speech portion of the brain, so he could have been conscious and yelling out for his wife. Dean later stated that the fatal blow from the axe would have left Mr.Hossack unconscious. The murder weapon had blood on in and apparent hairs stuck to one side; "Prof. John L. Tilton of Simpson college... was unable to say definitely that the hair had been
In reference to the media’s role, they have been highlighted for playing a part in maintaining these views by portraying victims in a certain way according to the newsworthiness of each story and their selectiveness (Greer, 2007). Furthermore, there has been an increase in both fictional crime programmes and crime documentaries, with Crimewatch particularly becoming a regular part of British viewing. In the modern context, crime has continued to represent a large proportion of news reporting and with the aid of social networking sites and self-publicity via the internet, journalists are now more able to dig even deeper into the lives of people on whom they wish to report. Newspapers continue to keep the public informed with the latest headlines and the internet has also provided opportunities for members of the public to have their input in blogs.
White, R., and Perrone, S. (2009) Crime, Criminality and Criminal Justice. Melbourne: Oxford University [Chapter 2 ‘Crime and the Media’]
As discussed, there are several ethical issues which are confronted by criminologist. However, researchers and criminologists may need to procure new methods to respond to them. Notably, Internet based research poses great problems in verifying the identities and status of participants (British Psychological Society, 2007). The Economic and Social Research Council states that information held in a public domain is not subject to scrutiny by research ethics committee. To enumerate, information gathered through public websites are not considered to be data collection. However, personal emails within a closed chat room or connection are likely to be interpreted as private. Furthermore, the use of data from such websites would generally require the informed consent of