Monster Conflict Essay: Innocence Vs. Guilt

Guilty! Most defense attorney believe in the principle that says,’ better 10 guilty go free than even one possibly innocent person being convicted’. In the novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers, Steve Harmon is a 16 year old boy from Harlem, New York that was accused of being a look out for a robbery. This robbery resulted in the killing of the of the owner, Mr.Nesbitt, and became a felony murder. Steve is put on trial that could result in 25 years to life in prison if he was guilty. He gets the verdict of not guilty since there is room for reasonable doubt, and is released from jail. Steve is definitely guilty since the jury was not able to read his journal and think his thoughts.

Before the trial, Steve is already scared of what the outcome is and how he might spend his whole life in jail and starts doubting his chances of being found not guilty. During the trial, Steve starts hearing the things the prosecutor is saying and sees the people who are testifying against him, which is already not putting him in a good state of mind, and this combines with him seeing his father who looks very scared of Steve, and this all gives Steve disappointment. After the trial, Steve is found not guilty and gets to return home and we next hear from him five months later where we see his father had left him and that Steve doesn’t even know who he is, which shows that he feels damaged. With all of this in mind, we can see that Steve, a dark-skinned, sixteen-year-old boy, has gone through a change from being afraid to feeling lost with himself through doubt, disappointment, and damage. Image how other people feel in

Perceptions from others can be cruel. Criminals are often thought of negatively by themselves and are also disrespected by others in society. The novel Monster presents the impressions people have about Steve Harmon, an accused criminal on trial for robbery and murder. Furthermore, the text explains Steve’s views of himself during and after time in prison from first person point-of-view. The novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers highlights the various perceptions that exist about an accused criminal.

The book ended ambiguously and left the reader to question whether or not Steve was truly innocent. Because of the numerous questionable scenes/parts in the novel, I believe that Steve Harmon is guilty of being a participant in the crime that led to death of Mr. Nesbitt. Would a man who was innocent continuously change his story? Steve’s statements regarding his whereabouts and what he was doing on the day of the murder is inconsistent. Steve stated that he just went inside

The script introduces the viewers to the typical behavior and the state of mind of these jurors, who surprisingly turn out to be the last to change their opinions from “guilty” to “not guilty”. Juror#3 the frustrated father whose personal conflicts and experiences influence his view of the accused’s crime is very desperate to make it clear that his mind is already made up before the deliberations even start. Similar

Juror Eight’s passionate opinion about the defendant’s innocence helps persuade the other jurors to change their view on the matter. The defendant faces the death penalty if the jury votes him guilty for the first degree murder of his father. Immediately after the first half of the trial the jury converges in the conference room and takes their first vote. The main protagonist, Juror Eight, becomes clear when the results of the first vote are told to be eleven to one in favor of guilty.

The emotion expressed by this juror created an atmosphere where his decision of the young boy’s life was dominated by his personal life rather than the murder case. Another example was when Juror number 5 changed his vote from guilty to not guilty because he could connect with the accused based on his

This paper will consist of an analysis of the case presented in the podcast Serial. The podcast Serial is based on a first degree murder case in Baltimore, Maryland, USA that took place on January 13th, 1999. The case consisted of Adnan Syed, a 17-year-old Muslim boy attending his final year of high school being charged with the first degree murder of his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. 16 years later, Adnan is adamant that he did not commit the crime, however he is still serving a life sentence for her death. In relation to the case, alibi believability, polygraphs, psychopathy, interrogations, inconsistencies within Jay’s story and confessions will be discussed throughout this paper.

Steve believes that he is a monster. He dislikes being on trial and does not want to be in jail anymore. The book Monster was written by Walter Dean Myers. He wrote about a boy named Steve Harmon. Steve has been put in jail for felony murder, later on he gets put on trial.

If he’s declared innocent he walks free. The film essentially boils down into one question. What is the value of human life? The individual jurors each have their own biases which are formed from their past experiences. I want to begin by looking at juror member 8, our protagonist, the juror who from the start pleads that the dedendant is not

The art of storytelling is one full of powerful devices. In Sarah Koenig’s Serial, our world is crammed full of narrative acrobatics and linguistic precariousness, courtesy of a podcast so grounded in language, the audience is ultimately lead to one of the most prevalent themes: ambiguity. Koenig consistently provides her listeners with such damning evidence throughout the podcast, and then almost always provides a stream of doubt: “Maybe Adnan misspoke… maybe he’s lying… maybe he’s hiding something…”. Serial becomes a courtroom, Sarah Koenig becomes the defense and prosecution, and the podcast’s audience becomes the new jury to the Adnan Syed case. However, unlike Adnan’s real jury, who left the courtroom with enough conviction to sentence

Perry’s disturbing past urges both the reader and the townspeople to view the culprit’s entire story from a moral standpoint. Thus, this causes them to empathize with him and question whether such a brutal punishment should be inflicted upon a man who may potentially have mental issues. The uncertainty that arises in the minds of the townspeople is portrayed in the prosecutor’s conversation with the newsman after Perry is hanged.

In the court of law, everyone is guilty until proven innocent. Thus, Hobart Ison was guilty when killing Hugh O’ Connor. Though by law Hobart was a murderer, many question that very decision. Though a killer, locals of urban Kentucky would argue that his actions are justifiable. Elizabeth Barret creates Stranger with a Camera as a tool to look into those justifications and see the reasons Ison murdered O’Connor.

People act upon what they think. Within “12 Angry Men”, all of the jurors have an opinion but some voice their more than others. One juror in particular, Juror Ten, voices his opinion about the boy in question. Repeatedly throughout the play, Juror Ten makes many thoughtless and hurtful comments about a certain kind of people. It is clear that Juror Ten’s uncompromising belief that the accused is guilty is because of his dislike for the boy’s race.

‘Twelve Angry Men’ written by Reginald Rose, is based on the story of a jury who have to come together to determine the fate of a young boy accused to have murdered his own father. Initially, eleven of the jurors vote not guilty with one of the juror being uncertain of the evidence put before them. As the men argue over the different pieces of evidence, the insanity begins to make sense and the decision becomes clearer as they vote several other times. Rose creates drama and tension in the jury room, clearly exploring through the many issues of prejudice, integrity and compassion, in gaining true justice towards the accused victim. These aspects have been revealed through three character who are Juror 10, Juror 8 and Juror 3.