Murder Case Trial Term Paper

Murder Trial of Phil Spector

In the 1960s, Phil Spector achieved legendary status as the visionary behind countless pop music classics. The famed 'Wall of Sound' produces helped to create immortal hits with girl groups like the Crystals and the Ronettes. But he achieved a different kind of notoriety when his oft-acknowledged erratic behavior and affection for firearms culminated in the 2003 death of Lana Clarkson. The actress, whose body was found in the foyer of Spector's California home, was found to have been shot by the increasingly psychologically unsound pop music producer.

When the smoke had cleared from his arrest, according to CNN, suicide had been ruled out. This would leave Spector to stand on trial for the murder of the 40-year-old actress. The charge of murder is defined as the act of purposefully taking the life of another human being by non-accidental action.In the case of Spector, reports indicate, the charge of second-degree murder was brought to bear. Second-degree murder is defined as the act of murder without premeditation, aforethought or otherwise aggravated circumstances. The charge would be brought about by Spector based on circumstances which suggested the incident may have occurred in the heat of confrontation between the suspect and victim.

Due to the circumstantial nature of some evidence and the fact of Spector's declining psychological state during the course of the trial, a mistrial would be declared in 2007. The article by Glaister (2009) offers some assessment for why this occurred, suggesting that the focus of the prosecution was slightly off-the-mark. According to Glaister, "while the first trial was dominated by forensics and the finer points on how blood spatters, the rerun came down to an elaborate game of did he,….....