Thursday, March 28, 2013

Murder and Homicide



Murder and Homicide are similar in what the crime is however, differ in definition. Murder in the state of Washington even falls under the definition of homicide; it is one type of homicide. In addition, murder and homicide range in the class of felony the crime falls under.  In the state of Washington, murder is a class A felony. If the offender is found guilty, the sentence is life in prison or if found guilty of first degree murder then the offender can receive the death penalty. Homicide in the state of Washington is a killing of another human being whether it is by “the act, procurement, or omission of another, death occurring at any time, and is either murder, homicide by abuse, manslaughter, excusable homicide, or justifiable homicide”.
                   http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=10.95.020           
                   http://www.glblaw.com/homicide-laws-in-washington-state
The Media:
A recent story in the Seattle Times wrote on a story of a young man, Michael Boysen, who murdered two people, his grandparents, Robert and Norma Taylor in March 2013. Boysen was recently released from prison where he had been in and out for multiple offenses. Boysen had murdered his grandparents the day after his release. The police found Boysen in Oregon to which they brought him back to Washington and his sentences has not yet been given. The media has wrote on this story in many different newspapers and media outlets however, I feel it has not been very dramatized in the media, like the Amanda Knox story to which I had found multiple times in my research.
Reference:




 Media Aspect:
The first media aspect on the topic of murder in homicide I found to be interesting was “How to commit the perfect Murder”. This 50 minute documentary I found to be quite fascinating. The documentary explores possible ways to murder someone yet how amazing technology and investigators are in detecting these crimes. Here is a link to the page where you can watch the documentary for free!
 
Another Media aspect I found is called “Living with Murder”. This documentary follows the city of Detroit and the murders to that took place. The documentary follows families in Detroit who have lost family members in a homicide case. The link below is to access the documentary.






Sunday, March 17, 2013

Mob and Riot Violence




Mob violence is a group of people, three or more, disturbing the peace of society, gathering together and performing acts of violence that are provoking the law. Mob violence is rioting for either something the group believes in or is trying to get. In the state of Washington a riot is consider a class C felony if the person obtains a deadly weapon on the scene. However, the crime of a riot is consider to be a gross misdemeanor if the group or individuals in the group to not obtain a deadly weapon. Mob or riot can range from a bunch of youth robbing a store in or can be a group rioting at a job, demanding a change in the work conditions, pay, ext. Mobs exist for many reasons like the worker demanding more pay or better work conditions at a job and in some cases will win. However, a mob can be very violence in its rioting.


In Washington State a union came together in 2011, to protest the EGT-bound train wanting their own people running the trains for their 200 million dollar grain export The riot resulted in 19 union protesters were arrested and cited for second-degree trespassing, a misdemeanor. Here are two links on this story.


The media and Mob Violence
A store in Chicago was a spot for a “flash” mob robbery in which hundreds of dollars of clothing was stolen and civilian were hurt. Here is a video on this flash mob and some experts and the store owner discussing this flash mob.


“Clash of Colors” is another documentary which demonstrates the mob violence in America. “Clash of Colors” explores the riots that happened in Los Angeles fueled by multiracial immigrants motivated by the media. Here is the full documentary.