In five pages this paper assesses Robert Blake's trial for the murder of his wife Bonny Lee Bakley in a consideration of the prosecution's lack of compelling evidence. Four sources are cited in the bibliography.
Name of Research Paper File: LM1_TLCBlake.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
That evidence lacks the teeth necessary to put the has-been star behind bars for his wifes shooting murder reflects a significant downfall in the prosecutions ability to pin Blake with
the crime; however, an even more pressing issue that there is tremendous question as to whether the combined efforts of evidence, eyewitness accounts and other pertinent proof can collectively provide
reasonable doubt. Clearly, this glaring lack of substantiality, along with the illegally obtained evidence the prosecution has managed to procure, may not be wholly indicative of Blakes innocence but
it is nonetheless attributable to a highly ineffective case against the actor. Of the lot of questionable evidence, trying to link Blake to the murder weapon - a vintage 1940s
P-38 Mauser - has all but been exhausted. Attempting to secure "crucial forensic evidence" (Anonymous, 2003) between Blake and the murder weapon, prosecutors lost significant ground when cross-examination of
a prosecution expert when awry. Clearly, there was no question that Blake did, indeed, have lead particle residue on his hands that were consistent with gunshot aftermath, however, the
Los Angeles coroners office criminologist was unable to definitively place the residues origin (Anonymous, 2003). When considering the impact of eyewitness accounts, it is important for the student to realize
how the inherent fallibility of first-hand testimony has been the focus of myriad debates, inasmuch as research illustrates how such observers are easily distracted by certain lines of questioning, a
situation that clearly indicates how their recollection becomes skewed and the answers they provide somehow mesh with what they perceive to be the truth. Elizabeth Loftus has spent considerable
time tracking this particular phenomenon, noting how details become more readily available in conjunction with repeated and exhaustive questioning; as such, the eyewitnesss answers no longer pertain to the events