Capital punishment

Capital Punishment

Kirk Bloodsworth

Who: Kirk Bloodsworth was convicted and sentence to capital punishment, he is a former marine.

What: A 9 year old girl in Maryland was raped and murdered at a park and Kirk's name was reported to the police and they arrested him despite him not matching the description of the man who killed the 9 year old girl. Based on no hard evidence and only the mistaken witnesses, he was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. After a second trail he was able to get his punishment reduced to a sentence where he is still living. Later on when Dna testing became more well known he used Dna evidence to prove that he was innocent and he became a free man again in 1993 after being on death row and in prison for 8 years.

When:  August 19th, 1984 - June 28th, 1993.

Where: Maryland state penitentiary.

Why: This case shows that Capital punishment is a system that is clearly broken because any one who is falsely convicted of a crime that is punishable by death could be killed for no reason. Also because the people who are accused falsely are going to be killed they may not be able to prove their innocence in time. Not to mention for all the trouble they put Kirk through they only paid him $300,000 for being imprisoned and on death row for 8 years, which hardly feels like fair compensation.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/07/opinion/bloodsworth-death-penalty/

6th amendment current event

1.Who - Scott Speers was convicted of a burglary using Nichole Stickle blood testing evidence.

2.What - Scott Speers challenged his conviction because the blood evidence that was was used to convict him was from a lab technician that was never cross examined in court which therefore breaches of his 6th amendment. the supreme court decided that this was not a breach of the constitution.

3.When - December 19th, 2013

4.Where - Indianapolis court

5.Why- I do not think this was a breach of his 6th amendment  because  the lab technian didn't really need to be brought into court to be examined to explain how the blood was his when the test already confirmed that it was his blood. Although you are given the right to know your  accuser  the lab tech was not really an accuser  so much as an expert witness, but because  the blood test was positive it's not really that difficult to understand so there was not really a need to bring in to testify.

Link:
http://www.theindianalawyer.com/justices-lab-tech-does-not-need-to-testify/PARAMS/article/33084

1st Amendment Current Event

Who: American Atheists and Freedom from Religion foundations, as well as the government

What: American Atheists want a cross shaped beam at the 9/11 memorial to include a plague, that said that Atheist's were included in the tragedy of 9/11 and that it was unconstitutional that there was not a plague there already, or for the monument to be removed entirely. The government dismissed this in court by saying the first amendment ensures that the government be neutral in all cases involving religion, but does not prevent public display's of religious monuments that have historical value.

When: August 19th, 2014

Where: New York 9/11 Memorial Museum

Why: The first amendment says that the government must be neutral in cases where faith is involved, so it was decided that it was not necessary to put a plague on the monument saying that Atheist's where involved because it is not a rule that all religions need equal time given to them.

Correlation: This relates to the first amendment because the 9/11 Memorial Museum have the right to display the monument because of its historical value and a part of the American Atheist Party believes that it Breaking the 1st amendment because it does not credit the atheist victims or that of other religions that where involved in the tragedy.

Cited From:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/cross-at-ground-zero-history-lesson-or-state-religion

4th Amendment Current Event

Who: The Indianapolis police arrested Ashley Bell for possession of marijuana
What: Ashley Bell was pulled over by a police officer for an illegally displayed licence plate, and upon smelling raw marijuana the police officer hand cuffed her and gave her a pat down. 10 bags of marijuana was then discovered on her. Then when she was brought to court, the court found that it was not violation of the 4th amendment to arrest and search her without a warrant.
When: This happened July 28th
Where: This happened in Indiana at a traffic stop.
Why: The court said that this did not violate the 4th amendment because even though there was not threat of danger, the smell of raw marijuana is enough cause to enable a search without a warrant in order to find marijuana.
Correlation: This relates to the 4th amendment because Ashley bell was arrested for something totally different than what she was pulled over for and was searched without a warrant or threat probable cause. Which to me seem like a breach of the 4th amendment, but apparently its not.

Cited From:

http://www.theindianalawyer.com/warrantless-search-based-on-smell-does-not-violated-4th-amendment/PARAMS/article/34734

911 hero

Benjamin Clark

Benjamin Clark was a chef who was also a former marine for 8 years. On the day that the twin towers were attacked he saved hundreds of lives by going room to room and making sure that each room was evacuated. Then he stopped on the 78th floor to assist a woman in a wheel chair. He was a father of 5 children and was happily married.1200 people attended his memorial service some of which where saved because of him.

Native American Research

Sacajawea

Sacajawea was a Shoshones Indian who was kidnapped by hidatsa Indians when she was 12 years old. She when then sold as a slave to Toussaint Charbonneasu who claimed her as his wife. Her husband and her translated from french to Shoshone while traveling with captain Clark on their journey and she also collected edible plants, dug up roots, and picked berries, to use for food and medicine. She also stopped Indian tribes from attacking the company because war parties never traveled with a women. She also acted as a guide for Clark because she knew all of the trails and passages around Shoshone area's. After their journey her husband was given $500 and 320 acres of land and she was given nothing and later died from an illness.

Squanto

Squanto was an Indian man who was born in Plymouth and smoke English. He was a Patuxet Indian who helped the pilgrims who landed in Plymouth, who were struggling with food and survival. He was kidnapped a few years before the pilgrims arrived by a captain and sold in Spain, but was given freedom soon after and made his way to London and met up with the treasurer of the Newfoundland company and learned English and was sent back to Newfoundland and was hired as an interpreter. Then he traveled to Plymouth and made a peace agreement with the pilgrims and set up trade with them.

Cited from

http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/saca.html

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/333812/squanto-worldly-indian-who-dazzled-pilgrims-deroy-murdock

Learning to Code