The Fifth Amendment
Brianna Grauber
The fifth amendment states:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces or the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger, nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor be deprived of life,liberty,or property without the process of law;nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.
Why did the U.S make the fifth amendment?
The U.S. involved the 5th amendment so that the basic rights will be protected of the accused. Which means they didn't want the freedom of speech being disobeyed so now the people have the choice if they want to testify in cases that they say they didn't do.
The 5th amendment in my words:
No one has to answer to a crime that they claimed to not do unless there is evidence that they did then they will have to testify.
Salinas VS. Texas -1992
Two family members of Salinas were murdered in Houston by a shotgun.Salinas was asked if his shotgun would match the bullets that they were shot with,salinas did not answer but he started to tighten up and get worried. Salinas did not testify in court but the prosecutors still mentioned his reaction to the question they asked. Salinas felt as if they did not obey his rights and he was pleaded guilty because a ballistics analysis later matched Salinas' gun with the casings at the scene. Police also found a witness who said Salinas admitted to killing the victims.Salinas was charged with the murders, but could not be located.
15 years later, Salinas was finally captured.
Cited sources:
Fifth Amendment." Constitutional Amendments: From Freedom of Speech to Flag Burning. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: UXL, 2008. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
eavitt, Amie Jane. Bill of Rights in Translation : What It Really Means. Mankato: Capstone, 2009. Ebook.