Wednesday, May 20, 2020

The Jennifer Hudson Family Murder Case

On October 24, 2008, the bodies of Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudsons mother and brother were found in the familys home on Chicagos South Side. Shot to death was Hudsons mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson. Missing from the home was Julian King, the son of Jennifers sister Julia Hudson. Three days later the body of 7-year-old Julian, Hudsons nephew, was found in the back seat of an SUV parked on the West Side. He also had been shot. A .45-caliber gun found near the parked SUV was linked to all of the shooting deaths. The SUV was later confirmed to be that of Hudsons murdered brother, Justin King. A gun was also found in a vacant lot in the same neighborhood as the SUV, police said. The case drew national attention because of the fame of family member Jennifer Hudson, who won the best-supporting-actress Academy Award for her 2007 role in the film Dreamgirls. Hudson first gained fame after she was ousted on season three of the television talent show American Idol. Julias Estranged Husband Questioned William Balfour, the estranged husband of Julia Hudson, was taken into custody the day the first two bodies were found and held for 48 hours. He was then taken into custody by the Illinois Department of Corrections on a suspected parole violation. Balfour married Julia Hudson in 2006 but had been separated at the time of the shootings. He was thrown out of the Hudson home by Julias mother in the winter of 2007, according to reports. He denied any involvement with the Hudson case and denied statements that he had been seen with a gun, but remained in police custody. Balfour served almost seven years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen vehicle. He was on parole at the time that the murder took place. Brother-in-Law Arrested Balfour was arrested at Stateville Correctional Center where he was being held on parole violation charges. Prosecutors believed that the shootings at the Hudson family home were the result of an argument Balfour had with Julia about another man. Investigators learned that Balfour tried to get a former girlfriend, Brittany Acoff-Howard, to provide him with a false alibi for the day that the murders occurred.   Im Going to Kill Your Family According to court records, Balfour threatened to kill members of Hudsons family on at least two dozen occasions before the three murders in October 2008. Assistant States Attorney James McKay said the threats began shortly after Balfour and his wife Julia Hudson broke up and he moved out of the family house. McKay said Balfour told Julia, If you ever leave me, Im going to kill you, but Im going to kill your family first. You will be the last to die. Jury Selection After answering questions about their knowledge of singer and actress Jennifer Hudson, 12 jurors and six alternates were chosen for the trial. Potential jurors in the trial were given questionnaires which asked if they were familiar with Hudsons career, if they regularly watched American Idol, and even if they were members of Weight Watchers, a weight-loss program for which Hudson is a celebrity spokesperson.   The jury was composed of 10 women and eight men and was racially diverse. While waiting for opening statements to begin a month later, Judge Charles Burns asked the jurors not to watch the television show American Idol, because Hudson was scheduled to make an appearance on an upcoming episode. The Trial During opening statements, Balfours defense attorney told jurors that police targeted him for the crime because they were under pressure to solve quickly what they knew would become a high-profile case, because of Jennifer Hudsons notoriety. Defense attorney Amy Thompson also told the jury that DNA found on the gun and fingerprints found in the SUV, in which Julians body was found three days later, did not match Balfour. Balfour pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed he was nowhere near the house when the murders occurred. We Didnt Like How He Treated Her None of us wanted her to marry him [Balfour], Jennifer Hudson told the jury, We did not like how he treated her. Jennifer Hudsons sister Julia testified that Balfour was so jealous that he would even become angry when her son Julian kissed his mother. He would tell the 7-year-old, Get off my wife, she testified. Brittany Acoff Howard testified that William Balfour asked her to cover for him  for Oct. 24, 2008, the day Hudsons family members were killed.  Howard told jurors that Balfour helped buy her a prom dress and treated her like a little sister. He told me that if anybody asks you, Ive been out west all day, Acoff Howard said. In response to a specific prosecution witness, she said Balfour had asked her to lie for him. No DNA, But Gunshot Residue Illinois State Police evidence analyst Robert Berk told jurors that gunshot residue was found on the steering wheel of Balfours vehicle and the ceiling of the Suburban. His testimony followed that of another analyst, Pauline Gordon, who said no traces of Balfours DNA were found on the murder weapon, but that did not mean he never handled the gun. Some people shed skin cells faster, Gordon said. Gloves could have been worn. Guilty The jury deliberated 18 hours before finding Balfour guilty on three counts of murder and several other charges in connection with the October 24, 2008, deaths Darnell Donerson; Jason Hudson; and her 7-year-old nephew Julian King. After the verdict, jury members described the process they used during their almost 18 hours of deliberations. First, they voted on whether each witness was credible or not. Then they created a timeline of the crime to compare it with the alibi Balfours attorneys outlined during the trial. When the jury got around to taking its first vote, it was 9 to 3 in favor of conviction. Some of us tried our best to make him innocent, but the facts just werent there, juror Tracie Austin told reporters. Sentencing Before he was sentenced, Balfour was allowed to make a statement. In it, he offered condolences to the Hudson family but maintained his innocence. My deepest prayers go out to Julian King, Balfour said. I loved him. I still love him. Im innocent your honor. Under Illinois law, Balfour faced mandatory life without parole sentences for the multiple murders.  Illinois law does not allow death penalty sentences under any circumstances. You have the heart of an arctic night, Judge Burns told Balfour at his sentencing hearing. Your soul is as barren as dark space. Balfour was sentenced to life without parole. Grateful for Support Grammy and Academy Award-winning Hudson sobbed and leaned on her fiances shoulder as the jury verdict was read. She attended every day of the 11-day trial. In a statement, Jennifer and her sister Julia offered their gratitude: We have felt the love and support from people all over the world and were very grateful, the statement said. We want to extend a prayer from the Hudson family to the Balfour family. We have all suffered a terrible loss in this tragedy. They said they were praying that the Lord will forgive Mr. Balfour of these heinous acts and bring his heart into repentance someday. Balfour Continues to Deny Involvement In February 2016,  Balfour  talked was interviewed by  Chuck Goudie of  WLS-TV, ABC7s sister station in Chicago. This was his first publicized interview since his conviction. During the interview, Balfour stated that his conviction was due to a large conspiracy that included the police, witnesses, and lawyers and that he had nothing to do with the murders. When asked about why  7-year-old  Julian King was murdered, Balfours answer was chilling: Balfour: ...It could have been a wrong place at the wrong time, the person who come in there to kill somebody dont kill who they kill. If you are a witness and you can identify somebody, they can say I killed him because he could have identified me but thats not the case.Goudie: That 7-year-old boy could have identified you.Balfour: That what I said earlier, that he could identify me and thats why he got killed. Or he killed him because he could identify him. Now Julian was smart, he could remember faces. In response to the interview, the Chicago Police Department said: CPD stands firmly behind our investigation which was based exclusively on facts and evidence in this senseless murder. Balfour is currently serving his time in  Stateville Correctional Center  near  Joliet, Illinois.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Recovering Ideal Work from an Expansion Engine - 913 Words

And the ideal work recoverable from an expansion engine as LN2 is evaporated at 77 K Additional potential remains for heat sinking by the cold N2 vapor, then brought up to ambient temperature (To = 300 K)or more, is shown or given by the difference in thermodynamic availability, ï â„¢ = h ï€ ­ sTo, between ambient states and liquid . This reversible work for liquid nitrogen LN2 is Wr = 800 kJ/kg-N2 and the relatively and corresponding sink efficiency is ï  ¢ = 1.78. Thus, for only a small fraction of the reversible work require to be recovered to gives the cryomobile with a driving range commensurate or start with that of battery- operated or powered vehicles of comparable weight. The relative merits of different ZEV technologies must also be evaluated on considerations (must) other than performance such as environmental friendliness(less emission ) and commuting utility. While the specific energy of liquid nitrogen LN2 or batteries is far below that of hydrocarbon fuels, the internal combustion engine cars cannot operate without polluting emissions and this thus should not be compared with ZEVs. ADVANTAGES Studies indicate or shows that liquid nitrogen automobiles will have relavent significant performance and environmental related advantages over an electric vehicles. A liquid nitrogen vehicle or car with a 60-gallon to 70 gallon tank will have a potential(power) range of up to 200 miles, or more than that of a typical electric car performance. One more thing isShow MoreRelatedWhat Are Stirling Engines?1536 Words   |  7 PagesWhat are Stirling Engines? Stirling engines are dynamic heat converters for converting heat energy in to work energy. They operate by the cyclic compression and expansion phases of gases and other fluids at different temperatures in such a way that heat energy is transformed in to mechanical work energy output [1]. 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Critical discourse analysis of political campaign ads and speeches free essay sample

Critical Discourse Analysis of Political Campaign Ads and Speeches. AB English Thesis. College of Arts in Sciences, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Cotabato. Adviser: RICELI C. MENDOZA, PhD The study aimed to analyze the different political campaign ads and speeches of the candidates running for a certain office and employed the Critical Discourse Analysis framework. Specifically, it sought to analyze the linguistic features of political campaign ads and speeches, determine the issue on social services addressed in the political ads and speeches and determine the attitude of students towards political campaign ads and speeches. Political campaign advertisements and speeches of Emmanuel â€Å"Manny† Pinol and Emmelou â€Å"Lala† Talino-Mendoza (candidates for governor in North Cotabato. ) Jabib M. Guiabar, Herlo Guman and George Tan (candidates for mayor in Kabacan, North Cotabato) were gathered summer of 2013. Respondents involved a total of 60 composing of 30 students from AB Political Science and 30 from AB English who were enrolled from the University of Southern Mindanao. We will write a custom essay sample on Critical discourse analysis of political campaign ads and speeches or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They answered the questionnaire on attitude on political campaign ads and speeches. Results revealed that affixation, reduplication, alpahabetism and acronyms were the dominant linguistic features in the ads and speeches. In terms of syntax, the word pattern, placement of modifiers, and imperatives were present. The social services addressed in the political speeches were education, corruption, health services, and poverty. The attitude of the respondents on the political campaign ads revealed that students agreed that the political campaign ads showed sincerity and commitment. Howerever, the students were undecided if the candidates used dirty and vulgar words in their political campaign ads. On the political campaign speeches, the results concluded that the students believed the campaign speeches evoke confidence. However, the students were undecided if the candidates who delivered the speeches increased voter’s awareness.