The Murder Of Shirley Crook

The Eighth Amendment protects the right of prisoners before they are tried and after they are convicted. It also bars excessive fines and “cruel and unusual” punishments. In 1641, the Massachusetts Body of Liberties standards allowed the death penalty for blasphemy and had physical punishments such as cutting off ears and branding with a hot iron. But now the death penalty is no longer allowed in some states because its defined as “evolving standards of decency” and most are extremely cruel and the cost is expensive. The Eighth Amendment prohibits mentally ill persons to “cruel and unusual” punishments. The Supreme Court case in 2005 of Roper v. Simmons is about Christopher Simmons and he was sentenced to death in 1993, when he was only 17.

On the morning of April 12th, 1981, teenage daughter Sheila Sharp would have never imagined coming home to discover that her family had been brutally murdered from the night before. Sue Sharp who had just separated from her husband and her five children: Sheila, Tina, John, Greg, and Rick; relocated to Keddie, California. Sharp and her children had been living in a cabin that they were renting.

The decision whether the life sentence without parole is cruel and/or unusual punishment, is a world wide problem. On this article, Brown brings up cases about teenagers who have committee murder by accident or on purpose and how they should be punished. The reason why I want to use this article is for the disagreement I feel on this argument, how the brain hasn't develop and why the teens should take responsibility for its actions.

In the past few decades, a new stream of research has emerged in American crime and criminality. It entails the study of sensationalized murder stories. Such an inquiry is critical to understand Americans past in crime and criminality. Case studies such as the murder of Jewett are riveting thus creating a nuanced portrait of a historical moment. Such study paints a picture on important changes in American culture and society over time. With this in mind, the paper details the sensational murder of Helen Jewett. A cursory glance at the argument shows that Jewett personality and lifestyle shatters the common ideas particularly in popular minds about prostitutes as pathetic and broken persons living impoverished lives. However, understanding Jewett murder demand a closer look at the 1830s and 1840s prostitution.

Simmons wasn’t charged with anything, because they fled the country during the night. Simmons moved on, but one day it was all too much for the pshychotic

In 2001, 15 years old Columbus, OH resident Brandon Moore along with another teen kidnapped robbed and raped 22 year old woman. The woman was abducted as she arrived for an evening work shift and was repeatedly raped at gun point before being released. Brandon was tried as an adult and convicted of armed kidnapping, robbery and gang rape in the 2001. Moore now 29 received multiple sentences in total of 112- years in prison in 2008. Couple weeks ago Moore’s lawyer argued that a 112-year prison sentence imposed on a convicted rapist should be overturned because it amounts to an unconstitutional life term for crimes he committed at age 15.

The south was a dangerous place for African Americans during that time period. For example earlier that summer of 1955 in Mississippi, according to Heather Pool, two African American men by the names of George Lee and Lamar Smith, both worked on organizing and registering black voters, had been murdered (Pool). George Lee was shot in his car and it was ruled in court as a traffic accident, even when they found the slug still in his body (Pool). As for Lamar Smith, he was shot in broad daylight in front of police officers and a large crowd of bystanders in the middle of town square, yet no one could identify the shooter (Pool). According to The Murder of Emmett Till documentary on YouTube, in the seventy five years before Emmett till, in Mississippi

3. Dudley and Stephen will be charged with first-degree murder. Their punishment should be 20-30 years or life in prison. The murder of Brooks was no accident because it was premeditated. Despite the malnutrition as a factor Brooks was still sane and refused to be eaten but the other two ignored this without a second thought. By convicting Dudley and Stephen it will show that the law of the country is absolute. It will also decrease the chances of someone appealing because "They were mentally ill during the time of the killing."

On June25, 2012 the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles who committee murder could not be stentced to life in prison because it violates the eighth amendment. I understand that it violates the eighth amendment, but if we don’t stop these kids doing this kind of crime then we are letting them know that it is okay for them to do it at a young age when it’s not. Then we ask ourselves what we could’ve done when we lose a love in the violate choice that they chose. I would disagree with the Supreme Court in this case because we have to let them learn their lesson, they need to start to take responsibility, and because it has nothing to with the mentally.

Never being able to see your friends and family seems like something unimaginable but for Morris Kent because of his own actions has to live in a nightmare for the rest of his life. Morris Kent was arrested at the age of 16 for 3 counts of robbery, 3 counts of home robberies and worst of all 2 counts of rape. Because of the severity of the crimes the prosecutor moved to try morris as an adult as the punishment would be more severe, but morris’s lawyer didn’t want to have Morris tried as an adult so he planned to argue that Morris had a “mental illness” so the case would stay in juvenile court but in the end the judges ruled against Morris and for the prosecutor. As a result Kent’s punishment was more severe at a sentence of 30 to 90 years in prison but Morris not agreeing with the decision the judges had made Morris appealed stating that the case should have stayed in juvenile court but as the judges didn’t feel the same way about the case they ruled

Yes, I could have won this case because it was endorsed by the FBI as James Earl Ray being the killer, the case involved someone who was hated in the South. It was not meant for Ray to have a fair trial where the murder occurred, and biased and corrupt criminal justice professionals were present throughout the entire investigation including the FBI. Therefore, whether or not James Earl Ray was guilty was immaterial to the fact that he was going to be convicted. Many people doubt the authenticity of his guilt as well as the evidence presented at trial. However, the 1960s in America, the murder of a black man, even one as prominent and world-renowned as Martin Luther King Jr. could easily be subjected to corruption and a cover-up that involved

His representation motioned to set aside Simmons previous charges and conviction (Roper v. Simmons, 2005,p.4). The federal courts denied Simmons petition for a write of habeas corpus, due to finding no Constitutional violation, on grounds from ineffective assistance of counsel; thus denying his motion for post conviction relief (Roper v. Simmons, 2005,p.4). The Simmons case came to a halt later in 2002, when the Missouri Supreme Court “stayed Simmons’s execution”(Oyez, p.1); during which The U.S. Supreme Court decided upon Atkins v. Virginia. The Atkins V. Virginia case dealt with the execution of mentally ill persons (Oyez, p.1); The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing the mentally ill violated the Eighth and 14th Amendment’s prohibitions on cruel and unusual punishment, mainly in addition to the fact that several Americans deemed it cruel and

Expatriate Australian TV news reporter Cass Loukas finds herself elbow deep in the story of her life when she and two Los Angeles cops happen upon a dark and desperate man who has committed an unspeakable act of violence.

Roper v. Simmons was a supreme court case that was decided in 2004 which dealt with whether it is against the constitution, and falls under cruel and unusual punishment, the execute someone who is under the age of 18. This case was particularly important as it dealt with something that many people were against entirely: the death penalty. A variation of this issue was decided nearly twenty years earlier in Thompson v. Oklahoma when it was decided in a five-to-three ruling that it was not constitutional to execute anyone under the age of 16. There have also been many other landmark cases that have challenged the constitutionality of the death penalty for certain parties such as in Atkins v. Virginia which was decided just three

Terrance Jamar Graham was 16 when in 2005 he committed armed burglary and as well attempted armed robbery. For his crime Graham served a sentence of 12 months and was later released, and given a three year probation because he accepted a guilty plea.. Because Graham violated his parole when he was arrested for another crime. Florida state sentenced Graham to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Graham argued that this life sentence is unconstitutional because it is going against his eighth amendment cruel and unusual punishment. Graham is arguing this because his crime is intended for those that commit crimes such as murder, in which case Graham crime was not. The state argued because of Graham criminal behavior that they were left no choice because it was made obvious that he had chosen his lifestyle. The State had mentioned that their choice also was considered for the safety of the community that would be in danger if he was left free.