The Latimer case has been a eye opening case for Canadians and especially persons with disabilities. In this assignment, first a summary then an analysis will be made of Yvonne Peters' 'Reflections on the Latimer case: The Rational for a disability right lens' where she provides us with her opinion and critique on the Latimer case.
The Latimer case is about a Saskatchewan man, Robert Latimer, that was charged with the murder of his disabled 12 year old daughter, Tracy Latimer. This case caused a public-wide debate on wether it was legally or morally acceptable for a father to take the life of his severely disabled daughter. Peters' mentions that the way individuals assess the case is based on what “lens” a person looks through1. First 'the punishment lens' challenges the rigidity of the Criminal Code based on the Latimer Case, then the 'sympathy
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First, 'Disability as a Social Construct', where her main argument is that “much of disability-based discrimination and disadvantage stems from the way society treats persons with disabilities rather then individual limitations”3. Then she continues on to 'Exclusion form the Workplace' where she argues that discriminating persons with disabilities from the workplace has become a norm, the response was to “remove individuals with disabilities from the community and into institutions of all kinds, including work houses, asylums, hospitals,prisons, and special schools” 4. Her third claim Disability as a Mental Defect, she introduces Jerome Bickenbach who observed that “the most commonly held belief about disablement is that it involves a defect, deficiency, dysfunction, abnormality, failing, or medical 'problem'”5. Peters last claim is The Shift to a disability Equality Rights
More recently than ever, the treatment and the representation of the disabled has become an important topic of discussion, with many disabled persons speaking out on the stereotypes of disability and lack of proper portrayal in the media. In her essay “Disability,” author Nancy Mairs describes her life as a woman living with multiple sclerosis, and she examens the lack of accurate portrayal of disability, especially in the media. Similarly, Andre Dubus adds to Mairs’ argument in his essay “Why the Able-Bodied Still Don’t Get It” by elaborating on how his life changed after becoming disabled, an experience that allowed him to understand why the disabled are still stereotyped and how this causes the abled-bodied to not fully understand what it’s
Tainted Justice System MINNEAPOLIS- In the case against Hannah Overton, who was wrongfully accused of killing her foster child by forcing salt down the child’s throat. Overton spent 17 years of her life sentence in prison, missing her 5 other kids grow up. She fell victim to a justice system that did not take the time for a fair prosecution process. This is just one case that represents a multitude of wrongfully prosecuted court cases.
Cerebral Vascular Accident Case Argument for Social Security Disability Income Determination I evaluated the following case study from Medical, Psychosocial and Vocational Aspects of Disabilities the fourth edition, Brodwin, Siu, Howard, Brodwin, & Du (2014) and presented a case argument including a vocational argument in favor of La Shaun Jackson’s award for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). “La Shaun Jackson is a 59-year old African American widow with an adopted 15-year old boy who has a record of substance abuse and juvenile delinquency. She has worked as a Claims Processor for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Fresno, California for over five years. Prior to returning to school to earn her Associates of Arts Degree in accounting,
Canada: A Comparative approach It seems fair that, following a critical analysis of the law in JC, another jurisdiction should be considered in order to facilitate a proper outlook on what may be needed, and what has worked elsewhere. This section is intended to outline the operation of the exclusionary rule in Canada. The Canadian courts rely on legislative enjoined exclusionary rules that are justified by judicial integrity.
An Analysis of DeShaney v. Winnebago County Social Services Randy DeShaney, father of Joshua DeShaney, spent more time beating his four-year-old son than he did in prison. (Reidinger 49) Joshua’s mother, Melody DeShaney, sued the Winnebago County Department of Social Services alleging that they had deprived her son of his Fourteenth Amendment right. In order to understand the DeShaney v. Winnebago County Social Services Supreme Court case one must establish the history, examine the case, and explain the future impacts. Establishing the history of DeShaney v. Winnebago County Social Services helps one to better understand the case.
“Only 50 years ago persons with intellectual disabilities were scorned, isolated and neglected. Today, they are able to attend school, become employed and assimilate into their local community” (Nelson Mandela). Prior to the later part of the 20th century people with intellectual disabilities were often ridiculed, treated unfairly, feared, and locked away in institutions. According to Rhonda Nauhaus and Cindy Smith in their article Disability Rights through the Mid-20th Century, The laws of any nation reflect its societal values. The real life issue of discrimination towards people with intellectual disabilities in the United States and Australia is demonstrated in the novel, Of Mice and Men by showing how this issue affects one of the main characters, Lennie Smalls.
Social welfare Policy Paper: Americans with Disabilities Act As social workers we have the opportunity to work with different populations of people. The population that I have decided to pursue are individuals with mental illness. Legislation can have a major impact on my career as well as the individuals we serve. In this paper I am going to discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it relates to Social work values.
When someone thinks of someone with a disability, they usually feel bad for them. They will also associate the word disability with a disadvantage. What if that wasn't true? What if instead of being at a disadvantage, people with disabilities just have to look at the task differently? As Oscar Pistorius, the
People with disabilities have faced several challenges with their own experience over time. Nancy Mairs, Andre Dubus, and Harriet McBryde Johnson are three different writers expressing their diverse experiences through essays. Each present their perspective in different angles but share similar themes of frustration, thriumphs, and the need for equality. Nancy Mairs is a strong woman who claims to be a feminist and has also been living with MS since her early MS diagnosis. Throughout her essay, Disability, she exposes the lack of representation of the disabled in media.
The assigned readings for today included chapters 3 and 4 of the book “Reconstructing Motherhood and Disability in the Age of ‘Perfect’ Babies”. The third chapter of the book is a discussion of the idea of “personhood”, and how disability affects personhood in babies with disabilities (Landsman, 2009). The fourth chapter is a discussion of parental diagnosis, the perceived infallibility of doctors, and denial vs. hopeful outlooks (Landsman, 2009). Based on what I have learned about personhood in other courses, it is the idea that a fetus should be prescribed the right to live, like any other “person”.
Individuals, who suffer from any type of disabilities, sadly live a different life due the societal stigma attached to it. The film When Billy Broke His Head and the reading Deaf Matters Compulsory Hearing and Ability Trouble both illustrate the hardships and struggles disabled individuals go through as a result of stereotypical misconceptions created by the media and the larger society. Firstly, exemplified in the media through a portrayal of disheartened characteristics like constant anger and bitterness about life, a misconception of an unapproachable individual starts to become produced. Through a continuous loop of negative illustrations of disability, an unawareness and lack of knowledge about certain disabilities, a stigma of this unfamiliar
n Nancy Mairs essay, “Disability”, she illustrates the lack of representation of people with disabilities in the media. While disability plays a major role in Mairs’ life, she points out the various ways her everyday life is ordinary and even mundane. Despite the normalcy of the lives of citizens with disabilities Mairs argues the media’s effacement of this population, is fear driven. She claims, “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something ordinary about the disability itself, that it may enter anybody’s life” (Mairs 14). Able bodied people worry about the prospect of eventually becoming physically impaired.
In Andre Dubus’ “Why the Able-Bodied Still Don’t Get It”, Dubus similarly describes how he recognizes himself being treated patronizingly by others. Furthermore, Dubus explains how prior to being hit by a car and losing the use of his legs, he had not understood the disabled community. While discussing this Dubus states, “I lacked the compassion and courage to imagine someone else’s suffering” (Dubus). This statement shows a perspective that is true for many people who do not understand how a disability affects one’s life, and Dubus is able to convey this message in his essay. Harriet McBryde Johnson also has a valuable perspective on disability representation and treatment that she argues in her essay “Should I Have Been Killed at Birth?”.
For anybody, being employed can have a crucial impact on their lives. It also has great importance on our social and material well being. Income, self-esteem, identity and sense of independence are just a number of benefits that people can gain from being an active and useful member of the workforce. Yet from a historical perspective, many disabled people have been denied such benefits because of their exclusion from mainstream social and societal activities such as worthwhile employment in particular. Interestingly, disable workers have in the past found themselves welcomed and encouraged into employment during time of shortage of able bodied workers during times of war (Barnes, Mercer & Shakespeare 1999, p.22).
In this report I will discuss both the Social and Medical Models, define their pros and cons and give a short reflection on my own opinion of the two models in everyday use today. Both the medical and the social models of disability describe how they see disability and how they feel disabilities and those suffering should be treated. Both models have very different views on the causes of, how disabilities should be taken care of and by whom and both have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to caring for those with disabilities. Medical Model