Murders Surveys and Current Trend of Spouse Release - Essay Example

Individuals who kill their spouses should not be able to collect their estate upon release although they were technically found not guilty. Being found not guilty because of a mental defect does not mean the person didn't kill their spouse. This trend should be curtailed through effective legal channels.
This survey is a small step towards the above goal. We belong to the University of ---- and this survey is being carried out in conjunction with research set out by the Department of ----.

We are looking for 50 participants. The survey shall take you approximately 10 minutes. The results of the survey shall be used with other research methods to analyze the existing status quo of the issue of spouses conspiring to kill partners to inherit estates. We hope your response shall assist us in determining the public view of this issue.
This shall be a confidential survey: your personal information shall remain private, for which you may sign an undertaking in the signature space below. We understand your time is valuable but hope you would be able to complete this survey by February ---, 2012.
If you have any queries regarding this survey, feel free to contact us by email at smith@gmail.com or call (617) 654-9911 x230.
Thank you in advance.
Best regards,

John Smith
Survey Administrator

Consent: I agree and understand that my personal information shall remain confidential in the above research goal.
Name & Signature of Participant: _______________________
2. Survey Questionnaire
Section 1
Personal Information (for gauging demographics only)
Participant Number ___
Gender
Age
Location
Telephone number

Section 2
Respond YES or NO
1. Have you had any experience with murder relating to estate inheritance in the past? Yes/No

2. Do you believe spouses acquitted of murder on the grounds of mental incapacity should be allowed to inherit their victims' estate? Yes/No

3. Do you think spouses who murder their partners have compassion for their victims? Yes/No

4. Motivation behind the murder is the turning point in cases involving spouses. Do you agree? Yes/No

Choose ONE only
5. Which of the following should be changed to curtail the current trend of spouse release and inheritance of the estate of the deceased?
a. Investigation department
b. Property Law
c. Homicide law
d. Social Policies
e. None of the above

6. In litigations concerning spouse-related murder, you believe spouses get acquitted of their crimes because of:
a. Technical jeopardy
b. Mental incapacity
c. facts and investigations
d. Poor litigation process
e. None of the above

7. How should the crime be re-evaluated and awarded?
a. Authenticity of marriage
b. Established murderer's motive
c. Rights of the surviving spouse
d. Property documentations
e. All of the above

8. Motivation behind the murder can be determined by:
a. History of the relationship
b. Murder in defense
c. Murder out of malice
d. Manslaughter
e. Some other reason ______

9. What other considerations should be included with mental incapacity as a reason for releasing murder criminals?
a. Marriage and lifestyle
b. Motivation behind the act
c. People involved in the crime
d. Mental capacity before and during the marriage
e. None of the above

10. Who do you think is responsible for this prevalent trend in spouse murder and estate inheritance? 
3. Pretesting
Pretesting shall be carried out through a small group of 4 individuals from the University to test the validity and ease of completing the survey. The group shall be targeted with 2 males and 2 females, who have some knowledge of the issue of murder and estate inheritance. The test survey shall be analyzed and if any inappropriate questions become evident, those shall be corrected before the launch of the actual survey. Read More