Murder

1.      The act of killing a person whether deliberately or unintentionally, is known as homicide. This is then broken down further into different types/degrees such as justifiable homicide, or criminally negligent. Manslaughter is a type of criminal homicide without malice or premeditation.

Murder unlike manslaughter, does require malice, either express or implied. Murder can be categorized by the degrees first, second, and third however not all jurisdictions use these classifications.

2.      http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/jodi-arias.htm

The article I found is one which is very popular presently and being televised on every news station, the Jodi Arias case. Arias is 32 and is accused of first degree murder in the death of her former boyfriend Travis Alexander. Prosecutors say that in the summer of 2008, after the couple had broken up she stabbed him 27 times slit his throat and shot him in the head as he showered. Arias plead not guilty and remained in jail. Since the trial began the premise that she was simply a victim of domestic violence who finally snapped has been suggested. If convicted she will face the death penalty. Her case has been very publicized similar to that of Casey Anthony’s, so far it will have cost tax payers 1.4 million.

 

3.       http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/world/europe/italy-amanda-knox-timeline

Another popular trial is that of Amanda Knox. She was studying abroad in Italy when her roommate a British college student was found dead in November 2007, her throat slashed in an Italian villa that she shared with Amanda, as well as Amanda’s then boyfriend. The two were then tried for murder. This case been ongoing since 2007 and recently the Italian Supreme Court has demanded a retrial of the case although they had found the two not guilty and Amanda has already returned home to Seattle.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/oj-simpson-trial-prosecutor-accuses-attorney-johnnie-cochran/story?id=17194970

The most famous trial of all might be the O.J. Simpson trial where in 1995. He was acquitted of the 1994 murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman after a lengthy and internationally publicized criminal trial, the People v. Simpson.

However since then In September 2007, Simpson was arrested in Vegas and charged with numerous felonies including armed robbery and kidnapping. He now faces 33 years imprisonment with a minimum of 9 years without parole.

Mob Violence

1.      The legal dictionary definition of mob violence is “A disturbance of the peace by several persons, assembled and acting with a common intent in executing a lawful or unlawful enterprise in a violent and turbulent manner”. Two examples of mob violence are rioting and lynching.

-          Group violence like this comes to pass when the focus of a crowd converges on a common element and emotions are heightened. In these situations individuals become vulnerable and subjective to the will of the collective group. The conscious mind takes a back seat to the “collective” mind. This change in mindset results in impulsive actions more likely to lack moral responsibility.

 

2.      http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/29/arizona.immigration.protests/index.html

This article discusses how opponents of the new Arizona Immigration law clashed with police. Police in riot gear arrested more than two dozen people outside municipal offices as more than a hundred protesters blocked streets and held up traffic. This incident took place in 2010 when many people of Hispanic Descent felt that it was a form of racial profiling because it “It requires police officers, “when practicable,” to detain people they reasonably suspect are in the country without authorization and to verify their status with federal officials, unless doing so would hinder an investigation or emergency medical treatment”

 

3.      . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkn0P6oLoj4

The first link is about the L.A. Riots. These riots were race riots in response to the beating of Rodney King by numerous LAPD officers. Widespread looting, assault, arson, and murder occurred during the riots, and estimates of property damages topped one billion dollars. The rioting ended after soldiers from the California Army National Guard and U.S. marines from Camp Pendleton were called in to stop the rioting.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JUZOGkw6tQ

The Seattle Riots was sparked by the World Trade Organization conference in 1999, they began as a peaceful protest and activists who felt that the corporate globalization was unethical. A few hours into the one-day riot, the police began firing rubber bullets, and tear gas into the crowd of protesters who had begun to smash windows, burn dumpsters, and vandalize stor