James Desmond Booth, who is presently 30, had received good grades all throughout all his years in school and had a good family life, after being adopted by his grandparents. He also played varsity basketball in his hometown, at New Smyrna Beach High School. His grandmother, Beulah Booth, stated that her grandson was also a good father to his daughter and infant son, while other family members suggested that he loved his young children and he continues to make contributions in their lives. It is peculiar that a man with these beginnings and familial connections went on to receive seven felony convictions, with some including “possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon” (Frederick 2014 p.1: Sept. 29, 2009). After sitting in on the current trial brought against Mr. Booth and taking notes, sociological theories of crime were utilized to help to interpret the previous actions of this particular man’s history of misconduct.
About a week ago, Booth was on trial for the murder of 46 year-old Debra Gibson, a confidential informant for the police, as well as witness tampering, at the Volusia County Courthouse in Deland. The case was heard before Circuit Judge Randell H. Rowe, III. Assistant State Attorneys Ryan Will and Ed Davis prosecuted Booth, while J. Peyton Quarles and William F. Hathaway were his defense attorneys.
The prosecutors explained in their opening statement that Booth sold drugs to Gibson in December 2010, and was subsequently arrested for the transaction shortly after. After Booth was arrested for drug trafficking, he suspected Gibson was the confidential informant in the case against him. Booth planned to murder Gibson to prevent her...
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...deeper into the goals and intentions of these individuals, such as Booth, when committing these unlawful acts in society, to come to many other possible conclusions.
Works Cited
The Daytona Beach News-Journal. 2014. “New Smyrna Beach informant killer sentenced to life.” Retrieved April 25, 2014 (http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20140421/NEWS/140429920?Title=New-Smyrna-Beach-informant-killer-sentenced-to-life).
Crime & Punishment. 2014. “James Desmond Booth Found Guilty in 2011 FL Slaying of Debra Gibson.” Retrieved April 25, 2014 (http://www.cncpunishment.com/forums/showthread.php?9197-James-Desmond-Booth-Found-Guilty-in-2011-FL-Slaying-of-Debra-Gibson).
Frederick, Henry. HeadlineSurfer. 2009. “Jail Docket.” Retrieved April 25, 2014 (http://headlinesurfer.com/content/218523-jail-docket-following-booked-volusia-branch-jail-are-presumed-innocent).
Two years later, the former undercover New York City narcotics detective testified in the Brooklyn Supreme Court, that the Brooklyn South and Queens narcotic squads had been framing innocent people routinely by planting evidence, in order to reach arrest quotas. “It was something I was seeing a lot of, whether it was from supervisors or undercovers and even investigators” , he recounted during his
While researching this case I stumbled upon many others and I became aware of how many people have suffered from the injustice of being found guilty. While reading parts of the book “Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death the Story of Steven Truscott” I learned that the police played a large role in why 14-year-old Truscott was found guilty of murder. The book showed that they forced witnesses to change their story to further “prove” Truscott’s guilt of the crime. This led to the conclusion that in this case (like many others) the police were solely and unjustly targeting one
These are not the only reasons for urgency to find a killer; the Solicitor General of Atlanta’s circuit, Hugh M. Dorsey, desperately needed a successful conviction because he had recently failed to convict two accused murderers. He was concerned about putting together a case that would hold up in court; no matter what lengths he had to go to in order to accomplish this. Overtime, it became obvious that Dorsey did not necessarily believe that Frank was guilty, but recognized that the political values of his position were uncertain.
The more notorious the case, the greater the number of prospective informant. They rush to testify like vultures to rotting flesh or sharks to blood. The are smooth and convincing liars(George Carlin, p.1).” Jailhouse informants are a major factor to convicting innocent people. Using informants makes an unjust and unfair trial. The Thomas Sophonow case used jailhouse informants to convict Sophonow of a crime he did not commit. Thomas was convicted of murdering Barbara Stoppel at the Ideal Donut Shop in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Thomas has a highly suspect and was brought to jail. Three informants claimed that Thomas has confessed to them that he had murdered Barbara. All three informants lied on the stands. Mr. McQuade who was one of the informants testified under duress. Two police officers had told him that if he did not testify against Thomas voluntarily, the Crown was going to exposed him of being an informant. Another informant was Mr. Cheng who was charged with 26 counts of fraud. He hoped if he testified against Thomas his charges were to be dropped and luckily for him they were. The last informant was Mr. Martin who was described as “a prime example of convincing mendacity of jailhouse informants. He seems to have heard more confessions than many dedicated priest(Sarah Harland-Logan, p.1).” There were other 11 informants who were eager to give false testimony
Blanco, Juan. "Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers." Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. .
Nathaniel Abraham was eleven years old when he committed the act of murder. Under a 1997 Michigan law a child of any age may be tried as an adult for severe crimes. Abraham was the first juvenile to be tried under this statute. Accused in the murder of Ronnie Lee Greene Jr., Abraham faced first degree murder charges. Now, at the age of fourteen, Nathaniel has been sentenced to a juvenile facility until the age of twenty-one. Oakland County Probate Judge Eugene Moore hopes that rehabilitation will put an end to Nathaniel’s criminal activity. Nathaniel, a black youth from the slums of Pontiac, Michigan, grew up with out a father, or a strong family unit. He, in turn, never learned the responsibility of his actions; he was not privy to an upbringing that reinforced positive ideals. Crime & Criminology describes, in depth, the relation between family and criminal activity in youths. Page 126 (chapter four) sited two relevant facts; 1) Blacks have much higher rates of illegitimacy and female headed house holds. 2) Blacks have a much higher rate of crime than their white counterparts. In Nathaniel’s case, it can be said that his lack of a positive role model, or father figure lead to his involvement in criminal activities. His mother, Gloria, was struggling to raise three children by herself. Nathaniel’s father had left when he was born, leaving her with no one to depend on. The family moved in with an older couple who offered to help them. With limited supervision Nathaniel was a constant source of aggravation for his mother. Police reported that Nathaniel was suspected in over 22 local crimes, ranging from assault to armed robbery. He, in fact, had been arrested five days before Greene’s murder on the charge of robbery. All this by the age of eleven. In families where there is no male role model a child is far more likely to become involved in crime. The data that exists suggests a direct correlation between youths raised without a father and criminal activity.
The verdict of Steve Harmon was found not guilty. Throughout the story, Steve had eyebrow-raising opinions and thoughts about his case. This can lead the reader to believe that Steve is guilty. The number one reason that can lead
Hickey, T. J. (2010). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Crime and Criminology, 9th Edition. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Quite a bit of Distaso's opening proclamation was fixated on Amber Frey, the most expected witness and did not know Peterson was hitched when she started an illegal association with him, a month prior to the murder. Safeguard legal advisor, Mark Geragos surrendered that his customer was a two-clock however never a twofold killer. He told the board of jury that Peterson adored his better half and foreseen for the introduction of his first kid; that he can't chance his life for a masseuse escort he took out in only couple of dates.
Martinez went to trial in Eddy County Fifth Judicial District Court. During trial, it was revealed that one of the car present at the murder scene belonged to Martinez’s defense attorney Michael Carrasco. Not only that, the “white car” that left the crime scene was also owned by the defense counsel’s law firm. In effect, there was an apparent conflict of interest due to the defense counsel’s relationship to the
Skoloff, Brian. “Jodi Arias Pleads For Life in Prison For Murder”. Pittsburgh Post – Gazette 22 May 2013. A16. ProQuest. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Locallo describes the Bridgeport case as being a “heater case”, not only because of the social impact that it will create in the community, but also because of all the media attention it will receive which will influence his possible reelection once his term is over (Courtroom 302, 31). When Frank Caruso Jr. decided that he was going to beat Lenard Clark, an African American boy he created the spark that society needed to get back at the Caruso family for all of the crimes that they got away with in the past. During the past several decades, society has tried to make the Caruso family take responsibility for their crimes, but all those efforts just strengthened the family ties and political positions.
Sandra Petrocelli is the prosecuting lawyer and is good. She is pushing for the death penalty. She states that everyone involved in the crime is equally guilty including the one who wrestled for the gun, the robber and the two lookouts. She is trying to prove that Steve knew and associated with the two robbers who are bad characters.
Christopher, Liam. “Mother ‘vindicated’ after girl’s murder suspect held.” Daily Post. 18 Aug. 2006: 19. Proquest Newsstand. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Law is a tool in society as it helps to maintain social control, promoting social justice. The way law functions in society and its social institution provide a mechanism for solutions. There are many different theories of the function of law in relation to society in considering the insight they bring to different socio-legal and criminological problems. In the discussion of law’s role in social theory, Leon Petrażycki and Eugen Ehrlich share similar beliefs in the jurisprudence of society. They focused their work on the experience of individuals in establishing meaning in their legal relations with others based on the question of what it means to be a participant in law. Jürgen Habermas presents a relationship between law and morality. From a certain standpoint, law is a key steering mechanism in society as it plays an educational role in promoting conducts, a mean of communication and it