In May of 1984, John Booth and Willie Reid entered the home of Irvin and Rose Bronstein for the purpose of stealing money to buy heroin. Booth, who lived only three houses away in the same neighborhood, was aware that the Bronstein’s could identify him, so he and Reid stabbed the elderly couple to death. He was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery. After the trial, Booth opted to let the jury determine his sentence instead of the judge.
Before the sentencing phase began, the Maryland State Division of Parole and Probation presented a report that was required by state statute. Information required in the report included a victim impact statements that described the effect of the crime on the victims and the victims' family. The victim impact statement can be either read to the jury, or the family members can offer their views orally by appearing before the court. In this case, the
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On appeal, the Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, finding that the victim impact statement serves an important interest by informing the sentence of the full measure of harm caused by the crime. Booth again appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where the lower court's sentencing, but not the conviction, was vacated and remanded back for further proceedings.
In presenting arguments before the Supreme Court, the chief attorney for Booth argued that when making a decision about the death penalty, juries should only consider two criteria: the defendant's background and the circumstances of the
The Court of Appeal ordered the trial court to reconsider its decision on Knoller’s motion for retrial in light of its definition of implied malice. Knoller appealed the Court of Appeal’s
So when they received the McCleskey v. Kemp case for review, they were asked to answer the constitutional question of whether or not the statistical study provided proved that the death penalty was imposed due to the plaintiff’s race and his victim’s race. In a 5-4 decision the Court ruled that McCleskey’s Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were not violated and that the study did not prove that racial considerations were present. Along with the ruling the majority of the court provided their analysis of the
The US Marshal Service began in 1789, when Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 (USMS). It created the same legislation for the Federal Judicial System. The US Marshal Deputies were given the authority to assist with the federal courts all within the districts and to carry out the orders issued by the Judges, Congress, or the President. Congress had a time limit on the broad range of authority for the US Marshal Deputies (USMS). It was the only office created with an automatic expiration, which limited them to a 4 year, renewable term, serving the United States President (USMS).
Ayala chose not to seek the death penalty in the case regarding Markeeth Lloyd, due to her beliefs that the death penalty should not primarily be a deterrent to crime. Historically, it has been shown the death penalty has been imposed on the innocent way too often, exorbitant to taxpayers and lastly, it adversely affecting both families of murder victims and families of the accused. Additionally, it has been apparent that co-victims had improved physical and psychological health and greater satisfaction with the legal system in cases where perpetrators received life sentences, rather than death sentences as well. In knowing Markeeth Lloyd killed two individuals, had a long criminal history and was a threat to society, I believe he had demonstrated to be tried for the death penalty. Although this case was highly publicized and nearly two percent of murderers actually get the death penalty, this does not mean leaving hardened criminals without stringent punishment, and I have to disagree with D.A. Ayala's decision.
On the 14th of October 2011, Mr Rayney had submitted an application for a trial which only involved a judge without a jury present. This was due Mr. Rayney assuming that a strong bias had been manifested pre-trial as a result of the subjective publicity revolving around the death of his wife, Corryn(The Conversation, 2012). Therefore, the jury and any member of the public would already have preconceived views in favour of Mr Rayney being guilty of murdering his wife. The trial was successful for Mr Rayney where he was acquitted of murdering his wife. Similarly, this issue is somewhat common as it had also occurred in the case Evans v The State of Western Australia [2011] WASCA 182, in which both appellants had made appeals after being convicted for murder.
Emotional trauma the victim has experienced or is still experiencing after the crime, mental Trauma such as PTS disorder or depression. Financial problems the victim has suffered from the crime, paying for hospital bills or retrieval of stolen items if crime involved theft. And finally socially, how has the crime impacted the victims social life, are they afraid to go out? Normal activities are now a struggle, life has been completely altered. Victim impact statements can assist the court proceedings with how the crime impacted on the victim, the personal circumstances of the victim and any injury or loss as a result of the crime committed against the victim (victimsofcrime.gov.au, 2015).
Ewell v. Robinson, The Rape Case that Rocked the Nation By: Hailey Ellwanger After hours of jury deliberation, the case of Ewell v. Robinson has reached its conclusion. The jury finding the defendant Tom Robinson guilty of raping Mayella Ewell. This case is a prime example of the injustice that can occur when juries listen to their prejudices instead of the evidence. The two different sides of the story vastly differ, the jury ruling in favor of the Ewell’s.
Guilty or not guilty, all citizens deserve a thorough trial to defend their rights. Formulating coherent stories from events and circumstances almost cost a young boy his life. In Twelve Angry Men, 1957, a single juror did his duty to save the life of an 18 year old boy by allowing his mind to rationalize the cohesive information presented by the court and its witnesses. The juror’s name was Mr. Davis, he was initially the only one of 12 jurors to vote not guilty in reason that the young boy, sentenced with first degree murder, may be innocent. I am arguing that system 1 negatively affects the jurors opinion on the case and makes it difficult for Mr. Davis to convince the other jurors of reasonable doubt.
The Victim Advocate Program Victoria Paulina Lugo Charleston Southern University Abstract This paper will be an overview of the Victim Advocate Programs in the United States of America. The main objectives will aim to discuss the overall, general job of the Victim Advocate Program, its purpose and its importance, and the role it plays in both the military and at the local level. It will aim to thoroughly explain the goals, importance, and intentions of those who work within the program, as well as the requirements to become certified as someone who works for any Victim Advocate program at a federal, state, or local level.
To prove vileness of the offense, the prosecution relied upon the trial record, including pictures of the deceased’s body and the autopsy report. The jury again sentenced Atkins to death. In affirming, the Virginia Supreme Court relied upon Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302 (1989) in rejecting Atkins' contention that he could not be sentenced to death because he is “mentally retarded.” The Court was not willing to commute Atkins’ death sentence to life imprisonment based on his IQ score. Atkins appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme
As a predisposition writer in a juvenile setting the probation officer will be tasked with the important process of writing a report for the judge to take into consideration. A Predisposition report consists of the client’s complete prior history. The probation officer that writes these reports is required to gather all the information that they feel will be necessary to make a proper judgment on the juvenile. Probation officers will collect information on the juveniles past history with law enforcement, family problems, mental health issues, what they client feels are their needs and wants, and numerous other issues that may arise during the meeting. Once this information is gathered and concluded to be factual the probation officer will
However, the main affect this decision has on today’s society is the way justice must be carried out in the court of law and the way a person’s rights should be protected even if they’re guilty or
For most people, only the person involved in the encounter are labeled as victims. The pain comes in from the view of one who feels the full effects of the ordeal. However, there is more to the scope of victims than the person directly involved in the crime. Debra narrates how much her family participates in events following up her kidnap and her husband’s murder. Family members would like to see the perpetrator get the death penalty.
The internet site I chose for this assignment is The National Institute of Justice. It is a government run website, which I could identify because the end of the site’s hyperlink ended in .gov. There is an abundance of information on this website including topics such as corrections, forensics, drugs and crime, victims/victimization, and more. There are also links to information that include multimedia, publications, and events (Clark, 2010). To continue, I found that there are a couple of sources of information the site uses such as crime solutions and other websites that helps one understand the information they are reading that much better.
When it comes to something as arguable as the death penalty, people are prone to have very distinct feelings on the situation. Some are considered advocates while others are strongly against it. The main issue is that those who are against it cannot be “death qualified,” while the advocates can and are. This results in a full jury, consisting of only those who believe in the death penalty and are willing to give it. The idea is that a juror who does not believe in enforcing the death penalty would not be “qualified” to sit as a juror because he would be incapable, as a result of his faith, to give a verdict of death, should the “circumstances warrant” such a punishment.