I am giving a presentation at a homicide seminar on the topic "The Unlikable, Unsympathetic Victim -- How to Make the Jury Care." I have a couple of examples of unlikable victims (the porn-obsessed, into-S&M victim and the wife who cheated on her husband 7 times), but I need more to fill up an hour long presentation! If you have any examples of unlikable murder victims and you were able to somehow make the jury care that he or she was dead, and especially if you have any photos or visuals, e-mail me directly or you can answer here.

Lee Harvey Oswald.

Dean Corll from Houston.

156 convicts killed since 1984.

A.P., you probably actually have some real examples. If you can give me any specifics, let me know. Dean Corll -- if anyone has ever tried a case where a child molester was the murder victim, let me know how that went and how you did it. Gang members, child molesters, drug dealers, prostitutes -- I need material!

How about using clips from "Dexter" on Showtime. That freak seems to choose unappealing victims.

I have tried/handled several murder cases where the victim had an extreme alternative lifestyle such as gang member, rapper drug dealer, and married man's girlfriend.

I recently lost my first murder, which had a very unsympathetic victim. Despite him being unarmed and shot in the back and side, I was unable to convince a jury it wasn't self defense. I'll send details.

Sounds like someone on that jury had some bad hair.

For example: the defense tried to assert their client was less deserving of the death penalty because the victim was a homosexual grug abuser. See Goff v. State, 931 sw2d 537

JAS

there is nobody, I mean nobody, who deserves killin' as much as a grug abuser.

I logged on thinking, "Oh, yea, a reply from Lisa Tanner. I'm sure she'll have some good material." I'm dying here!

They are, without any doubt, the very worst! I'm delighted my errors provide humor.

JAS

I had a cold case where two out of three parties confessed to a 20 year old murder. Problem is victim initially survived the beating and refused to name his attackers. Turns out he sexually assaulted one of the defendant's sisters. Sex assault victim backed up that story. Main instigator committed suicide before the case was solved. The defendant that turned the case from a fist beating assault to a metal pipe murder had several convictions and was in TDC on a lengthy sentence at the time he confessed. The last fellow had led an otherwise clean life and even run for mayor of his town. I pled the least culpable and most culpable did an open plea. He did not get what I thought he deserved. I'm not sure a jury would have convicted the least culpable, though the case would have been much better had he not lived clean for 20 years and looked like an angel next to my other defendant.

Anyone tried someone for murdering a child molester? Or murdering a prostitute?

Sorry to disappoint, Jane.
How does this one grab you? I once prosecuted a brother and sister for beating a known pedophile to death (yes, he had the pen packets to prove it....). They claimed that they did it because he had been trying to molest the sister's son. Come to find out, Victim wasn't after her son, but was actually having a torrid affair with her husband. And yes, without going into it, there was objective proof of the affair....

We used the "hell hath no fury" theme and argued that pedophile angle was just an attempt to use bias to excuse their conduct. They're both still in prison so I guess the jury agreed.
Jane, I'll email you directly about a couple of other ways I dealt with that defense

Jane, come talk to me about Jessica Rabbit, the crack whore. Lawyer Ewing shot her in the face because she wanted to go to rehab.

Try Charles Frederick Albright, killed prostitutes and cut out their eyes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Albright

How about when the defendant blames society. Doesn't that make him a unattractive victim?

A 15-year-old boy has told police that he shot and killed a man in northeast Houston this week after the man abducted him on his way to school and sexually assaulted him, investigators say.

Details.

I've heard prosecutors in our office use a theme that worked. Seems like the victim was a drug abuser who tried to steal some product from the drug-selling defendant. Our prosecutors said something to the effect of "our justice system has a way of taking care of people who break the law. By killing this man, the defendant took on the role of prosecutor, judge, and jury & the victim never got his day in court."

Something to that effect. I'd be interested in seeing your notes when you get done.