The End

This officially will be the last time that I post on my blog, Justice. It has been a great experience. I may actually make a new account and continue blogging with starting a fresh. It is amazing when you are able to write about something that you are truly interested in. When I first began blogging, I thought that it was going to be a boring assignment that I had to do twice a week. After the first few times I posted my blogs, I actually began to love it. It was the first thing I would do before any other homework because it was actually fun. It allowed me to research crime stories that I would be researching on my free time anyway. This blog was one of the best assignments I have ever been given throughout my entire journey through college. I will leave my blog followers with one last story before I go.
So after graduation, I intend to test for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. I know that the job can be dangerous, but usually it is just routine police work, such as traffic stops. This story freaked me out a little.
Today, the Pima County Court house was evacuated after a private elevator became stuck with two people inside, an inmate and a corrections officer. It took about an hour, but eventually firefighters and police were able to get the two out safely.
I know that during in the police academy they teach you how to handle particular dangerous situation, but I doubt that something like this is covered. Hopefully after intense training I will be able to handle any situation.

Immigration in Arizona

Tucson, AZ made CNN national news when a police officer sued over the immigration law. Officer Martin H. Escobar said, in his lawsuit against the policy, that it will "seriously impede law enforcement investigations and facilitate the successful commission of crimes." Escobar also stated that there are no "race-neutral criteria or basis to suspect or identify who is lawfully in the United States,". The bill signed by Jan Brewer will allow any person to be stop and asked for proof of citizenship.

It is difficult to prove whether or not there is racial bias going on, but it seems that of course their would be in this case. I think that the government is doing what they believe is right to protect our community, but it also contradicts the no racial profiling laws.

Many students at the University of Arizona have already began a fight against SB 1070being made an offical law. Some students are outraged and have begun writng letters and creating petitions.

Tweleve students at UA said "We believe that it is a law based in fear and racism. The law targets not only immigrants, but all Latinos (even those who are U.S. citizens) as well as any U.S. citizen who may associate with members of either group," the letter states. "We want to halt the prejudicial momentum of Arizona's legislators and keep the campus of the University of Arizona a free, safe place for persons of all races, backgrounds and ethnicities."

It will be up to the cizitens of Arizona to either protest this bill or let it stand. If we really don't believe in it then we will see how far it gets.

Free Speech

The first Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits any law that infringing the freedom of speech. It is the right of any person to speak freely about any opinion that they wish to discuss. The problem with this right is that there are many controversial issues that may be offensive and provoke violence when discussed. For that reason we must create some type of laws prohibiting what is allowed to be spoken in public. Stanford University and the University of Michigan have established their own codes in order to eliminate the act of violence directed by speech and stop discrimination. Students should be able to speak their opinion, but not if outcome results in violence. Alexander Meiklejohn argues that freedom of speech is a right to all citizens, but should not be used out content. It is our right to give our opinions, but only when it is for our own good. For example, at a town meeting citizens are allowed to speak freely, but only when the chairman gives them permission. We must create a code to protect individual’s freedom of speech and at the same time protect action that may be caused by speech.
There have been many cases taken to court over freedom of speech issues. And many of them have won. Who decides what is appropriate to speak about anyway?? The first Amendment was created to allow people to express their opinions and beliefs without being penalizes. It was not created to encourage violence, harassment and discrimination. Therefore we must create laws to protect society.

Wrongful death?

One of the hardest parts about learning about the law is that the law is constantly changing. Of course, no two court cases are exactly the same. Then why do we use precedents to determine the outcome of another case??
Today, in class we were discussing the costs and beliefs of capital punishment. The debate can go on forever and right, morals, freedom, and justice. In the U.S we have decided that we do need capital punishment to deter crime and punish murders. Except, there are no study that proves that the death penalty actually deters crimes. Regardless, it defiantly punishes murders. What about cases that result in a death penalty verdict on an innocent person. How can we be 100% sure that we got the right guy??
After being accused of burn his own home down, with his children inside, Cameron Willingham was sentenced to death. He was convicted of murder in 1992 and executed in 2004. After his executed, four national arson experts concluded that the investigation may have be flawed. They proclaimed that the fire may have been set accidently and Willingham could have been innocent. During the trial, the jury found him guilty because investigators said that the scene looked like arson. Also, a jail house snitch told the jury that Willingham confessed to the crime in jail. The snitch was a drug addict and was on psychiatric medication.
I haven’t made up my mind if I am for or against the death penalty and I would need to do a lot more research before making my decision, but this is just one story of mistaken charges by flawed evidence. When it comes to a human life, prosecutors need to be much more careful.

Hazing

I was reading an article on the worst college hazing acts ever recorded. According to Tru TV online, a student at the University of Tennessee was arrested after she covered a pledge in ice, chocolate, and eggs. She then kicked and punched the girl repeatedly causing internal bleeding and a concussion.
Ten male students from Louisiana's Tulane University were arrested after two male pledges wound up in the hospital with second and third degree burns. The students poured boiling water on at least ten pledges and covered them with wasabi, cayenne peppers and flour. The chapter was also slapped with a wrongful death suit when a student die as a result of alcohol poisoning after he was forced to drink excessively by the older students.
After reading a few more stories, I realized that a majority of the problems were directly due to drinking. Older students have adopted these ridiculous drinking parties that require pledges to drink a disgusting amount of alcohol to strengthen their bonds with the members. Of course, this isn’t a problem for all sororities or fraternities, but it is a problem for some. Most of these kids are away from home for the first time and given a large amount of freedom that they are not used to. They look up to older students and are struggling to fit in to a new place. It is such a waste to end your life in such a horrible way. It seems that all these frats and sororities that are accused of participating in these acts already have long lists of behavior problems. It seems that someone should have had an eye on them.

Hiding anything on Facebook??

Networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, have gotten bad reviews over the years for being directly linked to criminal activity. Many people have been the victims of murder and assault, as a result of these networking sites. Children have committed suicide after being bullied over the internet. Girls and boys have been lured by older men that they have met over the internet and many have resulted in tragic endings. People have to be extremely careful when using these sites to meet new friends, or in other words, strangers.
On the other hand, police and now saying that they are able to use these sites to their advantage. They are using Facebook and MySpace to local witnesses that they may never have been able to contact without the sites. In fact, the FBI is able to hack into any persons networking site if they feel that they need to. Even if a person sets their profile to private, it still does not ensure their privacy. When the FBI is reviewing a person for possible employment, they will hack into their accounts to obtain the information.
These sites are actually a great way for colleges and employers to find out information that otherwise they would not be able to obtain. The sites have positive and negative aspects and the reality is that people are going to continue to use them. Since they are going to be around for a long time, we might as well use them to our advantage.

WOODS

It seems like every where you look these days, there is some kind of cheating scandal in the news. Men are using the excuse that they are addicted to sex in order to try to take the blame anyway from their actions. As long as they recognize that they have a problem and they are trying to get help for it, it is supposed to be overlooked. The fact is that these men don't had a sex addiction, they just have no morals.

When you can a mistake, the best thing that you can do is admit your fault and deal with the consequences. Blaming your actions on others or addiction is the easy way out. Since many of these men are in the spotlight, they feel that admitting their faults will only cause them more trouble. The problem is that most level headed people know the truth.

It not only sex addiction that is the problem. Celebrity are constantly in and out of rehab for drugs and alcohol. It's obvious that many of them don't need treatment, they just need to behave. Many times when a celebrity is caught drinking and drinking or using drugs, they immediately go into rehab. This is their way of saying, I have a problem and need help. The reason they do it , is because they think that their fans may stay true to them if they are trying to get better. Most likely, it's just an excuse to blame the drug and not themselves.

Mystery Solved

A man has come forward after 22 years of knowing the truth about his sister. Ernest Samuel Christie III was sixteen years old when his older sister, Lysandra Marie, disappeared. No one was charged in the woman’s disappeared and the case grew cold. Now, 22 years later, Christie, has come forward to authorities to solve the mystery. Apparently, the 16 year old witnessed his father murder his 27 year sister in 1988. His father forced him to help burn the woman’s remains and he has lived with the guilt for the last 22 years.
After his father died in 2006, Christie couldn’t take it anymore and confessed to the police about his involvement. He led the police to the area where Lysandra’s remains were buried and they were positively identified. Christie is not facing any criminal charges at this time.
I cannot possibly understand how a parent can kill their own child. You hear in the new about young mothers murdering their babies and dumping their bodies, as if they were trash. In this case the woman was 27 years old. Her brother told authorities that his father tortured many women over the years that he lived with him. Many women have come forward to confirm his comments.
I can understand that the boy was terrified of his father and what may happen to him if he told anyone. At the same time, I think that he had the opportunity to inform police and could have saved many others if he had done so.