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Steve Harmon's Innocent Until Proven Guilty

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Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Steve Harmon, the young teen and narrator in Monster was on trial for felony murder. This innocent sixteen year old was accused of being an accomplice in the robbery and death of Mr. Nesbitt. His supposed job was to be a look out for the criminals Bobo and King. Prior to them entering Mr. Nesbitts drugstore robbing and killing him in cold blood. Although there are some that doubt his innocence the verdict of Steve’s future was rightfully not guilty. Although Steve may have known about the robbery he did not go through with it. He felt remorse after he heard of the death of the innocent storeowner. Furthermore, while there is reason to believe Harmon knew ahead of time the plan of the robbery, there is no evidence that he did his job. When Bobo took the stand in the trial he told the jury that he did not see a signal from Steve. The only reason Bobo believed Harmon was in on the robbery was because King said he was. According to Steve’s journal he was only in the drugstore at the time to look for mints. When he left the store he didn’t give a visible signal to the robbers, Bobo and King. Because of this small detail it disproves the alleged fact that he gave a signal. …show more content…

Nesbitt’s death. When he overheard the two women talk of the robbery Steve’s reaction showed his remorse. He walked home in a daze thinking of the death of the innocent man. His actions showed his guilt even though he wasn’t involved. Also during the trial Steve was shown the pictures of the crime scene. King’s reaction showed his carelessness, he stared at the dead body as if he was bored. Steve however tried to not look at the pictures but when he did he was overflowed with emotion. The jury most likely didn’t see this remorse because he tried not to show too much emotion in fear of people mistaking that as him trying to get out of

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318 Words | 2 Pages

And was just at the wrong place on a wrong day. Steve never agreed to be the lookout in the robbery. Steve never agreed to take part in the robbery. On page 140 steve said he went in the store to look around for some mints and left. He never gave any signals and no one saw him in the store.

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558 Words | 3 Pages

The police knew that both of them had ties to a well-known anarchist in town, and since both men told police contradictory statements, the police believed they must be guilty of something. The police then insisted that they must have been the two men from the robbery and murder. The two major inconsistencies in the trial were dealing with the weapons used in the incident and both men’s alibis. Sacco’s Colt .32-automatic was claimed to have shot one of the men despite the prosecution’s chief expert believed the gun wasn’t the gun that killed the man. The expert still testified that Sacco’s gun was the one that was used due to ballistic results because of an agreement before the trial with the District Attorney.

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206 Words | 1 Pages

I believe that Steve Harmon is innocent. There are many reasons to believe this. For one “bobo” Evans placed him at the crime scene but Mr. Evans and Mr. King according to Mr. Evans testimony were on drugs. So Steve Harmon could have just happened to be their. Since both Mr. Evans and Mr. King were on drugs i don’t believe that their statements are valid.

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918 Words | 4 Pages

Steven had spent eighteen years in prison for something he didn't do. He knows how jail is and obviously wouldn't want to go back, what would be his motive for raping and murdering someone. He was about to receive a big chunk of money why jeopardize that. Where did the money go now? Both trials that occurred investigators never looked into anyone else, they automatically assumed it was Steven.

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494 Words | 2 Pages

Steve Harmon, a fifteen year old , was charged with robbery and murder but did not do it. As a member of the film club, Steve Harmon is charged with these offenses in the novel Monster. The owner of a drug store was shot and killed, and Harmon is being investigated. However, he is innocent because the state's witnesses are untrustworthy, there is no evidence he was present, and he never finished his claimed assignment. All of this demonstrates that Steve Harmon is not guilty.

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792 Words | 4 Pages

After Steve heard about how the robbery was taking place, he figured he would go spectate and help if they really needed him. In this case, Steve wouldn’t be lying about how he was just looking

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726 Words | 3 Pages

I wonder if Steve knew if a murder was gonna happen if he would've been a part of it? Steve lives in New York City, and he is 16 years old. He was on trial for murder and robbery. In the novel, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, Steve Harmon was a good person because he cares for others, and also because not guilty. Steve was a good person because he isn’t guilty.

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1490 Words | 6 Pages

James King said he did not kill Mr. Nesbitt, so who killed Mr. Nesbitt? Steve’s fate is on the line. Many say that he did not kill Mr. Nesbitt, but who ever said that is absolutely erroneous. To start, Steve said that he was not in the drugstore on December 22nd but then in his journal he said that he walked in the drugstore and looked for some mints which makes me think that maybe Steve was trying to protect himself by saying that he was not in there at the time even if he did not shoot the man but if he told them that he was in there to grab some mints then they would see him as a bigger suspect, “ What did I do? I

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806 Words | 4 Pages

Steve Harmons actions depicted his characteristics and we can, therefore, conclude that Steve Harmon is a liar as he lied under oath. Steve was also a guilt-ridden man ashamed of his actions. People who disagree may claim that Steve was undoubtedly innocent as Lorelle Henry, a witness, declared that there were only 2 people, proven to be James King and Bobo Evans, inside the store who eventually murdered Mr.Nesbitt. This may be a strong argument because it shows that Steve was not in the drugstore and could be really innocent. On the contrary, however, Steve’s job was just supposed to be a lookout and ensure that the drugstore was clear of cops or anyone inside.

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876 Words | 4 Pages

This was never fully proven, yet King says “I need to get paid, man. I ain’t got nothing between my butt and the ground but a rag” (Myers 50). Steve responds with “I hear that” (Myers 50). This shows the reader that they both needed money and were willing to do something for money. This proves that if Steve participated in the robbery, he would have been compensated, but he never was.

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729 Words | 3 Pages

Furthermore, peer pressure caused Steve to commit a serious crime. He lived in a bad neighborhood, which exposed him to dangerous people. He started hanging out with gangsters and eventually found himself in the middle of a convenience store robbery that resulted in the store owner’s death. Steve was, after some time spent with the goons, pressured into being a part of the “getover.” On page 151, James

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564 Words | 3 Pages

“When I don’t like the answers, I’ll turn it upside down. You figure out what’s wrong with the answer you gave me” (218). Steve and O’Brien had went over what he was going to say prior to the court session, but if he was innocent there would be nothing to worry about. Steve also had flashbacks that the jury doesn’t know about, including where he talks to King about needing money and wanting to rob a bank (50). The jury has no idea that the conversation had happened so they did not have enough information to deliver a verdict of guilty.

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997 Words | 4 Pages

Juror #2 finds it “interesting that he’d find a knife exactly like the one the boy bought”(24). Afterwards, the 8th Juror suggests that the old man, one of the witnesses, lied because of the point Juror #3 tried to make. Juror #3 says, that the old man “[ran ] to his door and [saw ] the kid tearing down the stairs fifteen seconds after the killing”(42). Juror #8 then suggests that the old man could not have done that because of his stroke.

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1002 Words | 5 Pages

He depends on others to bring clarity to his mind, such as saying, “What did I do?”. After the session at court was finished, Steve was insecure about what Ms. O’Brien, his lawyer, thinks of him. He writes an entry about it: “Who was Steve Harmon? I wanted to open my shirt and tell her to look into my heart to see who I was, who the real Steve Harmon”(92). During the trial, Ms. O’Brien stays distant from him.

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919 Words | 4 Pages

As Steve progresses through the trial, he starts getting disappointed about what the people are testifying. We can see this when he says, “I think they are bringing out all of these people and letting them look terrible on the stand and sound terrible and then reminding the jury that they don’t look any different from me and King”(Myers 60). While the trial is going on, Steve sees a couple of witnesses, and immediately falls in disappointment. He starts to make assumptions about bad things that might happen to him before the trial is even halfway. This shows how he is already feeling disappointed that he will lose.

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