Jacob Barber, a fourteen year old boy, was accused of murdering his classmate Ben Rifkin and was put on trial. Fortunately, Leonard Patz—a child molester and once a suspect in Ben’s case—suddenly confessed of killing Ben and committed suicide. As a result, innocent Jacob was freed from his accusation. However, the sudden death of Patz and another girl Hope Conner, who was seen with Jacob shortly before her death, raised renewed suspicion about Jacob’s potential involvement in not only Ben’s case but also the murder of Hope. While the coincidences of Patz’s suicide and Hope’s death are seemingly convincing evidence of Jacob’s guilt, there is a lack of direct evidence to convict Jacob for the murders of Ben and Hope.
It is true that many people,
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Not a single person saw Jacob in Cold Spring Park around the time of Ben’s murder. Miss Giannetto, the jogger who first discovered Ben’s body, admitted that she never saw Jacob in the park that morning. In addition, despite Sam Studnitzer’s testimony about hearing a boy’s cry, he candidly admitted, just like Giannetto did, that he never saw Jacob that morning. To support Giannetto and Studnitzer’s words, two other passerby said that they did not see Jacob near the murder scene. To strengthen the point that Jacob is innocent, I will add on the fact that there is nothing left at the murder scene that points to Jacob: no blood evidence, no genetic evidence, no hairs, no fibers, nothing besides the fingerprint. Still, the only powerful piece of information does not stand under …show more content…
In Patz’s case, neither Jacob nor people around him are capable of killing Patz. In Hope’s case, there is not only no direct evidence against Jacob, but also no motive for Jacob to murder his new and close friend. Therefore, it is irresponsible to make assumption that these coincidences are related to Ben’s death or to Jacob. Some people try to reuse some apparently powerful evidence in Ben’s case to convict Jacob; however, the fingerprint that failed to reveal an accurate time of contact, the knife that only yielded ambiguous information, and the anonymous Cutting Room story are completely insufficient to prove Jacob a first degree murderer. So, don’t let tragic happen twice. Ben is dead. Don’t destroy innocent Jacob to make up for it. Newton has had enough
This examination will look at the short story “Killings” by Andre Dubus and the main characters in the story. The story begins on a warm August day with the burial of Matt and Ruth Fowler’s youngest son Frank. Frank’s age: “twenty-one years, eight months, and four days” (Dubus 107). Attending the funeral were Matt, his wife Ruth, their adult children and spouses. Matt’s family is extremely distraught over the murder of their youngest son/brother, in their own way. There are implications of wanting to kill Richard Strout, the guy accused of being the murderer: “I should kill him” (107), as stated after the service. This comment is considered a fore-shadowing of what is to come in the thought progression of Matt and Ruth.
“He grabbed Jacob and he told me to run fast as I could into the woods or else he would shoot,” (qtd. in Murphy) was how Aaron Larson described the moment he was last by his best friend’s side. On October 22, 1989, Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped a couple blocks from his home in St. Joseph, Minnesota. He, along with his abductor, have yet to be discovered. There have been thousands of leads as to who may be his abductor, but there fails to be enough evidence to convict any potential suspects. Initially, reported vehicles were used to search for Wetterling’s abductor, but after new findings in 2003, the investigation shifted towards local St. Joseph residence. Joy Baker, a New London blogger who has blogged intensely about the Jacob Wetterling
Jacob was very young when he committed his murder but I think he still may exhibit violent and harmful behaviors. When he confessed to the other murder of a young woman I felt that was a prime example of his mental state. The article never confirmed if he actually did kill the woman but regardless even in an attempt to speed up his own death was disturbing. In 1993 when he assaulted the prison staffer it goes to show that he still may have those violent impulses. It’s easy for him to say he changed to help his release but like the parole board in Flagstaff I’m also not convinced. He took another person’s life and for that despite him saying he has changed he still is a murder and must pay for
Now we will look into more of what the evidence shows and look at more of an analysis. With no fingerprints, reliable eyewitnesses, or authentic leads, it is hard to frame someone for the murders of the axeman, but some evidence exists that led police to a particular suspect. According to the New Orleans article, “Jake woke his brother Andrew, then they went outside and around to Joseph’s kitchen where they saw a panel removed from the door. The brothers walked into Joseph’s bedroom, where they found him lying on his bed, with Catherine’s body draped over him.
In a compelling story of forgiveness and moving on, Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton shared their journey with the Ferris community. Thompson took the audience to a setting in July 29, 1984, by recounting the night of her rape and the measures she went to memorize the face of evil. Thompson, with utmost certainty, declared Cotton her rapist after hours of police interrogations, forming sketches, and a lineup. Cotton was sentenced to life in prison but was at Ferris to share his side of the story and how DNA testing changed his life (Picking Cotton). The events of 1984 were told from two separate accounts, with distinguished parallels discussing the importance of DNA, misidentification, and coercion from police. The rape of Thompson not only affected herself, but Cotton as well.
“He was active in local affairs, a devoted Christian and solid citizen who believed in public service and always ready to volunteer”(1) .Ben had no rhyme or reason to murder Bill because Grisham demonstrates how bill has no character traits to have any enemies therefore the murder was done in cold blood. All these quotes which are background information and personal experience strategy are given so the reader has a sense of who Bill was and a sense of who Ben was a way of showing how effective background information is to a reader.
Before Jacob discovers all the new and fascinating secrets about his life, he has an unusual childhood. Jacob grows up with his grandfather telling him stories about how Abe was separated from his family, lived in an orphan house, and about the
This little boy’s major issue might have not been in his actions, but in what his real motives were. Jacob Blivens idolized the innocent young boys that he read about in his Sunday-school books and he was drawn to the legacy they were remembered for. He had a burning fire inside of him to be like the other boys and leave behind a legacy for everyone to read. Jacob had an internal conflict of not understanding how all the other “bad boys” could get away with their stunts and he was always left with the blame. Even though it never s...
It was summer hot and humid July but all was not well for homicide was in the air. Jeremy Ringquist had, after a divorce and begin unemployed, had taken up residence with his parents once again. Thirty-eight years of age Jeremy, was charged with the death of his parents and attempting to hide the bodies in a freezer.
Guilty or not guilty? This the key question during the murder trial of a young man accused of fatally stabbing his father. The play 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose, introduces to the audience twelve members of a jury made up of contrasting men from various backgrounds. One of the most critical elements of the play is how the personalities and experiences of these men influence their initial majority vote of guilty. Three of the most influential members include juror #3, juror #10, and juror #11. Their past experiences and personal bias determine their thoughts and opinions on the case. Therefore, how a person feels inside is reflected in his/her thoughts, opinions, and behavior.
Jennifer Thompson-Cannino was raped at knife point in her apartment. She was able to escape and identify Ronald Cotton as her attacker. The detective conducting the lineup told Jennifer that she had done great, confirming to her that she had chosen the right suspect. Eleven years later, DNA evidence proved that the man Jennifer Identified, Ronald Cotton was innocent and wrongfully convicted. Instead, Bobby Poole was the real perpetrator. Sadly, there are many other cases of erroneous convictions. Picking cotton is a must read for anybody because it educates readers about shortcomings of eyewitness identification, the police investigative process and the court system.
Sue Grafton once stated: “Except for cases that clearly involve a homicidal maniac, the police like to believe murders are committed by those we know and love, and most of the time they're right.” This is clearly the thought the Boulder Colorado police conceived in the case of little beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. As many have observed from the onslaught of media coverage, the day after Christmas 1996, six year old Jon Benet Ramsey was found buried under a white blanket, bound, beaten, and strangled to death in the wine cellar of their Boulder home. With such a strikingly rare and glamorous story of a six year old beauty queen dead, who was a part of a “perfect American upper-middle class family”, combined with a lack of a lead and ever mounting suspicion piling up against the parents it was no surprise to find that it was fuel to the media and soon stories sold and became a matter of competition between the press. So, like wildfire, this heart-breaking story spread, stretching across the nation, shattering the souls of the world. News broadcasts, magazine and newspaper articles, and television specials all shaped and molded peoples perceptions of this beautiful child’s murder, especially her parents, John and Pasty Ramsey’s involvement or lack there of. The police and FBI’s merciless quest to connect Jon Benet’s murder to her parents, seemed to cause the them to overlook important evidence, or at the very least dismiss suspicious findings that would otherwise send red flags to investigators. There are many contributors as to why this case remains unsolved including lack of investigative expertise, failure to protect valuable evidence, and focusing too much on the parents as suspects but, ultimately, the over involvement of...
The victim is nineteen year old Khadijah Stewart. Stewart had grown up in the south side of Richmond, Virginia (a high crime area) where she met a boy named Tommie. Both were in middle school but Tommie soon got arrested for robberies and gun charges, he was sentenced to life as a juvenile. As time goes on Stewart forms a history of dating bad boys. The main on and off again boyfriend throughout her high school years was a young man named Lionel. In High school Stewart is skipping school to hang out Lionel and his gang members. Afraid how the streets could impact Stewart, the mother moves the family to Chesterfield County, a successful middle class suburbs, to create new life. As her life is changing for the better her heart longs to maintain
Justine Moritz was recently executed for the murder of William Frankenstein. Moritz has worked for the Frankenstein family as a maid ever since she was a child. People find it hard to believe that she was capable of murdering William since it was Moritz who took care of him since he was born. Unfortunately, it is proven that someone is more likely to be murdered by a person they personally know. Data shows that it is not as likely to be killed by a random stranger compared to being killed by someone that has some form of relationship with the victim. The murder of William Frankenstein is just another example of a murder that were committed by a person close to him.
To shed light on my viewpoint of justice, I will share a case I found to be disturbing in which I believe justice was not served. I will also share a second case in which I believe perfect justice was served. The case of two year old James Bulger in England quickly became the focus of the community, when they found his lifeless body on the railroad tracks. He had been beaten in the head and sexually assaulted and the assailants were two boys at the age of only ten. James Bulger suffered 42 injuries. ("The James Bulger Case.”) Robert Thompson and James Venables were questioned separately after someone recognized them on camera. They were both given an eight year sentence. Robert Thompson was released from custody at the age of 23. The staff at the Boston Moss Secure Care Centre reported Thompson never showed an ounce of remorse for the horrific murder. Thompson was granted a new identity and anonymity by the