Essay On The Fifth Amendment

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The Fifth is for The people In America it is understood that everyone has certain rights at birth that are God given and cannot be taken away by man. The first ten amendments to the constitution, the bill of rights, is a list of these rights. The fifth amendment of the Constitution in the bill of rights states “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous, crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be put in jeopardy of life and limb; nor shall be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself; nor shall …show more content…

In the amendment , it is stated as “...nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be put in jeopardy of life and limb…”(Davis). The intent of this right is to prevent the government from trying someone for the same crime over and over until they are convicted. This occurrence was common under british rule so it was important that it was prevented in the Bill of rights. This right is scrutinized by some because of some rare cases of it being abused. One of these cases involved the murder of a fourteen year old African american boy named Emmett Till. He was murdered by two white men and his body dropped in the Tallahatchie River. The two men were taken to court and acquitted by an all white Mississippi jury (Emmett Till Murder Trial). The two murderers later admitted to killing the boy in a 1956 newspaper, but were protected from being tried again due to the double jeopardy clause. Some people do not think anyone should get away with murder like this and in turn do not agree with the double jeopardy clause. Despite cases like these the clause better for citizens as a whole because it is a safeguard from a tyrannical