Tennessee V. Reeves Essays

Tennessee V. Reeves Essays Tennessee V. Reeves Paper Tennessee V. Reeves Paper Tennessee v. Reeves. 917 S. W. 2d 825 (Supreme Court of Tennessee, 1996) On January 5, 1993, Tracie Reeves and Molly Coffman, spoke on the telephone and decided to kill their homeroom teacher, Janice Geiger. Reeves and Coffman were both twelve years old and were students at West Carroll Middle School. They planned that Coffman would bring rat poison to school the following days and it would be put in Geigers drink. After that, the two would steal Geigers vehicle and drive to the Smoky Mountains. On January 6, Coffman placed a packet of rat poison in her purse and got on the school bus. Coffman told another student, Christy Hernandez, of the plan. Coffman showed her the poison in her purse. When Hernandez got to school she went and informed her homeroom teacher, Sherry Cockrill. Cockrill then informed the school principal, Claudia Argo. When Geiger entered her classroom that morning, she observed Reeves and Coffman leaning over her deck; and when the girls noticed her, they giggled and ran back to their seats. Geiger saw a purse lying next to her coffee cup on the top of the desk. Shortly after Argo called Coffman to the principals office, rat poison was found in Coffmans purse. Both Reeves and Coffman gave written statement to the Sheriff investigator concerning their plan to poison Geiger and steal her car. Reeves and Coffman were found to be delinquent by the Carroll County Juvenile Court, and both appealed from that ruling to the Carroll County Circuit Court. After a jury found that the girls attempted to commit second degree murder in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. Section(s) 19-12-101, the criminal attempt statute, the trial court affirmed the juvenile court order and sentenced the girl to the Department of Youth development for an indefinite period. The issue in this case is to determine whether the defendants action in this case constitute a substantial step toward the commission of second degree murder under the new statue.

The Truth About Swallowing Spiders in Our Sleep

The Truth About Swallowing Spiders in Our Sleep No matter what generation you grew up in, chances are you heard the rumor that we swallow a certain number of spiders each year as we sleep. However, the truth is that the chances of you swallowing a spider while sleeping are slim to none.   Research Findings Not a single study has been done to date to quantify the number of spiders people swallow while sleeping. Scientists do not give this topic a moments glance,  however, because it is nearly impossible. You can rest peacefully because the chances of swallowing a spider while you are asleep are almost none. The only reason they do not say the chances are zero is that nothing is impossible. In order for you to unknowingly swallow a spider in your sleep, a number of unlikely occurrences would all have to happen in sequence: First, you would have to be sleeping with your mouth wide open. If a spider crawled on your face and over your lips, you would likely feel it. So a spider would have to approach you by descending from the ceiling above you on a silk thread.Then, the spider would have to hit the target- your mouth- dead center to avoid tickling your lips. If it landed on your tongue, a highly-sensitive surface, you would feel it for sure.Next, the spider would have to land at the back of your throat without touching anything on the way in. Finally, at the very moment of landing on your throat, you would have to swallow. This series of coincidences is highly unlikely.   Spider Behavior Spiders are not going to voluntarily approach the mouth of a large predator. Spiders view humans as a danger to their well-being. Sleeping humans are most likely viewed as  terrifying. A slumbering person breathes, has a beating heart and perhaps snores- all of which create vibrations that warn spiders of an imminent threat.  We appear as big, warm-blooded, threatening creatures that might eat them on purpose. We Do Eat Spiders- Just Not in Our Sleep The rumor about swallowing spiders in your sleep may be debunked, but that does not mean that you do not eat spiders. Spider and insect parts make it into our food supply every day, and it is all FDA approved. For example, according to  the FDA, there is an average of 60 or more bug fragments per quarter pound of chocolate. Peanut butter has  30 or more insect fragments  per quarter pound. Everything you eat likely has critter parts in it, but this is normal. It is fairly impossible to avoid having these mini body parts in our food. As it turns out, bits of arthropods in your food will not kill you and can make you stronger- protein and nutrient levels in some insects and arachnids can match that of chicken and fish. Misleading Information on the Internet To test a theory that people were susceptible to accepting anything they read online as true, Lisa Holst, a columnist for PC Professional in the 1990s conducted an experiment. Holst authored a list of fabricated facts and statistics including the old folkloric rumor that the average person swallows eight spiders per year. As Holst hypothesized, the statement was readily accepted as fact and went viral.   Thanks to Holst, the younger generations now know the old fashioned rumor. It might have faded into the past if left in the past, but now, some still believe the rumor is true. Sources Spiders Swallowed Per Year, Snopes.com.Defect Levels Handbook. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2016).