I have been struggling about how to classify two cases lately. The first case is Daniel Wade Moore. He was tried three times for the murder of Karen Tipton. In the first trial, he was convicted and sentenced to death, but that was overturned. The second trial ended with a hung jury, and last time around he was set free and found innocent. I wrote my first opinion about the case after the first trial was overturned here. Now, today, Moore is a free man.

Read moreThis case is not cut and dry, even though I feel justice was finally served. I did not believe Moore committed this crime long before he was set free, but I am not sure how we should classify this case. I am looking for your help. What do you think?

The second case is regarding the Stanley sisters, Erin and Kelly, from Indiana. Both girls, who were teenagers, ended up dead six days apart. Both girls died at home when their parents were present. Both girls died at night. In a surprise twist, the boyfriend of Erin, who died first, James McFarland, was charged with murdering both girls yet McFarland wasn’t even known to be at the house when Kelly died. He was in the bedroom with Erin when he realized she wasn’t breathing right and summons for help. The arrest was shocking and didn’t make any sense, and I stood firm on that from the beginning, even though I never saw McFarland speak publicly. You can read my thoughts on the case here (scroll down to read my first post). In 2007, when McFarland was arrested, I spoke out about my concern. In a strange twist, in early 2009, he was released and all charges were dropped.

How should we classify this case?