Murder

There’s the legal side and the scales of justice, and there’s also the heart-wrenching emotional side: read more in our Murder articles section.

Recent Stories

The "CSI Effect": Juries Demand More Evidence
Sep 2008

CBS has CSI and CSI Miami. NBC has Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU. Court TV has Forensic Files. As these courtroom dramas and docu-dramas draw a combined audience of over 50 million viewers, it is not surprising that the effect of their popularity is becoming evident in the real world, specifically in real-life criminal trials. more...

Is Plea-bargaining in Capital Murder cases fair to victims?
Sep 2008

Plea-bargaining in capital murder cases: is it is fair to the victims or their families? The very process seems to bypass the notion of justice. A light sentence in exchange for an admission of guilty hardly seems fair. So, why play "let's make a deal" with captured murderers? Here are some of the arguments. more...

How to make a self-defense claim
Oct 2007

In American criminal law, one of the most popular defenses you can claim is self-defense. Many times this happens in assault cases. However, it is most notoriously and many times most effectively, used as a homicide defense. So how do you make a self-defense claim? It depends. Read more on how to make a self-defense claim. more...

Do you have a right to a jury of your peers?
Oct 2007

During jury selection, defense attorney Deborah Poole complained that her 79 year-old client, Lena Sims Driskell, could not receive a fair trial with a jury of her peers because the juror pool lacked enough older people from which to select. Of the 58 jurors in the pool, a scant few were over 60. more...