Jesse Dove
CCJS 100
Research Paper
Case Study 1 – Murder
13December2013

Case Study One, Murder
It’s sad to think about but each and every day someone in this country gets murdered. Violence seems to flood our streets and pollute our society. It doesn’t matt why either, it could be over drugs, money, or disputes. This is something I find unacceptable but see no end in sight to. As we will see in the case study I will present on one particular murder I will explain my views of the case and what I believe to be the proper punishment.
I chose the murder of a man and a women named Rodney Hill and Lucy Wolf. From what little details I have it seems that the incident occurred due to a jealous husband acting on his anger with the use of deadly force. It documented how a restraining order was already placed on Ms. Lane’s former husband due to previous problems with physical and mental abuse. In my opinion I believe this might have been what triggered James T. Lane, a bartender and her former husband to lash out in rage. Both Ms. Lane and her new intimate relationship partner Mr. Hill were found dead due to multiple stabbings after her neighbor called police when he heard loud commotion and yelling that ended in screaming. Once police arrived on scene they found both Ms. Lane and Mr. Hill dead at her residence, the death appeared to be caused due to multiple stab wounds on both individuals. Mr. Wolf also reported to police a description of a vehicle that matched Mr. Lanes automobile fleeing the scene right after hearing all these noises.
From there I believe the police to have probable cause to apprehend and question Mr. Lane. Probable cause is define as “apparent facts discovered through logical inquiry that would lead a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that an accused person has committed a crime”.2 In this instance I believe the cops had more than enough reason to believe he had something to do with the situation. After that happened they brought him in and got a search warrant to look for evidence in his house. While looking they found both a knife and cloths with blood on them matching both of our victims. To me it appears this is our guys, without a doubt. After finding that evidence Mr. Lane was arrested for the murder of Ms. Lane and Mr. Hill.
The arrest is just the start of how the process goes though. Even though police have enough evidence to arrest him they read him is rights and he still is not fully guilty until proven in a court by a jury of his own peers. He will be given the opportunity to find a defensive attorney or if he is unable to afford one he has the right to be appointed one by the state. He can also choose to represent himself however is not recommended. The defensive attorney then starts his work. He will search through all the file in the case hoping to find a loophole or mess-up that will help make the jurors doubt he is guilty.3 He will not look on this case as a personal image of if he thinks he is innocent or not he will strictly just look at the strength of the case and proceed as best he can to give the defendant the best possible shot at not being found guilty. In my opinion these are the snakes of the court room. They are the ones that allow true criminals to walk or get lesser crimes because they pick and poke until they find one small mess-up maybe made by a cop or investigator or witness that allows the bad guy to walk free.
They however are met by the prosecutor. They typically work for the state or council and their job is simple. They are to help police and investigators build a case and place guilty men behind bars.3 They help interview witnesses and give the police ideas and legal advice while building a case to help minimize the chance of a mess-up that will result in a guilty man being set free. A prosecutor works hand and hand with the judge to help determine a sentence and will be the one to come to the defense if they have a plea bargain or deal to make. I think they have a very tough job to do and it comes with great responsibility. A prosecutor cannot bring criminal charges against someone unless they are fully sure they are guilty. This is why a relationship between them and law enforcement is so important. Hard fact like forensic evidence is what ethically helps a prosecutor make these decisions.
You obviously have the judge but in all reality he is just the one to take everything in and give punishments agreed upon and maintain the level on honesty and discipline in his courtroom. However I believe the real key in it all is the jury. They are selected at random and assigned to the case. When you are selected you are not to have any idea or biased opinions about the case or individuals involved in the case. You get presented with both sides of the story while in court and have to make a decision based on your beliefs. In order to fully do your job as a jury you have to have without any doubt reason to believe the individual is either guilty or innocent.1
With everything laid out you can kind of see how everything probably played out in this case. The first step in the case would be law enforcement officials making the arrest. Once arrested on probable cause they began working to find clues and evidence on the situation. After receiving a search warrant they were able to find evidence linking Mr. Lane to the murder of the two individuals. At that point based on a judge’s outlook the individual is placed in jail either with or without bail and waits for his trial. From then on both sides start getting to work on the case. As police and prosecutors gather information to build a case against the suspect being at this point “accused” of murder, the defendant works hard with the suspect to prove his innocents. Once a date has been set both sides will give their stories on the case and all the information gather will be presented to the judge and the jury. After everything is said and done it will be time for the jury to make a decision on whether the suspect is innocent or not. Then if found guilty it is the judges’ time to place a punishment for the crime based on legal and moral judgment.1
In my personal opinion if I was a jury member on this trial I would have found Mr. Lane guilty of 1st degree murder. There was more than enough evidence proving he was in the area during the time and the murder weapon was found in his home. He had motive to commit the crime and without an alibi he was capable of being there to commit it. If I was the judge here and he was found guilty my sentence would be life in jail without parole. The reason I feel he deserves this is because it was an act fully done with complete knowledge of what would happen and he acted fully out of anger. He knew what he was doing when he violated his restraining order to go and confront the ex-wife and new partner and he then acted out on anger to bring violence to the situation resulting in the death of two innocent individuals. I would honestly be boarder line whether or not this individual deserves the death penalty or not. I don’t feel that his crime fully deserves that however he is proven to obviously be dangerous and has a temper which could be dangerous in a prison setting. Which is also why I would grant him life without parole. Someone that commits a crime like this never needs to have the ability to be among innocent citizens again where he can cause this harm to another family.
This is just my views though, some might think completely different. That personally is one weakness in our judicial system. If you have a jury or judge that maybe has more liberal views and wants to see the better in people that individual might only get 25yrs in jail and possible parole and be placed back out on the street. There is also a huge flaw in how the defense can argue on certain things about procedure or a minimal flaw in something a cop has done and help a guilty man walk free. A lot of times also plea bargains get put in place and allow the criminal to admit their wrong doing but then allow them a lesser punishment or maybe freedom they do not deserve. I don’t believe our judicial system to be all bad though. Modern science has allowed criminal investigation to be very precise like never before. We have technology and the ability to really weed out the chances of convicting an innocent person for a crime they have not committed.
At the end of the day this case could have gone so many different ways. The way I handle it might not be the way someone else does. Sometimes you just have to sit back and hope the judicial system comes out on top and allows the citizens that are innocent to feel safe and comfort by placing the wicked and evil behind bars.

1. How the Judicial System Works. (n.d.). HowStuffWorks. Retrieved from http://www.howstuffworks.com/judicial-system.htm 2. Probable cause. (n.d.). TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/probable cause 3. Welcome! (2011, July 02). Coos Bay World. Retrieved from http://theworldlink.com/news/local/anatomy-of-a-murder-trial/article_74d4802e-a477-11e0-b0f0-001cc4c002e0.html