Three Blind Mice - Alexis Penny
Module 7 Lesson 1 Mastery Assignment
Mr and Ms Gough were the defendants in their case as they were charged with murder and neglect. They had committed a felony by taking the life of their son Dennis by not giving him proper nourishment and by beating him. The evidence and charges were resented to the grand jury for them to decide if there was enough evidence to pursue a case.They were then arrested and taken into custody no bail was posted. A subpoena was issued to ensure their attendance in court. They appeared in front of the petit jury the day after they were put in jail. When they got in the court room they both took an oath not to lie. Mr. Gough then violated that oath and he was also charged with perjury. Because he was also charged with perjury along wit the other offences there was no available lesser sentence and he did not qualify for a plea bargain. The Gough's both had a public defender because they could not afford a lawyer. The prosecution then took over and presented all the evidence they had against the Gough's. The prosecution only had one witness , which was Dennis's bother Terrance, and he told the jury how Mr and Ms Gough were horrible parents and he moved out as soon as he turned 18. The judge then arraigned the Gough's by reading them all their charges for a final time. Once the jury deliberated and came up with a final verdict the judge read the decision aloud. Ms. Gough broke down sobbing when she heard about the indictment that had been handed down on the charge of murder and neglect. Mr and Ms Gough were convicted of all the charged brought against them and would serve up to 7 years in prison with no contact. They filled an appeal about a year into their sentence but were rejected due to the excessive amount of evidence against them. They will have to serve their full sentence.