First, I want to examine a particularly critical review of Alexander’s text by Joseph D. Osel. According to Joseph D. Osel’s, “while Alexander’s book claims to be concerned with exposing and describing the history and mechanisms of mass incarceration of the American ‘caste system,’ which affect the poor and people of color systematically and disproportionately, her work systematically, strangely, and empathically excludes these voices” (OSEL Whitewash). Osel goes on to contend that Alexander’s work provides the history of criminal justice and imprisonment with a “vast rhetorical and historical facelift where the most relevant and affected voices on the topic at hand are safely expunged from the discussion, from relevance, from history” (OSEL
Chapter One: Introduction During the English Civil War, in the 1640s, the Earl of Clarendon came up with a novel wheeze: rather than allow those presumed to be parliamentarian enemies to claim the benefit of the rule of law, he would establish a prison on an island off the British shoreline. That way, he reasoned, they could be safely forgotten, buried along with their legal rights. When parliament later looked back on this dark chapter of British history, they passed the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 to ensure that never again would an unpopular group of people be denied justice. Clarendon was impeached by the House of Commons and fled to France, where he died in exile.
Author and lawyer Bryan Stevenson chronicles the unjust and inhumane stories of multiple prisoners throughout the South. He tries to appeal and save each individual from unethical sentences that were handed down upon them. Stevenson uses this book as way to shine a very bright light on the unfair practices and sentences that consistently happen throughout American court rooms to the mentally ill and the vulnerable. He is able to provide a prologue for each prisoner and case he encounters that provides crucial information that can potentially alter whether each client would end up dying in prison, or have the potential to see life outside of cement walls and bars. Stevenson is able to show readers the unfair practices of not only prosecutors
Introduction For my paper, I chose case study number one that follows Mr. John Burke who committed the crime of first-degree murder. I will explain the process John Burke’s crime and what process he will be going through while in the American criminal justice system. This process includes a number of steps starting with Mr. Burke’s initial arrest and later ending with Mr. Burke’s subsequent release from prison and entry back into society on his own unsupervised. I will also touch on what I feel are the strongest and weakest parts of our criminal justice system, and I will give supporting evidence to my claims. Brief Description of the Crime John Burke
Halfway through the 18th century, the United States was serving as a model for prisons. Dix was revolutionary in reforming prisons. She convinced states to invest in libraries, basic education, and more care for the men, women, and even children imprisoned in the jails and penitentiaries whereas abuse regularly occurred (Parry). Pennsylvania was a key role model for prisons all over the United States. This state’s prisons were known for having “two of the best prisons in the world” (“Prison and Asylum
Intricacies of an oppressive system are explored in depth in Richardson's book, where seemingly impossible
The acclaimed journalist provided readers with his first-hand account of the day to day happenings that transpire inside the penal system from a correctional officer’s point of view. Conover wrote the following: “The bottom line was that you could ‘lay hands on or strike an inmate’ if necessary for self defense, to prevent injury to a person or to property, to quell a disturbance, to enforce compliance with a lawful direction, or to prevent an escape” (Conover, 2000). The second-to-last requirement listed by Conover is one of the most significant pieces of information given to newly appointed officers. It can also be the most dangerous if interpreted too literally and practiced without proper discretion. Conover’s prison chief and senior officers essentially had the perception of “absolute authority” ingrained within them.
After arguing the failure of prisons, Mendieta establishes his agreement with Davis’ anti-prison rhetoric without introducing the author, her book, or other various abolitionist efforts, “I will also argue that Davis’s work is perhaps one of the best philosophical as well as political responses to the expansion of the prison system...” (Mendieta 293). The article’s author also assumes that readers are familiar with specific torture tactics used on prisoners,“...the United States is facing one of its most devastating moral and political debacles in its history with the disclosures of torture at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and other such prisons…” (293). Mendieta’s act of assuming that readers will already be familiar with Angela Davis and her work, as well as the specific methods of torture used by certain prisons, may cause readers to feel lost while reading the
In an excerpt from "Debtors' Prisons (2)," Samuel Johnson argues that detaining debtors in prison only because they owe money is both immoral, and unwise for both economic and humanitarian reasons. He uses pathos and logos in order to convince British lawmakers to end the use of these gaols and no longer allow creditors to imprison their debtors. Johnson establishes with his audience that he has a higher knowledge than them by giving them many specific facts about the impacts of debtors prisons on society. In a substantial amount of this excerpt, Johnson appeals to the humanity and emotions of his readers.
George Orwell’s novel, 1984, thoroughly outlines the aspects of dystopian society, dictated by a totalitarian government of English Socialism. This novel preludes to a meaning much deeper than what is perceived from the events of the protagonist, Winston Smith, and his acquiesce against Big Brother. In order to decipher the uprooted meaning of this text, a formalist perspective can be used to analyze the literal aspects of a novel - particularly, in accordance to tension and ambiguity within a setting. Winston Smith was soundly proficient at his job in the Ministry of Truth. The Records Department “is connected with the happenings of the story” as it is a crucial location for conflict to arise, ultimately adding to the plot of the story (Bloom, Edward.
Few remember that not just the indicted are changed in the prison system-the authority figures become different, too. Thousands of people go to detention facilities and stay there from minutes to decades, but the authority figures stay there with every influx of new prisoners. The wardens, in particular, are a monumental part of the system. They regulate the prisoners causing them to adapt to situations, whether positive or negative. Samuel Norton, the warden in the adaptation of Stephen King’s Shawshank Redemption, is embodied by the atmosphere of the prison.
One of the most effective and crucial programs for women’s health is currently under attack by the so-called president of the United States, Donald Trump. In an attempt to convince the people that he is willing to stand up for everyone, including the unborn, but instead, Mr. Trump is oppressing women and taking away their rights as human beings. Without Planned Parenthood, 2.5 million men and women would be left without affordable, high-quality health care. One in five women have visited a Planned Parenthood in their lifetime. The fact that all of the care and help Planned Parenthood gives can all be lost due to something as petty as abortion services is almost laughable.
“Literature is thought provoking; it allows us to raise questions and gives us a deeper understanding of issues and situations. " The novel Jasper Jones allows us to raise questions about today 's contemporary society. It mirrors issues in a certain historical context but also issues which are evident today. The novel not only portrays abuse of power as being one of the most important issues in the 1950’s to the 1960’s but also in the 21st century.
I started talking to you back in December. You solicited me. It’s funny, my dorm friend had brought you up. We started with other stuff. I kept getting calls from a girl I had just broken up with, so we talked about that.
Living through the first half of the twentieth century, George Orwell watched the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Soviet Union. Fighting in Spain, he witnessed the brutalities of the fascists and Stalinists first hand. His experiences awakened him to the evils of a totalitarian government. In his novel 1984, Orwell paints a dark and pessimistic vision of the future where society is completely controlled by a totalitarian government. He uses symbolism and the character’s developments to show the nature of total power in a government and the extremes it will go through to retain that power by repressing individual freedom and the truth.
