Grisham Case
Question #1 states “Grisham identified four (4) United States supreme court (USSC) cases linked to the Fifth (5th) Amendment. Identify each case presented in the book and provide a one to two sentence statement about that case.” The first case discusses Hopt v. Utah in which the court stated “The supreme court ruled that a confession is not admissible if it is obtained by operating on the hopes or fears of the accused, and in doing so deprives him of the freedom of will or self-control necessary to make a voluntary statement.” (Grisham, 105) This simply means that if a suspect is being bribed or threatened by authorities, saying that he or she must confess or this will happen, then in result, if the suspect makes a confession, it cannot
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It included blood, semen, and hair…In this case there are both answered and unanswered questions involving that evidence. Discuss the evidence recovered from the scene and victim as described in the book and its importance in the investigation and subsequent conviction.” The first few pieces of evidence that were found were the notes left by the killer on the wall, table, and on the back of Debbie’s body. The notes were written in various types of liquids. Each read “Jim Smith next will die”, “Don’t look fore us or ealse”, and “Duke Gram.” This evidence was important as police used the handwriting analysis on several suspects to try to find the killer that way. But because the killer had written in fingernail polish and catsup, it was hard to determine the difference and was deemed unreliable. The next pieces of evidence that were found consisted of a bloody towel that was stuffed in Debbie’s mouth as well as hair on the body, the floor, the bed, and on stuffed animals in her bedroom. An analysis was done on the hair found and compared to various samples taken from suspects. Experts concluded that Ron and Dennis’ samples were “microscopically consistent.” However, back then hair analysis tests were wildly unreliable because the tests only compared ethnic groups and not individual characteristics. Detectives also recovered “bed sheets, pillowcases, blankets, the electrical cord that was used to strangle Debbie, a pair of torn panties, stuffed animals, a package of Marlboro cigarettes, an empty 7-Up can, a plastic shampoo bottle, cigarette butts, a drinking glass from the kitchen, and the telephone.” (Grisham, 10) Detectives also tested for fingerprints by dusting the door, window panes and wooden surfaces in the bedroom, the kitchen table, broken glass, and Debbie’s car. The last piece of evidence found at the scene was a bloodstain on the lower part of the wall.
It included blood, semen, and hair…In this case there are both answered and unanswered questions involving that evidence. Discuss the evidence recovered from the scene and victim as described in the book and its importance in the investigation and subsequent conviction.” The first few pieces of evidence that were found were the notes left by the killer on the wall, table, and on the back of Debbie’s body. The notes were written in various types of liquids. Each read “Jim Smith next will die”, “Don’t look fore us or ealse”, and “Duke Gram.” This evidence was important as police used the handwriting analysis on several suspects to try to find the killer that way. But because the killer had written in fingernail polish and catsup, it was hard to determine the difference and was deemed unreliable. The next pieces of evidence that were found consisted of a bloody towel that was stuffed in Debbie’s mouth as well as hair on the body, the floor, the bed, and on stuffed animals in her bedroom. An analysis was done on the hair found and compared to various samples taken from suspects. Experts concluded that Ron and Dennis’ samples were “microscopically consistent.” However, back then hair analysis tests were wildly unreliable because the tests only compared ethnic groups and not individual characteristics. Detectives also recovered “bed sheets, pillowcases, blankets, the electrical cord that was used to strangle Debbie, a pair of torn panties, stuffed animals, a package of Marlboro cigarettes, an empty 7-Up can, a plastic shampoo bottle, cigarette butts, a drinking glass from the kitchen, and the telephone.” (Grisham, 10) Detectives also tested for fingerprints by dusting the door, window panes and wooden surfaces in the bedroom, the kitchen table, broken glass, and Debbie’s car. The last piece of evidence found at the scene was a bloodstain on the lower part of the wall.