The case that i found to be very interesting was the zodiac killer case. The serial killer stalked parts of northern California from December of 1968 through October of 1969. He sent a series of cryptic letters to the press which offered clues to future killings and that is how he got the name the zodiac. He took responsibility for killing 37 people but police said that he attacked 7 and 5 of them died. The first problems occurred on December 20th of 1968. Two Teenagers were found dead by their car. One of them was killed by an close encounter and the other kid was killed from multiple gun shots to his body. The next encounter occurred on July 4th of 1969. He killed one person and injured several others. One of the survivors was able to give a description of the killer. the next day, he called police telling them that he had killed 2 more people. The police tracked that phone call to a pay phone but had no clue who had made the call. The final murder occurred on October 11th of 1969. The zodiac killer had killed another person. After that he has kept calling police and sending them letters but no one was ever able to figure out who he really was. On April 24th of 1978, nearly 10 years after the first murder, Police decided to close up the case since the zodiac killer had stopped killing people. He still sent letters and phone calls to police but was never identified.
A criminal trial that gained a lot of media attention was the famous trials of Charles Manson. Manson was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the murders of seven people. These people included actress Sharon Tate and four other people at Tate's home. The next day, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, were killed and all carried out by members of the group at his instruction. This trial was an attention grabber because the member of the "Manson Family" would come in court singing, holding hands, skipping and etc. One day the three girls that helped Manson commit the crimes came into the court room with shaved heads. This caused controversy, and everyone became intrigued with this trial.
Ted Bundy is known as one of the most infamous criminals of the late 20th century. His good looks and intelligence sparked media attention during his trial. His case initiated the beginning of films and novels about serial killers. In 1967, Bundy met a wealthy, pretty young woman, Stephanie Brooks, while a student at the University of Washington. He fell in love with her, but she didn't reciprocate a mutual feeling towards him and she ended their relationship in 1968. Ted was devastated by the breakup and became depressed, soon dropping out of college. It's believed that the majority of the victims he killed were selected for their physical similarities to Brooks (long hair parted down the middle). He was connected to at least 36 murders, but some believed he had committed more than a hundred. His congenial persona lured the police away from that fact that he could be a serious potential suspect in the reported murders. In 1989, Ted was executed in Florida's electric chair after several trials.
Ted Kaczynski (The Unabomber) was a serial killer whose method of killing people was sending bombs by mail so that when people opened up the package the bomb would kill/wound the person. In 1978 he made his first bomb which he sent to Northwestern University where a secretary opened up the package and was seriously wounded. He sent another bomb to the university next year and started to target american airlines. In 1982 his bombs became better and started to seriously injure people as he became closer to his first murder. His first murder was in 1985 he then killed two more people before his capture in 1996. All in all he killed 3 people and wounded 22. On April 3,1996 he was arrested and pleaded guilty in court to 13 federal bombing charges. He was found guilty and sentenced to 4 years in jail.
The case that I found to be most interesting is Dennis Rader also known as The BTK Strangler. On Friday, February 25th in 2005 BTK Strangler, was arrested in Park City, Kansas and was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder. Before all this happened after being in the Air Force, he returned home and began working on getting his college degree. He first attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado then transferred to Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. Finally gradated with a major in Administration of Justice. He married in 1971 to Paula Dietz and had two children after the murders began. In this time a tissue sample of Rader's daughter was taken hold of suddenly and submitted for DNA testing. The sample was a match to the semen collected at one of the BTK crime scene and that’s when they all got a hint. At that point several law enforcement agencies came together and began searching for evidence to link Dennis to the BTK murders. They also went searching at the church he belonged to and his office. Computers were removed at both his office and at his house with a pair of black pantyhose and a cylindrical container. On March 1st, 2005 Dennis Rader was officially charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and his bond set at $10 million. Dennis Rader appeared before Judge Gregory Waller and was video typed from his jail cell and listened to the 10 counts of murder he committed, while family members of his victims and some of his neighbors watched from the courtroom. They were all disgusted with his actions. It’s terrible how someone can just kill 10 people when he has a family who loved him. He deserves every minute he has in jail and will forever be given the name The BTK Strangler.
A criminal trial that got a lot of media attention was the famous trial of the infamous O.J Simpson. The court case took place at the Superior court room in Los Angeles County, California. The former professional football player and actor was brought to court for 2 counts of murder. He was tried on the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and a waiter in a restaurant named Ronald Lyle Goldman. This particular case was characterized as the most publicized criminal trial in american history.O.J Simpson was later released with charges dropped. He only recently in life was civil with his crimes and admitted his actions.This was considered the "Trial of the Century" .
A famous criminal case that gained media attention was the case of the infamous serial killer David Berkowitz, more famously known as “The Son of Sam”. He committed his murders during the 1970s, in New York City. He killed six people and injured many more. His murders became famous because of the weird stuff that he included in letters that he wrote to the media and the police for the reasons why he committed them. After he started to kill more and more people, police started “Operation Omega” which included over 200 detectives which worked together to find him before he killed someone else. He was driven by so called “demons” that kept him from sleeping at night and he turned their howls into messages that were ordering him to go kill women. The name “The Son of Sam” name came about when he moved. His neighbor Sam Carr had a black lab named Harvey who he thought was possessed. He then shot the dog but was not relieved because he thought Carr was possessed by the most powerful Demon of them all, Satan. Berkowitz was caught and arrested after receiving a parking ticket along with other evidence and letters. It was very obvious that Berkowitz was psychotic and committed absurd crimes. It is very crazy of what people do in this strange world.
One criminal trial that I found to be very interesting was the Casey Anthony trial. For a couple of days the whole world was hooked onto this case. People would drop everything they were doing and be glued to the T.V. In my eyes she was a stone cold killer. The jurors are dumb as HECK. I have no clue how you can come up with a non-guilty verdict. I am straight up befuddled. She killed her daughter no doubt in my mind. She had chloroform in the back of her car and they found Caylees hair. Also they had evidence that Casey was looking up ways to kill kids. She should be locked up in jail or be murdered in my opinion. I have no doubt in my mind that she killed her. This world is crazy and some of the people in it probably should not be in it anymore because they are CRAZY. ok bye:))))
A Criminal trial that got a lot of media attention was the trial of George Zimmerman and the murder of Trayvon Martin. On February 26,2012 Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch member and he spotted a black boy. He called 911 and he was told not to do anything. He than said that Martin punched him and knocked him to the ground, than started to slam his head against the ground. Zimmerman then drew his gun and shot Trayvon in the chest killing him. This case got a lot of attention because a lot of the black community thinks it was a hate crime because he was black. They believe that Trayvon did nothing wrong and that Zimmerman shot him just because he was black.
A famous criminal i found most interesting was John Gotti. Gotti born October 27th, 1940 was introduced early to crime when he joined street gangs and petty thefts as a young kid. He dropped out of school in 8th grade and it all went downhill from there. In 1969 Gotti was found hijacking trucks at the JFK airport for the Gambino family. After being released from prison for hijacking trucks Gotti earned respect from Carlo Gambino "the boss". Two eyewitnesses saw the murder or McBratney and Gotti was charged with first degree murder. He was sentenced to seven years in prison until his sentence got lowered to second degree manslaughter. Gotti only served two years. Gotti became the godfather of the Gambino family, the largest mafia in the nation. Gotti and several associates were arrested in 1990 and convicted by a jury in the United States District Court in New York on April 2, 1992 for 13 counts of murder,loan sharking, racketeering, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling, and tax evasion. John Gotti died in 2002 from throat cancer. I think this was a very interesting case because mobsters and all of that interest me.
A case always worthy of discussion would be that of the serial murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. Committing his first murder at the age of 18 he would, about 9 years later, end up killing weekly. One of the more intriguing aspects of the case was the simplistic and efficient way he disposed of the bodies in the beginning, a simple process consisting of severing the limbs fileting the flash and retaining the skull; later, Dahmer would have an evolved ritual of saving more body parts. Many of the murders involved some kind of of sexual assault prior to, or after the murder. Such behavior rightfully viewed as disturbing and horrid only added fuel to the fire of hate that the public would want the demonic Dahmer to burn in. At the request of his grandmother he moved out of her place because she complained of a strangd stench, and his frequent bringing of young men into her home at night. However the irony of the situation that is almost dare I say comical is that Dahmer did not always immediately dispose of the bodies you store them in a cellar however no one ever thought that the foul stench coming from a couple doors down was emanating from rotting body parts that were once a human that fell prey to Dahmer's sexual and murderous thirst.
One criminal that I found to be extremely interesting and gained a lot of media attention was about John Wayne Gacy (known as Pogo the Clown). John Wayne Gacy would dress up as a clown and work at young children's birthday parties. He was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering 33 teenage boys between 1972 and 1978. He would murder all of his victims by strangling them. He would then bury all of his victims bodies in the crawl space of his home. Between December 22nd and December 29th of 1978, the police had obtained a warrant to search through Gacy's home and had recovered 27 of the bodies that were stuffed in the crawl space of his house. He was brought to trial and was sentenced to death for 12 of the killings on March 13th, 1980. He then spent 14 years on death row before he was killed by lethal injection at the Stateville Correctional Center on May 10th, 1994. I personally think he deserved to die by lethal injection sooner than when he was sentenced. I don't understand how someone can get away with something like this for 6 years.
The most horrific criminal trail cases that popped out at me was the Ted Bundy case. This man was completely insane. He was arrested many times for murder and kidnapping. And within his trails, he presented as his own attorney because he thought he wasn't guilty. In one of his trails, Bundy escaped. But that wasn't the only time. Many people believe that this man has killed over 100 women. And despite all the women and young girls this man has killed, what makes this story even more crazy, is that this serial killer was able to find a women that loved him enough and to even have a child with him, Carol Boone. Though once he was proven guilty of all these horrific crimes, she divorced him.Ted Bundy was charged with 2 death sentences in a trail for the murder of two young sorority girls. He was sent to be killed by the electric chair. But that wasn't end to his death sentences because he was given a 3rd death sentence for the murder a 12 year-old girl named Kimberly Leach. Lastly, Bundy gave details and confessed of the crimes that he did and to me, they were truly disgusting and disturbing. I'm glad that this man was killed from electrocution. Killing that many women, he deserved it!
A famous criminal trial that piqued my interest was the George Zimmerman case. In this case, neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman fatally shot 17 year old Trayvon Martin after they got into an argument that turned physical. From the beginning, many people following the case thought that Zimmerman was guilty, as Zimmerman looked like he killed Martin just because he was black. I, along with the rest of the nation, was stunned about the not guilty verdict. What was also interesting about this case was the amount of national coverage for it. Usually, white children/ teens are covered more by the media, so this was a step up in racial equality in the media. A reason this could have happened was because people saw it as a white man (even though he was Hispanic) killing a black teen because he was black. In reality, he may not have shot him just because he was black, but his race did play a big part in pulling out his gun when Trayvon had no weapons to begin with. This controversial and unfortunate case should have never happened to anybody. I hope that events like this will never occur again, and the everyone can just get along.
The case that i found most interesting was the Andrea Yates trial. In this trial, Andrea Yates was being tried for drowning and killing her five children on June 20, 2001. She had confessed to all of their murders. Before her childrens murders Yates had attempted to commit suicide twice by overdosing on pills. She had told her husband multiple times to let her die. She was admitted into the hospital after this and was given many different antidepressants to help the suicidal thoughts go away. Once she was released she was doing fine until she tried to commit suicide two more times. After this she was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis which is the sudden onset of psychotic actions after childbirth. On June 20, 2001 after being left alone with all five of her children against her doctor's orders, she drowned and killed each one of them. Shortly after she called the police. On July 26, 2001, after three days of deliberations, Andrea Yates was found not guilty by the reason of insanity, as defined by the state of Texas. She was thereafter committed to the North Texas State Hospital. I agree with the verdict Andrea Yates recieved. I don't think people understand how much stress is put on a woman during childbirth. Postpartum psychosis is a real disease that people cannot control. Although she killed all five of her children, i dont believe she was guilty because of her past history, before killing them, of psychosis and being in and out of hospitals and on different medications.
What rights do we have as humans? Many discussions include freedom of speech and the entitlement to a speedy trial, but there are other liberties not recorded that aren’t so easily agreed upon. Do we, as independent entities, have the right to die? According to Jack Kevorkian, a pathologist more famously known as “Dr. Death,” the answer to this question is hands-down a yes. After several experiments within his career, Kevorkian began to delve into a new medical field known as euthanasia, more strictly called assisted suicide by those against the practice. As his business progressed, he invented a machine, specifically called a Thanatron, that allowed his patients to kill themselves without pain through the push of a button that released poison into their bloodstream. The first patient to test this out was 54-year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer Janet Adkins, followed by another women suffering from disease as well. Out of the many people he helped to take their own lives to escape mental illness or disease, these two women were the ones to first send the doctor to court. At court, the dispute became: is it murder to provide another with the means to take his or her own life? From the court’s point of view, Kevorkian did not commit murder, since the patients were the ones that pushed the button on the Thanatron. He was tried several times for different counts of murder, but the court acquitted three and declared mistrial for one. Furthermore, these cases did nothing to stop him, and in fact they only gave him more fame; as soon as he was back out on the street he was assisting deaths again and again. After many prosecution failures, Kevorkian was sentenced 10 to 25 years for administering a controlled substance during his assistance of a patient through poison, but was released 7 years later on June 1st, 2007. He passed away of health issues at age 83, but the argument Dr. Death stirred will live on for years to come, and will continue to be a center of debate around the globe. Despite the verdict of the court, the question still remains today: was this doctor a murderer or a serviceman to humanity, a serial killer or an angel of mercy?
One case that caught the medias eye was the story about David Berkowitz, also known as "Son of Sam" and the .44 Caliber Killer. Berkowitz killed six people and injured many others. He often targeted young women and couple sending terror throughout New York City. The .44 Caliber Killer taunted police by leaving letter close to a scene of the crime. In the letters Berkowitz called himself "Son of Sam". This case didn't have a crack in it until a witness noticed something at the last crime scene. A witness saw a man getting into a car that had a parking ticket on it. Berkowitz was on of the few people who got tickets that day. A few days later he was arrested. While police were taking him into custody reports say "Son of Sam" said "Well, you've got me". Many test were under went on Berkowitz to make sure he was mentally stable to stand trial. "Son of Sam" pleaded guilty to all counts of murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He has also been rejected for any request for parole in 2012.
A case that interested me was the Casey Anthony trial. This trial surprised me the most because there was an abundance of evidence that proved she was the one who murdered her child, Caylee. The evidence before the incident that was provided was pathological lying about graduating high school, being pregnant, and about working, meanwhile she was partying. She waited up to 30 days to claim that her child was missing and did not act like a normal parent who would break down in tears and call immediately after finding out. The police caught on to her lies when they told Casey to her face that she will not achieve anything with the lies she is telling them. Later on, finding Caylee's clothing, bones, skull and beloved blanket in a specific place where Casey used to burry her animals when she was younger is more evidence that she committed the crime. I am still astonished to this day that the jury found Casey not guilty, as they watch her face in shock, showing that she too was surprised she got away with yet another lie.
A criminal case I found interesting was Natalee Holloway. I find this case very interesting because there is so much evidence that this kid killed her. They did an investigation with someone in the car with him. The guy said that he killed her and dumped her body in the ocean and that she will never be found. He was arrested many times but never got convicted of his crime. I.was watched many television series about this case and cannot believe that he got away with this yet there is so much evidence.
What makes a notorious killer is not only how he kills and who he kills, but the way he handles the media. One crime case that I believe is known for its media attention is the son of Sam killings. David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the son of Sam, he had murdered 6 people and injured countless others. Yes he committed many murders but he is really known for his letters to the media and police, these letters are the reason this case will forever go down in history. His reasoning for all these murders also put media attention on this case. He claimed to hear demons and that he would kill to silence them. He claimed the howling of the dogs are what made him kill. His letters to the media gave this case all the attention to the case, he would write letter taunting the media with details of the killings. Finally, in court he received a 365 year, yes year sentence. Later taunting the FBI he told them that he invented the stories to seem insane. Although out this case David Berkowitz gained the media attention he wanted and did it before most as this happened in 1977.
Joel Rifkin was a story that didn't gain a whole lot of media attention yet it was so close to home. He was a serial killer from East Meadow, which is only one town over from us. He killed prostitutes and hid them in various places in the community. A total of 9-17 prostitutes were killed by him. He was arrested on June 28th,1993 and was sentenced to 203 years to life in prison. There was evidence that he killed them and his victims are still being uncovered today
A court case that gained extensive media coverage is the Casey Anthony trial. CAsey Anthony was a young mother. She just wanted to live her life like any young person and not worry about anything. Her daughter Caylee was prorated missing by Caseys mother. Casey also reported Caylee missing but this was 30 days after she had gone missing. CAsey was arrested an charged with the murder of her daughter. During trial Casey said that Caylee had drowned in the pool. Casey buried Caylees body in the woods by their house. The jury had found Casey not guilty and she was released after serving more than 1,000 days in prison. This verdict shocked the world and the public was outraged.
An infamous serial killer that had extensive media coverage was Charles Manson .born November 12, 1934) is an American criminal and musician who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the murders of seven people, actress Sharon Tate and four other people at Tate's home, and the next day, a married couple. At the time the Family began to form, Manson was an unemployed former convict, who had spent half of his life in correctional institutions for a variety of offenses. Before the murders, he was a singer-songwriter on the fringe of the Los Angeles music industry, chiefly through a chance association with Dennis Wilson, a founding member and the drummer of the Beach Boys. After Manson was charged with the crimes of which he was later convicted, recordings of songs written and performed by him were released commercially. Various musicians, including Guns N' Roses, White Zombie and Marilyn Manson, have covered some of his songs.Manson was a sick man
The case that i found to be very interesting was the zodiac killer case. The serial killer stalked parts of northern California from December of 1968 through October of 1969. He sent a series of cryptic letters to the press which offered clues to future killings and that is how he got the name the zodiac. He took responsibility for killing 37 people but police said that he attacked 7 and 5 of them died. The first problems occurred on December 20th of 1968. Two Teenagers were found dead by their car. One of them was killed by an close encounter and the other kid was killed from multiple gun shots to his body. The next encounter occurred on July 4th of 1969. He killed one person and injured several others. One of the survivors was able to give a description of the killer. the next day, he called police telling them that he had killed 2 more people. The police tracked that phone call to a pay phone but had no clue who had made the call. The final murder occurred on October 11th of 1969. The zodiac killer had killed another person. After that he has kept calling police and sending them letters but no one was ever able to figure out who he really was. On April 24th of 1978, nearly 10 years after the first murder, Police decided to close up the case since the zodiac killer had stopped killing people. He still sent letters and phone calls to police but was never identified.
ReplyDeleteA criminal trial that gained a lot of media attention was the famous trials of Charles Manson. Manson was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the murders of seven people. These people included actress Sharon Tate and four other people at Tate's home. The next day, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, were killed and all carried out by members of the group at his instruction. This trial was an attention grabber because the member of the "Manson Family" would come in court singing, holding hands, skipping and etc. One day the three girls that helped Manson commit the crimes came into the court room with shaved heads. This caused controversy, and everyone became intrigued with this trial.
ReplyDeleteTed Bundy is known as one of the most infamous criminals of the late 20th century. His good looks and intelligence sparked media attention during his trial. His case initiated the beginning of films and novels about serial killers. In 1967, Bundy met a wealthy, pretty young woman, Stephanie Brooks, while a student at the University of Washington. He fell in love with her, but she didn't reciprocate a mutual feeling towards him and she ended their relationship in 1968. Ted was devastated by the breakup and became depressed, soon dropping out of college. It's believed that the majority of the victims he killed were selected for their physical similarities to Brooks (long hair parted down the middle). He was connected to at least 36 murders, but some believed he had committed more than a hundred. His congenial persona lured the police away from that fact that he could be a serious potential suspect in the reported murders. In 1989, Ted was executed in Florida's electric chair after several trials.
ReplyDeleteTed Kaczynski (The Unabomber) was a serial killer whose method of killing people was sending bombs by mail so that when people opened up the package the bomb would kill/wound the person. In 1978 he made his first bomb which he sent to Northwestern University where a secretary opened up the package and was seriously wounded. He sent another bomb to the university next year and started to target american airlines. In 1982 his bombs became better and started to seriously injure people as he became closer to his first murder. His first murder was in 1985 he then killed two more people before his capture in 1996. All in all he killed 3 people and wounded 22. On April 3,1996 he was arrested and pleaded guilty in court to 13 federal bombing charges. He was found guilty and sentenced to 4 years in jail.
ReplyDeleteThe case that I found to be most interesting is Dennis Rader also known as The BTK Strangler. On Friday, February 25th in 2005 BTK Strangler, was arrested in Park City, Kansas and was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder. Before all this happened after being in the Air Force, he returned home and began working on getting his college degree. He first attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado then transferred to Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. Finally gradated with a major in Administration of Justice. He married in 1971 to Paula Dietz and had two children after the murders began. In this time a tissue sample of Rader's daughter was taken hold of suddenly and submitted for DNA testing. The sample was a match to the semen collected at one of the BTK crime scene and that’s when they all got a hint. At that point several law enforcement agencies came together and began searching for evidence to link Dennis to the BTK murders. They also went searching at the church he belonged to and his office. Computers were removed at both his office and at his house with a pair of black pantyhose and a cylindrical container. On March 1st, 2005 Dennis Rader was officially charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and his bond set at $10 million. Dennis Rader appeared before Judge Gregory Waller and was video typed from his jail cell and listened to the 10 counts of murder he committed, while family members of his victims and some of his neighbors watched from the courtroom. They were all disgusted with his actions. It’s terrible how someone can just kill 10 people when he has a family who loved him. He deserves every minute he has in jail and will forever be given the name The BTK Strangler.
ReplyDeleteA criminal trial that got a lot of media attention was the famous trial of the infamous O.J Simpson. The court case took place at the Superior court room in Los Angeles County, California. The former professional football player and actor was brought to court for 2 counts of murder. He was tried on the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and a waiter in a restaurant named Ronald Lyle Goldman. This particular case was characterized as the most publicized criminal trial in american history.O.J Simpson was later released with charges dropped. He only recently in life was civil with his crimes and admitted his actions.This was considered the "Trial of the Century" .
ReplyDeleteA famous criminal case that gained media attention was the case of the infamous serial killer David Berkowitz, more famously known as “The Son of Sam”. He committed his murders during the 1970s, in New York City. He killed six people and injured many more. His murders became famous because of the weird stuff that he included in letters that he wrote to the media and the police for the reasons why he committed them. After he started to kill more and more people, police started “Operation Omega” which included over 200 detectives which worked together to find him before he killed someone else. He was driven by so called “demons” that kept him from sleeping at night and he turned their howls into messages that were ordering him to go kill women. The name “The Son of Sam” name came about when he moved. His neighbor Sam Carr had a black lab named Harvey who he thought was possessed. He then shot the dog but was not relieved because he thought Carr was possessed by the most powerful Demon of them all, Satan. Berkowitz was caught and arrested after receiving a parking ticket along with other evidence and letters. It was very obvious that Berkowitz was psychotic and committed absurd crimes. It is very crazy of what people do in this strange world.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your input on this case. Keep up the good work :)
DeleteOne criminal trial that I found to be very interesting was the Casey Anthony trial. For a couple of days the whole world was hooked onto this case. People would drop everything they were doing and be glued to the T.V. In my eyes she was a stone cold killer. The jurors are dumb as HECK. I have no clue how you can come up with a non-guilty verdict. I am straight up befuddled. She killed her daughter no doubt in my mind. She had chloroform in the back of her car and they found Caylees hair. Also they had evidence that Casey was looking up ways to kill kids. She should be locked up in jail or be murdered in my opinion. I have no doubt in my mind that she killed her. This world is crazy and some of the people in it probably should not be in it anymore because they are CRAZY. ok bye:))))
ReplyDeleteWow Rob honestly I could not agree more. You Rock!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteA Criminal trial that got a lot of media attention was the trial of George Zimmerman and the murder of Trayvon Martin. On February 26,2012 Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch member and he spotted a black boy. He called 911 and he was told not to do anything. He than said that Martin punched him and knocked him to the ground, than started to slam his head against the ground. Zimmerman then drew his gun and shot Trayvon in the chest killing him. This case got a lot of attention because a lot of the black community thinks it was a hate crime because he was black. They believe that Trayvon did nothing wrong and that Zimmerman shot him just because he was black.
ReplyDeleteA famous criminal i found most interesting was John Gotti. Gotti born October 27th, 1940 was introduced early to crime when he joined street gangs and petty thefts as a young kid. He dropped out of school in 8th grade and it all went downhill from there. In 1969 Gotti was found hijacking trucks at the JFK airport for the Gambino family. After being released from prison for hijacking trucks Gotti earned respect from Carlo Gambino "the boss". Two eyewitnesses saw the murder or McBratney and Gotti was charged with first degree murder. He was sentenced to seven years in prison until his sentence got lowered to second degree manslaughter. Gotti only served two years. Gotti became the godfather of the Gambino family, the largest mafia in the nation. Gotti and several associates were arrested in 1990 and convicted by a jury in the United States District Court in New York on April 2, 1992 for 13 counts of murder,loan sharking, racketeering, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling, and tax evasion. John Gotti died in 2002 from throat cancer. I think this was a very interesting case because mobsters and all of that interest me.
ReplyDeleteA case always worthy of discussion would be that of the serial murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. Committing his first murder at the age of 18 he would, about 9 years later, end up killing weekly. One of the more intriguing aspects of the case was the simplistic and efficient way he disposed of the bodies in the beginning, a simple process consisting of severing the limbs fileting the flash and retaining the skull; later, Dahmer would have an evolved ritual of saving more body parts. Many of the murders involved some kind of of sexual assault prior to, or after the murder. Such behavior rightfully viewed as disturbing and horrid only added fuel to the fire of hate that the public would want the demonic Dahmer to burn in. At the request of his grandmother he moved out of her place because she complained of a strangd stench, and his frequent bringing of young men into her home at night. However the irony of the situation that is almost dare I say comical is that Dahmer did not always immediately dispose of the bodies you store them in a cellar however no one ever thought that the foul stench coming from a couple doors down was emanating from rotting body parts that were once a human that fell prey to Dahmer's sexual and murderous thirst.
ReplyDeleteOne criminal that I found to be extremely interesting and gained a lot of media attention was about John Wayne Gacy (known as Pogo the Clown). John Wayne Gacy would dress up as a clown and work at young children's birthday parties. He was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering 33 teenage boys between 1972 and 1978. He would murder all of his victims by strangling them. He would then bury all of his victims bodies in the crawl space of his home. Between December 22nd and December 29th of 1978, the police had obtained a warrant to search through Gacy's home and had recovered 27 of the bodies that were stuffed in the crawl space of his house. He was brought to trial and was sentenced to death for 12 of the killings on March 13th, 1980. He then spent 14 years on death row before he was killed by lethal injection at the Stateville Correctional Center on May 10th, 1994. I personally think he deserved to die by lethal injection sooner than when he was sentenced. I don't understand how someone can get away with something like this for 6 years.
ReplyDeleteThe most horrific criminal trail cases that popped out at me was the Ted Bundy case. This man was completely insane. He was arrested many times for murder and kidnapping. And within his trails, he presented as his own attorney because he thought he wasn't guilty. In one of his trails, Bundy escaped. But that wasn't the only time. Many people believe that this man has killed over 100 women. And despite all the women and young girls this man has killed, what makes this story even more crazy, is that this serial killer was able to find a women that loved him enough and to even have a child with him, Carol Boone. Though once he was proven guilty of all these horrific crimes, she divorced him.Ted Bundy was charged with 2 death sentences in a trail for the murder of two young sorority girls. He was sent to be killed by the electric chair. But that wasn't end to his death sentences because he was given a 3rd death sentence for the murder a 12 year-old girl named Kimberly Leach. Lastly, Bundy gave details and confessed of the crimes that he did and to me, they were truly disgusting and disturbing. I'm glad that this man was killed from electrocution. Killing that many women, he deserved it!
ReplyDeleteA famous criminal trial that piqued my interest was the George Zimmerman case. In this case, neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman fatally shot 17 year old Trayvon Martin after they got into an argument that turned physical. From the beginning, many people following the case thought that Zimmerman was guilty, as Zimmerman looked like he killed Martin just because he was black. I, along with the rest of the nation, was stunned about the not guilty verdict. What was also interesting about this case was the amount of national coverage for it. Usually, white children/ teens are covered more by the media, so this was a step up in racial equality in the media. A reason this could have happened was because people saw it as a white man (even though he was Hispanic) killing a black teen because he was black. In reality, he may not have shot him just because he was black, but his race did play a big part in pulling out his gun when Trayvon had no weapons to begin with. This controversial and unfortunate case should have never happened to anybody. I hope that events like this will never occur again, and the everyone can just get along.
ReplyDeleteThe case that i found most interesting was the Andrea Yates trial. In this trial, Andrea Yates was being tried for drowning and killing her five children on June 20, 2001. She had confessed to all of their murders. Before her childrens murders Yates had attempted to commit suicide twice by overdosing on pills. She had told her husband multiple times to let her die. She was admitted into the hospital after this and was given many different antidepressants to help the suicidal thoughts go away. Once she was released she was doing fine until she tried to commit suicide two more times. After this she was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis which is the sudden onset of psychotic actions after childbirth. On June 20, 2001 after being left alone with all five of her children against her doctor's orders, she drowned and killed each one of them. Shortly after she called the police. On July 26, 2001, after three days of deliberations, Andrea Yates was found not guilty by the reason of insanity, as defined by the state of Texas. She was thereafter committed to the North Texas State Hospital. I agree with the verdict Andrea Yates recieved. I don't think people understand how much stress is put on a woman during childbirth. Postpartum psychosis is a real disease that people cannot control. Although she killed all five of her children, i dont believe she was guilty because of her past history, before killing them, of psychosis and being in and out of hospitals and on different medications.
ReplyDeleteWhat rights do we have as humans? Many discussions include freedom of speech and the entitlement to a speedy trial, but there are other liberties not recorded that aren’t so easily agreed upon. Do we, as independent entities, have the right to die? According to Jack Kevorkian, a pathologist more famously known as “Dr. Death,” the answer to this question is hands-down a yes. After several experiments within his career, Kevorkian began to delve into a new medical field known as euthanasia, more strictly called assisted suicide by those against the practice. As his business progressed, he invented a machine, specifically called a Thanatron, that allowed his patients to kill themselves without pain through the push of a button that released poison into their bloodstream. The first patient to test this out was 54-year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer Janet Adkins, followed by another women suffering from disease as well. Out of the many people he helped to take their own lives to escape mental illness or disease, these two women were the ones to first send the doctor to court. At court, the dispute became: is it murder to provide another with the means to take his or her own life? From the court’s point of view, Kevorkian did not commit murder, since the patients were the ones that pushed the button on the Thanatron. He was tried several times for different counts of murder, but the court acquitted three and declared mistrial for one. Furthermore, these cases did nothing to stop him, and in fact they only gave him more fame; as soon as he was back out on the street he was assisting deaths again and again. After many prosecution failures, Kevorkian was sentenced 10 to 25 years for administering a controlled substance during his assistance of a patient through poison, but was released 7 years later on June 1st, 2007. He passed away of health issues at age 83, but the argument Dr. Death stirred will live on for years to come, and will continue to be a center of debate around the globe. Despite the verdict of the court, the question still remains today: was this doctor a murderer or a serviceman to humanity, a serial killer or an angel of mercy?
ReplyDeleteOne case that caught the medias eye was the story about David Berkowitz, also known as "Son of Sam" and the .44 Caliber Killer. Berkowitz killed six people and injured many others. He often targeted young women and couple sending terror throughout New York City. The .44 Caliber Killer taunted police by leaving letter close to a scene of the crime. In the letters Berkowitz called himself "Son of Sam". This case didn't have a crack in it until a witness noticed something at the last crime scene. A witness saw a man getting into a car that had a parking ticket on it. Berkowitz was on of the few people who got tickets that day. A few days later he was arrested. While police were taking him into custody reports say "Son of Sam" said "Well, you've got me". Many test were under went on Berkowitz to make sure he was mentally stable to stand trial. "Son of Sam" pleaded guilty to all counts of murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He has also been rejected for any request for parole in 2012.
ReplyDeleteA case that interested me was the Casey Anthony trial. This trial surprised me the most because there was an abundance of evidence that proved she was the one who murdered her child, Caylee. The evidence before the incident that was provided was pathological lying about graduating high school, being pregnant, and about working, meanwhile she was partying. She waited up to 30 days to claim that her child was missing and did not act like a normal parent who would break down in tears and call immediately after finding out. The police caught on to her lies when they told Casey to her face that she will not achieve anything with the lies she is telling them. Later on, finding Caylee's clothing, bones, skull and beloved blanket in a specific place where Casey used to burry her animals when she was younger is more evidence that she committed the crime. I am still astonished to this day that the jury found Casey not guilty, as they watch her face in shock, showing that she too was surprised she got away with yet another lie.
ReplyDeleteA criminal case I found interesting was Natalee Holloway. I find this case very interesting because there is so much evidence that this kid killed her. They did an investigation with someone in the car with him. The guy said that he killed her and dumped her body in the ocean and that she will never be found. He was arrested many times but never got convicted of his crime. I.was watched many television series about this case and cannot believe that he got away with this yet there is so much evidence.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes a notorious killer is not only how he kills and who he kills, but the way he handles the media. One crime case that I believe is known for its media attention is the son of Sam killings. David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the son of Sam, he had murdered 6 people and injured countless others. Yes he committed many murders but he is really known for his letters to the media and police, these letters are the reason this case will forever go down in history. His reasoning for all these murders also put media attention on this case. He claimed to hear demons and that he would kill to silence them. He claimed the howling of the dogs are what made him kill. His letters to the media gave this case all the attention to the case, he would write letter taunting the media with details of the killings. Finally, in court he received a 365 year, yes year sentence. Later taunting the FBI he told them that he invented the stories to seem insane. Although out this case David Berkowitz gained the media attention he wanted and did it before most as this happened in 1977.
ReplyDeleteJoel Rifkin was a story that didn't gain a whole lot of media attention yet it was so close to home. He was a serial killer from East Meadow, which is only one town over from us. He killed prostitutes and hid them in various places in the community. A total of 9-17 prostitutes were killed by him. He was arrested on June 28th,1993 and was sentenced to 203 years to life in prison. There was evidence that he killed them and his victims are still being uncovered today
ReplyDeleteA court case that gained extensive media coverage is the Casey Anthony trial. CAsey Anthony was a young mother. She just wanted to live her life like any young person and not worry about anything. Her daughter Caylee was prorated missing by Caseys mother. Casey also reported Caylee missing but this was 30 days after she had gone missing. CAsey was arrested an charged with the murder of her daughter. During trial Casey said that Caylee had drowned in the pool. Casey buried Caylees body in the woods by their house. The jury had found Casey not guilty and she was released after serving more than 1,000 days in prison. This verdict shocked the world and the public was outraged.
ReplyDeleteAn infamous serial killer that had extensive media coverage was Charles Manson .born November 12, 1934) is an American criminal and musician who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the murders of seven people, actress Sharon Tate and four other people at Tate's home, and the next day, a married couple. At the time the Family began to form, Manson was an unemployed former convict, who had spent half of his life in correctional institutions for a variety of offenses. Before the murders, he was a singer-songwriter on the fringe of the Los Angeles music industry, chiefly through a chance association with Dennis Wilson, a founding member and the drummer of the Beach Boys. After Manson was charged with the crimes of which he was later convicted, recordings of songs written and performed by him were released commercially. Various musicians, including Guns N' Roses, White Zombie and Marilyn Manson, have covered some of his songs.Manson was a sick man
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