by Michelle Sparrow | May 16, 2014 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
North Carolina has grappled with some tough criminal justice issues over the past few years. The enactment and repeal of the Racial Justice Act and the State Bureau of Investigation crime lab scandal top the list, but there have been other issues. It is with a mix of... by Michelle Sparrow | May 1, 2014 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
What might drive a person to try to kill someone else? There may be many reasons. Among them may be that the person who is alleged to have committed the crime suffers from some mental disease. If it should turn out that such a condition did contribute to an alleged... by Michelle Sparrow | Feb 11, 2014 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
As many readers know, the trial of Amanda Hayes is being broadcast live on Raleigh’s WRAL. The 41-year-old is accused of murder in the death of her husband’s ex-girlfriend, Laura Ackerson. You might recall that her husband, Grant Hayes, was convicted last year and... by Michelle Sparrow | Jan 17, 2014 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
When criminal charges are splashed across the evening news, the emphasis tends to be on attention-grabbing details of the allegations, rather than on facts. That was again recently the case when news broke of a Raleigh man’s arrest on suspicions that he stabbed... by Michelle Sparrow | Dec 2, 2013 | Criminal Law Blog, Homicide
She spent nine days in jail for a murder she didn’t commit. But much worse was the possibility that she would spend the rest of her life behind bars for it. Now the woman who was charged with homicide after her boyfriend committed suicide is asking a court for...