Criminal Justice in America - Case Study Example

? Select A Side (Prosecution Or Defense) And Write A Paper Arguing For Your Side Based On The Facts Of The Case, The Relevant Laws In The Case, And Argue Your Position Citing The Law And The Facts, And A Conclusion With Closing Arguments Introduction/Overview In the case of State v. Kim Johnson, Kim Johnson has been charged with 1st degree murder in relation to the killing of Michael Thomas. Ms. Johnson has pled not guilty and has proclaimed the affirmative defense of self-defense and defense of others. At the trial, numerous evidences were represented before the court of law. Most of the evidences presented in the court of law firmly advocated that Ms. Johnson was guilty of killing Michael Thomas. In accordance with the case, it can be viewed that Michael Thomas, a 25 year-old man, was killed from being stabbed once directly in the heart that led to his death. It is further observed that at the time of his death, Michael Thomas was dating Kim Johnson’s sister, Latrice for a couple of years. Furthermore, he used to be violent and abusive at the time when he was drunk. Such acts of Michael Thomas have previously resulted in generating several domestic disputes with Latrice. On the night of the incident of alleged murder, Michael Thomas came to the apartment of Kim and Latrice to meet Latrice. Contextually, Latrice refused to meet him but still Michael Thomas and his friends continued to stroll around the building premise. Eventually, Ms. Johnson came down from her apartment and engaged in a heated argument with Michael Thomas. Moreover, during the argument threats were exchanged between the two. Ms. Johnson had a steak knife with her which she brought from her apartment. Subsequently, when Michael Thomas moved down close to the end of the fence and attempted to climb it, Ms. Johnson ran towards him and stabbed the steak knife directly into his heart which eventually caused his death. Thus, it can be affirmed that Ms. Johnson should be penalized for her act of 1st degree murder related to the killing of Michael Thomas. Statement of Law-Explanation of the Relevant Law in the Case 1st degree murder is defined as an act of killing which is both premeditated along with deliberate. In order to penalize an individual as guilty of first degree murder related to the killing of a person, there is a requirement of three basic elements to be considered that include willingness, deliberation along with premeditation and malice. In this similar concern, the term ‘willingness’ in the context of 1st degree murder specifies that the act of homicide is committed with the intention of ending a human life. Similarly, the terms ‘deliberation’ and ‘premeditation’ is correlated with the conscious intention to kill a person prior to the murder. Furthermore, the law governing 1st degree murder charge asserts that it must have malice. Correspondingly, malice generally includes an evil disposition or purpose which tends to harmfully affect human life (Thomson Reuters, 2013). A law related to the case can be recognized as an affirmative defense. Affirmative defense is a kind of legal defense which is recognized by criminal law. Affirmative defense is categorized into two groups that include: justifications and excuses. In this context, the aspect of justifications aims to argue that the act committed by an individual is not wrong and thus it is quite justifiable under certain given circumstances. Self-defense is categorized as one of the decisive aspects of the justification defense. Self-defense is determined as any countermeasure which facilitates to defend oneself from harm. Similarly, an excuse defense advocates that even though the act committed by an individual was wrong but there lays certain excuses for the defendant (Croddy & Hayes, 2012). Argument With regard to the case of State v. Kim Johnson, it is found that Kim Johnson fulfills a number of legal criteria that makes her guilty for her act of 1st degree murder related to the killing of Michael Thomas. Contextually, it can be justified that the action of Ms. Johnson firmly relates with the law which specifies the intention to commit 1st degree murder under willingness, deliberation, premeditation and malice. Correspondingly, the evidences represented in the court of law prove that the murder of Michael Thomas was premeditated and intentional. To this regard, Ms. Johnson was aware of the fact that Michael Thomas and her sister were dating each other for several years. Moreover, she also knew that both of them had engaged in domestic disputes on several occasions in the past. It is further perceived that she was not at all happy with this relationship. On the fateful night of the incident when Michael Thomas came to see Latrice, she refused to see him. Although he was drunk, he did not display acts of violence. It can be viewed that when Ms. Johnson came back down from her apartment, she got involved in making furious arguments with Mr. Thomas and there was also an exchange of threats. Furthermore, she brought a knife with her which justifies that her intentional was not good. It can be affirmed that she had an intention to kill Mr. Thomas back of her mind. Later on, when Mr. Thomas attempted to climb the fence, she ran towards him and stabbed the knife into his heart which caused the death of Thomas. This act of Ms. Johnson can be regarded as willful, deliberate and premeditated. In addition, she had malice upon Mr. Thomas as he frequently got involved in domestic disputes with her sister Latrice which resulted in arrest of Mr. Thomas as well (Thomson Reuters, 2013). In relation to affirmative defense of self-defense and defense of others, there were no such logical grounds under which she could be relieved. It can be apparently viewed from the case that Michael Thomas had not revealed any type of abusive acts or conduct of any sort of illicit activity on that particular night which rejects the plea of Ms. Johnson to get relief on the ground of self-defense or other defense. Thus, Kim Johnson should be penalized under the charge of 1st degree murder in relation to the killing of Michael Thomas (Croddy & Hayes, 2012). Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be comprehended that the act of Kim Johnson was willful, deliberate and premeditated. Furthermore, she had malice towards Michael Thomas for a long time owing to certain personal grounds which altogether justifies her act to be qualified under the 1st degree murder related to the killing of Michael Thomas. Although Michael Thomas was drunk on that night, he did not reveal any type of abusive acts or violent acts which ultimately rejects her plea of being not guilty under affirmative defense of self-defense and defense of others. Therefore, her deed can be considered to be an act of homicide and proper judgment ought to be mandated. References Croddy, M., & Hayes, B. (2012). Criminal justice in America. Retrieved from http://www.crf-usa.org/cja/reading.pdf Thomson Reuters. (2013). First degree murder overview. Retrieved from http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/first-degree-murder-overview.html Read More