Opinions are great, they start conversations and or even solve problems but having an opinion in the justice system can be overwhelming when you are a nun. Dead Man Walking is a Novel written by sister Helen Prejean, she describes in depth about her experiences in being pen-pals with two death sentenced inmates in Louisiana’s State Penitentiary located in Angola. Going through spiritual transformations she decided she was against the death penalty, after exchanging several notes and letter with the first inmate she came in contact with. Elmo Patrick Sonnier, number 9528, was convicted of murdering a lovely couple after kidnapping both and rapping the female. This crime was taken place with the help of Sonnier’s brother, Eddie. Eddie is serving …show more content…
I learned that you have to listen to everyone even if it seems like they will not have information needed you will never know unless you just listen to what they have to say because it is easy to incriminate the innocent but difficult to prove their innocence. This nonfiction book help me shaped my thoughts on the death penalty by opening my eyes to the truth, truth is that not everything is what it seems and not every offender is completely guilty for the crime they have been accused of. I now comprehend that each crime is different and sometimes it does include two offenders and even though those two offenders committed the crime and worked together to fulfill the goal to break a law, the Justice System is not always right and the sentences they give out are not always the correct ones. I am for the death penalty, although I have never lost a family member due to a criminal act, I still consider the death penalty a perfect sentence for someone who commits a crime of high risk so I agree with Harvey. Reading this novel has not changed my thoughts on the American Legal system, I have background knowledge on how the system works and I fully comprehend the advantages of being wealthy and getting trouble with the law. The more money you have the easier it is to get out of trouble or gain benefits …show more content…
It claims to be but that is not the system’s fault, it is the people who work for it. I am living in hopes that myself and the generation I work with will be able to fully serve justice to America and sentence those who need to be in prison or sentenced with the death penalty in equality due to their case and the crime they
Introduction The book that I selected is called “Getting Life” by Michael Morton, who is a man that was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife in Texas in 1986. This book takes us from a happy young couple to the day of the murder, through the investigation into his wife’s murder, Michael’s trial and conviction, 25 years in prison, appeals, release from prison, and reintegration into society. One unique fact about this case is that is the first case where the prosecutor in a wrongful conviction case was subsequently convicted of prosecutorial misconduct, stripped of their law license and sentenced to serve time in jail.
I read the book Mumia ABU-Jamal Live From Death Row. This book has 3 parts.i know will talking about every part in the book. Mumia ABU-Jamal is writing this book from a State Correctional Institute at Huntington,PA.Now we are going to start talking about the book. The first part is about life on death row.
Editor Anna Quindlen wrote many articles and essays conveying her opinion toward the death penalty. Such as, “Death Penalty Fails to Equal Retribution” and “Public & Private; The High Cost of Death”. Although Anna Quindlen makes many valuable accusations regarding her reasoning to being opposed to the death penalty, she undermines the real purpose of the penalty itself. The Death penalty, is indeed necessary. Many of the accusations Anna proclaims permit to the emotions of the victims families that have been robbed of their loved one by the said killer.
Capital punishment has long been a heavily debated issue. In his article, “The Rescue Defence of Capital Punishment,” author Steve Aspenson make a moral argument in favor of capital punishment on the grounds that that is the only way to bring about justice and “rescue” murder victims. Aspenson argues as follows: 1. We have a general, prima facie duty to rescue victims from increasing harm. 2.
Famous American cereal killer, John Wayne Gacy, had murdered and raped 33 adolescents, many of whom were teenagers, the justice system made sure this man could never do this again. The public is turning a blind eye to the many contributions the justice system makes, we should look at not only how we can reform, but how it contributes to society The justice system creates many contributions to society, such as the safety it provides for children and their chances of exploitation, the many instances where they convict dangerous individuals therefore creating a safer environment for the present and future of society, and the fact it provides all citizens of the public and private sectors, to have the right to a fair, speedy, and public trial,
America’s criminal justice system need to make a change. We are constantly wasting millions of dollars on prison cells that won’t even be needed if they gave citizens who broke the law quick and easy punishments. In our society today many youths are being sentenced harsh punishments due to petty crimes, these harsh punishments include five or more years in prisons. Our criminal justice system is just plain corrupted and unreasonable. Judges show give fast punishments which are less severe to citizens who has broke small laws.
All in all, the judicial system has cracks in the foundation, but it is on the right track. Our system is not perfect but it is better than not having anything. The judicial system gives individuals the chance to prove their innocence and to fight for the
In the book, Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean who grew up in Louisiana and had gone through a spiritual transformation and pursued in social justice. To pursue in social justice she moved to St. Thomas housing projects in New Orleans where she observe the discrimination between black and white on crimes. She wrote about her journey as she is asked to become a pen pal for a death row inmate in a murder case by a friend from Coalition Prison. Patrick Sonnier was convicted for raping and murdering a young couple, David Leblanc and Loretta Bourque with his younger brother Eddie who received life in prison. Sister Helen explained that if a black person is killed it would barely make it to the newspaper but, if a white person is killed it would be a front page story.
Mercy. This is where one would be wrong. In the first couple chapters in the book readers are introduced to criminals put on death row with tragic backstories, many of which grew up poor and abused and in some cases have mental problems that in today’s world would not have lead these people to their death. The 1980s doesn’t seem that far away to us now, but to those that have read
The late, Louis Pojman, was a great American philosopher, who was known for his many writings such as A Defense of the Death Penalty. The death penalty has always been a very touchy subject for most people. People have their views of what they consider right or wrong. Philosopher Pojman was pro-death penalty, so naturally he had some who agreed with him and some that did not. As I read the “Best Bet” argument my opinion of murderers is that they deserve to be killed for their horrid actions.
In In Cold Blood, the issue over the death penalty is prominent. Did Perry and Dick deserve to die? Should the severity of one’s crime determine one’s fate? Although Truman Capote writes the novel in a straightforward, “from a distance” way, he conveys, through his characters, theme, and plot development, that the death penalty is an issue that should be looked at from all sides and that the legal system itself is the real issue at hand, and that the death penalty is used as a means to suppress the distress and indignation of the citizens surrounding the case, instead of suppressing the victim himself.
Death penalty or capital punishment is a legal procedure carried out by the government of a state which sentences a convicted person to death. Capital punishment has been a matter of controversy in various countries for decades now. In this essay, Coretta Scott King talks about why she is against the death penalty. The main purpose of this critique is to focus on King’s arguments and evaluate their authenticity and credibility.
In the village of Holcomb, Kansas a wealthy family, the Clutters, was murdered on November 14, 1959. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith were convicted of these murders and received the death penalty. In Truman Capote’s novel In Cold Blood, the audience receives different viewpoints on why Dick and Perry either deserved the death penalty or not. Though the decision to sentence someone to death should be based on the truth, the truth is not always easy to define; Capote shows this through his depiction of the controversial executions of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Criminal punishment is an immensely ongoing controversial and societal issue in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world.
Judges has various roles and2 duties in the constitutional democracy of Canada. They interpret the law, assess the evidence presented, and control how hearings and trials unfold in their courtrooms. Most important of all, judges are impartial decision-makers in the pursuit of justice. (Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, n.d.). The Canadian Judiciary is an adversarial system of justice and the legal cases are challenged between opposing sides, which assures that evidences and legal disputes will be completely and forcefully presented.
Waiting in a prison cell for many years, an inmate in death row doesn’t know when his life will come to an end. This is a law under the U.S. government that is allowed to kill people who have committed a crime that’s grave enough. If someone commits a capital crime, they will be punished legally under the law. Taking a rope to the neck, or charging volts to the brain, it’s what people are fighting against today. Organizations are taking action against the death penalty by researching, publishing, and exposing facts whenever officials want to abuse their power with the law.