Self Representation
- Representing yourself in court is called acting Pro Se(Derived from the Latin phrase meaning "for yourself")
- The Branch has easy to follow videos for non-lawyers.
Who Was Ted Bundy?
Ted Bundy was a serial killer, who did most of his work in the early 70's. While he admitted to 30 murders before his execution in 1989, he is suspected of killing many more.
He was convicted in July of 1979 of two of the murders, and charged with many assaults, of which the total sentence was 270 years in prison and the electric chair.
The Trial: Self Representation
What made this trial so interesting was the fact that Ted Bundy represented himself throughout his trials, and maintained his innocence until his dying breath. His case was a lost cause, even the smartest lawyer couldnt have made him seem innocent. There was an overwhelming amount of evidence, such as an eyewitness and forensic denistry that tied him to the crimes. When he crossexamined the witnesses, he made them tell every detail of the crime scene to the court, later jury members would say he seemed to enjoy hearing about his crimes again. When he was sentenced to death, he claimed he was not given sufficiant counsil, which was denied by the judge.
His Great Escape
Because he represented himself, he was able to move freely around the courtroom and the law library, which resulted in him climbing out a window of the library and escaping in June of 1977. He was captured a week later, but on December 30th of that year, he escaped again.
Some Facts
- Ted Bundy called his girlfriend to the stand in Florida, and proposed to her. They were legally married on the spot because she was under oath and that was the law in Florida at the time.
- He was caught for the murders by speeding through a stop sign IN HIS YELLOW VOLKSWAGEN BUG. When the arresting officer searched the car, he found handcuffs, an icepick, a crowbar, and pantyhose with eyeholes cut out. They arrested him on suspiscion of burglary.
- "Sometimes I feel like a vampire" -Ted Bundy
- "We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomarrow." -Ted Bundy
