Conducting Forensic Assessments

Conducting Forensic Assessments This study discusses different aspects of forensic psychology in relation to juvenile suspects by assessing an individual in the case study portrayed in the documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning. This paper provides the brief descriptions of the following: The case study in the documentary, including a description of the individual and his forensic population. The potential role(s) of a forensic psychologist in relation to the case study. The forensic assessment principles that apply to the case study. Any third party information that may be necessary to collect for the forensic assessment of the case study. Ethical and/or multicultural issues and/or considerations related to the case study. An analysis of how a forensic psychologist might best address each of the ethical and/or multicultural issues and/or considerations that are described. What a forensic psychologist might think important to consider and/or determine when conducting a forensic assessment of the individual in this case study. What the courts might think important to consider and/or determine from a forensic assessment of the individual in this case study. At least two forensic assessment instruments and/or tools that might be used in relation to this case study, with an explanation of why. The elements that would be included in a forensic assessment report based on this case study. Which elements from a forensic assessment report based on this case study would be relevant for testimony, and why. The implications that the assessment may have for the outcome of the case Murder on a Sunday Morning This case study is based upon the forensic assessment of the accused individual in the documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001). The crime scene in the documentary portrays Mr. James Stevens witnessing his wife being shot and murdered by a young black male who was robbing her at the gun point. The assailant committing this crime has been characterized as a six feet tall skinny black male of age in between 20 and 25 years. The police arrested Brenton Butler as a suspect who is a 15 year old black male although he is much shorter and younger than the actual assailant that the police was looking for. Nevertheless, Butler was suspected of the murder as he was the only black found near the crime scene at that time and being identified by the victims husband as the assailant who attacked his wife. He was then interrogated in the police station in the absence of his parents and was even denied of getting any legal help. Detective Glover interrogated the young man and attempted to make him confess the crime and pressurized him to locate the murder weapon. The detective took Butler to an area of woods close to the crime scene and hit him once on the face and twice in the stomach as he was unable to extract any information from the suspect. After which, another detective with the name Dwayne Darnell came to work on this case who made Butler sign a pre-written confession that became a prime evidence for the trial. The case was then picked up by Ann Finnell and Patrick Mc Guinness as public defenders against the state of Florida, who systematically proved the prosecution wrong on account of insufficient evidence produced for the trial. They proved that the police tortured Butler both psychologically and physically to obtain the written confession from him and that Butler had no motive for the crime, no forensic evidence and no murder weapon were found and neither do Butler have any criminal record in the past nor he had any history of risk factors such as poor parenting, poverty, mental disorders, etc., normally observed in criminals (Bartol Bartol, 2011 Burkhead, 2006). Hence, the jury set Butler free as he was not found guilty of the crime after just 45 minutes of discussion although Butler had already spent 6 months of imprisonment during the proceedings of the trial. Butler and his family settled for a compensation of 7.75 million dollars when they actually sued for 8.5 million dollars on account of civil rights violations while the lawyer was punished by the District Judge John H, Moore for not pleading the case appropriately (Schoettler Pinkham, 2002). Later, the real criminal was arrested, trialed and convicted for the crime. Although Butler received justice in the end, however, he would have not passed 6 months in prison if some aspects of forensic psychology had been considered earlier in the trial. Forensic psychological assessment would have been done to determine Butlers competency to stand trial. Moreover, Butler should have been given the instruments of Dr. Grisso to understand, assess and appreciate Miranda Rights so that he would have understood the meaning of waiving his rights and possibly would not have made the false confession under pressure (Goldstein, Condie, Kalbeitzer, Osman Geier, 2003). Role of a Forensic Psychologists There are just two aspects of forensic psychology that are applicable to the Butler case, which are: first to assess the ability of the young suspect (Butler) to waive his Miranda rights and the second to determine Butlers competency to stand trial. Assessment Principles The important question is that whether or not to apply different standards to assess the competency of a juvenile? Numerous studies along with this documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning have deduced that juveniles should better be assessed and trialed on the basis of their maturity level rather than just following the Dusky Standard for their assessment since their cognitive and reasoning abilities have not been fully developed as compared to those of the adults. Nevertheless, this issue is still in debate in the circles of the legal system (Ryba, Cooper Zapf, 2003, p500). The forensic psychologists should assess the juvenile suspect irrespective of the standards being followed such that his/her level of understanding the legal proceedings and his/her cognitive mental abilities are measured accurately. I consider that in this case study of the documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning if Butler was found incompetent to stand trial earlier in the proceedings then this would not have been much in favor of Butler since such a person is usually sent for treatment until he/she is able to stand trial which may even take several years. As, generally, the court proceedings would still hold while the suspected juvenile is treated through an outpatient method in order to gain competency to stand trial. Since Butler was innocent in the first place therefore keeping the trial on hold until he becomes competent to stand trial after treatment would have been a great injustice to him (Viljoen Roesch, 2008), perhaps the competency analysis was not done in the documentary due to this reason. Another problematic element of forensic psychology is the issue that who is the client. In general, the person whom the psychologist is treating or assessing is his/her client. Nevertheless, in legal matters as the one portrayed in the documentary Murder on a Sunday Morning, the psychologist is working in collaboration with the legal team to find out the mental level of the suspect and not for the diagnosis or treatment of the suspects problem. Hence, the final report written by the psychologist in this regard could be greatly biased depending upon the legal-team with which he/she is working and the type of the assessment being conducted. This further signifies that if the psychologist is working with the prosecution then he/she would emphasize over the violent behavior of the suspect in his/her assessment report and thereby, would recommend moving the juvenile suspect to the adult court so that the concentration is applied only to the punishment aspects of the law. On the other hand , if the psychologist is working with the defense counsel then he/she would like to keep the juvenile suspect in the juvenile court system so as to assure the provision of proper assistance and treatment for him/her. Third Party Information The third party information is also very important for a forensic psychologist although most of the information will be acquired from the individual under assessment. The public defenders in the case of Butler used his mother as a source for determining the personality and habits of her son due to which, the prosecution case was weakened. As for instance, Butlers mother refuted the statement of Glover (the primary interrogator) that Butler stood up to hug him and said he was glad to see him when he (the detective) entered in to the room, as she reveals that her son is very reserved and normally never hugs strangers. Although this information could have also been acquired from a psychologist however its impact was more when the mother herself presented it in front of the jury (de Lestrade, 2001). This further indicates that often vital information can be acquired from the third party instead of being available from the client. As the mother pointed out that Butler was very quiet and r eserved, hence his short replies to the questions allowed the forensic examiner to extract very little information from him to present to the court. Further, a doctor certified in front of the jury that the wounds on Butlers body were caused while he was in police custody. Although a forensic psychologist could report this information to the jury as third party information however, in accordance to the 4 Cs of testimony, a psychologist does not have a clinical knowledge about the wounds where as a medical doctor does, therefore the testimony of a medical doctor in this regard would be considered as the stronger evidence. Moreover, a medical doctor could testify that how the wounds were acquired by Butler while a forensic psychologist could not. Thus, the testimony of a medical doctor would pose a better impact on the trial along with ensuring adherence to the 4 Cs of testimony: Clarity, Certainty, Case Specificity and Clinical Knowledge (Kwartner Boccaccini, 2008). Multicultural Since Butler became the victim of racial profiling being the only young black male spotted in the area near to the crime scene, this point can be accounted as the only multicultural issue in this forensic study. Although Butler was younger and shorter than the prime suspect of the case but still the police picked him up for scrutiny. This point could be best utilized by the defense attorney but the forensic psychologist could endorse it, by ensuring that this sort of racial profiling is happening quite commonly across the United States, through various case studies. Forensic Considerations According to the juvenile court rules, the juveniles caught for committing violent crimes can be easily transferred to an adult court for prosecution, after which they will be confined in adult prisons if found guilty (Brannen et al., 2006). However, there is no provision for trialing a juvenile directly in to the adult court system. In the case of Butler, he was automatically prosecuted in an adult court without being prosecuted in and referred by the juvenile court. It is ambiguous that whether or not the necessary measures were followed for transferring him to the adult court system. Court Considerations In this case, the court has to take in to account the age of the accused and the outcome of his interrogation. At the age of 15 years, Butler does not possess the cognitive abilities of a mature person. He was also unaware of the interrogation procedures of the police and his rights in this regard. Since Butler got involved in a legal problem for the first time, he was totally unfamiliar with the Miranda rights due to which the police took advantage of him. Moreover, the medical testimony proving that the police physically abused Butler in order to make him sign the pre-written confession which was actually written by the police instead of Butler. The court would have to look in to the details of all the above considerations prior to affirming to Butlers confession. Forensic Assessments In this case study of Butler, the following forensic assessments would be considered to make a strong case against the prosecution counsel of Butler: Butlers ability to waive Miranda rights. Butlers direct trial in the adult court system. Butlers competency to stand the trial. Butlers psychological evaluation for any deviant behavior or mental problem. Forensic Elements The most important element that the forensic psychologist assigned in this case should consider is that the accused is a juvenile and not all analytical methods are designed for juveniles. Moreover, there is considerable ambiguity in the rights that are given to a juvenile in the proceedings of an adult court system. It is assumed that a juvenile being transferred to the adult court has the same rights and rules as those of an adult provided that such a juvenile bears the same cognitive abilities and understanding of the legal system as those possessed by an adult, which is usually negative. Since the eye witness testimony constitutes a vital evidence in this case, the forensic psychologist would have to prove that how and why testimony of the eye witness (victims husband) was inaccurate as Hugo Munsterberg (1908) showed in his book On the Witness Stand that the testimony of the eye witness can be often deceiving in the proceedings of the court. Ability to waive Miranda rights The Instruments of Dr. Grisso to assess, understand and appreciate Miranda Rights would have been extremely beneficial for Butlers defense in this case. The forensic psychologist should utilize this assessment in analyzing the ability of a juvenile in understanding and waiving his/her Miranda rights in a legal matter (Oberlander Goldstein, 2001). This assessment instrument was developed in the 1970s and then amended in the year 2003 to cater the changes made in the legal systems. The most important characteristic of this assessment instrument that is applicable to the Butlers case is the right of a person arrested to not give answers to the police interrogation until he/she is provided legal assistance of the lawyer by the police (Goldstein, et al., 2003). If this assessment was utilized in the Butlers case then he would not have been exposed to police torture and never would have agreed to the false confession under duress. In this case, the police mislead Butler by assuring him th at they would try to get an attorney for him but never clarified that he had the right to demand for an attorney and remain silent until he has been provided with his legal help. Forensic Report Although the law is absolutely clear in the elements to be included in a forensic report presented in the courts however no standards have been set as yet to carry out a competency analysis on juvenile. Various studies have investigated different methods to evaluate competency and those methods have been used extensively in practice which have been found to be most effective and accurate (Christy, Douglas, Otto Petrila, 2004). Since no standards have been set for assessing competency, hence the studies have observed vast discrepancies in forensic reports. There has been no indication of requesting or completing any forensic reports in the Butlers case. The proceedings of this case should have included an assessment of Butlers competency to stand trial and his ability as a juvenile to waive off his Miranda rights. Implications of the Report In case of the forensic report being completed and presented to the court in relation to Butlers ability to waive off his Miranda rights being a juvenile and his competency to stand trial, the court would have taken Butlers age and unawareness of the legal system in to account before trialing him in the adult court system on charge of a murder. The forensic report would have also enabled the court to assess Butlers understanding of his Miranda rights and his signing to the false confession under duress and thereby, affirming his innocence in this case. Conclusion The Butlers case properly illustrates that why a forensic psychologist should be included in the proceedings of the court, particularly in those involving a juvenile since the juveniles being immature and unaware require more legal protection and different assessment methods than those applicable to adults. In case of being trialed in the adult system, it should be ensured that the system does not exploit the juvenile on trial. Butler was saved from a severe punishment by the public defense attorneys who managed to point out the loopholes in the prosecution case and the violations made by the police interrogators.

Pill Bug Behaviors Lab

Pill Bug Behaviors Patricia Full Tiana Crosby P. D. 4-5 9/20/2012 Introduction The pill bug is the only crustaceans that can spend its entire life on land. Their shells look like armor and they are known for their ability to roll into a ball. Sometimes children call them roly-polies. Most pill bugs live for up to two years. They are most active at night. Pill bugs do not bite, sting or transmit diseases. They are perfectly safe to handle and are the perfect specimens for this experiment. This experiment is to test the reactions and behaviors of pill bugs when put in different environments and environmental situations.In the test it was tested how they reacted when 2 different sources of food that were put into the environment which was the choice chambers. The 2 foods we used were an apple and a piece of celery. I concluded by previous observations that the pill bugs would prefer the apple which is sweet over the bitter celery. Materials and procedure * 10-20 potato bugs * 1 choice c hamber * 1 petri dish * 1 apple * 1 stick of celery * Stop watch 1. Get a choice chamber and collect the bugs 2. Cut up the apple and celery and set them in the opposite sides of the chambers 3. Put 5 potato bugs in one chamber 5 in another 4.Observe noting the data for 10 minutes recording every half a minute(30 seconds) Conclusion In this experiment we studied the behavior of pill bugs in different situations. In the situation we put 2 different food sources in the choice chamber and let the bugs decide. The data supported my hypothesis that the bugs would prefer the sweet apple over the bitter celery. At the beginning we put 5 in each chamber and let them decide which they wanted. It showed that by the end of the test all or most of the bugs were in the apple chamber eating the apple. It proves my hypothesis as valid. ( For questions see attachment)

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Impressionist Artists Jane Peterson - 1002 Words

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Band of Brothers, Easy Company Free Essays

The young men of Easy Company were ordinary citizens turned soldiers. Some of them worked in agricultural farms or coalmines. Others lived in the mountain and few were sons of the Deep South. We will write a custom essay sample on Band of Brothers, Easy Company or any similar topic only for you Order Now Some came from very poor families while others were raised from the middle class (Gerjevic 2006). These were just few of the brave men who composed the Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, U. S. Army. In 1942, the Easy Company was created and underwent basic training in Camp Toccoa, Georgia. The training included climbing the Currahee Mountain. They were the young volunteers seeking for thrill, honor, source of income and dreamed of attaining higher level than a draftee. The training was rigid and required great physical effort. After nine months of hard training, they prepared the invasion of Hitler’s fortress (Ambrose, Simon and Schuster 2006). At about 1 a. m. June 6, 1944, came D-Day, they silently smoked, talked in whispers and uttered short prayers as they board the C-47s. Each man was in full battle gear. They were ready to fulfill their delicate mission (Gerjevic 2006). The Band of Brothers successfully did their assigned role in the D-Day invasion where they parachuted into Normandy, overpowered a German defense line on Utah Beach, head the force that entered into Carentan, led the fighting in Holland, captured an area in Bastogne, bravely led the counteroffensive in the Battle of the Bulge and finally overran Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden (Webster 2006). The Easy Company suffered physical as well as mental casualties. Overall, the Band of Brothers successfully made it and they were proclaimed American heroes. The war was a story on how draftee citizen soldiers conquered well-trained German opponent such as the Wehrmach and S. S (Ambrose, Simon and Schuster 2006). The Band of Brothers, Easy Company was born in 1942. Their contribution in the success of America in their three years in the war cannot be underestimated. Their courage, endurance and dedication towards the interest of the nation have earned them a place in America’s great history. The Band of Brothers is worthy to be considered as one of the greatest military unit that the United States of America ever had. Work Cited Gerjevic, Sandi, â€Å"Band of Brothers†, accessed December 5, 2006, http://www. sandigerjevic. com/brothers. html Ambrose, Stephen, Simon Schuster, â€Å"Band of Brothers†, accessed on December 5, 2006, http://www. bookreporter. com/reviews/0671867369. asp Webster, David Kenyon, â€Å"accessed December 5, 2006, http://www. davidkenyonwebster. com/ How to cite Band of Brothers, Easy Company, Papers

Dracula moved Essay Example For Students

Dracula moved Essay Suddenly with a single bound he leaped into the room, winning a way past us before any of us could raise a hand to stay him. There was something so panther like in the movement- something so inhuman This describes to us how quick Dracula moved. As we already know. Dracula can take many forms and as it says, there was something so panther like in the movement this suggests that he had taken another form which had enabled him to move so fast without anyone having a chance to get him. This brings suspense into the story as the readers now begin to realise just how supernatural and amazing Dracula is. A horrible sort of snarl passed over his face, showing his eye- teeth long and pointed This particular quote brings in the element of fear to the readers mind. It seems as though Bram Stoker uses the facial expressions that Dracula creates to bring in this fear factor into the story. He describes the way that Dracula looks and this instantly brings in the fear element as Draculas look is so mean and horror like. This is typical as this story is focused around the Gothic element, which consists of the fear convention. The diabolical quickness if the counts leap back saved him. A second less and the trenchant blade had shorn through his heart This suggests that the Dracula was very quick in his movement, which once again backs up the suggestion that Dracula is regarded as a supernatural. Further along with the encounter Dracula jumps out the window, which creates a massive amount of fear and suspense for the reader as the reader wonders about what may have happened to Dracula. Dashed across the room and threw himself at the window Only someone stupid or someone very confident in their own abilities would try something as dangerous as that. This could be the work of someone who has the power of 20 men as Dracula was once described in the story. As we move on we get the other side of Dracula. The unusual/inhuman side. took my luggage and carried it in before I could forestall him. I protested but he insisted: Nay sir you are my guest. It is late and my people are unavailable. Let me see to your comfort myself This gets the readers thinking about why Dracula is doing this. It all seems as though he is trying to play the nice guy so he can take his time and pounce at the right moment which suits him. Count Dracula also makes him supper and provides him with very good accommodation, which seems as though it is coming out of Draculas good will but the reader will always have that suspicion which gets you thinking whether or not Dracula is always going to try and get some pleasure (the consuming/sucking of blood) out of the pain (being nice to the guest which isnt normal). So finally. The book itself. Bram Stoker has found a unique way of using the gothic conventions to excite the reader with the suspense and fear which is created within the story. The conventions that are used are put to good effect as the readers minds are tested as images are created due to the graphic content which is written about in some areas of the story. The writer himself highlights the way Dracula is brought across to the readers which he does effectively using the conventions. The way he describes some of the parts and the buildings he makes it feel as though you are actually part of the story. Bringing everything that I have wrote about together Bram Stoker has come up with a very interesting and gripping tale of Dracula. The Gothic conventions have worked fantastically for him to create this very good book and overall it was very interesting and he certainly knew how to bring the elements of suspense and fear into the story as well as telling a fabulous story at the same time.