Premium Essay

Kennedy V. Louisiana Case Study

Submitted By
Words 1404
Pages 6
The movements of this debate stems from two historic cases. The Kennedy v Louisiana case involving a black male named Patrick Kennedy from Louisiana who challenged the court after being sentenced to death for raping his eight-year-old stepdaughter which did not result in death. Kennedy coerced his stepdaughter to accuse neighborhood juveniles of the offense. Kennedy informed the police he heard his stepdaughter crying on the side of the house and found her on the ground. Kennedy further advised he observed a juvenile male leaving the scene on a bicycle. The stepdaughter’s injuries were so severe that she was required to have emergency surgery. Evidence leading to Kennedy were phone records to his employer and to a carpet cleaning business to remove bloodstains from the carpet. The stepdaughter later told her mother that Kennedy had raped her after being coerced by Kennedy to lie. …show more content…
Mancini (2014) noted the state of Louisiana wanted to convict Kennedy under its child rape statue. Kennedy appealed the decision and defended his sentencing to be considered cruel and unusual punishment. The court rejected Kennedy’s reliance on Coker v. Georgia, noting that, while Coker bars the use of the death penalty as punishment for the rape of an adult woman, the question remained if non-homicide crimes can be punished by death consistent with the Eighth Amendment (Kennedy v Louisiana, 2008). In a 5 to 4 ruling, the court noted that it was a violation of the Eighth Amendment if victims of a sex offense survived their

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Supreme Court Case Study: Kirk V. Louisiana

...Jasmine Thibodeaux Case Study #2 Kirk v. Louisiana I. In 1998, residents of a New Orleans neighborhood left tips for the New Orleans Police Department regarding drug activity. Detectives from the NOPD started surveillance on the apartment which belonged to Kennedy Kirk. During the surveillance of the apartment they witnessed four apparent drug transactions at Kirks residence. After one suspected buy they stopped the buyer that just left the apartment and found that he was in possession of crack cocaine. The detectives had probable cause and believed that evidence could be destroyed if they waited for a warrant. They decided to enter without seeking that warrant. Once inside the residence, they found crack cocaine, cocaine and cash on Kirk himself. No other drug paraphilia was located in the apartment. Kirk was convicted of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. He believed his arrest was illegal and “police were not justified in entering his home without a warrant absent exigent circumstances” (Cornell University Law School, n.d.) and appealed to the higher court. The Louisiana Court of Appeal declined to determine if those circumstances existed because “the evidence required to prove that the defendant possessed cocaine with the intent to distribute, namely the cocaine and the money, was...

Words: 528 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Clement Dna Exonerations and Race

...penalty. After doing research for a few days it hit me that there was a whole other topic that I should be doing. Under most instances I support the death penalty but I came across an article that gave an opinion that all death penalty inmates should have their evidence reexamined and DNA tested if they were convicted in a pre DNA era. After that I looked into the statistics of people that had been exonerated after serving years in prison by reexamining the DNA from their cases. I was amazed that there had been so many people exonerated out with such limited resources. I now knew that I wanted to know more about DNA exonerations what the statistics were with race and those wrongfully convicted. I think the two subjects African Americans and the death penalty and DNA exonerations could be really enlightening as it shows that the American Justice System in the past surely has executed wrongfully convicted men in the past. So I used Google to search “Exonerated by DNA and Race” and began to read not only their cases but also their stories. The next day I was already questioning my stance on the death penalty. Not only did I think about how their lives will never be the same I thought about all the time they lost and can never get back. Time stood still for them while their families, friends, and loved ones moved on with their lives likely never expecting to see them on that side of their lives again. I sat there and thought how many men have been wrongfully convicted for crimes they...

Words: 648 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Criminal Law

...Douglas S. Coppin The Effects of Capital Punishments NIC / Executive Leadership June 2013 Evidence-Based Practice in the Criminal Justice System The phrase “because we have always done it that way” universally is no longer acceptable as it pertains to working in many sectors of the work-force, especially within the criminal justice system. Constant financial pressure to streamline budgets, coupled with ever-changing political climates have forced criminal justice organizations to embrace evidence-based concepts and practices. Evidence-based practice is defined as the use of practices that have been scientifically tested and proven effective. In simple terms, doing what works. This has led to drastic changes in various sectors from police operations, probation, sentencing, etc. When examining capital punishment the first question that must be asked is why do we do it? Is it simply a universal response to an atrocious act committed by an offender? If so, then there is no need to look any further. However, thousands of capital offense convictions are handed down annually in the U.S., yet most do not result in death penalty sentences. Therefore the only logical conclusion is that there is much more complexities in play once the state hands down capital punishment. Possible Effects of Capital Punishments at a Glance By and large, capital punishment in the United States is handed down to those offenders that are found guilty of homicide. Although not limited...

Words: 4052 - Pages: 17

Free Essay

Jury Paper

...registration and driver's license or state ID renewals. Next, there are summonses mailed to different citizens and that’s where a panel of jurors are appointed to a courtroom and randomly picked to serve in the jury box. Third, the judge and attorneys have an option whether or not to challenge for a cause argument or use one of the peremptory challenges based on jurisdiction. Lastly, the jury in certain jurisdictions must be death qualified to remote those who are opposed to the death penalty. Here are a few cases that helped controlled the systemic discrimination of the courts in this process: 1880 decision of Strauder v. West Virginia, United States v. Nelson, Swain v. Alabama, Purkett v. Elem, and Batson v. Kentucky just to name a few. Jury nullification is used in relation to diversity because it's based on an ultimately destructive sentiment of racial kinship that prompts particular individuals of given race to care more about their own than people of race, stated Kennedy. Peremptory challenge is where the jury selection has a right for the attorneys to get rid of a lot of potential juror without to state a reason why. While on the other hand, other potential jurors may be challenged for a cause why...

Words: 859 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Christopher Pittman Verdict Opinion

...Christopher Pittman’s Adult Trial Verdict Name Professor Institution Date Just to quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. words, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Human beings are not entirely fit. Thus judges just like any other human being are bound to make mistakes in dispensing justice. However, Judges are obliged to be ever watchful and mindful in their endeavors of delivering justice. Every day, all over US judges dispense justice to convicted persons and defendants. However, absolute justice ideally is hardly realizable across board since its effectiveness demands human infallibility. Although it might be even harder to reap justice, justice is achievable and pursuit for justice remains a noble order. In this case, a 12 years old boy, Christopher Pittman from the state of South Carolina on February 15, 2005 shot his two grandparents using his father’s shotgun while they lay on their beds, he then set the house on fire, drove his grandparents truck and fled with cash and weapons in his possession. The petitioner, Pittman was only 12 years of age when he committed this malicious acts. He was charged with premeditated murder and put on an adult court for trial. Christopher Pittman’s defense team claimed that young Christopher Pittman remained an innocent child because he still could not differentiate what was right or wrong while under influence of Zoloft, an antidepressant. The defense urged the court to consider Pitman a child thus unable to plan...

Words: 1829 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

None

...Fighting Crime with Murder Introduction—two wrongs don’t make a right even though two negatives make a positive. I. What is death penalty? A. Methods of execution. B. The history of the death penalty. II. How do you got put on the death row “death penalty” A. What state uses what method? B. What states don’t use any method? III. What do the people think about the death penalty in the U.S.? A. Why are people for the death penalty? B. Why are people against the death penalty? Conclulusion-The death penalty isn’t the right way to go for punishment after a crime it just as worse as the person that committed the crime. Fighting Crime with Murder The death penalty is a common topic and one of the major’s topics today. This research paper as you can already see is about the death penalty and it will show and tell what it is, how it works also how it is wrong because, two wrongs do not make a right even though two negatives make positive. I have learned many of things about the death penalty more than what I expected to learn. I hope by you reading my research paper you will learn how the death penalty isn’t the right way to go just like abortions some people say abortions are right but not the death penalty or the other way around it does not make any sense they both are murdering someone. Yes, the person on the death penalty did something wrong to get there but like I said before two wrongs does not make a right. Make them suffer in the...

Words: 2659 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Principles of Sentancing Recidivist Offenders in Europe

...Conference on “The Limits of the Criminal Law” at Leiden University, January 23, 2008 and subsequently published in Cupido (ed), Limits of Criminal Law (Nijmegen, 2008).[1] Tom O’Malley Senior Lecturer in Law National University of Ireland Galway First, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the students of Leiden Law School for having organised this conference. Thanks to their vision and energy, representatives from several European countries have gathered in this historic venue to discuss some key aspects of criminal law and criminal procedure. More often than not, we think of European law solely in terms of European Union law, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights or both. Needless to say, the study of European law even in this limited sense is of the highest importance given its impact on our national legal systems and our daily lives. However, growing levels of legal and political integration now demand that we broaden our vision of European law to encompass the domestic legal systems of individual European states. Some work has already begun in this regard,[2] but it is only on rare occasions such as this that we can engage in a meaningful exchange of ideas and information on areas of common concern. Criminal justice is a most appropriate and worthy topic with which to begin. In times past, sentencing would not have featured very prominently at a conference of this kind. Back in 1965 when Sir Rupert Cross decided to devote his...

Words: 9462 - Pages: 38

Premium Essay

History Extension

...core values and laws today. The Civil Rights Movement unofficially ended with the passing of the long awaited “1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act” which legally saw an end to the racial discrimination faced by African Americans. However the historiography of the Civil Rights Movement has “undergone some serious revision” since 1965 as it ‘gained popular appeal.’ Initially the Civil Rights Movement was “romanticized” and considered to be a “heroic narrative of moral purpose and personal courage by which great men and women inspired ordinary people to rise up and struggle for their rights” such as the famed Martin Luther King, who was painted as the ‘driving force behind the movement’ ,President Lyndon Johnson and Kennedy and organisations such as ‘The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People’ (NAACP) This idea of the federal government, prominent leaders and organisations playing the defining role in the passing of these bills soon became less plausible in the 1970’s and 1980’s as the “second generation of scholars suggested that the focal point for investigation should shift to local communities” and the ordinary people, commonly known as “grass roots activists” who staged less-prominent protests in their small towns. Unfortunately, there is no defining group who can be acclaimed for the passing of the Civil Rights Act or Voting Act because “ultimately, there are no...

Words: 3577 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Affirmative Action in the United States

...employee and management development, and employee support programs.[2] The impetus towards affirmative action is to redress the disadvantages[3][4][5][6][7] associated with overt historical discrimination.[8] Further impetus is a desire to ensure public institutions, such as universities, hospitals and police forces, are more representative of the populations they serve.[9] Affirmative action is a subject of controversy. Some policies adopted as affirmative action, such as racial quotas or gender quotas for collegiate admission, have been criticized as a form of reverse discrimination, and such implementation of affirmative action has been ruled unconstitutional by the majority opinion of Gratz v. Bollinger. Affirmative action as a practice was upheld by the court's decision in Grutter v. Bollinger.[10] Affirmative action in the United States began as a tool to address the persisting inequalities for African Americans in the 1960s. This specific term was first used to describe US government policy in 1961. Directed to all government contracting agencies, President John F. Kennedy's Executive Order 10925 mandated "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin."[11] Four years later, President Lyndon B. Johnson elaborated on the importance of affirmative action to achieving true...

Words: 6321 - Pages: 26

Premium Essay

Civil Rights

...Civil rights Movement Truman Harry Truman is not a name usually associated with America's Civil Rights movement if only because the main 'points' happened after his presidency - Montgomery, Little Rock, Birmingham, the careers of Martin Luther Kingand Stokely Carmichael. However, some very important civil rights issues were covered in his presidency. Truman’s ancestors had owned slaves. His first recollection of African Americans was a household servants within his family - and he did not come from a prosperous family. While he was dating his future wife Bess, she claimed that he told her that he felt that one person was as good as any other as long as they were not black. He also criticised the Chinese in America, the Jews - to whom he referred to as "Kikes" and the Italians in America who he called "wops". Hence, Truman’s background produced what one would have expected and the young Truman would have had the same views as most other youths in Independence. When he got involved in politics at an early age, he did what any aspiring politician did in the South, he paid $10 to join the KKK. Public office changed Truman. Why? Did he feel that America could not claim to be the democratic  capital of the world while African Americans were treated thus? Or were his motives political? The African American population was big enough to have some political clout. Was he out to fish for their votes with his adoption of the civil rights cause? Truman and civil rights legislation: Before...

Words: 11349 - Pages: 46

Premium Essay

Civil Rights

...transform the world. The social and economic ravages of Jim Crow era racism were all-encompassing and deep-rooted. Yet like a phoenix rising from the ashes of lynch mobs, debt peonage, residential and labor discrimination, and rape, the black freedom movement raised a collective call of "No More"! The maintenance of white power had been pervasive and even innovative, and hence those fighting to get out from under its veil had to be equally unrelenting and improvisational in strategies and tactics. What is normally understood as the Civil Rights movement was in fact a grand struggle for freedom extending far beyond the valiant aims of legal rights and protection. From direct-action protests and boycotts to armed self-defense, from court cases to popular culture, freedom was in the air in ways that challenged white authority and even contested established black ways of doing things in moments of crisis. Dixie and Beyond By the middle of the twentieth century, black people had long endured a physical and social landscape of white supremacy, embedded in policy, social codes, and both intimate and spectacular forms of racial restriction and violence. The social and political order of Jim Crow—the segregation of public facilities—meant schools, modes of transportation, rest rooms, and even gravesites were separate and unequal. Yet the catch-all phrase "Jim Crow" hardly accounts for the extralegal dictates of black professionals working cotton fields, landholders thrown off their...

Words: 3482 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Racial Polarization

...Is Racial Antipathy Increasing? The Polarizing Effect of Obama’s Presidency Abstract Previous research has shown that individuals who are highly conservative are more likely to hold negative perceptions of African-Americans and other minorities. Furthermore, racial antipathy affects the way individuals perceive Barack Obama. In light of recent trends, this study tested whether individuals who identify themselves as Republicans are substantially more likely to maintain negative racial attitudes. The study also investigated whether white Americans are more likely than other racial groups to harbor racial prejudices and disapprove of Barack Obama. Results from this study indicated that racial resentment plays a significant role in contemporary politics. Data from between-subjects ANOVA and correlational analysis suggested that the Democratic Party and Republican Party are polarized in regards to racial issues. Moreover, conservative whites are the most likely racial group to hold racial prejudices against African-Americans. Finally, disapproval of President Obama is highly associated with high levels of negative racial stereotypes. Keywords: race, antipathy, conservatism, prejudices, Obama Is Racial Antipathy Increasing? The Polarizing Effect of Obama’s Presidency In 2008, Barack Obama became the first African-American to become President of the United States. His election marked a pivotal turning point in American politics. To millions, Obama’s election signaled...

Words: 6638 - Pages: 27

Free Essay

The Perceptions of Effects of a Study Skills Course

...THE PERCEPTIONS OF EFFECTS OF A STUDY SKILLS COURSE, “DYNAMICS OF EFFECTIVE STUDY,” ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS AT A DEDICATED ACADEMIC MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Counseling by Josephine Ann Allen B.S., Nicholls State University, 1976 M.A., Southern University, 1988 M.A., Southern University, 1990 December, 2003 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ who has given me this wonderful gift and to my loving mother, Mrs. Daisy Celestin Allen, who has always believed in education and has supported me throughout my academic endeavors. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am most appreciative to my former principal, Mr. James B. Williams, Jr., who encouraged me to complete this study and East Baton Rouge Parish for allowing me to conduct this research. I am also thankful to the participants in the study - teachers, students, parents, and administrators of Baton Rouge Magnet High School - for allowing me to conduct this research. I want to acknowledge a former student of mine, Harley Becnel, for reminding me of why I started this educational journey and why I persisted to complete the process. All children deserve to be properly educated. With love for...

Words: 54321 - Pages: 218

Premium Essay

Freakonomics-Expanded

...FREAKONOMICS A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything Revised and Expanded Edition Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner CONTENTS AN EXPLANATORY NOTE In which the origins of this book are clarified. vii PREFACE TO THE REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION xi 1 INTRODUCTION: The Hidden Side of Everything In which the book’s central idea is set forth: namely, if morality represents how people would like the world to work, then economics shows how it actually does work. Why the conventional wisdom is so often wrong . . . How “experts”— from criminologists to real-estate agents to political scientists—bend the facts . . . Why knowing what to measure, and how to measure it, is the key to understanding modern life . . . What is “freakonomics,” anyway? 1. What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common? 15 In which we explore the beauty of incentives, as well as their dark side—cheating. Contents Who cheats? Just about everyone . . . How cheaters cheat, and how to catch them . . . Stories from an Israeli day-care center . . . The sudden disappearance of seven million American children . . . Cheating schoolteachers in Chicago . . . Why cheating to lose is worse than cheating to win . . . Could sumo wrestling, the national sport of Japan, be corrupt? . . . What the Bagel Man saw: mankind may be more honest than we think. 2. How Is the Ku Klux Klan Like a Group of Real-Estate Agents? 49 In which it is argued that nothing is more powerful than information,...

Words: 105214 - Pages: 421

Free Essay

Entrepreneur Characteristics

...Entrepreneurial Characteristics, Optimism, Pessimism, and Realism – Correlation or Collision? Liang, Chyi-lyi (Kathleen), Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, The University of Vermont, 103 C Morrill Hall, Burlington, Vermont 05405 Phone (802) 6560754, e-mail: CLIANG@uvm.edu Dunn, Paul, Entrepreneurship Studies Center, The University of Louisiana at Monroe, 700 University Avenue, Monroe, Louisiana 71209 Phone (318) 3421224, e-mail: dunn@ulm.edu Publsihed in the Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp 1-22. 1 Abstract The study of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship has resulted in a great deal of information about who entrepreneurs are and how who they are impacts their behavior. This paper presents additional insight into who entrepreneurs are and how their characteristics relate, and how those relationships might impact their behavior. We have studied selected entrepreneurial characteristics and their relationship to optimism, realism, and pessimism. The study shows that some entrepreneurial characteristics are positively related to optimism and realism and negatively related to pessimism. Key Words: Entrepreneurship, Psychology, Entrepreneurial Characteristics, Optimism, Realism, Pessimism 2 Entrepreneurial Characteristics, Optimism, Pessimism, and Realism – Correlation or Collision? Introduction There is a common argument among researchers regarding if entrepreneurs are optimistic, and if optimism relates...

Words: 7894 - Pages: 32