Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Star Appliance Company Essay Example
Star Appliance Company Essay This paper will discuss how Star Appliance Company managed its cost of capital and plan for future investments. The paper will reveal corporate problems and present relevant management theories to lead the company into a solution. The underlying problems consist of choosing a new and more efficient financing strategy, and designing more accurate method of evaluating investment projects. Previously, the company was having positive sales performances which indirectly cause the problem to be hard to identify. However, as the company needed to expand their business, the new financial officer discovered several inefficiencies in managing corporate financing strategies and evaluating future investment. The condition was described by the WACC method.à The paper will present alternatives of solutions for the problem and in the end choose the most beneficial one for the case. The company must adopt a new financing strategy which incorporates a balanced proportion between debt and equity financing instruments. The company must also design a new evaluation strategy for the new investment projects which incorporate risks premiums, additional cost of investments and a margin of error in forecasting future cash flow. The financial department has obtained increasing roles in the corporate management concept. In previous times, marketing department projects sales, production department determined the necessary amount of assets required in order to meet the projections, and the financial departmentââ¬â¢s function was only to provide funds for providing other department with their requirements. However, this model of management is obsolete and replaced by more coordinated types of decision making, where financial managers are responsible for planning as well as controlling activities. This reflects the increasing importance of good financial considerations in each decision of the corporation. We will write a custom essay sample on Star Appliance Company specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Star Appliance Company specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Star Appliance Company specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer According to Weston and Brigham (1996), there are several detailed activities related to financial management. One of them is the activity of making investment and financing decisions. In line with corporate long term strategy, financial managers must provide funds to support growth. Successful companies usually have high rate of sales, which required additional factory investment, equipment and current assets to produce goods and services. In the more coordinated decision making activities, financial managers must help determining the optimum sales level and make decisions on specific investment that will be performed. Within those activities, there are also questions of whether to use internal or external financing, debt or equity financing, and short or long term debts. These are important aspects of corporate management that could determine whether the company is heading to success or financial failure. Within this paper, I am discussing the importance of considering cost of assets in corporate financial management. The case study will be the Star Appliance Company in 1977. In this paper, I will describe the problems within Star Appliance Company financial management and offer recommendation to solve existing problems within the company. II.à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à Problems Within the Star Company II.1à à à à à Corporate Background The Star Appliance Company is a successful business of manufacturing home appliances, especially electric stoves and ovens. Soon after the company was established in 1922, it receives a warm welcome from the growing market for home appliances. The company focuses on providing its customers with premium types of home appliances with a slightly higher margin than its competitors. In a short time, the company managed to gather significant market share due to its reputation of providing high quality appliances. Corporate financial strategy ââ¬âto use equities instead of debts- has seemed to be working splendidly as The Company was able to survive the great depression and maintain its existence with smaller-based operations but strong financial structure within the company. However, management has become aware that there are problems in maintaining profitable operations with existing lines. The company plans to enrich its product lines, but there are some concerns regarding how the company managed its cost of capital. Without strong financial management capabilities, investments in new product lines could destroy corporate profitability instead of developing it. Therefore, these problems must be addressed first. II.2à à à à à Hurdle Rates In simple understanding, hurdle rate means the minimum acceptable rate of return on a capital investment project. It is required to measure the limitation of when an investment is no longer considered profitable. The calculation has the basic logic of requiring returns to be higher than the cost of investment. However it also incorporate several factors such as the cost of risk, inflation, etc. It is a comprehensive look on how an investment will increase the wealth of the shareholders. Mathematically, the hurdle rate consists of the cost of the capital plus the projectââ¬â¢s risk premium (ââ¬ËThe Hurdle Rate, 2006). II.2.1à à Corporate Hurdle Rates The company seemed lacked logical reasoning to determine its hurdle rate. Corporate hurdle rate is based only by an experience on previous return of equity. According to the elaboration above, this policy is vulnerable to risks and provides low assurance for profit. The company must determine a new and more reasonable hurdle rate by incorporating factors such as cost of capital and risk premium (ââ¬ËThe Hurdle Rateââ¬â¢, 2006) II.2.2à à Cost of Capital The cost of capital must be included within an investment calculation simply because we do not want to invest where we it provides us with no profit what so ever. Nevertheless, because obtaining money results additional costs, the concept cost of capital must include two things: the project cost and the financing cost. To be acceptable, a project must have a rate of return that exceeds the project cost plus the financing cost (ââ¬ËThe Hurdle Rateââ¬â¢, 2006) II.2.3à à Risk Premium Nevertheless, cost of capital itself still does not provide a logical measurement toward a good financing decision. This is because every return from different sets of investment has a different degree of assurance. If the investment has less than 100% assurance for the return, then a risk premium must be included in the calculation of financing decision. However, the rate of risk premium must be set very in a very careful manner. Inadequate amount of risk premium will put our investment if jeopardy, on the other hand, over assuming the amount of risk premium will eliminate some profitable projects from consideration (ââ¬ËThe Hurdle Rate, 2006). II.3à à à à à Financing Alternatives and Inflation II.3.1à à Corporate Financing Strategy As mentioned in the case study, the company ha a unique strategy of financing. The company depends on equity financing methods a lot more than debt financing methods. On other words, the company survived through its years mostly by selling corporate equities. According to the case study, this is possible because the company has a remarkable reputation as a premium producer of household appliances and able to maintain good relationship with its affiliates. Nevertheless, Arthur Foster, the financial president of the company seemed confuse about corporate unwillingness to use debt instruments. Debt instruments have a considerably lower cost than equity, especially after incorporating tax into the calculation. The company might want to reconsider its policies of financing instruments. Furthermore, he argues that a proper additional margin must also be incorporated into the calculation to offset the effect of inflation. II.3.2à à Debt and Equity Instruments The company prefers the equity financing because it has lower cost and smaller legal risk. However, due to corporate policy of increasing dividend rate, the alternative is no longer providing more efficiency compare to debt instruments. Generally, debt instruments will result a slightly higher capital cost and they would require monthly payment, nevertheless, they do not have the risk of loosing corporate control to shareholders. Moreover, if the company is able to maintain the good credibility toward creditors, after some time they would be more than happy to facilitate the company with debt extensions. On the other hand, the equity instruments are a tool of obtaining additional funds through affiliates or partners. These means management will loose more of the corporate control as the equity instruments build sups inside the company. Generally, the best option is to keep the proper balance between debt and equity financing instruments. Because the good balance differs among industry, the Star Appliance Company must put some effort in finding its own financing balance (ââ¬ËFinancingââ¬â¢, 2006). II.3.3à à Inflation As stated by many economists in the late 1970ââ¬â¢s, inflation was a significant factor influencing the cost of capital. A study by Cohen (1997) however, revealed that until today, inflation is still a significant influence for cost of capital. Inflation, even at its low rates, increases the user cost of capital significantly. If the rate of inflation decreases, the marginal gain in investment is greater compare to the rate of the decrease. This reflects the stronger effect of inflation toward cost of capital. Therefore, inflation should be incorporated in every investment analysis. II.4.à à à à Risk, Legal Fees and margin of Error The last of Fosterââ¬â¢s concerns is about how the company accounts for investment risks that are significantly larger than the others. There are opinions that riskier information should be evaluated using higher hurdle rates. Furthermore, Foster believed that there should be a margin to account for the existence of legal fees such as safety, and environmental costs. This margin is required to prevent the additional costs to eat away corporate profit from the investment. Finally, the investments must also calculate a margin of error, in order to account for unexpected disturbance in the forecasting process. In case of using different hurdle rates for different projects, management theories favor the opposite. According to several management theories, investment and financing consideration has different factors that must not be brought together. Investment decisions are based on the consideration of which project are the most profitable, while financing decisions should focus on supporting investment decision and not altering it. III.à à à à à à à à à à à à à Star Company Cost of Equity Cost of Equity is measured by various indicators. However, one of the most utilized is the Weighted Average Cost of Capital ratio. A firmââ¬â¢s WACC is the overall required return on the firm as a whole. In simple terms, the ratio accounts for every possibility of financing a corporation. According to the WACC concept, a corporation can either be financed by debt, preferen stock or common stock. The WACC put all of these factors into equation that resulted the average interest the company must pay for every dollar it finances. The calculation is as follows: WACC = w1k1(1-T) + w2k2 + w3k3 W1 à à à à à à = percentage of debt K1à à à à à à à à = the rate of interest W2à à à à à à à = percentage of preferen stock K2à à à à à à à à = cost of preferen stock W3à à à à à à à = percentage of common equity K3à à à à à à à à = cost of common equity (Weston Brigham, 1996) According to existing data, the company financed most of its investments using retained earnings. The company did not have any long-term debt, which means that the w1 and k1 equals to 0. The case study also reveals that the company did not have any preferred stock within corporate balances sheet, which mean that the w2 and k2 equals to 0. Thus, the only variable exist within Star Appliance Companyââ¬â¢s WACC is the common stock variable. Without the presence of debt and preferred stock, If we calculate the number of dividend paid and divide the result with total common stock of the company, then we will obtain a very high number of WACC. nbsp; Calculation : WACC (1978)à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à = percentage of common stock * (dividend paid/ total value of common stock) WACC (1978)à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à = 100% * [(dividend/share * total shares common stock)/total value of common stock] WACC (1978)à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à = 100% * [(1.52 * 13,414,268)/ 27,835,000] WACC (1978)à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à = 73% nbsp; The number means that on the period that ended December 31, 1978, the company paid as much as 73% for equity financing instruments. This is due to corporate operation to increase the rate of dividend paid, in order to satisfy shareholders. Despite corporate ability to sustain corporate operations and investment activities, the number is extremely high. Observing corporate financial structure, the company could easily obtain additional funding from debt instruments. Debts would have a much lower capital cost compare to the ââ¬Ësky-reachingââ¬â¢ dividend rate. nbsp; IV.à à à à à à à à à à à à à Recommendation From the case study, we are able to capture two main problems of the Star Appliance Company. The first point is the problem of choosing from alternatives financing instrument. Arthur Foster believed that despite the acceptable state of corporate financial performance at the time, the company could be a lot more efficient by altering its financing strategy. The second issue is that of choosing between different methods of evaluating alternative investments. There are several alternatives of solution forth both problems. nbsp; IV.1 à à à Choosing Financing Instruments The first choice is to maintain corporate policy of using retained earnings and equity instruments in financing. This alternative will not create a problem for the company in the short-run. However, in the long-run, the company would need to expand its business by performing investment activities that require large amount of funds. This condition has been described in the case study as the company is trying to finance three projects with existing resource. In order to move forward with this project, the company needs to increase the efficiency of its financial structure. Maintaining current financing strategy will deny the company from further profitable investments using the projects. The second choice is to use debt instruments to cover the needs for investment. This alternative could provide the company with large amount of funds, considering the company did not yet have a balance of long-term debt. However, debt instruments are known for its slightly higher cost compare to standard equity instrumentââ¬â¢s cost. It also requires a monthly payment that could be a burden if occurred in large proportions. Furthermore, companies overburdened with debts generally less favored by shareholders and future investors. The third alternative is to maintain a balance between debt and equity financing. This can be achieved by observing the debt-to-equity ratio and maintaining it within the proper balance. Some companies believe that a good company would not have a debt-to-equity ratio of more than 3 to 1. However, a good balance for debt-to-equity financing differs within each industry and the company must benchmark to other sin the industry to find the right balance. nbsp; IV.2à à à Methods of Choosing Investment Projects Within this issue, foster emphasizes several important points: methods of determining the proper hurdle rate, incorporating inflation, incorporating legal cost and a margin of error. The first alternative is to remain practicing existing investment evaluation method: using 10% hurdle rate, with little consideration of inflation cost, legal cost and a margin of error. This method will result all three projects to be acceptable alternatives. The company might be able to successfully financed all three projects if it apply for further external financing instruments, however,à the level of accuracy within the calculation will be low and there will be no certainty of the real cash flow that will be received in following years. The second alternative would be to incorporate financing costs, risk premium, inflation, legal cost and a margin of error. There is no sufficient data to perform these types of calculation within this paper. However, it can be estimated that the second alternative will not be acceptable according to the new hurdle rate and the new evaluation standard. The third alternative is to incorporate financing costs, risk premium, inflation, legal cost, margin of error and additional margin for riskier investments that require additional asset. This alternative will present a more accurate calculation of existing projects, but it will influence investment decisions with consideration of financing, something that will reduce investment activities considerably. nbsp; V.à à à à à à à à à à à à à à à Solution In choosing financing alternatives, the best solution for Star Appliance Company is to start using considerable debt instrument. The target is to balance the proportion between debt and equity. The company should have no difficulties in obtaining additional funds from debt instruments because of its good reputation and zero balance of long term debt. The balanced proportion between debt and equity instruments will lead to efficient financial management and resulted optimum capacity for further investment activities. In designing methods of evaluating investment projects, the company should choose to incorporate inflation, legal fees and margin of error, but should not choose to make additional margins for relatively riskier projects. Each project should be calculated using similar percentage of hurdle rate plus additional costs mentioned previously. nbsp; VI.à à à à à à à à à à à à à Conclusion Unlike most companies, the company seemed to have no problem in marketing and selling its premium product. However, the premium profits caused management to neglect efficiency concerns in managing its operations and investment decisions. The problem became visible as the company appointed new financial officer and tried to plan for further investment. Despite previous success, companyââ¬â¢s WACC displayed that corporate cost of capital is significantly higher than average. The new financial officer mentioned problems such as the lack consideration of inflation, legal fees and margin of error in evaluating new projects. These factors are important in providing managers with accurate investment decisions and accurate predictions of cash flow. For example, according to a study by Cohen (1997) inflation has a significant effect in cost of capital. Furthermore, not incorporating legal fees and margin of error will eat away the profit of the investment. The solution presented for the company is to redesign its financing strategy into a balanced proportion between debt and equity. In terms of evaluating investment activities, the company should incorporate additional fees and a margin of error.
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Why Not Create Your Own Unique U.C. Essay Sample?
Why Not Create Your Own Unique U.C. Essay Sample?The point of an UC essay sample is to show that your essay is original and unique. The Essay Writing Service will develop a solution that you can customize to suit your requirements. By creating a plan to follow, you can make your essay even more personalized.You can express yourself and express your opinion in your own unique way. You can create a whole new style for your essay by completing the assignment. By using a regular essay writing service and on your own. You can get the flexibility and control you need to write an essay that you can be proud of.There are no requirements for this type of essay; you can make it as complex or as simple as you want it to be. It can be anything, it can be a business proposal, a thesis statement, an autobiography, a reflection on your own life, a service to others, or any other topic you can think of. You don't have to write it in a textbook style.It doesn't matter how good your writing skills are , if you don't know what you're writing, you're not going to be able to create an essay that will have the desired result. Using a curriculum vitae is easy, but it doesn't give you the freedom to express yourself. Essays on U.C. are different, they give you the ability to create your own style and content. Creating your own essay will give you an opportunity to express your personality and allow you to express your opinions in your own way.You can have complete control over your work when you use a professional U.C. essay writing service. Even if you are a graduate student, just a high school student, or even a college student, you can make your assignment the best that it can be, and your studentswill be the ones benefiting from your creative talent and your personal opinions.UC essay sample makes it possible for you to make your essay a successful study. Many students are currently looking for ways to improve their grade on the final exam.If you are looking for a better chance to improve your grade on your written essay, you might want to consider taking advantage of a UT service that offers essays as part of its services. It is highly recommended that you consider a potential UT essay writing service to make your writing experience enjoyable.Take advantage of your creative and intellectual abilities, and let a professional U.C. essay writing service take you through your essay writing assignment.
Monday, March 16, 2020
Power Struggles in Contemportary Literature essays
Power Struggles in Contemportary Literature essays Contemporary novels bring a new point of view to the actions and the lives in which the struggle, consciously or unconsciously, to dominate, plays a crucial role. Because of the fact that life itself is a game of gaining power over another, these novels depict a deeper analysis of this game. Although the most striking are the ones that deal with equality of males and females, these power struggles occur not only between man and woman but also society and the individual, two close friends or any two people who are related to each other. This presentation of characters and their actions is not simply narrated; rather, the issues of who controls, how he/she controls, and the process of power struggles are explored. The audience generally is able to discern when a power struggle is taking place, because they can see characters unable to go beyond attempting to control, while the others cope with these attempts, like playing cat and mouse. Furthermore, these novels aim to represent the ch aracter that refuses to play the role anticipated by his/her social surrounding and to resist strongly the rules of people which leads someones life to be directed by others. This effort supports todays popular idea of what is called I am what I am. So, this paper aims to examine in what ways the characters in Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Drivers Seat by Muriel Spark, and Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood attempt to control or have power over the lives and actions of others or themselves through identifying who controls, how he/she tries to do this, what the process of power struggle is and the question of whether it is easy or not. To begin with, The Bell Jar tells the story of Ester, a talented young woman who has a nervous breakdown starting in a summer internship at a magazine in New York. Her life is full of struggles with other characters in the novel. Esthers relationships with other characters are of great importanc...
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Alcoholic beverage Essay Example for Free (#2)
Alcoholic beverage Essay ? The book ,The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage is a book dedicated to beverages and there impact on cultures and civilizations. Tom Standageââ¬â¢s intent for this non-fiction novel was to show six insignificant products that we see, use or have heard of in everyday life and bring them into a different light. Showing how they have sculpted our cultures and ways of life in the modern world. These six products were beverages ; beer, wine , spirits, coffee, tea, and coca-cola. These drinks affected more than just the diet of people it changed their societies and ways of living. Standageââ¬â¢s theory is that each one of these drinks brought on a new cultural stage. Each beverage showing different eras and how the beverage of that time impacted their way of life eventually impacting ours. Starting with beer in the first civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Then going to wine with Greece and Rome and spirits in the colonial times with Europians and eventually getting to America. Next, their was coffee that started in the Arab world traveling throughout Europe and finally Coca-cola which started selling its drink in America and out broke to throughout the rest of world. His intent was to show the history of the world in which humans were not nomadic in the view of six different drinks. Standage presented his thesis in a very interesting and intriguing way throughout this novel. There are six main Chapters in this book ;Beer in Mesopotamia and Egypt, Wine in Greece and Rome,Spirits in the colonial Period, Coffee in the Age of Reason, Tea and the British Empire, and Coca-Cola and the Rise of America. Each main chapter has two mini chapters in them for example in the chapter Tea and the British Empire the two mini chapters are ; Empires of tea and Tea Power. Standageââ¬â¢s writing mostly focased on the beverages causes and effects in the different areas and lands they were most popular and developed but he would add things about the people of these times and their way of living. He also added some traditions that we have in todayââ¬â¢s culture that were created in ancient times such as clinking glasses together for good health and happiness before drinking a glass of beer. His book shows how six measly little drinks changed humans from nomadic people who were hunter- gatherers to people who lived in cities and developed writing, government and farming. Standage showed the history of the world in six drinks hence the title A History of the World in Six Glasses. Most everyday people would think these drinks were Sarah Bedell 9/4/14 A. P. World History Mrs. Spampinato The History of the World in Six Glasses : Book Review The book ,The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage is a book dedicated to beverages and there impact on cultures and civilizations. Tom Standageââ¬â¢s intent for this non-fiction novel was to show six insignificant products that we see, use or have heard of in everyday life and bring them into a different light. Showing how they have sculpted our cultures and ways of life in the modern world. These six products were beverages ; beer, wine , spirits, coffee, tea, and coca-cola. These drinks affected more than just the diet of people it changed their societies and ways of living. Standageââ¬â¢s theory is that each one of these drinks brought on a new cultural stage. Each beverage showing different eras and how the beverage of that time impacted their way of life eventually impacting ours. Starting with beer in the first civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Then going to wine with Greece and Rome and spirits in the colonial times with Europians and eventually getting to America. Next, their was coffee that started in the Arab world traveling throughout Europe and finally Coca-cola which started selling its drink in America and out broke to throughout the rest of world. His intent was to show the history of the world in which humans were not nomadic in the view of six different drinks. Standage presented his thesis in a very interesting and intriguing way throughout this novel. There are six main Chapters in this book ;Beer in Mesopotamia and Egypt, Wine in Greece and Rome,Spirits in the colonial Period, Coffee in the Age of Reason, Tea and the British Empire, and Coca-Cola and the Rise of America. Each main chapter has two mini chapters in them for example in the chapter Tea and the British Empire the two mini chapters are ; Empires of tea and Tea Power. Standageââ¬â¢s writing mostly focased on the beverages causes and effects in the different areas and lands they were most popular and developed but he would add things about the people of these times and their way of living. He also added some traditions that we have in todayââ¬â¢s culture that were created in ancient times such as clinking glasses together for good health and happiness before drinking a glass of beer. His book shows how six measly little drinks changed humans from nomadic people who were hunter- gatherers to people who lived in cities and developed writing, government and farming. Standage showed the history of the world in six drinks hence the title A History of the World in Six Glasses. Alcoholic beverage. (2017, Feb 23).
Thursday, February 13, 2020
The Future of Harmonization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words
The Future of Harmonization - Essay Example This growth has led to a rising demand for the legal system to work together as well as the need for harmonization. Note that increase in trade is not the main reason why there should be a legal system taking care of activities in the market. The growth provides a base and context where harmonization of sales law should be approached. For a contract to be recognized it has to pass through a number of legal systems so as to keep problems in check. If there is an absence of coordinated law, then the private international law can be used to keep things sane. These rules may be difficult to apply if the governing law has been established. The traders may be forced to apply the local legal system which does not keep in mind the needs of an international standard. It may be worse if there is a lack of enforcement mechanisms in certain jurisdictions. A history of harmonization It is therefore of no doubt that international sales are in dire need for a harmonious legal system which will bypa ss local boundaries to be international. ... The United Nations took part in the regulation of international trade rules after the Second World War. It created many international organizations and developed a United Nations Commission on International Trade law which did well in trying to find a solution to a harmonious law which could be used globally. It was this group that came up with CISG as its first efforts to harmonization of trade among the different stake holders. Many regional organizations came into existence in this period. There was the European Union, Common market of the Southern Cone, North American Free Trade Agreement, Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa and Southern African Development Community. The main reason why these organizations emerged was due to commercial and economic development. Harmonization of Business Law in Africa steered a number if ministers to have a need in adopting a collection of laws that will be effective in member stake holders (member countries)3. These laws were beyond the countriesââ¬â¢ legal system. Harmonization activities are slow because of different countries having different believes and traditions therefore different laws. Harmonization of sales laws can take place in two levels which are the regional level and international level. Soft law vs. hard law Currently a lot of capital, time and man power is being spent on international harmonization and these efforts are not actually bearing any fruits4. An international convention is the vague process that has been used to solve this problem. The biggest issue about conversation is that much is talked about but little is done. ââ¬Å"By intervening in the legal market place, underestimating public distrust and legal disagreement as well as insisting on uniformity,
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Homework 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1
Homework 1 - Assignment Example By much the same token, the United States is viewed with similar incredulity in the Muslim Middle East. Equating its support for Israel as cowardice and subservience to the Israel lobby, the caricatures of the United States that exist within the Middle East are nonetheless frightening. Ultimately, a fundamental misunderstanding lies at the core of why the continued ill will exists between these two groups of people. The main cause of frustration and indignation against the United States that exists within the Middle East is with respect to the continuous and unyielding support for the state of Israel. By much the same token, the majority of the frustration that is exhibited within the United States towards individuals within the Middle East is born out of the faulty understanding that there is some sort of invisible link to radical Islamic terrorism that exists just beneath the surface of each individual from this
Friday, January 24, 2020
Dr. Jeffrey MacDonalds Fight for Innocence Essay -- Dr. Jeffrey MacDo
Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald's Fight for Innocence Debated as one of the most misrepresented cases in American legal history, Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald still fights for innocence. Contrary to infallible evidence, prosecution intentionally withheld crucial information aiding MacDonaldââ¬â¢s alibi. Such ratification included proof of an outside attack that would have played a major role in Jeffreyââ¬â¢s case. Convicted for the murders of his wife and two kids, thirty-four years ago, Dr. MacDonald still endures the agony of being accused of killing his family. Even after twenty-four years of imprisonment and several unlawful court hearings, additional documentation continues to up hold Dr. MacDonaldââ¬â¢s testimony. It happened on a rainy night on February 17, 1970 at the base of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Military police were responding to a call from Green Beret surgeon Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, which they thought was a routine call. When the military police arrived they discovered the slaughtered bodies of MacDonaldââ¬â¢s wife, Colette, who was twenty six, and his two daughters Kimberley, five, and Kristen, two. A MP who preformed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation revived Dr. MacDonald. He told the police he and his wife stayed up drinking some orange liquor. She went to bed and he stayed up to finish watching the Johnny Carson show. MacDonald fell asleep on the sofa. He was awakened by screams of his wife and daughters. MacDonald claimed that three men standing over the sofa started to attack him with a bladed weapon and a baseball bat. He identified the person holding the bat as a black man with an army jacket with E-6 stripes and two white men, one carrying the bladed weapon. Before he was knocked unconscious he said that there was a lady in the back with a large floppy hat, holding a candle and was saying ââ¬Å"acid is groovyâ⬠and ââ¬Å"kill the pigs.â⬠When MacDonald woke back up he found his wife lying on the ground, and tried to revive her with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation with no success. He then found his daughters and tried to help them. This is when he called for an ambulance. The Army CID sent a new, inexperienced investigator named William Ivory to investigate the scene. Ivory decided after looking around the house that MacDonald made up the story of the killers. He also persuaded everyone that he was the culprit. This meant that everyone in Ivoryââ¬â¢s chain... ...t his the evidence in front of a jury. Still believing in his innocence Jeff is filing for parole after fourteen years of eligibility. He is hoping to meet parole board criteria so he can be released on parole. This is a good case to show how it isnââ¬â¢t always the poor, black, or Hispanic groups getting tried for something they havenââ¬â¢t done. It shows that a white doctor could get his life destroyed by an unfair Judge and prosecutors. Works Cited Briscoe, Daren, MacDonald Wants Out. Newsweek, January 24, 2005. Vol. 145, Issue 4, p8, 1/4p, 1c. Retrieved from EBSCO database on the World Wide Web: http://web3.epnet.com/ Briscoe, Daren, The Green Beret Murders Havenââ¬â¢t Given Up. Newsweek, August 30, 2004. Vol. 144, Issue 9, p6, 4/5p, 1c. Retrieved from EBSCO database on the World Wide Web: http://web3.epnet.com/ Http://www.themacdonaldcase.org/case_overview.html Http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/jmacdonald/2.html?sect=12 The Associated Press, DNA Tests for Jeffrey MacDonald/ Former Physician Seeks Evidence in 1970 ââ¬ËFatal Visionââ¬â¢ Slayings. Newsday. March 24, 1999. Retrieved from eLibrary on the World Wide Web: http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/libweb/
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