In all three mediums, the authors and presenters are all averse to the ideas of minors being tried as adults, death row and solitary confinement. I agree in all three cases. Minors should not be tried as adults because they are not adults. While there should be some level of culpability for their actions, it should never reach the point where they are tried as anything other than a juvenile. Many youth, for no other reason than biological constraints, lack the psychological maturity to make logical and well-reasoned choices. For that reason, they should not be condemned for a crime they committed in their youth, for their entire lives. I do not believe in solitary confinement because in all of the materials I’ve read, all it does is cause mental …show more content…
Throughout the novel he uses imagery and expressive language often to paint as vivid of a picture he can, without the use of visual effects. This causes the reader to be immersed within his memoir and to experience and live through what he felt. He attempts to humanize himself and those around him when media seeks to do the exact opposite. In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson uses anecdotes and statistics to show that being tried as an adult is an unjust act. In Chapter 8, Bryan recalls the story of several children tried as adults, but Trina’s story affected me the most. Trina was a sexually abused child who while visiting a friend, lit their house on fire, killing the two boys she intended to visit. She was given life in prison and tried as an adult. Bryan continues with these personal stories of child with mental illnesses and psychological trauma being condemned to life under the system, he does not condone it but asks his audience to …show more content…
Kalief was charged for a petty crime, accused of stealing a backpack. He was given a bail of ten thousand dollars, which he could not afford and was sent to prison. While in prison for three years, he was in solitary confinement for two of them and eventually, his mental health deteriorated beyond repair. He attempted suicide various times and when finally freed, he was successful. His solitary confinement broke this young man, stealing the life of a 22 year old because the criminal justice system “focuses on punishment and not
Currently, the United States holds 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners (eji.org), which comes out to around 2.3 million inmates. 10,000 of these prisoners are children housed in adult facilities. 20,000 of these prisoners are wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit (huff post). 356,000 are seriously mentally ill (treatment advocacy). One million of these convicts are African Americans (NAACP).
At the age of 16 years old Alonza Thomas, a typical teenage boy, was given a 13 year sentence for second degree armed robbery. It all started when he ran away from home; his mother was upset with him so he left to avoid dealing with the problem. He met someone while trying to find a place to stay and he offered him a place to sleep and some hot food. When Alonza had finally decided it was time for him to go home and face his mother, they demanded that he repay them somehow. They held him at gun point, making it apparent that they weren’t going to back down if he went against what they wanted.
In the Supreme Court case Roper v. Simmons, I believe the way this case ended helped the youth of our country. It seems to me the execution of juveniles is completely cruel and as well violates the 8th and 14th amendments of the constitution. As well, I feel as if the brain and maturity of a minor is nowhere close to being developed fully, most researchers say the brain doesn’t fully develop until you're about the age of 25. I also believe that the execution of juveniles is completely inhumane due to not allowing the person to experience the maturity of being an adult and taking responsibility for your actions. Overall, juveniles are not ready to be brought into the big world yet, and there is nothing small about the punishment of execution.
Remember that special bird that always seems to be belting its cheerful tunes? Has anyone ever told you to appreciate the bird’s special knack for singing? Or rather, to do no harm to the frail animal since, after all, “It's a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee, pg.119). Harper Lee took this aphorism and turned it on its head: she gave this phrase a new meaning by creating the critically acclaimed novel, To Kill A Mockingbird starring the brother sister duo, Scout and Jem, both of whom constantly finding themselves in the most unlikely but simultaneously relatable predicaments. The audience follows the pair through their highs and lows in a key coming of age story.
“There is a strength, a power even, in understanding brokenness, because embracing our brokenness creates a need and desire for mercy, and perhaps a corresponding need to show mercy (Stevenson 109) .” This bold statement is one of many as Bryan Stevenson sets the tone for his renowned award winning novel Just Mercy. As a young lawyer from Georgia, built the foundation for his company, SPDC (Southern Prisoners Defense Committee) to help convicts that are on death row or in need a second chance. Bryan Stevenson, a young lawyer from Georgia who fought for justice on the behalf of inmates on death row, showed tremendous intelligence in becoming a successful lawyer, demanding for not backing down in moments of refusal, and was an overall advocate
No one can defeat Death There once was a young woman, who strived to be immortal, this caused her to bind herself away from the world for years. She decided one day that she had conquered death by changing her fate and goes to venture the town where she met a strange man, who insults her, filled with anger she decides to go after him where she faces death. A very similar situation is portrayed in “The Masque of the Red Death” with the character Prince Prospero, who believes that he has changed his fate by locking himself in his palace for years but this doesn’t end well for him as he faces death in his own home. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, written by Edgar Allen Poe, irony and symbolism to is used prove that death is inevitable.
There are many victims of unfortunate circumstances in the world today, yet some of these results could have been easily avoided. In the novel, Just Mercy, the author Bryan Stevenson addresses many cases in which children under the age of 18 are incarcerated within the adult criminal justice system. By treating children as adults in the criminal justice system their innocence and undeveloped person, become criminalized. These children become dehumanized and only viewed as full-fledged criminals and as a result society offers no chance sympathy towards them. Stevenson argues that children tried as adults have become damaged and traumatized by this system of injustice.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that it is immoral to give juveniles life sentences, even if they commit a crime as serious as murder, because it is a cruel and unusual punishment. This has been an issue in America as teenagers are often treated as adults in court due to a belief that their crimes warrant a harsh punishment. Many believe that these kids should not be given such major sentences because they are still immature and do not have the self control that adults do. I agree that juveniles do not deserve life sentences because they put less thought and planning into these crimes and they often are less malicious than adults. The article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” explains that the teenagers lose brain tissue that is responsible for self control and impulses (Thompson 7).
— Last night our nation saw the pains and struggles that Ms. Venida Browder lived with for so many years. Ms. Browder, the mother of Kalief Browder, shared her son with us one last time, as the nation watched “The Kalief Browder Story”. Kalief Browder was arrested in 2010, at the age of 16, as he was headed home in the Bronx. Mr. Browder would be, accused of, and charged with robbery –and given a bail of $3,000.
All the other prisoners were taking advantage of him and abusing him, Charlie was clearly terrified and had been through horrors that are worse than anyone’s deepest nightmares. Charlie might now think that every adult place is just like this prison. A child never belongs with adults especially in a place that could be deadly. Bryan heard the cry out for help and hurried to do something about it, “[...] I told them that the child had been sexually abused and raped.
Bryan Stevenson generated an inspiring and serious voice in his memoir Just Mercy. The novel by Stevenson is something that weighs on the reader’s heart due to the naked truth revealed in almost every case presented to the audience. The tragic and real events throughout the book are heavy and difficult to grasp, especially when all of the events happened recently. Every chapter exploits the raw corruption of the justice systems, as well as the proof that there are good and just people in the world. Stevenson tells half of the story from his perspective, and the other half as a third party narrator.
Markus Zusak uses literary device to help understand and get the true meaning of the book. In the novel, the author helps and shows you flashbacks give you hints and information about the person or event. Telling backstory for various characters, and flashes forward in the book. He shows this when “Flash Forward to the basement, September 1943.”
Juvenile Justice Essay In the United States, there have been many cases where a juvenile would be found guilty and be tried as an adult. There are other cases where those juveniles are tried as adult forever. I am against charging juveniles as adults when they commit violent crimes, the juveniles lose many educational opportunities and the adult system is far too dangerous for the young juveniles. Juveniles are also young kids but only the fact that they do not get the same amount of education or experience that other teens gain.
Can you imagine waking up behind closed walls and bars? Waking up to see your inmate who is a 45-year-old bank robber and you are a 14-year-old minor who made a big mistake. This is why minors who have committed crimes should not be treated the same as adults. Some reasons are because the consequences given to minors in adult court would impact a minor’s life in a negative way. If a minor is tried through a juvenile court, they have a greater chance of rehabilitation.
One of the alternatives is that it gives the juvenile a second chance to redeem themselves if they 're not tried as adults for their crimes. Instead of spending the rest of the child’s life in jail they can go into rehab and hopefully continue on to a better path. Life in jail as a minor is considered a cruel and unusual punishment because they are at higher risks of rape and sexual assault. Philip Holloway from CNN was taught that minors are more salvageable than adults. I slightly agree with that statement because children barely started living their lives and their brain is not fully developed unlike an adult where their brain is.