... Atkins due to the fact that the Supreme Court of Virginia needed to prove one of the factors of his patient's conviction, the gravity and brutality of the offense. Dr. Nelson came to the conclusion before Atkins' trial that he was "mildly mentally retarded". This tedious decision was based on many interviews with acquaintances of the perpetrator and school and court ... the doctor had giving Atkins was the typical test used by the United States Government for "assessing intellectual functioning" and has a point scale form 45-155. The association that Dr. Nelson belonged to is known as T...

• Word Count: 1034
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography

... fifteen percent decrease. In 1982, the state of Texas reinstated the death penalty. In 1981 the city of Houston (Harris county) there was a record 701 murders. Since reinstating the death penalty that county has executed more murders than any other city, county, or state in the union. They have also have seen the greatest reduction in murder at 261 murders in 1996 down ... ...

• Word Count: 583
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... a recent Craigslist scam that resulted in three murders and one attempted murder. With Beasley's guidance, Rafferty lured four different victims using a fake Craigslist job offer for a farmhand position in Noble County in southeast Ohio. Although his attorneys argued that he was coerced by Beasley and feared for his life, the jurors found that he acted on his own free will and ... call 911 (Fox News). Davis was able to lead authorities back to the location where he was shot, and they recovered Pauley's body. Geiger's body was found in the same county, but Kern's body was buried near a s...

• Word Count: 546
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography

... sentenced to 412 days in jail but received credit for time served. However, she was also sentenced to a year of probation, but a misunderstanding granted her credit for that also. Orange County Circuit Judge Stan Strickland intended for Anthony's probation to begin to day she was released from jail, but he then signed an order that allowed her probation period to coincide ... the murder of her daughter. An amendment was made to the order on August 1, 2011 that included the words "upon release" to clarify Strickland's intentions (CNN). A spokesman for the Orange County State Attorney's O...

• Word Count: 537
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... ). The state attorney general's office revealed that the drug was from Britain, making it the first time a state has revealed that sodium thiopental was obtained from an overseas source. Tim Nelson, the Chief Deputy Attorney General, said that the origin was revealed to assure people that the drug came from a reliable source. He did not name the company that manufactured it ... ...

• Word Count: 523
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography

... murder. 6. The suspect is presumed innocent, 7. The prosecution must prove to the judge that the evidence upon which the prosecution will rely is admissible, 8. The defendant is assigned two attorneys, county funds are provided to defense counsel for investigation and trial, 9. It takes 3-12 weeks to select a jury, 10. Trial is conducted, 11. The burden of proof is on the state ... . When the death sentence is imposed the perpetrator receive and automatic appeal 21&22. The death row inmate is provided and attorney, or attorneys to handle the direct appeal, at county expense, through both...

• Word Count: 1108
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... a convicted person." Why wouldn't the state of Virginia want to spend more than twenty-one days to put the real killer behind bars? "On August 2, 1994," the NCADP claims, "Robert Nelson Drew was executed even after another man signed an affidavit in which he confessed to the murder and exonerated Drew." In both cases, murder was justified by killing more innocent ... ...

• Word Count: 1144
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... case for five years. Keeping Berry in prison for his entire life would have cost half as much. In Vinton County, Ohio, Judge Simmons ruled that prosecutors could not seek the death penalty against Gregory McKnight. Simmons" ruling stated that the county could not guarantee that McKnight would receive an adequate defense in his capital trial. "The court finds that the potential ... ...

• Word Count: 943
• Approx Pages: 4

... not permitted to be heard in court. Instead, O"Dell was sentenced to death and executed in July of 1997. Another case of an innocent being executed occurred in Texas. Robert Nelson Drew was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. After a man signed a confession exonerating Drew the state of Texas still executed him in August of 1994. If these people were ... ...

• Word Count: 804
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a convicted person." Why wouldn"t the state of Virginia want to spend more than twenty-one days to put the real killer behind bars? "On August 2, 1994," the NCADP claims, "Robert Nelson Drew was executed even after another man signed an affidavit in which he confessed to the murder and exonerated Drew." In both cases, murder was justified by killing more innocent ... ...

• Word Count: 1076
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... the population, but 48 percent of the prison population and 55.5 percent of those on death row were black ("aclu.org"). This arbitrariness is a serious problem; even the former president Clinton has addressed it. At a White House conference, he expressed his concern about the death penalty. "I am concerned also at the federal level the issues at the federal level related more ... ...

• Word Count: 1086
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... purpose of dragging it out, disrespects the finality of the convictions. However, in late April, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. President Bill Clinton signed this act into law essentially to speed up the appeals process for death row cases by making it more difficult for federal courts to intervene, review and challenge decisions ... ...

• Word Count: 808
• Approx Pages: 3

... even though she's glad the conviction was tossed, the injustice that executed her brother still haunts her. Steve McKenzie, the lawyer for Stinney's family, filed for a new trial in Clarendon County claiming that the teenager's confession was forced and he was subject to the segregated community's thirst for revenge. The police coerced a confession out of Stinney without his parents or lawyers ... ...

• Word Count: 666
• Approx Pages: 3

... doubled from the original polling of 31% in 1985 to 62% in 2004 (Radelet and LaCock 492). In addition, a 1995 national survey found that 2/3 of nearly 400 police chiefs and county sheriffs did not believe that the death penalty served as a significant deterrent to murder (Radelet and LaCock 492). The necessity of the death penalty in order for a functioning society can ... ...

• Word Count: 1193
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

High school shooter, T.J. Lane, was officially charged with murder after his shooting rampage left three fellow students dead. Next week, a juvenile court in Geauga County, Ohio will decide whether or not Lane will be tried as an adult in court. As it stands, as a juvenile he is not able to receive the death penalty. On ... ...

• Word Count: 587
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

High school shooter, T.J. Lane, was officially charged with murder after his shooting rampage left three fellow students dead. Next week, a juvenile court in Geauga County, Ohio will decide whether or not Lane will be tried as an adult in court. As it stands, as a juvenile he is not able to receive the death penalty. On ... ...

• Word Count: 590
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

High school shooter, T.J. Lane, was officially charged with murder after his shooting rampage left three fellow students dead. Next week, a juvenile court in Geauga County, Ohio will decide whether or not Lane will be tried as an adult in court. As it stands, as a juvenile he is not able to receive the death penalty. On ... ...

• Word Count: 587
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

High school shooter, T.J. Lane, was officially charged with murder after his shooting rampage left three fellow students dead. Next week, a juvenile court in Geauga County, Ohio will decide whether or not Lane will be tried as an adult in court. As it stands, as a juvenile he is not able to receive the death penalty. On Monday, February 27th, Lane opened fire on a group of students at Chardon High School, the high school he attended for at-risk students. Lane killed three students and wounded two others. He was charged with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted ...

• Word Count: 588
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

High school shooter, T.J. Lane, was officially charged with murder after his shooting rampage left three fellow students dead. Next week, a juvenile court in Geauga County, Ohio will decide whether or not Lane will be tried as an adult in court. As it stands, as a juvenile he is not able to receive the death penalty. On Monday, February 27th, Lane opened fire on a group of students at Chardon High School, the high school he attended for at-risk students. Lane killed three students and wounded two others. He was charged with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted ...

• Word Count: 588
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

High school shooter, T.J. Lane, was officially charged with murder after his shooting rampage left three fellow students dead. Next week, a juvenile court in Geauga County, Ohio will decide whether or not Lane will be tried as an adult in court. As it stands, as a juvenile he is not able to receive the death penalty. On Monday, February 27th, Lane opened fire on a group of students at Chardon High School, the high school he attended for at-risk students. Lane killed three students and wounded two others. He was charged with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted ...

• Word Count: 588
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . This rarely used plea, which lets the boys still maintain their innocence, requires them to state that there was evidence that could be used to convict them. As a result, Craighead County Circuit Judge David Laser allowed the boys to go free after sentencing them to the 18 years they already served and added a 10-year suspended sentence (CNN). "I want to be ... ...

• Word Count: 794
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , but could face a life imprisonment sentence with a 25 year minimum (Musicar). McGuffin hopes to be released while he awaits trial, although his wish will most likely not be granted. Coos County District Attorney, R. Paul Frasier, said he couldn't recall a single case where a judge released a homicide suspect on his recognizance (Musicar). Frasier also said a motion for change of venue will most likely ... ...

• Word Count: 515
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... 25% opposing (TCADP). Capital punishment was declared "cruel and unusual punishment" by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29, 1972. There were 45 men on death row in Texas and 7 in county jails with a death sentence. All of the sentences were commuted to life sentences by the Governor of Texas, and death row was clear by March 1973 (TDCJ). In 1973, revision ... ...

• Word Count: 517
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... enough money to ensure that poor defendants receive adequate representation. Since Mr. Bromgard's trial, some of the counties have responded to this criticism by financing a public defender system, but each county is responsible for meeting its individual needs. Mr. Bromgard was sent to prison at age 18, and spent his entire adult life behind bars, for a crime he did not commit ... ...

• Word Count: 699
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... have been on death row before new evidence was found that proved their innocence? There would be no going back to freeing an innocent, dead man. A Chief Investigator from Monterey County says he strongly believes in the death penalty due to everything he has seen in his line of work. A story of a two year old girl who died because her mother ... ...

• Word Count: 733
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School