I believe the bail conditions that Omar Khadr received were fair conditions, but the Canadian government should issue and apology to Omar Khadr for contributing to the violation of his rights. Although I believe that Omar Khadr was guilty of the 5 war crime charges against him because of his confession, he should have had a fair trial regarding his crimes. One of the charges was for the murder of Christopher Speer, a U.S. soldier, during the battle in Afghanistan. In an interview with the National Post, Khadr explained the situation and how he felt before throwing the grenade. “I was thinking, ‘What should I do…?’
“The Monsterization of Trayvon Martin,” by Patricia J. Williams, is an article written about the demonization of a young black man after his killer was put on trial and, ultimately, was acquitted of any charges against him. I would not say that the writer, Williams, is emotional. But their argument certainly focuses on pathos. She describes how the young man was changed from an innocent boy to an “immense, drug-addled ‘thug’” in the eyes of the public in comparison to both the treatment that the accused received, as well as compared to a similar yet racially reversed death that had occurred in 2007. Williams also uses ethos, while questioning whether the “stand your ground” law that was in question was ethically fair, pointing out that it’s
In Sherman Alexie’s poem, “Capital Punishment” he talks about an Indian male in prison, and his last meal. Sherman Alexie choose to write this poem because he is showing a little of himself through this prisoner. He is able to relate to the poem more because he uses himself as a lens for his story. Alexie had a troubled childhood and ended up becoming a writer and has written many poems and stories that seem to be very violent and dark. He chooses to write the way he does because he can get more into his stories since they are based on his life.
Introduction Context: Senior of Woodlawn High School, Adnan Syed, was convicted and charged with the first-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Not only is Adnan’s alibi inconclusive, but he also fails to recall any specific details or occurrences of January 13, 1999. His acquaintance, Jay Wilds, has served as the State’s key witness against Adnan. Thesis Statement:
The article “Life Sentences”, Christopher Shea describes various statements which I strongly agree with and have a strong position towards, such as the difficulties ex-convicts go through in attempting to find a living for themselves after prison and the amount of money America invests in prison. After almost 60 years, it seems as if our world has not progressed or learned anything from the Civil Rights movement, till this day African Americans are treated with no respect and are constantly being put down. Shea portrays in the article the hardships prisoners go through when reentering society in trying to find a job but, especially male African American implying how our world is still racist towards “different skin colors”. By far
During the time Malcolm was increasing his ability to read and write he had challenges in trying to learn more on his improvement skills. He was in jail so he didn 't have a lot of places to try and concertrate. He liked reading more in his room then at the library he preferred the isolation. Therefore, most nights he would wait for the securities guards to pass by his jail cell so he could continue to read, there would be a little light by his cell where he would sit to look at the dictionary. He hated when they would announce, "lights out.
Just like Kalief, 97% of the African Americans who are currently sitting in prison never saw a trial (Averick, 2016). The criminal justice system stopped being about who guilty or innocent, but rather on the amount of money greedy white-privileged men can earn based on the number of people in a prison. Kalief Browder endured physical and emotional pain, for a crime later shown he didn’t commit. Browder was released after the charges were dropped, but two years after, he died by suicide (Averick, 2016). The life of Kalief Browder and his family will forever be scarred because of a system who sees people as dollar signs.
Would you be okay with getting blamed on killing someone and going to jail? This story is interesting because Jay might be the killer of Hae. Adnan Syed is supposably the killer of Hae. Adnan Syed is innocent of the murder of Hae because he doesn’t remember what he did that day and he had no motive. Adnan didn’t have no reason to kill her.
Being on death row often prolongs the pain for the inmate. They spend their time in prison fearing the inevitable which for them is death. Today, we live in a society that is very divided on this issue. There are many in support of the death penalty, suggesting that it acts as a positive deterrent against future crime. There are also many
This case has twists and turns with surprises that never allow the reader to catch their breath. In 1999 Hae Lin Min Lee was murdered, on February 25th, 2000, Adnan Syed, her ex boyfriend and fellow classmate, was convicted of her murder. The circumstantial evidence that was presented and ineffective counsel led to an unjust verdict. Racism and stereotypes shaped the outcome of this case tremendously. The justice system has failed many times, and yet again, the conviction and sentencing of Adnan Syed was the wrong verdict.
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
Although slavery ended over 150 years ago, the director wants to give the audience the idea of how prison system links to slavery. Another positive thought is that they take in consideration social class on this social problem. They talked about corporations such as the CCA, which benefits from the prisoner’s punishment. For example, the SB1070 in Arizona which gave the right to the police to stop anyone and ask their status in the country. In addition, it is also mentioned that the corporation ALEC has a financial interest.
Working closely with people placed on death row, incarcerated children and many others; Bryan Stevenson is able to provide some clarity as to how unjust the criminal justice system truly is. Mr. Stevenson graduated from Harvard University Law School and is currently a Professor of Law at the New York University of Law. He is the founder and Executive Director of Equal Justice Initiative, with the help of his team he has been able to successfully “relief or release over 115 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row.” As well as establishing “life-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger are constitutional” through various cases handled by the United States Supreme Court. The cruelest of acts are those committed under the false
The citizens of the the United States preach moral equality and the wrongdoings of their government, yet they fail to realize the horrors that occur when trapped in a cell the size of your bathroom. The article makes great points against the criminal- justice system and their cruel punishment towards prisoners, but the author has failed to persuade me because although their current state in the system might be wrong, it doesn 't take from the fact that they are convicted felons who need to do their time, even if
The Prison Reform Movement was triggered by George Zimmerman not found guilty, which led to public outrage. The minorities make up most of the prisons. “According to the Sentencing Project, which promotes sentencing reform and alternatives to incarceration, the likelihood that a white man will spend time in prison in his lifetime is one in seventeen; for Latino men, the likelihood is one in six, and for black men, it is one in three”(When we fight we win 56). People do not know that the prison system is a way to keep minorities locked away. They do not know that a black or latino person are most likely to be in prison than a white person.
