Criminal Law Cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal Law Cases - Essay Example In the case of Johnson v. Texas, the appellant shot dead his accomplice Lean Freeman after an argument in which the offender was demanding his illegitimate money. The trial court had sentenced the offender to seventy-seven years for a crime of murder, but in his appeal, the defendant pointed out three mistakes committed by the trial court. He requested the appellate court to reverse the ruling of the trial court against overruling defendants request for lesser included offense charges, ineffective assistance of counsel and prosecutorial misconducts. The appellant requested the lesser included charge of involuntary manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide by adding that his acts were in self-defense. The appellate court examined the issues under Royster test and decided that the appellant acted voluntarily and consciously with intent to cause harm to the victim. The appellate claim of self-defense was irresponsible because he took time to load the gun and shoot the victim. The c laim that defendant acted in self-defense cannot be substantiated because there was no evidence of any assault caused by the victim or any confirmation that he carried a gun with him (Pearson Education Inc., 2012). Furthermore, involuntary manslaughter would require a person to act involuntarily and recklessly. However, the appellant was not reckless considering the time he took to load the gun and point it at the victim after they had an argument. His actions were planned carefully after the argument.

Ree speech on the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ree speech on the Internet - Essay Example This is why terror groups use the internet to upload images of inhuman executions and issue terror threats with intent of causing panic and disruption of normal day to day operations. When such information is posted on the internet, it is quickly distributed to countless individuals through social media and other platforms such as email. This makes it impossible to extract such information from the public domain. With restrictions, such information cannot be uploaded to the internet since the source will be afraid that the information will be easily traced to him if control mechanisms are installed. This enhances the security situation of a country and the world at large. Secondly, the internet has been changed into an immoral world where materials such as hate speech, pornography and other lewd materials can be carelessly made available to the general public including underage children. Hate speech is capable of causing public unrest to the extent of causing riots and civil unrest. Unrestricted postage of pornography leads to moral decay since children who frequent the internet are bound to land onto this content. With restricted free speech on the internet, individuals issuing hate speech can be easily be traced for prosecution. Pornographic material made available to the general public including under age children can be controlled and minimized for the benefit of the society. Last but not least, the internet’s purpose is diluted when unrestricted free speech is allowed. Unrestricted speech means that information can be made available to a target audience without confirmation of how legit it is. The internet is an important tool for passing out information. With unrestricted free speech, the internet’s credibility and purpose of sharing information is jeopardized. Establishment of some level of restriction ensures that information