The 'CSI' Effect?

A friend of mine sent me this article from one of our local newspapers. The article implies that because so many people watch shows like CSI, they have come to expect the same level of gimmickery in real-life court rooms. Jurors expect to see computer recreations of crimes, to have fingerprint evidence and a computer graphic showing how the comparison was made, and DNA evidence as definitive proof of guilt.

While there may well be a handful of people out there who think the crime scene investigators do more than detectives in solving crimes, I think blaming it on the show is a bit simplistic. As the article points out, forensics (and specifically DNA evidence) has become the hammer of justice waved by prosecutors in many cases. It was what the O.J. prosecutors thought would clinch the case for them.

And there might be another reason people are looking for more scientific evidence in cases. Just a thought.

Who Didn't See This Coming?

Call me a cynic, but I suspected this would be the case from jumpstreet. At this point, it is unclear whether she actually knew about her sweetheart's plans to murder her parents, but I wouldn't be surprised. The whole story reminds me of Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate's infamous murder spree. It is amazing how dumb and naive kids can be. These two would most likely have broken up in a few months (and I suspect they won't be 'together' for long now). Instead they have destroyed their young lives forever. And let's not forget that both these young people are kids. Sure, legally, the boyfriend is considered an adult, and many people are coming out and saying, "He was too old to be dating a fourteen year old girl; he is a grown man." Thinking back on my own 18th birthday, I have to say I don't recall any amazing change coming over me that made me any more intelligent or mature than I had been before. In fact, I probably felt dumber than I did the day before. Of course, that might be because I was enduring Marine Corps bootcamp in South Carolina during Hurricane Hugo. Upon getting the heck outta there (joining the Corps was one of my bad teenaged decisions; not that the Corps is bad, it just wasn't right for me) and returning to civilian life, I remember that nothing was different except I wasn't in high school anymore. It wasn't even an election year so I could exercise my new right to vote. Meanwhile people are already tossing around discussion of the death penalty in this case. I think because of the questionable maturity of young adults at that age, there should be some little wiggle room allotted. We'll just have to wait and see how this pans out.

TGIF!!!

I need a drink AND a new job! Cuz right now all I feel is....HATE!!!

Are You Trying to Tell Us Something?

Maybe my blog should be all about the weirdness that I encounter working at a charitable organization. For example, occasionally we get checks from people with no signature. No big deal. I've sent payments out and gotten them back for a lack of signature. Someone once told me that her paycheck went through without a signature, and no one noticed! She happened to catch it when she viewed her online statement. Yikes! Anyway. We...wait, what 'we'?...I stick the check in an envelope with a little note asking them to sign it and return it, and usually they do just that with a note of apology included.

The other day I sent a check back and I just got it back this morning...still with no signature and not note of apology or explanation. Could this be some sort of commentary on how he feels about being blindly solicited for donations? I've seen weirder as you will note from a few posts back.

This Dame Loves NY News Headlines

Okay everyone should read the Daily News crime file everyday. The stories are horrible tales of death and destruction, but the headlines and first sentences are always so tabloidy (for example, regarding a teacher's stabbing the headline reads "B is for Bloodshed"). It's brilliant. When's the last time you read a paper that referred to a crime suspect as a 'fiend'? Dude, that is straight from 1940 and I love it! You know these are the people who pat themselves on the back for coming up with names like "The Bathtub Ripper." So twisted, so fun!

One Tough Cookie

Lisa Bloom is an anchor on CourtTV and has the most awesome blog on the CourtTV website. Even though she is the daughter of Gloria Allred whom I kinda find a bit opportunistic and a total publicity hound, Lisa comes across as someone who is incredibly thoughtful and actually has respect for the law (unlike say her fellow CourtTV anchor Nancy "Constant Bitchface" Grace and yes I know her fiance was murdered but that doesn't mean she gets to do a jig all over a defendant's rights). Anyway. Check out Lisa's posts when you get a chance.

In totally non-crime news, why are so many media outlets treating Jennifer Aniston like she is the first woman to ever get divorced. Hell, she's not even the first famous woman to get divorced. Nor is she the first famous woman to have her ex hook up with another famous person seemingly within moments of the breakup. I do not feel sorry for her. Yes, I know it's tough getting dumped. I've been through it. My friends have been through it. No, our breakups were not spread all over the tabloids for the world to see or read, but those tabloids weren't around when we and our beaus met either. Our couples didn't have to get the police involved because photogs tried to capture us leaving the Gap. No one wrote stories about our extremely-casual-yet-ridiculously-expensive looks. That's kinda what one has to deal with when you're a famous person who hooks up with another famous person. And if seeing your old flame with his new flame is so bad, why weren't we supposed to feel bad for Brad Pitt when Gwyneth got married to Chris Martin? How good did it feel to Adam Duritz or Tate Donovan to see Ms. Aniston and Brad all over the papers, or to see her with Vince Vaughn (it makes me a little queasy since I think he looks like he smells bad, but whatever)? You gotta take the good with the bad.

JESUS loves you! Unless you're a Muslim.

This has nothing to do with crime really, but I just thought I'd share.

So I work PT at a charitable organization inputting donation checks. So today I'm sitting at my desk opening the donation checks-mail and because their was a recent solicitation sent out there are A LOT of them. Suddenly, I come to one envelope which does not contain a check but a little pamphlet titled The Pilgrimage. Inside is a little cartoon featuring some Muslim men on a plane to Heathrow Airport. The men are of course talking of nothing but how wonderful their Muslim faith is, because of course Muslims don't talk about ANYTHING except how wonderful Allah is (and blowing up Americans, but that's neither here nor there). At the airport their waiting wives are also talking about how wonderful it is to be married to men who have such great faith in Allah, as they do. Then the plane experiences some trouble, and crash lands. Sh*t happens, right?

So upon learning of their deaths, the families of the Muslim men are all, "Well, at least now he is with Allah." Meanwhile, up in Heaven, an angel takes one of the Muslim dude's to check and see if his name is in JESUS' Book of Life. Muslim Dude doth protest that he should be going straight to Heaven as he was a good Muslim, but Angel Dude is like "Oh no. No Book of Life, no Heaven." Needless to say, Muslim Dude's name ain't in JESUS' Special Book. Muslim Dude is all, "This ain't fair cuz I did good works and blah de blah." Faceless JESUS is like but you didn't have faith in MEEEEE and so to Hell with you." Literally! Then Muslim Dude is all, "But I didn't know!" and Faceless JESUS is like, "Oh yeah you di-id. 'Member when that guy at your job came up to you and was trying to tell you how your religion was going to get you a Hotseat and you were all like 'How dare you! Mind your knitting, bitch'. Well, he tried to warn you. Muslim Dude again protests about his good works and being a good Muslim, but Faceless JESUS reminds him how Co-Worker Dude had told him that good works don't wash away SIN and that he must forsake his satanic religion (for Satan has created all these false religions to prevent people from entering the Kingdom of God) and ask JESUS to save him. Muslim Dude said, "No way, man. My family would be all sorts of pissed." Faceless JESUS reminds him how Co-Worker Dude told him all about how JESUS was stuck on a cross to bleed to death to cleanse the SINS of mankind. (Now a direct quote from the pamphlet "for God so loved his only begotten Son, that whosoever (including Muslims)...believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16." (I own two Bibles at home and neither of them have that little part about "including Muslims." Must be a misprint in mine.) Co-Worker Dude tells him JESUS rooooose from the dead proving he was the "true GOD". (I thought he was the Son of God. I'm confused.) Muslim Dude says "How do I know that's true, bitch? Did anybody SEE him?" And Co-Worker Dude is like "Five Hundred people!!!!" According to 1 Corinthians some verse or other. (Most of whom nowadays would be considered nuttier than a Snickers.) Again, Co-Worker Dude asks him to dis the Muslims and come to JESUS (like Charles Manson). Muslim Dude said "No thanks."

Back at the Book of Life reading, Faceless JESUS says "You dissed me, now I'm dissing you. To the LAKE OF FIRE with you."

JESUS is kind of a cold, selfish motherf*cker ain't he?

Let me introduce myself

Hi. I didn't intend to start a blog. I just wanted to post a comment on someone else's blog and one thing led to another. But I'm here now so I will give this a go. This will be sort of an online journal for me since I have been doing a pretty poor job of keeping my paper one.

So about me: I am a non-traditional psychology and criminal justice student by night and an administrative assistant for a local law enforcement agency by day. I eventually plan to get a Master's in criminal justice then off to law school with me. Once I complete my education I want to work in the criminal courts system in a capacity that allows me to NOT get swallowed up in politics and bureaucratic red tape. Even though I am too old and too far along in school to be saying this, I really don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

I am a bit of a crime junkie and have been since I read Say You Love Satan at the wee age of 15. I like some of the cheesier 'novels' such as those written about BTK within one week of his capture as well as more 'legitimate' stuff (I reread The Stranger Beside Me once every two years it seems). I am also a fervent fan of Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU, The People's Court, and The First 48.

I hope to post my thoughts about what is happening in crime TV, books, and movies as well as real events in the news.

This all started because a comment was made about Andrea Yates getting a new trial. The comment implied that her initial insanity defense was a load of hooey which I totally disagree with. I believe shows like my beloved Law & Order have done a fine job of making the public believe insanity defenses are common, and without brilliant prosecutors like Jack McCoy, a get-out-of-jail-free card for vicious murderers. Not quite. According to Wikipedia (and several of my textbooks which I don't have handy), "The insanity plea is used in the U.S Criminal Justice System in less than 1% of all criminal cases, and only one fourth of those defendants are found "not guilty by reason of insanity". 60-70% of all insanity pleas are not in murder cases." On occasion a person who committed a crime and was deemed insane gets released from the hospital and commits a new offense. This leads people to think all mentally ill persons should be locked up forever. Yet people who are indeed more likely to reoffend are released from jails and prisons everyday. I just have a major problem when someone with a documented history of mental illness is still criminalized because the public's emotions are running high. Of course she should just walk out of prison, but is she going to get proper treatment for her illness (and the subsequent trauma she will likely face once rational thought returns and she realizes the implications of what she has done) in prison? Or do people just not care as long as she isn't out?