Assignment 2: Trials And Verdicts
Assignment 2: Trials and Verdicts
Angela Marshall
Professor Richard Beltz
Strayer University/Essentials of Criminal Justice
May 31, 2015
Trials and Verdicts One of the most essential inquiries of law is whether a particular court has authority to preside over a given case. The jurisdictional question may be broken down into three components: is jurisdiction over the person, is jurisdiction over the subject matter, and is jurisdiction to render the particular judgment sought. Then there is different courts that have jurisdiction depending on the case. State courts have general jurisdiction, meaning that they can hear any controversy except those prohibited by their specific state laws. Federal courts have limited …show more content…
Washington Peggy Sue Thomas was sentenced to four years in prison, due to her plea bargain that was accepted back in January. Prosecutors recommended a four-year sentence, due to Thomas’s corporative assistance for rendering evidence of James Huden finding him guilty and sentencing Huden to 80 years. Plea Bargain after an arraignment, or even before, the defense and prosecute, on will discuss a possible guilty plea in exchange for the prosecution’s reducing or dropping some of the charges or agreeing to a request for a more lenient sentence. Almost 90 percent of cases end in plea bargain rather than a criminal trial (Siegel & Worrall, 2013). Has justice been served? In the murder case of Russell Douglas, I feel that justice was served. Yes, justice has prevailed. I do feel that Thomas should had perhaps gotten a few more years, as I feel that the murder would not had taken place if Thomas had not lured Douglas into the woods. And if the allegations the defendants Prosecuting Attorney stated was true of Douglas beating his wife and children. Measures could had been taken to protect Thomas and her children, ultimately keeping her with her children, free from both harm and prison. As there is the judicial system that is there to protect abused women and …show more content…
Using the methods of DNA testing that were available in the early 1990s, police tested the blood from Dewey’s shirt. The testing established that the blood on the shirt was consistent with Dewey, the victim, and 45 percent of the population. In addition to testing Dewey’s shirt, the State conducted DNA testing on the victim’s fingernails and semen from a blanket where she was raped. This testing confirmed that Dewey was not the source of the semen or the DNA found under the victim’s fingernails. Despite the results of the testing the prosecution continued forward with the charges on Dewey. Ultimately, the jury found Dewey guilty of first-degree murder and sexual assault. He was given a life sentence with no possibility of parole. At his sentencing hearing, Dewey warned the judge, “There is still a killer out
Angela Marshall
Professor Richard Beltz
Strayer University/Essentials of Criminal Justice
May 31, 2015
Trials and Verdicts One of the most essential inquiries of law is whether a particular court has authority to preside over a given case. The jurisdictional question may be broken down into three components: is jurisdiction over the person, is jurisdiction over the subject matter, and is jurisdiction to render the particular judgment sought. Then there is different courts that have jurisdiction depending on the case. State courts have general jurisdiction, meaning that they can hear any controversy except those prohibited by their specific state laws. Federal courts have limited …show more content…
Washington Peggy Sue Thomas was sentenced to four years in prison, due to her plea bargain that was accepted back in January. Prosecutors recommended a four-year sentence, due to Thomas’s corporative assistance for rendering evidence of James Huden finding him guilty and sentencing Huden to 80 years. Plea Bargain after an arraignment, or even before, the defense and prosecute, on will discuss a possible guilty plea in exchange for the prosecution’s reducing or dropping some of the charges or agreeing to a request for a more lenient sentence. Almost 90 percent of cases end in plea bargain rather than a criminal trial (Siegel & Worrall, 2013). Has justice been served? In the murder case of Russell Douglas, I feel that justice was served. Yes, justice has prevailed. I do feel that Thomas should had perhaps gotten a few more years, as I feel that the murder would not had taken place if Thomas had not lured Douglas into the woods. And if the allegations the defendants Prosecuting Attorney stated was true of Douglas beating his wife and children. Measures could had been taken to protect Thomas and her children, ultimately keeping her with her children, free from both harm and prison. As there is the judicial system that is there to protect abused women and …show more content…
Using the methods of DNA testing that were available in the early 1990s, police tested the blood from Dewey’s shirt. The testing established that the blood on the shirt was consistent with Dewey, the victim, and 45 percent of the population. In addition to testing Dewey’s shirt, the State conducted DNA testing on the victim’s fingernails and semen from a blanket where she was raped. This testing confirmed that Dewey was not the source of the semen or the DNA found under the victim’s fingernails. Despite the results of the testing the prosecution continued forward with the charges on Dewey. Ultimately, the jury found Dewey guilty of first-degree murder and sexual assault. He was given a life sentence with no possibility of parole. At his sentencing hearing, Dewey warned the judge, “There is still a killer out