by Michelle Sparrow | Mar 23, 2015 | Violent Crimes
A couple we know was expecting their first child, and they had all sorts of plans. The baby, they said, would grow up to be a doctor. They just knew it. They could feel it in their bones. This child — a boy — was destined for medicine. But, just to be... by Michelle Sparrow | Mar 14, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Violent Crimes
If you are old enough to remember 1968, you may be more than a little uneasy about the increasingly violent confrontations about race. It is a little hard to think that this will all be resolved somehow. That Ferguson will be made right, that the deaths of young black... by Michelle Sparrow | Mar 10, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Violent Crimes
There is still a struggle in the media, in the community and in the courtroom to put a label on the Chapel Hill killings on Feb. 11. The victims were three Muslim American college students, the confessed shooter a 46-year-old white man. The defendant, Craig Stephen... by Michelle Sparrow | Mar 6, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Violent Crimes
It looks as if the Durham district attorney will ask for the death penalty in the case against a 46-year-old Chapel Hill man. The defendant, Craig Stephen Hicks, turned himself in to sheriff’s deputies on Feb. 11, a few hours, he said, after he shot three... by Michelle Sparrow | Feb 24, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Violent Crimes
We came across a blog post once that began, “It is unpleasant to be charged with a sex crime.” It is a true statement, certainly, but it fell a little short of the typical lead-in to a discussion of such a difficult and sensitive subject. Yes, it can be... by Michelle Sparrow | Feb 23, 2015 | Criminal Law Blog, Violent Crimes
We are still discussing — and still very much thinking about — the domestic abuse public service announcement that aired during the Super Bowl. Sponsored by the nonprofit No More and, incongruously, the NFL, the ad uses an actual 911 call. The 911 operator...