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“My job as a prosecutor is to do justice. And justice is served when a guilty man is convicted and an innocent man is not.” This quote is from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. She is well known for extremely controversial court decisions in court cases, much like the controversy surrounding the Steven Avery murder trial. In 2005, Steven Avery was accused and charged with the murder of Teresa Halbach when Halbach was on Avery’s property to take pictures of his vehicle for Autotrader. This murder was just like any other murder, other than the fact that many believe he is innocent. This belief of innocence is sparked by “Making a Murderer,” a television series that brought public attention to the involvement of the Manitowoc County Police …show more content…
First, Halbach’s remains in the fire pit were discovered on Avery’s property. In an email from Ken Krats (The District Attorney of Calumet County) during the investigation, he states that there was a tooth which was ID’d through Halbach’s dental records in the fire pit. Along with the tooth, a rivet from her jeans was also found (Willett). A counter claim in the case is that it might not have been Halbach’s remains. The remains, however, were identified through dental records, so there was no doubt that it was indeed the remains of Halbach on his property. These remains were where they were also aligned with the statements given in Brenden Dassey’s confession. Second, The bullet found in the garage had her evidence on it, and was fired from Avery’s gun. According to Willett, “In Avery’s garage, police found a bullet that had Halbach’s DNA on it. Katz said in the email that the ballistics proved the bullet was shot from Avery’s rifle that police had confiscated back when they first searched the property” (Willett). The bullet is difficult evidence to ignore. Not only was it found in his garage, but it was deduced that it was fired out of Avery’s gun that he keeps in his room. For the bullet to have been planted, someone would have had to fire a bullet out of Avery’s rifle, place Halbach’s DNA on it, and then plant it in his garage. Third, Avery’s DNA was found in various places on the scene. Avery’s sweat was found under the hood of Halbach’s car, and on Halbach’s car keys (Watt). Avery’s sweat being where it was matched perfectly with Brenden Dassey’s confession, because Dassey described a specific event where Avery had to open the hood to reset the odometer. The police only had access to his blood, so there is not anyway that they could have planted his sweat. The only way for Avery’s sweat to have gotten there would be from him touching it. The evidence found in the fire pit, the garage, and Halbach’s
Billy Joel once sang, “Only the good die young”. In life, it is true, the young and innocent seem to touch more lives around us than anyone else. In the Casey Anthony trial, Anthony was a suspect in the murder of her daughter Caylee. Caylee’s life shouldn’t be counted in years, it should be counted by how many lives she affected, the love she has gained, and the support the country has given her to find out what really happened. In the play, Twelve Angry Men, a boy killed his father; however, both cases were challenged by the obvious and the abstruse evidence. Large cities towards the east coast, in 1982, Twelve Angry Men, and 2008, Casey Anthony Trial, affiliated with two major trials able to modify the lives of the living and the dead. For that reason, during the Casey Anthony case, jurors were conflicted throughout the trial.
Amanda then said she saw her boss at the apartment and he was the one who stabbed Meredith. It came back that they had eyewitnesses that it was not so that he was at the bar. It did in fact go back on Amanda that she was the one who did kill Meredith because of all the DNA that was in her room at the time. Amanda’s mom wanted her to flee the country the only reason amanda stayed is because she wanted to meet Meredith’s family. In 2013, the trial was overturned she was again convicted of murder again in 2014, her conviction was again overturned in 2015. She was a accused of the death of Meredith Kercher. Her claim was that she was not even at the apartment she was at her boyfriend's apartment, but witness says that he saw Amanda’s boyfriend and Amanda around the apartment at the night of the killing. So the witness was a part of the whole evidence. So was a knife, a bra, and well the dead nude girl on the ground. They took the knife into evidence and found Amanda’s DNA on it. They took the bra in evidence and it also had Amanda’s blood and DNA on it. They took the girl into a morgue to figure out what exactly what was wrong with her. Turns out Amanda’s DNA was also in meredith. So it turns out they had
There are mixed opinions about this question, and many people have wondered about how Teresa Halbach was actually murdered. Steven Avery (Brendan Dassey’s uncle) and Brendan were convicted for Teresa Halbach’s murder in 2005, and both were sentenced to life in prison. In 2017, a federal judge in Wisconsin revoked the murder and sexual assault convictions of Brendan Dassey, and he was ordered a release from prison. Today, Brendan awaits the court’s decision on his freedom. I believe Brendan Dassey should remain in prison because he is responsible for Teresa Halbach’s murder.
RELATED MURDER TRIALS: Making A Murderer: The Case For And Against Steve Avery And Brendan Dassey
The New York Times bestseller book titled Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O.J. Simpson Case examines the O.J. Simpson criminal trial of the mid-1990s. The author, Alan M. Dershowitz, relates the Simpson case to the broad functions and perspectives of the American criminal justice system as a whole. A Harvard law school teacher at the time and one of the most renowned legal minds in the country, Dershowitz served as one of O.J. Simpson’s twelve defense lawyers during the trial. Dershowitz utilizes the Simpson case to illustrate how today’s criminal justice system operates and relates it to the misperceptions of the public. Many outside spectators of the case firmly believed that Simpson committed the crimes for which he was charged for. Therefore, much of the public was simply dumbfounded when Simpson was acquitted. Dershowitz attempts to explain why the jury acquitted Simpson by examining the entire American criminal justice system as a whole.
Patty Hearst was a normal 19 year old girl, living in an apartment with her fiance and attending university in Berkeley, California, until one day her life, and the lives of everyone around her changed forever. On the evening of February 4, 1974, some members of the left-wing radical group called the Symbionese Liberation Army barged into Hearst’s home armed with guns, and beat up her fiance before kidnapping Hearst and bringing her to their house where she was kept blindfolded in a closet for 59 days. While locked in the closet, Patty Hearst was verbally and sexually abused and she was denied the use of even a toilet or toothbrush if she didn’t tell them that she agreed with the group’s ideas and beliefs. It is believed that while being locked in the closet like this, Patty was being brainwashed by the SLA and that she may have even developed Stockholm Syndrome, a condition in which a person who was kidnapped starts to empathise with their captor, and even starts defending them. This is how the Symbionese Liberation Army convinced Patty Hearst to join their group. They released an audio tape to the public in which Patty Hearst said she was changing her name to Tania and that she had decided to join the SLA. She then helped the SLA rob a bank and steal an ammunition belt from a sports store. After this, she started travelling around the country with two members of the SLA named John and Emily Harris, to try avoid being captured by the police. During this time, the police found a house where some members of the SLA were hiding out. Attempts to make the SLA members surrender ended up in a massive gunfight, ultimately ending up in the deaths of 6 SLA members. The FBI eventually found and arrested Patty Hearst on September 18, 1975. T...
Justice is something that we all as human being want to see fulfill, especially when we are the one that need it for us or our love ones. The family members of those who were killed by Susan Atkins and her companion will agree with it. The damage cause to their dears and the endless pain and suffering in effect from their death will support the decision take by the parole board in September 2, 2009 in the denial of a compassionate release due to Atkins’ health.
A crime being committed is the first event to initiate our criminal justice system. On June 12th 1994 a double murder was reported at the residence of Nicole Brown Simpson the ex-wife of the then beloved Orenthal James (OJ) Simpson. It was discovered that Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman had been brutally murdered and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) began their investigation, this being the second step in our criminal justice system.
The burden of proof in any case lies to the prosecutor. The prosecutor has to provide evidence that proves the defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt. It is the work of the prosecutor to convince, through evidence, the judge or the jury of a criminal case that the accused committed the offense and did so knowingly or out of negligence. The evidence must point the defendant as guilty such that any reasonable person would have no doubt of a guilty verdict. The prosecutor’s evidence in a criminal case must be of a set standard such that no other logical explanation can be derived from the facts except that the accused committed the offense. Prima facie evidence refers to evidence that is sufficient to prove a conviction against a defendant
Imagine having a child. How would you treat them? Would you treat them with love and care or be heartless and unconcerned about him or her? How would you react if you found out they went missing or something very unsettling happened to them? In Orange County, Florida on June 9, 2008, Casey Anthony’s daughter, Caylee Anthony, went missing, but Anthony never reported it. On December 11, remains of a human’s skeleton were discovered in the woods near Anthony’s house and eight days later it was announced to be Caylee Anthony’s body (CNN 1). The Casey Anthony trial showed us the power of judgment by her actions being abnormal for society, her constant lying and people being unable to believe that she was found not guilty.
Sotomayor tried cases such as robberies, assaults, murders, police brutality and child pornography cases. (Lewis, J. (2015, January 1). Sonia Sotomayor Biography.) Sonia wasn’t afraid like most attorneys to venture into tough neighborhoods, because that’s where she came from. In 1983 she tried her highest profile case, the “Tarzan Murderer” who would ‘fly’ into apartments rob the tenants and shoot them for no apparent reason. What made Sotomayor a remarkable attorney was that she could simplify the case enough so that the jury could understand better. Hispanic on Hispanic crimes saddened her the most, because she couldn’t understand that with the whole world being against them they could commit crimes and bodily harm against each other. After 7 years of marriage, in 1983 Sonia and Kevin divorced due to the pressure of her work and unrecognizable differences, the two did not have any
On June 12, 1994 a very horrific homicide sparked one of the most controversial criminal trials in United States history. Nicole Brown Simpson, ex wife of football phenomenon OJ Simpson, and Ronald Goldman were murdered. There is substantial evidence that points to Simpson being the murderer, but he somehow came out clear of charges. Essentially, OJ Simpson was wrongly acquitted for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
In this paper, I will discuss the key facts and critical issues presented in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case.
From a Kantian point of view, the police in the Paul Bernardo trial, made a wrong decision that has no moral worth, as the punishment of Karla Hamolka did not fit the crime. It is important to know that for Kant a murder is a violation of the Categorical Imperative because one failed to respect humanity as an end (Class Notes). In addition, every individual has a free will, thus a murder could not be justified by any form of excuse (Class Notes). According to this information, we can conclude that in Kant’s eyes, both Bernardo and Hamolka did not respect the Categorical Imperative and thus deserved to be punished. For instance, Kant states, “wrongdoers must be punished, and the punishment must fit the crime” (Rachels and Rachels, 143). Therefore,
AK: And could you tell the jury about that call, please. Ms. Pliszka It was from a man. He said that he wanted the photographer who had been out there before….” (75). This shows that Steven Avery had evil plans because he specifically asked for Teresa Halbach. In the book “Indefensible” by David Feige it states what happened when Teresa Halbach came to take a picture of a car once, “Avery had come out wearing nothing but a towel. Halbach was concerned by this incident” 173. This confirms that if would call her personally then she would have never came to take the photos. This is why he called the Autotrader office because he knew she didn’t want to ever come back to his place. In addition, he introduced himself with a different name and he called using a different cell phone. When he was calling he stated some false facts, in the book “Indefensible” it stated, “... Avery didn’t own the van he called Auto Trader to take a photo of that day. It was his sister Barb’s, and she didn’t even want the vehicle sold. … she did not want a picture of the van” (173). This shows that he made up some information just to lure Teresa Halbach to his place. In the afternoon, he called Halbach many times using *67 but when he called her the last time, he did not use