ipl-logo

Robert Harris Case

1033 Words5 Pages

This brings into question the severity and extent to which Robert Harris should be held accountable for his actions. There are two different ends of the morality spectrum through which Harris can be found guilty: moral responsibility and criminal responsibility. This is where the different theories on moral responsibility truly come into play. While none of these philosophical arguments would hold up in court, it does make the decisions made by Robert Harris seem much more complicated than it first appeared. The criminal justice system is based on a libertarian train of thought. The system makes the assumption that we do possess free will, but also, in some circumstances, we do not. When it comes to Robert Harris, the formula for liability …show more content…

When it comes to moral responsibility, the manner in which guilt is given is far messier than the libertarian methods of assigning guilt. The scale of morality falls more under the jurisdiction of the compatibilist and the skeptic than the libertarian. The compatibilist would argue that taking in Harris’s condition, he was not in a conscious state of mind. The argument is that given Harris’s reaction to the murder, there is no way he is of sound and stable mind. He began to develop the characteristics of a psychopath. Harris had began to desecrate animals and actually laughed in the face of his actions as a killer. This and the evidence that as a premature baby and the large amount of childhood abuse led to the underdevelopment of certain parts of his brain. Had Harris’s circumstances been different, he would have had the ability to do otherwise. However, he did not. This same train of thought applies to the skeptic. Harris impaired ability to perform or act as a functioning member of society was due in part to his background but also his mental illness. Harris could not have picked out his family, his natural tendencies, or his character; therefore, he is innocent of the crimes he committed since his fate was already determined due to his lack of control over the situation. With the combined background of Robert Harris and his mental illness, he cannot be held morally responsible for his actions on July 5,

Show More
Related
463 Words | 2 Pages

David Elderidge should be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of murder. Although the defendant claims that he is not guilty, they are wrong because Mr. Elderidge had the motive to kill Mr. Armes, the spatula that killed Mr. Armes had Mr. Elderidge’s fingerprints on it, and Mr. Elderidge was seen at the crime scene by William Warden shortly before Mr. Armes’s death. The first reason in the case was that Mr. Eldridge had a motive to kill Mr. Armes. Sandy Smith testified Mr. Eldridge was in desperate need of money because the bank would repossess his home.

Read More
539 Words | 3 Pages

Mavrik Sylvia 502 S. 5th St. Eldridge, IA 52748. May 9, 2024 Scott County Courthouse 400 W. 4th St. Davenport, IA 52801. Dear Jury Members: Mr.Bennett should not be found guilty of the murder of Mr.Adams because there is reasonable doubt. Mr.Bennett didn’t kill Mr.Adams because Mr.Bennett always has gloves on him and if he killed Mr.Adams with Rat Poison why would Mr.Bennett have traces of rat poison on his hands the only reason he had rat poison on his hands because he touched the mug and that had rat poison in it.

Read More
1344 Words | 6 Pages

(Roach, 83). As previously mentioned, the mental element can’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, thus making Mr. Schoenborn a morally innocent person. Any other verdict would have violated this principle on which the legal administration is founded on

Read More
118 Words | 1 Pages

Throughout In Cold Blood, a true-crime novel based on a multiple murder, author Truman Capote gives a more personal insight on the topic while standing up for the mentally ill and verbalizing his personal beliefs on how the they should be treated and viewed in the criminal justice system. Within In Cold Blood, Capote tells about the events leading up to the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers. During the trial, both of the criminals were declared mentally ill, but were still authorized to stand trial and execution as they had been proven to have the ability to decide between right and wrong, and therefore were considered mentally

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

Ron is an eighteen-year-old African-American male that comes from a disadvantaged neighborhood and a single-parent household. He has recently graduated from high-school and has never had any encounters with the law. One evening, he goes into a convenience store with a group of friends before going to a house party. One of Ron's friends convinces him to steal fruit punch for the mixer at the party. The store employee caught Ron stealing the juice before leaving the premises, called the police, and was charged with petty theft.

Read More
1056 Words | 5 Pages

Cecil had no understanding of what he did wrong and also had no understanding of what was happening to him. “In the past decade, six psychiatric evaluations have found that Clayton should be exempt from execution because he does not understand that he will be executed, or the reasons for his execution. However, since his execution date was set, he did not have a competency hearing before a judge that could spare him from execution” (“Mentally Ill Prisoners Who Were Executed”). This shows another example of the court ignoring someone's psychological illnesses and continuing to treat this person like they were an average person who killed someone. This relates heavily to Bryan Stevenson’s case with Herbert Richardson and how his psychological illness was ignored and he was also sentenced to death and executed.

Read More
313 Words | 2 Pages

On Monday August 26th, Tom Robinson was found guilty of rape and sentenced to death. This verdict came after a long day in the Maycomb county court. Mr. Atticus Finch represented Mr. Robinson; however, the testimonies provided by Miss Mayella Ewell and Mr. Bob Ewell left the jury with this guilty verdict for Mr. Robinson. A first-hand witness for the prosecution, Mr. Bob Ewell, says he is more than relieved to see the defendant sentenced to death.

Read More
623 Words | 3 Pages

someone who premeditated killings out of anger, or pure hatred towards others. A person can develop neurological problems at anytime, but not only can this shape a person, environment, nature vs. nurture, and biology play a huge role in determining the kind of person one can become. What seems to be the question of the hour is when Eagleman states, “When a criminal stands in front of the judge’s bench…was it his fault, or his biology’s fault?” (Eagleman 434) as for the author, it seems he does not lean towards the criminals being “guilty free” of the crimes committed. He does play around with other ideas such as, nature vs. nurture and the biology role, and so forth.

Read More
288 Words | 2 Pages

Have you ever talked to someone who you knew was crazy then you have probably heard them repeating the stance “I am not mad” These people do not know that they are mad and we must help them before they can hurt themselves In “The Tell Tale Heart” poe repeats that he believes that he is not mad “I am not mad” he says with a strong voice. Why would he continue to repeat that it probably won’t change someone’s mind if he were not mad people would not think that way. Although the prosecutor holds onto the false belif that my client is not mad and should be held accountable for his crimes. The prosecutor argues that the steps that my client takes are “ too well planned out” this is not proof this is a false prejudice that people with mental problems

Read More
225 Words | 1 Pages

The statement I believe he wanted to make was how smart, beautiful, athletic and elegant people can be without their handicaps and how it isn’t right to bring people down for their intelligence or beauty. One piece of evidence for this is “a living, breathing Harrison filled the screen (Page 18).” This evidence proves that he went on T.V, therefore, why would a wanted criminal go on T.V if he knew he would get caught? There are a few answers to this question but in this case, it was because Harrison wanted to make a statement in front of as many people as possible. Another piece of evidence is… “Last of all, he removed her mask.

Read More
1677 Words | 7 Pages

In “The Brain on Trial”, David Eagleman claims that the justice system needs to change its sentencing policies due to the discoveries of neurobiological diseases that cause their sufferers to behave in socially unacceptable ways and/or commit crimes. Eagleman uses a variety of rhetorical strategies to present his viewpoint. The most important one is his appeal to logic. By using mostly examples, along with direct address to the readers, Eagleman is able to argue that the legal system has to modify its sentencing policies to take into account the advances made in neuroscience due to the increase in the amount of accused and/or convicted people who have been found to have harbored some kind of brain disease or damage. Eagleman

Read More
376 Words | 2 Pages

Killing and raping at large scale could’ve been fulfilling and exciting for the defendant Gacy. Even though killing and raping is irrational, according to the egoist theory; it is morally justifiable because it maximizes Gacy's own self-interest. Gacy is also found morally correct under the ethical subjectivist theory. This theory argues that actions

Read More
340 Words | 2 Pages

In a similar case, in 1954 in the United States a court found that a defendant cannot be found guilty “if his unlawful act was the product of mental disease or mental defect”. (F.R. p 35-40)

Read More
379 Words | 2 Pages

On Friday evening, the body of teenager Robert "Bob" Sheldon was found at a park in eastern Tulsa, laying next to a fountain with a knife wound in his abdomen. Further evidence suggests that the Sheldon had been intoxicated. No arrests have been made yet, but police suspect that it was a gang-related crime. Investigators believe that more than one person of each party had been involved as well. One of Sheldon’s companions, who was questioned, Randy Adderson, did not prove to be much help for the investigators.

Read More
1141 Words | 5 Pages

Murder is defined as “the unlawful killing of another human being with intent or malice aforethought” (4) Murderers have been convicted for their actions in most trials, regardless of the background or reasoning behind the crime. While murder is a sin and should be avoided, people who commit it have reasoning behind their actions that may not be connected to evil thoughts or origins. Although others think that all murderers are evil, murderers should not always be punished because of mental disability, self-defense, and the childhood or background of the person. Some people may believe that people should always be punished for a murder, regardless of mental state. This may be true in some aspects because people who murder others could be

Read More

More about Robert Harris Case

Open Document