When given the opportunity, should people choose to escape imprisonment or should they welcome death? In the cases of Socrates and Assata Shakur, they were both found guilty of crimes and the law ordered them to die. Socrates felt obligated to obey the law and die but I agree with Assata Shakur’s decision to escape.
In the Crito, Socrates is awaiting execution in prison for impiety and corrupting the youth. His impiety is based off his questioning and disbelieving the traditional gods, and his corrupting and teaching the youth to do the same. Crito arrives at the prison after having arranged a potential escape opportunity for Socrates, and they proceed to debate whether it would be just for Socrates to escape.
Socrates argues that while the
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In Shakur’s case neither justice was served, as not only was she wrongly convicted but her trial is widely considered unfair by majority of her supporters. In May 1973, Shakur was arrested after being wounded in a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike that involved New Jersey State Troopers Werner Foerster and James Harper and BLA members Sundiata Acoli and Zayd Malik Shakur. Harper was wounded; Zayd was killed; Foerster was killed by Acoli. Shakur was charged with murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, bank robbery, and kidnapping in relation to the shootout and six other incidents. Under New Jersey's "aiding and abetting" statute, the prosecution did not need to prove that Shakur fired the shots that killed either Foerster or Zayd Shakur. In 1977, she was convicted of the murder of Foerster and seven other felonies related to the shootout, in a trial her supporters argue was unfair. Under New Jersey's "aiding and abetting" statute, the prosecution did not need to prove that Shakur fired the shots that killed either Foerster or Zayd Shakur. In my opinion, the ultimate goal in justice is actually achieving justice and that we establish procedures that we think will achieve justice. When those procedures fail to do so, we are obligated to alter or override the