Recently in Media and News Category

I am a huge fan of the Hills as sad as it is to admit.  I recently have seen in the headlines that Kristin Cavallari (one of the stars) has been seen around completely wasted and out of control begging for cocaine.  I think that it is interesting to see that a girl that came from a small town became instantly famous over night and I could see where the limelight and Hollywood could easily introduce her into the world of drugs and alcohol.  I think it will be interesting to see where this situation goes, and hopefully she won't end up the next Lindsey Lohan.

I am writing this Post because I knew Ben during middle school back home in Des Moines. Although we weren't friends, his death is one that shocks me. As I knew Ben and remembered him from middle school I would never have guessed him out of all people for this to happen to. Ben was a very nice guy, very smart and loved to debate. I know that he was very avid in his community and volunteered a lot. He was also one to never put himself in any situation that had danger...from what i remeber and have heard by his friend.

The allogations of his death go like this:

He was found on Highway 65/69, which is a stretch from Indianola, Iowa right into Des Moines. He was reported slumped over the bridge and someone called in. We now know that he was shot in the head. They have switched the ruling from homicide to possible suicide. His parents and friends knew that he was fearing for his family's life. He had recieved threats...or so people think, about his family and himself. His family and friends think that he witnessed a crime or was made to think he did. They threatened him if he told police or anyone else.They also found him tied up with plastic zipper ties...which now is being said that Ben bought those himself a few hours before his death.

The whole community is shocked as to why Ben would committ suicide. He is known to have a ver happy life and  he was very successful. My question is what kind of fear would make a person kill themselves to save their family. Also, how does an investigation go in this kind of case. What determines the change in homocide to suicide knowing his circumstances.

This case has touched the southside of Des Moines greatly and I know that his family and friends will do everything they can to find out the underlying cause of his case. In a recent report by the DCI, it almost seemed like they were going to slow down the investigation now that they have some answers. I really hope they keep working hard to find out everythig possible

Below are links to various sources about Ben's death

http://www.kcci.com/news/23420314/detail.html

http://www.kcci.com/news/23286009/detail.html

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100504/NEWS01/5040372/-1/archive/DCI-says-student-shot-self-no-threat-evidence

 

There are many more articles, these are just a few

This article caught my eye, because as most of of think, when our economy is in a recession crime goes up.  However, as this artcile points out that is a meth.  Crime tends to follow whatever pattern it is currently in regardless of a recession.  This article provides some reasons why in the long run crime is going down and reasons why within this recession.

 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201004/the-crimeless-recession

This article is about a mother that gave birth to triplets. During the difficult birth she experienced severe brain damage that has caused her not to be able to raise them. She last seen her children in October of 2007 when they were toddlers, they will turn 4 on June 20th. I dont think that there is a question about if she is able to see her kids. Even if she is not able to fully interact with them. They are her kids and this unfortunate event should not keep her from seeing them. The family of the mother are fighting for her to be able to see her children. The family says she communicates through blinking. Blinking once means yes and not blinking means no. The family filed divorce papers on her behalf, and the husbands says that it is not in the childrens best interest to see their mother. I dont understand this at all... Why would it not be in the best interest for them, no matter what she is their mother! It dont make sense to me how people can be so greedy and selfish sometimes. The court proceding is scheduled for May 13, no matter the outcome, it is evident that this case will serve as a precedent for similiar cases in the future.

 http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/22/california.triplets.visitation.lawsuits/index.html

 

When Nintendo introduced its new Wii console it was offering users a new way to emit gaming behaviors.  It was literally changing the way people experienced playing a video game.  This brought with it numerous benefits including remarkable sales figures for the Nintendo company.  In no time at all there were wii consoles at bars and restaurants, wii bowling leagues, parents and grandparents were buying wii's, and not as presents, to use for themselves.

I've watched a show called Curse of the Lottery about how winning the lottery can destroy peoples lives. I decided to do a little research about it and I found a couple websites that explain the reality of winning the lottery. Although there are a few positive stories that come out of winning the lottery, it seems that more misfortune happens that fortune. These websites explain several cases in which winning the lottery practically ruined lives. The first website is a short article talking about how you have to have a financial plan for the large sum of money, otherwise lives can be torn apart. The second website talks about several people's stories and their downfalls. It also gives some facts about the lottery and some tips on what to do if you win. I think this "curse" is very interesting and it really shows how much an affect money has on people and their lives. Why does money make people so crazy?


Website 1
Website 2

These days, it seems like people will do anything to get public attention.  Reality t.v. has without a doubt taken over our living rooms, but exactly how far will producers and contestants go to reach fame?  Apparently, they will go pretty far.  One of the most controversial psychological studies, the Stanford Prison Experiment, was made into a reality television show called The Experiment.  Like the original experiment, the television show was also stopped early.

Now, since we are all aware of the psychological consequences that could be brought about by this study, why would they even think about replicating the study in the form of a reality show?  Personally, I don't think it was a good idea, but it's Hollywood, apparently they can do whatever they want.

Here is some information about the reality show:
http://bbcprisonstudy.org/index.php
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1986889.stm
        

The story of Tiger Woods has been the top story for the past how many weeks. It seems as if people cannot get enough on this topic. I can across an article on PsychCentral that gives several reasons as to why Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. To view the different studies and psychological reasons why he cheated you can visit the link here. 

I also chose to blog about this article because it seems as if people are being consumed by this personal issue of his life. Although he is a famous golfer and an idol to many people, is his infidelity really anyones business? Being famous does put some guidelines on how people should act, but everyone is human. How much of someone private life should be given to the public even if they are famous? I believe the media crosses the line and that someday there may even be a law banning this sort of publicity, at least I hope so. The US recently passed a health care bill and even still Tiger Woods cheating scandal was being aired more often than information on the bill. Hopefully people will realize the implications that media exposure has on people's lives, and stop supporting it so much.

http://www.justiceforkurt.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Kurt_Cobain

 

 

As a grunge-junkie, I have had a long time interest in the alleged suicide of famous musician Kurt Cobain. For those of you who do not know who Kurt Cobain is, he is the lead singer of popular 90's grunge rock band Nirvana. Nirvana is considered by many to be the anthem band for the generation growing up during this time period. Kurt Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home on April 8^th, 1994. Investigators ruled the death a suicide by gunshot blast coming from his jaw then exiting through the top of his head. Much controversy surrounds Kurt Cobain's death leaving many speculators to wonder if Cobain actually did commit suicide. These two websites highlight some of the controversy surrounding the death. Cobain's death is still largely considered a suicide. Those who advocate that his death was in fact a suicide site Cobain's alcohol and drug abuse, his history of depression, and a suicide note left behind. Despite the enormous amount of evidence, there is still a collective group of people who believe that Cobain was murdered. The main advocator that Cobain's death was indeed homicide is Thomas Grant, a private investigator that was under the employment of Cobain's wife prior to his death. Grant's main arguments are so strong that they have led many others to believe his theory. Some of Grant's main arguments are

-          According to the toxicology report, Cobain had an enormous amount of heroin in his blood at the time of his death. Cobain had so much heroin in his system that it would have been impossible to steady a shotgun and pull the trigger. The amount of heroin in Cobain's system would have left him completely incapacitated and unconscious  

-          There are complications with the suicide note including so irregularities in the handwriting

-          Inconsistency in the police reports including: failure to take finger prints off the shotgun trigger, inconstancies with the discharged shell in relation to his body, no finger prints were found on the suicide note yet Cobain was not wearing gloves at the time of the murder

-          Evidence that came out after Cobain's death that Courtney Love (Cobain's wife at the time of his death) attempted to pay someone to murder Cobain

Those who still feel Cobain's death was a suicide believe this evidence to be circumstantial.

I personally feel that there were many signs in this case that indicate foul play but due to Cobain's history of drug abuse and depression they were all overlooked by police officials. If the police had investigated further into the theory of murder then there might be a lot more evidence out there that was not "circumstantial."

 

In this article Bill O'Rielly interviews Dr. Russell from the University of Kansas on why college aged students act the way they do on spring break.  I being a college student has attended spring break in PCB Florida found this an interesting headline.  For most of us, spring break is the time to completely let loose and put our worries behind us for a few days.  Being on a beach is an even easier way to forget our sorrows.  Realistically, it's also a good excuse to consume a lot of alcohol and have the excuse "I'm on spring break, it's what you do".  So why do we do this?  Dr. Russell seems to think that it's because we have an excess of self esteem.  Everything we do we view as cool and as though we're invincible.  He also says that we have very little shame for the things we do.  We don't see shame as a feeling, because when you start to feel shame, you know you're doing something wrong.  Which in turn he begins to place blame on our parents for accepting our behavior.  However, being young adults we don't always quite understand the repercussions of events on spring break since many of the idiotic things that happen end up on the internet, and 10 years down the road from now a future employer could find this and you could lose your position. 

A lot of the things Dr. Russell has said, have me questioning him, but I will agree with the fact that being inebriated on spring break definitely lowers one inhibitions and that people do a lot of stupid things.  People also need to be aware that these actions can come back and affect your life in the future! 
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340373,00.html

At a homicide investigators conference in Las Vegas this week, there are several displays of many high-profile crimes.  For instance, there are exhibits on the OJ Simpson case, Marilyn Monroe's death, Robert Kennedy's assassination, Sharon Tate's murder (and the other Manson family's crimes), the Black Dahlia murder, and a few notable shootouts.  Included in these exhibits are actual evidence (a rope from Sharon Tate's murder, gloves from OJ Simpson's trial, etc), video footage and photographs.
This all sounds interesting; however, it is quite the opposite according to the victims' families.  Maxwell Kennedy, Robert's son, calls the display of his father's assassination "part of a macabre publicity stunt" and "a cheap bid for attention" because they were displaying the suit that was worn by Kennedy at the time of his death.  Debra Tate, Sharon's sister, says "A little warning would have been nice so we could prepare ourselves emotionally, ...It's part of the insensitivity the department shows toward victims. We're being victimized over and over again."
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and District Attorney Steve Cooley say they never intended to compound the grief of murder victims' families. They say they sought to depict the horror of homicide in hopes of deterring violence.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_oMgmSp4WdDuvbkginjpqkNb-3wD9E80TMG0

The Kennedy family complained about the clothing being on display, and the LAPD have since removed items that the family does not  want to be displayed.  Debra Tate plans on filing a complaint, but doesn't seem to expect anything to come of it.

In my Psych and Gender class we watched a video about a set of twins. As the twins were being circumsized (mind you, they're both boys) one of the nurses accidently burned off one of the boys penis's. The doctor told the parents of the boys to raise the boy who got his penis burnt off as a girl. The doctor was doing an experiment of Nature v. Nuture. This relates to this class because the doctor reported that the experiment was a success, when it really wasn't. They tried to sue, but they couldn't prove anything. It ended up that both of the twins committed suicide later on in life. Here's the sight....
http://www.rightcelebrity.com/?p=4426

Reading this case that was brought before the Supreme Court in 2006 made me think about the insanity defense. In a short sentence at the end of the article it is pointed out that the insanity defense is used in less the 1% of all cases and is successful less the a quarter of the time it is tried. One of the key points of the defendants argument is that state laws unfairly shifts the burden of proof from the State to the Defendant which runs counter to almost everything else in the legal system. As much as I think that people should pay for their crimes it seems wrong to not only hold someone who entire deck short of a deck of cards responsible for their actions, but to force them to prove that they are insane. This is further complicated when you consider Justice Souters question "What if he knew right from wrong, and knew it was wrong to kill aliens?" how do you handle people who are clearly nuts but are doing something wrong even within the standards set by their delusion. I honestly don't have an answer for this. 

On November 1st, 2007 Meredith Kercher was found dead on the bedroom floor partly naked with stab wounds on her neck, many bruises, and signs of being sexually assaulted.  At the time, Meredith was a foreign exchange student in Perugia, Italy along with Amanda Knox, an American foreign exchange student.  Five days after interrogation, Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were arrested and later convicted with murder, sexual violence, as well as other charges (Knox was sentenced to 26 years while Sollecito was sentenced for 25 years).  DNA and fingerprint evidence at the scene both inside and around Meredith's body pointed to another man, Rudy Hermann Guede.  Guede was later arrested, tried, and was also convicted of murder an sexual assault.  Guede was initially sentenced to 30 years in prison but appealed his sentence which was then reduced to 16 years. 

I had never heard of this case before but I happened to turn on Oprah today and caught the tail end of the story. I got the sense that it was a pretty well known case and I found this to be true when I was searching online and I did end up finding a lot of information about it.  Here is the link to the Wikipedia article which I think does a great job summarizing the case and is a good place to start if you haven't heard of the case before: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MurderofMeredith_Kercher

There seems to be quite a bit of controversy going on about the differences in the criminal justice system and culture of Italy compared to that of the United States when dealing with this case.  I haven't looked into this issue very extensively, but what I have gathered is that many people feel that if Amanda was tried in the United States rather than Italy, she would have never been convicted.

Regardless of this controversy, it became apparent to me while watching the rest of the Oprah show and reading and watching the videos online (http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Amanda-Knoxs-Family-Speak-Out/7), being wrongfully convicted has substantial consequences not only for the person wrongfully convicted, but for their family as well. 

First of all, being wrongfully convicted puts a huge financial burden on the person who is desperately fighting for their freedom.  The book I am reading for this class (Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter) also touches on the tremendous debts one can be in when fighting their conviction.  Thousands upon thousands of dollars were spent, not only by Carter himself, but by his supporters.  Amanda's case seems to be no different.  When searching through sites online, I came across her official site where you could donate money to contribute to her defense fund which will hopefully someday free her.

Being wrongfully convicted also takes a emotional toll on the person who has been wrongfully convicted as well as their family.  On Oprah's website, you can watch a short video of an interview of Amanda's three sisters.  The oldest of the three talks about her new responsibility of being the older sister since Amanda is away and how she struggles at being a good example for her younger sisters.  Amanda's youngest sister talk about how she feels like she doesn't have a family because she describes a family as everyone being there, which is not the case.  Her younger sister struggles with her emotions and her need to stay strong for Amanda and her parents.  My book focuses a lot on Carter's emotional struggles to keep his identity while in prison and the shame he feels, which inevitable causes him to distance himself from his former wife and children.  Carter's family was torn apart by his wrongful conviction, but Amanda's has come together.  Her parents divorced when she was three, but since her conviction, they have combined forces in attempt to free their daughter.  Every Saturday her family gets together for the weekly phone call from Amanda. 

Being wrongfully convicted has tremendous repercussions for the individuals and their families.  Stories like these really make me understand the importance that psychology plays in the law.  I'm not sure how heavily eyewitnesses played in Amanda's conviction, but eyewitness evidence was the only thing used to convict Carter of his sentence of triple-murder.  In order to keep the innocent out of prison, it is evident that a better understanding and acceptance of faulty eyewitness testimonies is necessary, but I'm afraid that no matter how hard we try, there will always be people who are wrongfully convicted.  Even if our criminal justice system improves on keeping the innocent out of jail from now on, there are currently many innocent people in prison, most of which are more than likely desperately trying to free themselves.
 

With all the talk about eyewitness in class last Tuesday, it reminded me perfectly of a Dr. Phil episode I watched a couple of weeks ago.  Dr. Phil talked about how often false eyewitness identifications are made, and he made his audience participate in an eyewitness account.  He showed them a short clip of a crime, I can't remember exactly what it was, and then he put a lineup of possible offenders, and had the audience key in which person they thought committed the crime.  Results showed that a high percentage was towards one of the suspects, when in reality, the offender wasn't even in that line up.  He went into more detail of explaining how often this happens. 

After this brief introduction, he brings in a woman, Loretta, who was brutally raped at age 15.  The man convicted was Dean, who was 29 at the time.  He was in prison for 14 years, until DNA evidence proved he was not Loretta's rapist.

To this day, Loretta still believes than Dean is the man who raped her.  She can't believe that they let him out of prison, and despite all the DNA evidence proving it wasn't him, she still believes it was.  Dr. Phil has an emotional interview with her, explaining all the DNA evidence is correct, and that Dean is innocent.  In turn, Dr. Phil also has Dean come on the show, and he interviews him as well.  He feels horrible for this woman, but at the same time, he lost 14 years of his life in prison for being falsely accused.

I couldn't find the full episodes for this anywhere, so I put a clip of Dean and Loretta's meeting for the first time. It's the link entitled "See Loretta and Dean's first encounter since she helped put him in prison in 1994."

Also, you can click around on this website as well and watch other little clips from the show.  It's a really interesting story.

 

 

 

I have came across this article in which a british tv program host has been arrested for murder after he had admitted that he assisted in the death of a former lover that was diagnoses with aids.  Euthanasia is a topic that has been debated in the past. Euthanasia or "mercy killing" is when someone helps a terminally ill person commit suicide to "stop the suffering" I wrote a research paper on this topic at the community college I attended. I think that it is a interesting topic to discuss. Many people will hopefully never experience a loved one being diagnosed with a terminal illness so it is hard to be put into that position just by imaginating it. I am not sure if this should be accepted or not. A person that is terminally ill and is experiencing extreme pain and suffering and there is nothing that the medical field is able to do for that person, and that person is wanting the pain to stop. Should the euthanasia process be able to be carried out legally if it can be done in a "humane" way? I dont know.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/02/17/bbc.presenter.arrest/index.html 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/21/smiley.face.killer/index.html

I came across this theory while watching the evening news tonight. The disappearance of an ISU student has grabbed the hearts of Iowans and has had many people speculating. With lack of evidence police are might be turning to theory. Speculation surrounding the case has hinted that the disappearance might be related to a series of deaths that have been plaguing the Midwest for almost 2 decades. The Smiley Face Killer Theory is a working police theory that links over 40 different accidental drownings to a serial killer or group of killers. The circumstances of the cases are all similar. All the victims were 20 to 23 year old males who were popular and were in great academic standing. The autopsies of the victims show no sign of foul play but they do indicate that the victims were intoxicated at the time of their drowning. A series of smiley faces placed near where some the bodies were found lead many to speculate that the drowning were not by accident. In Lacrosse Wisconsin alone there has been a total of 9 different drown-victims and several more in the states of Iowa and Minneapolis. Speculation around this theory has grown so much that they have even made an official website for the theory.

http://sfkillers.com/?page_id=2.    

FBI has made an official statement on the subject that they do not believe these deaths are linking in any way and they are still ruling these drownings as accidental. There is still no word on ISU student that is still missing but the police have not ruled anything out yet.

Playing devil's advocate here, I am going to go along with the theory and pose some hypothetical scenarios. Firstly, regardless of if the recent disappearance of an ISU student is linked in any way to this theory, the deaths of nearly 40 other male college students is more than enough to raise an eyebrow at. The circumstances of the case might lead us to make some initial investigatory inferences. First, all the victims were male, college age, in good academic standing (deans list or above), and all were described as being popular. From that we could make some inferences that if a killer exists they might be someone who would have a grudge against these types of bright and popular males. Also all of the alleged drownings took place in the Midwest and northern U.S. States indicating that the killer or potential killers may live in the Midwest. This theory opens the doors for many different theories; could this be the work of copy cats? Could it be one killer or some sort of cult across several organizations on various campuses?

As I said above the FBI has made their official statement that there is no evidence to believe that these deaths are in any way related so I do not intend to stir up any feelings of paranoia, just merely playing devil's advocate.   

I'm sure all of you know who Charles Manson is.  In my AP Psych class in high school, I watched a documentary about Manson and I've been interested in the story ever since.  The thing that I find interesting about his case is that Manson never killed anybody himself, yet he is in prison for first degree murder.  

This article is about a guy that was a convicted sex offender in Iowa that moved to Oklahoma to get away from the harassments he was encountering in Des Moines. When he received a new drivers license in Oklahoma it had "sex offender" in red writing under his picture. Even though he was no longer registered as a sex offender in Iowa, he was forced to live with this stigma in Oklahoma. He was not able to go to the mall, library, or his little brothers football games. His mother fought the legislature to change the law so that expunged sex offenders do not need to be labeled as sex offenders in the state of Oklahoma. He is no longer stigmatized by this label. Sex offender registries are in my opinion kind of a controversial issue. In some instances I agree that people should have to register and should not be permitted around children, but in this guys case he was 16 and he thought the girl was 15 but turns out she was 13. Even thought a lot of people say that is too young to be particiapating in these activities, that is not the point in this case. Im not sure this guys needs to be stigmatized for the rest of his life for his crime in this case.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/11/oklahoma.teen.sex.offender/index.html 

Many of you have probably heard about this story at least once on the news or online. After Haiti was faced with a tragic earthquake, 10 American missionaries were arrested and detained after allegedly kidnapping 33 Haitian children. The Americans supposedly tried to take these children out of the country into the Dominican Republic without proper documentation, and were turned back. According to CNN.com, the judge of this case has up to 3 months to decide whether or not he wants to prosecute these individuals. Many people have completely differing views on this case and their are arguments for both sides. Here are a couple links that are following this case as it is just starting to get underway.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/04/haiti.arrests/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/world/americas/10prisoners.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2010/0211/Haiti-kidnapping-case-Americans-could-be-released-today

 

 

This is an interesting article I had to read for a Criminology class regarding the discussion of the Uniform Crime Report, and what police chiefs did in order to make their cities seem safer then they were. To do this they downgraded a lot of fleonies to misdemeanors and other crimes they simply just didnt report. Since then those official have obvioulsy been releaved of their duties and one new official told his community that when he enters office the crime rate will be a lot higher but at least it will be the correct one that they can work hard at to minimize. I guess the take home point of this type of article is to bring awarness in the dependece of statistics because they can be very misleading and in some cases just made up.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/03/us/as-crime-falls-pressure-rises-to-alter-data.html?scp=3&sq=senior police officials around the nation&st=cse

While reading another blog it reminded me of this case. It was an international fight between where Elian Gonzalez should go, back to his father in Cuba or stay in the states with his uncle. The case captured American hearts and I even remember watching it on the news. In the article it explains how the little boy's mother and about 12 other left for florida in a boat. Things went bad out to sea and his mother died. He was found and brought to the states where his uncle kept him because of his mother's sacrifice to get his there. The father of the boy didn't know he left Cuba and wanted him back where he belonged. This was a case of international law and where the boy should go. The article doens't go into great detail about all that happened but it does highlight the main parts.

http://www.examiner.com/x-10909-Charleston-History-Examiner~y2009m6d27-Elian-Gonzalez-was-returned-to-Cuba-with-his-family-in-2000

 

In every country that you go to there will always be people that come from other countries that work with or without citizenship.  For some people being without citizenship means being taken advantage of.  Seems that most farms and factories in Calabria, Southern Italy, did exactly that and worst.

 

http://www.msf.org.uk/violence_exposes_neglect_italy_20100112.news

Perhaps on of the best know and worst school shootings in history, the Columbine school massacre has for years made people think bullying lead to all of the destruction.  With this news piece written a year ago is talks about another angle that after years of investigation has lead to show that the two responsible were actually not just two regular boys but two that would be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.  Basically saying they were psychopaths and there is more to the story then once told.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm 

 

In many high profile cases, expert witnesses are called to the stand. They are usually questioned by both sides of the case (prosecution & defense). Many times their judgments are seen as a cut above the rest, and they are highly respected. However, the court room is not the only place where people can hear from expert witnesses. Michael Levine is a retired enforcement officer who has written several books, appeared on many TV shows, and now even has his own radio show. This radio show invites several guests that range from  retired law enforcement professionals, former and current military personnel, agents, political leaders, authors and many more. This website has several links to different archives of previous broadcast! It is a really interesting sight... to check it out, use the link below!

http://www.expertwitnessradio.org/

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/police_investigate_911_call_ma.html

Rev. Edward Hinds made a 911 call while supposedly being beaten up the man who would later murder him. A new look at the case says it is possible that when the 911 dispatcher called back the murderer answered and said there was no problem. After class on Tuesday I realized how important 911 calls are. Not only because it brings us emergency help, but in cases it can gives us important clues and leads.

It's fun to sit back and enjoy shows that create mystery and drama and all the things we- as an American public audience- enjoy. How often do we really think about the cases that really go unsolved? The killers still walking the streets without a doubt in anyone's mind? The cold cases of today? The unsolved crimes? We don't. Not really. While looking through unsolved mystery sites i found this site: http://www.sanantonio.gov/sapd/ColdCases.asp?res=1024&ver=true#72Gutierrez This site leads to the actual government site where real cold cases are located. This site gives an overview of a few crimes that have been closed because each ally lead to a dead end. This site also delivers a link to a site for missing persons and solved cases that were once cold. Granted- not every cold case is on here, but there  are quite a few. Have a look!

Im a pretty big fan of Tru TV. I tend to watch a number of shows on that channel and when i made my way to the website i came across this crime library. This is a website that is devoted to all sorts of information on all different types of offenders including murderers. The website has a number of different types of cases on the main page such as celebrity siblings arrests, false convictions, "dumb" criminals etc. and you can also look at specific kinds of murders and cases that have happened in history. I thought this website was interesting and could be beneficial for someone that was looking for a certain case or someone that is interested in reading about all types of crimes in general

 

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/index.html 

With witnesses done in the federal trial over Proposition 8, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker will now retire to his chambers and sort through the evidence -- aided by a complete video recording of the proceedings. Might those tapes get a public airing?

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202439569329&Proposition__Trial_Wraps_but_Will_It_Find_a_Wider_Audience

When watching the movie Erin Brockovich for one of our weekly projects, I was amazed that it was based on a true story.  So, I decided to do some more research on her and find out what really happened, and what she is up to today.  I found two websites, her official website and her blog, that tell Erin's story.



Here is a link to her biography on her website: http://www.brockovich.com/bio.htm

"It's been 10 years since Julia Roberts starred in the Oscar-winning, tour de force, "Erin Brockovich". The film helped turned an unknown legal researcher into a 20th century icon by winning the largest medical settlement lawsuit in US history. Since then, Erin hasn't been resting on her laurels... she continues to fight hard and win big!"

Here is a link to Erin's blog: http://www.brockovichblog.com/