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The Killing Of Kitty Genovese Research Paper

1047 Words5 Pages

Erick Rubalcava
Mrs. O’Grady
Period 4, English Honors II
28/02/2023
Conformity? Or Murder?
(Are we even safe infront of a crowd?)

Would you expect someone to help you if you were being murdered? “The Killing of Kitty Genovese” by Michael Dorman. In the early hours of March 13, 1964, Catherine Susan Genovese known as Kitty Genovese was stabbed and killed after her shift as a bartender in Brooklyn, New York. This ghastly scene happened in the presence of 38 of her neighbors, and not one of them tried to help her or stop the man that was doing this horrific act. Genovese’s neighbors watched her as she was stabbed and attacked for 50 minutes, and the only type of help she got was, a man yelling from his window, “Let that girl alone”. Which caused …show more content…

Detectives investigating Genovese's murder discovered that no fewer than 38 of her neighbors had witnessed at least one of her killer's three attacks but had neither come to her aid nor called the police (Michael Dorman). This piece of information ties to the bystander effect, especially because it shows that amongst the large group of bystanders (her neighbors), not one tried to stop or help the situation. Recent and past news events involving bystanders who witness but do not report or help victims in crisis have led concerned citizens in the state of California, and across the country, to lobby their state representatives to create stronger Good Samaritan laws. My own view is the state of California needs a new bystander law that would require an individual to report or assist another person in imminent danger or peril or face substantial fines, possible jail time, and/or both, if they can do so without putting themselves or others in danger because It will decrease crime since people will be less likely to commit crimes and hurt other people when they know someone will report it, if one person helps it means more people will be more likely to help …show more content…

This shows how by helping, you can not only better the situation, but also make things better for you. A recent interview by, Sweeneylawfirm, shows how they feel about having the bystander law set. They think that it will potentially gain them services, because more people will be alive to tell the tale and serve the defendants. From personal experience, I have helped someone in a situation that could have gotten me hurt. So the common argument from above isn’t wrong. But when I helped the person in need, they thanked me for taking them out of the situation that they were in. If I had not helped them, the same thing could have happened to

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