Author Archives: jfarinelli

Life or Death? That is the (Jury’s) Question.

BY: MARIA ORDONEZ Timothy Lee Hurst was charged and convicted with the gruesome May 2, 1998, killing of Cynthia Harrison during a robbery at the Popeye’s restaurant in Escambia County, Florida, where they were both employed. After he was granted a new sentencing trial because of counsel’s ineffective assistance[1], Hurst was again sentenced to death […]

On Strike: Supreme Court to Decide on Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection

BY: LAUREN MADDOX In 1986, the Supreme Court decided Batson v. Kentucky, holding that use of peremptory challenges to remove jurors from the jury pool based on race is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.[1] The following year, Timothy Tyrone Foster, an 18-year-old black male, was convicted and sentenced to […]

The Case of Deven Guilford Reinforces the Need for Consideration of Meaningful Change

BY: LAUREN GERAGHTY The family of Deven Guilford, the Michigan teen who was fatally shot on February 28, 2015, during a traffic stop, filed a complaint in federal court on October 14, 2015.[1] The complaint names the defendants as both Eaton County (the jurisdiction in which the incident occurred) and Sergeant John Frost.[2] It further […]

Politics’ Intrusion on Women’s Right to Privacy

BY: JOELLE VOGEL Planned Parenthood was established nearly 100 years ago and provides healthcare and sex education to both females and males.[1] With approximately 700 health care centers nationwide, this organization has helped to prevent unwanted pregnancies, assisted in the reduction of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and offered screening for many types of […]