Running Head: CRIMINAL DEFENSE CASE ANALYSIS

Criminal Defense Case Analysis.

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CRIMINAL DEFENSE CASE ANALYSIS

Criminal Defense Case Analysis

Crimes are committed every day due to factors such as insanity, breaking the law, the error
of facts and even age. Some of these offenses are unintentional and have to be defended during the
prosecution. The paper discusses two criminal cases which contain elements of the causes
mentioned above and other crimes and how they were used along with telling the outcomes of the
two cases.
The two cases
Defense is the action of resisting an attack. The first instance for this study is Nancy
Seamans case. She is married to Bob and were a couple of 31 years with two sons in the
marriage. Nancy was tired of spousal abuse from her husband and was planning to move out of
their marriage home. One morning when Bob realized that Nancy was almost leaving, when
holding knife he chased her as she ran to the garage. In the garage, Nancy stroke him with a
hatchet 15 times before stabbing her to death. During the prosecution, she defended herself that
she did that due to self-defense and other abuses. She was later found guilty and given a life
sentence (Krajicek, D. J, 2013).
The second case for this study is the Lorena Bobbit situation. Lorena and John Bobbitt
were also married couples. Throughout their marriage, John used to mentally and sexually abuse
Lorena. One evening, John came home and went to the bedroom where she raped Lorena. After
the incident, Lorena went to the kitchen to have some water and saw a sharp knife. She went back
to the bedroom with the knife and chopped off Johns penis. After the happening, she drove off the
apartment then called the police. During the trial, she claimed to be mentally ill. She was only
charged for temporary insanity then later released (Reed, L. C).

CRIMINAL DEFENSE CASE ANALYSIS

Types of Defenses
Self-defense: in this instance, the offended or the offender claims that if not because of
self-protection, he would have suffered significant harms or even death (Akande, D., &
Lieflnder, T).
Insanity - defense- it is also called mental disorder defense. During prosecution, the
offender may claim that his actions were due to a disease that might have caused mental illness or
insanity. The main reason behind this defense is that behind any scene of a crime, there has to be
the spiritual element. To ascertain irrationality claims, the offender will rely on a testimony of a
psychiatric (Schweitzer, N. J., & Saks, M. J, 2011).
Under the influence defense: in this type of case, victims defend themselves with claims
that they were under the influence of drugs and did not know that they were committing crimes.
With this case, the offenders get convicted for lighter crimes; this a partial offense. In many
countries this type of defense in not allowed.
Entrapment defense: it is a case that is applied when someone in authority like a
government official, forces someone to commit a crime. Types of this kind of defense are
prostitution and sales of drugs. The government should not force a citizen to commit a crime then
prosecute him/her gain.
Abandonment and Withdrawal defense: this is a case where the accused wanted to or assist
someone to commit a crime then they decided to be against it. The argument mainly applies to
attempted but not actual crimes.
Irrespective of the defense one uses during prosecution for a crime it is worth noting that
the law will always be given first consideration. Exceptional and unintentional murder cases can
be defended with proper medical tests that support the defense.

CRIMINAL DEFENSE CASE ANALYSIS

How justification and excuse play a role in the cases

In the first instance, Nancy Seamans claim of self-defense was not justified. Also, their
child testified that she had never seen her mother abused in the past. She was handed a life
imprisonment later.
In the second case, Lorenas excuse of being mentally ill in the incident of crime saved her
although it was not justified. She was only charged for temporary insanity then later released.

CRIMINAL DEFENSE CASE ANALYSIS

5
References.

Reed, L. C. Eyes Have Not Seen: Domestic Violence Basics.

Krajicek, D. J. (2013). Scooped!: media miss the real story on crime while chasing sex, sleaze,
and celebrities. Columbia University Press.
Akande, D., & Lieflnder, T. Clarifying Necessity, Imminence, and Proportionality in the Law of
Self-Defense (2013). AJIL, 107, 563-564.
Schweitzer, N. J., & Saks, M. J. (2011). Neuroimage evidence and the insanity defense.
Behavioral sciences & the law, 29(4), 592-607.