What year was the carr brothers murder spree

#What year was the carr brothers murder spree trial#

Jonathan was 20.Д«oth brothers presented mitigating evidence that their terrifying childhood had been rife with physical, sexual and drug abuse, with Jonathan presenting additional evidence that his older brother had been a corrupting influence. Reginald, sometimes known as вЂњBig Smoke,вЂќ was 23 at the time. said, вЂњand we see practically every death penalty case that comes up anywhere in the country. вЂњThese cases involve some of the most horrendous murders that I have seen in my 10 years here,вЂќ Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. One woman, named Holly, survived when the bullet apparently bounced off a plastic hair clip she was wearing. The Carrs then drove the five victims to a soccer field, ordered them to kneel in the snow and one of the brothers shot each victim in the back of the head. Jonathan raped one woman and attempted to rape the other. They compelled the two women to have sex with each other. There, over the course of about three hours, they forced three male residents to have sex with two women who were visiting. Most infamously, in what became known as the вЂњWichita Massacre,вЂќ the two men invaded a home in the cityвЂ™s Birchwood neighborhood. The Carr brothers were convicted and sentenced to death for a string of crimes in December 2000.

вЂњThe verdicts reflect the reasoned moral response of these jurors to the aggravated brutality of these crimes, the weak claims for mitigation and the individual assessment of each (manвЂ™s) moral culpability.вЂќ

вЂњThese sentences do not offend the Eighth Amendment,вЂќ Schmidt told the justices. McAllister defended the use of a single sentencing hearing.

#What year was the carr brothers murder spree trial#

Schmidt argued that the trial judgeвЂ™s mitigation instructions were sufficiently clear, while Kansas Solicitor General Stephen R. In a tag-team performance, Kansas Attorney General Derek L. The other issue was whether the judge erred in refusing to sever the sentencing proceedings, so that each brother would receive his own hearing.Д«oth issues touch on the Eighth AmendmentвЂ™s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. One issue weighed over the course of two hours was whether the trial judge left jurors confused over what standard of proof applied to the mitigation evidence presented during sentencing by the CarrsвЂ™ defense attorneys. nurture argument a moot point with the Carr brothers? Unfortunately, questions like these and others may never be truly answered as society continues to see these kinds of inconceivable crimes.вЂњThe crimes in this case were horrific,вЂќ Liu said, вЂњbut that is just one side of the scale.вЂќ Where does one possibility end and the other pick up? Is it possible this kind of abhorrent behavior is on a continuum? Does correlation definitely equal causation in this case? Is the nature vs. The defense tells you the Carr brothers knew they were doing wrong but did not care because they were raised in a poor environment as children. The prosecution of this case tells you they committed these crimes simply out of greed and lust. The age-old question that gets raised now is why? Why did Reginald and Jonathan find it necessary or okay to assault, rape and murder people for money and material objects? Both men held legitimate jobs that would allow them to eventually accrue these things on their own. Forensic psychologists were even brought in by the defense to testify about the Carr brothersвЂ™ childhood and adolescence, and how growing up in the environment they did essentially set them up for failure and a lack of empathy to carry out such atrocities.

She also talked about Reginald fighting in school and Jonathan attempting suicide at the age of 16. The brothersвЂ™ sister described sexual abuse inflicted on all three of them by their father and subsequent boyfriends of their mother. Their mother described apathetic parenting, neglect and abuse, both physical and verbal. Many people were brought forward to testify during the penalty phase as to how the brothersвЂ™ formative years were spent. Where the real deliberation came into play was when the jury was expected to make a decision regarding the death penalty for both Reginald and Jonathan. There was really no doubt in the mind of the jury as to whether or not the Carr brothers committed the crimes they were accused of. The court case that eventually followed was basically open and shut based on evidence and eye witness testimony alone. Walden University - Online Forensic Psychology Programs Southern New Hampshire University - BA & MS in Forensic Psychology

Grand Canyon University - BS in Psychology: Forensic Psychology