Bloodsworth Assignment 2: Unethical Practices During Trial PDF

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Focuses on the unethical practices during Kirk Bloodsworth's trial....

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Willow Wright CRJU 250 Professor Vaughn 3/2/3021 Bloodsworth Assignment 2 Throughout the trial of Kirk Bloodsworth, many unethical practices took place. What was especially relevant was Bloodsworth’s defense representation and his socio-economic status. These aspects gave him an extremely unfair disadvantage and hurt his chances of being found not guilty in the eyes of both the jury and the judge. More ethical practices should have taken place, especially when it comes to court proceedings. All defendants- no matter how severe the crime- should have a fair trial despite their representation and socio-economic status. Near the beginning when trying to get a defense attorney, Kirk Bloodsworth’s father Curtis tried to find a great defense attorney for Kirk. The first attorney Curtis tried to get for Kirk was Russell White. However, due to not having enough money to hire Russell White, another defense attorney named Steven Scheinin was appointed to the case by the public defender. Because Curtis did not have the proper funds for a defense attorney, the State appointed one to Kirk under the Sixth Amendment. Under the Sixth Amendment, “the right to counsel refers to the right of a criminal defendant to have a lawyer assist in his defense, even if he cannot afford to pay for an attorney” (Legal Information Institute). By having a defense attorney appointed to Kirk, it puts less financial burden and stress on Curtis and his wife. Kirk did not have good feelings about Scheinin after their first meeting together, but his father told him to trust in the system. It seemed as if Scheinin accepted the appointment to the case because of the money and free publicity the case would give him. The state should have sent appointment offers to those

who were better suited for the case- and as exhibited later on in the book, Scheinin was not the best for the case after all. In terms of Bloodsworth’s defense representation, Bloodsworth did not have a good feeling about Scheinin from the very beginning. During their first meeting, Bloodsworth barely talked while Scheinin would not stop talking. “Scheinin went on for half an hour before he ever asked Kirk a question. He seemed impatient as Kirk went over his story” (Junkin, 2004, pg. 113). And before Scheinin took Bloodsworth’s case, he has never defended someone potentially facing the death penalty before. Given how tough and how publicized Bloodsworth’s prosecution was, Scheinin did not seem like a good fit for the case. During the final statements, Scheinin seemed somewhat unorganized as he tried to reiterate that Bloodsworth did not rape and murder a nineyear-old child. Other than Scheinin, the witnesses that were on the side of the defense were not allowed a recess before presenting their account of events, resulting in their statements being unorganized and changing while the prosecution questioned them. While many unethical things occurred during Kirk Bloodsworth’s trial, it was made apparent how his defense representation and socio-economic status played a role in making the trial more unethical. Between Scheinin not being the right fit for being a part of Bloodsworth’s defense team to Bloodsworth’s father not having the funds to hire an extremely prominent and good defense lawyer, the odds of Bloodsworth being found guilty increased significantly. It seemed like Bloodsworth was destined to be found guilty and put to death.

References Junkin, T. (2004). Bloodsworth. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. Legal Information Institute. Right to Counsel. Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/right_to_counsel....