Social capital

When a Suspect and a Victim Become Friends On January 16th, 1985, Ronald Cotton was convicted of the two counts of burglary and two counts of rape. He pleaded not guilty throughout the trial, but he was found guilty by the court. There were many factors that sent him to prison, such as: his prior criminal record, the three factors that can influence an officer’s use of discretion, the evidence against him, and more. After 10 years in prison, he was exonerated by DNA testing. Not long after,…

The Thoughtless Killing Of John Fulton; The Kimberly Noyes Case After the brutal murder of John Fulton an autistic twelve-year-old boy, Kimberly Noyes was declared not criminally responsible due to mental disorder. This is a Canadian law that states, “No person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was…

“There are two things in life you can be sure of...death and taxes.” While both are realities we may try to avoid, many people never give much thought to the details, both financially and socially, of what happens when we die. Death is and will always be the last thing that I would talk about. When the topic of death tries to surface, I always change the subject and start a new conversation. Talking about death is very depressing and I am actually getting anxiety typing this but I guess now is…

Expungement of a juvenile record following a conviction in adult criminal court was the question in People v. Smith 470 NW2d 70 (“People v. Smith,” n.d.). Ricky Franklin Smith plead guilty in adult criminal court of breaking and entering into a building with the intent to commit larceny and of being a habitual offender (4th offense). Smith was sentenced to 3.5-10 years in prison for the crime, only to have the sentence later vacated, as he was deemed a habitual offender. Smith was then…

The Guilty Actions of Mary Maloney Roald Dahl conjured from his imagination the character of Mary Maloney, a woman who murdered her husband after discovering he wanted to divorce her. A question exists in the story Lamb To The Slaughter asking whether Mary was insane or just plain guilty Jeffrey Dahmer, a man who was responsible for the murder, dismemberment, and even cannibalism of 17 men and boys went on trial and was still found guilty despite the thought that he would have to be insane to…

The book The Conjure Man Dies: A Mystery Tale of Dark Harlem, was written by Rudolph Fisher in 1932. The tale is about a conjure-man, also known as Frimbo, that is supposedly found dead. At the beginning of the story a physician, John Archer, and a detective, Perry Dart try to put together evidence and clues to figure out who could have murdered him. They have many suspects that could be the murderer, based on different reasons and circumstances dealing with the conjurer. Many actually wanted…

The case of Lanny Snell v. Jay Seidler shows how effective the right of disposition is. This paper will discuss, the argument Lanny Snell has against coroner Jay Seilder and whether the coroner failed to inform appellant Lanny of the death of his father. It will also view the argument whether appellee Ms. Kilburn had the right to sign the cremation of deceased Wayne Snell. The case of Lanny Snell v. Corner, Jay Seidler took place in the Appeals Court in Monroe County, Ohio. The…

Orrin Hatch, an American politician who is the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, had once said, “Capital punishment is our society 's recognition of the sanctity of human life.” As early as the eighteenth century B.C., the laws that impose the death penalty became established. However, many Americans believe the death penalty should be abolished for reasons such as wrongful conviction, expenses, and the failure to deter crime. Due to statistical analysis and factual information…

Introduction The Amanda Knox case is often referred to as the case where everything went exactly how it should not have gone. Although the case is typically painted as a case where the Italian justice system was at fault, many different complex elements contributed to the eventual outcome of the case. In order to evaluate the complicated and disconcerting case, our group evaluated the question: To what extent did the investigation of the murder of Meredith Kercher impact the false conviction…

execution was in Jamestown, Virginia to Captain George Kendall in 1608 (Part I). With President Elect Trump coming into office in just over a month, he strongly supports the death penalty and it is almost certain that he will bring in others that support Capital Punishment just as much as he does. It’s often times the most difficult decision when it comes to the jury. People see life as precious and think that everyone deserves a second chance, which is why some criminals get off of the crime…