BHS students attend Criminal Justice Conference at UNK
by Talon S
October 30, 2007
On Tuesday, October 16 a dedicated group of high school students
loaded a bus at 2:00 A.M. to attend the Criminal Justice Conference
at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The guest speaker, John
Douglas, who is considered by many experts to be the world’s
leading authority on criminal profiling, is a legendary former head
of the FBI profiling unit. Mr. Douglas has hunted many of the most
notorious and sadistic criminals of our time. He has authored seven
best selling books detailing his work, and continues to consult
with law enforcement agencies, victims, and judicial and
correctional officials throughout the world. He is an expert at
examining crime scenes and creating profiles of the perpetrators.
Such work is invaluable in making arrests of the worst criminals
among us, and is also used to successfully interrogate and
prosecute offenders. He shared some of his cases with us.
Kirk Bloodsworth was another speaker at the conference. He
explained how he was arrested, charged with the murder of a young
girl, tried and sentenced to death all in spite of the fact he was
innocent. After spending 9 years in prison, two of which on death
row, DNA evidence proved he was not guilty. Based on DNA evidence
another individual was convicted of and later confessed to this
murder. He now works for the Justice Project, an organization who
works with national and state groups on criminal justice reform
Speaking with him was John Terzano who is President of the Justice
Project.
Bridgeport High School students attending were Katie Vergil, Ashley
Vergil, Talon Smith, Monica Dominguez, Monica Torres, Alecia
Hutson, Derek Benoist, Jimmy McGee, Trevor Zwirn, Hannah McCloud
and Marylee Yonkers. “We were very impressed by the food in the
college cafeteria and did our best to sample some of everything. We
were back on the bus by 3:00 p.m. (central time) and home by 7:00,”
Mrs. Hass said.
“It was a very educational experience that taught me a lot about
the real world. It made me consider how lucky I am to live in a
small, protective community.”—Katie Vergil
“I learned a lot. Especially about how there are many flaws in the
justice system and how many people do not care and simply turn the
other way, like in Bloodsworth’s case.”—Monica Torres
