A teenager mother from Mississippi, Sabrina Butler was first known as the only female offender on Mississippi’s death row who was convicted for child abuse and the murder of her infant son. On the eve of April 11th, 1989, Sabrina Butler arrived at the hospital after midnight with a nine-month-old Walter Dean Butler, who was unresponsive at the scene. She claimed that she have found the baby when he unexpectedly stopped breathing, and after multiple failed attempts to resuscitate her son, she rushed to the emergency room and seek helps from medical professionals who are more knowledgeable on the matter. Sadly, her child was pounced died by the doctors following their visit to the hospital. The next day, while Sabrina was asked to give her statements at the local police station, the prosecutors arrested Sabrina under the charges of capital murder.
The law review article I chose was written by a Law Professor regarding police claims on self-defense. The author talks about Zimmerman’s murder trial and how the judge refused to allow prosecution to argue that the neighborhood watch volunteer racially profiled Martin. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder for shooting a 17-year-old, Trayvon Martin. The state of Florida filed an affidavit of probable cause stating that Zimmerman profiled and confronted Martin and shot him to death when Martin didn’t commit any crimes. Zimmerman claims he shot Martin in self-defense.
The morning of February 24, 2005, the grandmother of 9yr. old Jessica Lunsford called the police in Citrus County, Fla., to report her granddaughter had disappeared from her room the night before. She had tucked her into bed. The only thing that was missing was a stuffed animal that her father won for her at the county fair. Immediately police began to search for Jessica.
On March 7, 1998, 55 year old Mrs. Jadine Russell and her daughter were involved in a minor automobile accident. While on the side of the road assessing the damage, Jadine, her daughter, and two police officers, were taken by surprise, when alleged drunk driver, Keith Cook, lost control of his pickup hitting Jadine’s car. The vehicles then plowed into the four victims as they stood there. “All were hurt, but Jadine suffered the most severe injury when the car pinned her against a fence and ruptured her spleen, causing massive internal bleeding and leaking blood into her abdomen” (Baxtrom). Jadine, in need of serious medical attention, refused a blood transfusion.
He was charged with 2 counts of murder and for kidnapping his girlfriend and keeping her hostage. This was not the young man’s first brush with violence. Previous behaviors led many to believe that Matthew was mentally ill and very capable of killing his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Heikkila thought differently. Less than a year before this crime, Matthew had threatened his father’s life and shot at him, but didn’t hit him.
James. A.Williams or otherwise known as, Jim Williams, was a good man, for the most part. He was a well known antique dealer, who was highly respected by all who knew him. He had played an active role in the restoration of Savannah’s Historic district downtown, starting in the mid-1950s. Jim Williams was also well known for his “ have to be there,” christmas party that was always held the day before the Cotillion debutante ball.
Another incident that occurred that involved the police shooting an innocent child when one officer, followed by others started pursuing Chris Few’s. Inside of the car was Chris Few and his 6 year old son, Jeremy Mardis. The police officers that followed the main police officer leading that chase, to this day, are still unsure as to why they were pursuing Chris Few. One even stated that he did not pull his firearm out because he did not feel threatened by Few. It even shows in police surveillance videos that the suspect was unarmed with his hands raised in the air, showing that he did not have a firearm.
“My God! He slit her throat!” Gates yelled as he fell out of his wheelchair, immediately performing first aid. As a cluster of people surrounded the scene “Dahlke again spotted the man he'd seen only moments before kneeling by the nude victim(Gary C. King, Dayton Leroy Rogers: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer)” trying to escape. Within moments, bystanders Stan Conner and Richard Bergio blocked the exits, but the man simply drove out using the sidewalk and a chase pursued between the man and Bergio.
17 year old Christopher Simmons along with another friend robbed, kidnapped, and murdered a woman by throwing her off of a bridge with her hands and legs bound. Simmons and his friend were caught shortly after the heinous act, primarily due to Simmons bragging about what he did. When arrested by the local police, he was taken to the police station and was given his Miranda rights. Simmons “waived his right to an attorney and agreed to answer questions” (Cornell University, n.d.). Simmons confessed to the murder and gave a videotaped reenactment of how he committed the heinous act.
In the court of law, everyone is guilty until proven innocent. Thus, Hobart Ison was guilty when killing Hugh O’ Connor. Though by law Hobart was a murderer, many question that very decision. Though a killer, locals of urban Kentucky would argue that his actions are justifiable. Elizabeth Barret creates Stranger with a Camera as a tool to look into those justifications and see the reasons Ison murdered O’Connor.
According to the Supreme Court, in 1993, Christopher Simmons went into Shirley Crook’s home with in mind to steal and harm her. Simmons was 17 years old at the time of this crime. According to the report, Simmons had spoken to his friends of the plan to kill the family, thinking he could get away with it because of his age. According to the report, Simmons was arrested the next day, he and his friends.
Mrs Hoffman's son, 16 year old Michael, who shared a room with his mother was awoken by a scream, and witnessed Fiegenbaum, who had recently taken a room there, standing over her, a large knife, in his hand. Fiegenbaum lunged at the boy, but Michael fled through an open window. Fiegenbaum cut Mrs Hoffman’s throat, before fleeing out of the rear window, throwing the knife away as he fled, he was arrested later that night. Fiegenbaum told his lawyer.
In our society today, we can see how a majority of the protection of the law is biased towards Whites rather than Blacks. This can be seen through the recent Trayvon Martin shooting that occurred in 2012. Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old African-American male who was walking back from a convenience store in Sanford, Florida, where he purchased a pack of Skittles candy and an iced tea. Zimmerman, a white police officer, shot Martin dead on the basis that Martin was carrying a weapon. The shot from the office killed Martin and Zimmerman justified his actions by claiming it was an act of self-defense.
By understanding the characters in “Bloodchild”, it can be seen that Butler reversed the roles of
Three murder case studies will be presented and compare here: Marian Bates, Martha Moxley, and Elizabeth Short. Marian Bates was a 64 year old Nottingham Jeweler who was murdered in front of her husband, Victor Bates, and children. Peter Williams, a 19 year old drug addict was released early from prison and was supposedly under “intense supervision”. Williams removed his tag and violated his curfew. He and an unidentified gunman who is still at large, raided a jewelry store on September 30th 2003.
