When reporters and family members requested contact with Curtis, they were denied that right. Doug Evans was in multiple instances witness to tampering. He was known to have shown Patrick Veal (one of the “witnesses”) pictures and told him a story that he was supposed to tell the jury to make Curtis Flowers seem like he had committed the crime. Veal was offered a 30k reward for splitting with the other “jailhouse snitch” Ricky Banks, who would later imply that Doug Evans was offering an incentive for them to lie to the court for money. Another witness, Patricia Hallman, testified in court saying that she “ saw Curtis run into his house like he was in a rage and he had an argument with his
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.
How would you feel if you were put on trial for a crime you did not commit? In the book Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, that’s the case for a young man in Harlem, New York. Steve Harmon, is a sixteen-year-old African American that has been put on trial for felony murder which he did not commit. Steve has been accused of acting as the look-out man in a robbery that took place on December 22nd in an uptown convenience store that ends in the murder of Alguinaldo Nesbitt, the owner of the convenience store, but the evidence clearly shows that Steve was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Steve has never met Richard Evans, the convenience store was not clear, and there was no signal.
Assignment 2 Illinois v. Wardlow Sam Wardlow was a 44-year-old man who was standing on the side walk in Chicago. When he saw the police cars he decided to flee the scene. Even though Sam was not doing anything suspicious (that the police could see). The police thought that it was suspicious for him to turn back around and run away.
Her attorney, a white man with dark brown hair, quickly describes to the judge her charges. She didn’t plead guilty so her the next hearing will be scheduled according to the court. Interesting, that in 2015 Harmon was already charged with felony breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, possession of stolen goods and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She was placed under $21, 000 secured bond. So the hearing on March 7 was her second court hearing.
The book ended ambiguously and left the reader to question whether or not Steve was truly innocent. Because of the numerous questionable scenes/parts in the novel, I believe that Steve Harmon is guilty of being a participant in the crime that led to death of Mr. Nesbitt. Would a man who was innocent continuously change his story? Steve’s statements regarding his whereabouts and what he was doing on the day of the murder is inconsistent. Steve stated that he just went inside
Julie Pawloski Mr. Leavitt Ela 1 May 12, 2023 Why Steve Is Innocent I am writing this to prove why the Judge and juries from Monster by Walter Dean Myers were correct in their final judgment saying Steve was innocent. As for him , he had a lot of evidence proving he was innocent. For example. Lorelle Henry, the key witness , never saw and never heard Steve in the store while she was there. Another piece of evidence is that after the homicide Steve was never compensated by money, which was promised by Mr. King and “Bobo” which they had stolen from the store.
Before the trial, Steve is already scared of what the outcome is and how he might spend his whole life in jail and starts doubting his chances of being found not guilty. During the trial, Steve starts hearing the things the prosecutor is saying and sees the people who are testifying against him, which is already not putting him in a good state of mind, and this combines with him seeing his father who looks very scared of Steve, and this all gives Steve disappointment. After the trial, Steve is found not guilty and gets to return home and we next hear from him five months later where we see his father had left him and that Steve doesn’t even know who he is, which shows that he feels damaged. With all of this in mind, we can see that Steve, a dark-skinned, sixteen-year-old boy, has gone through a change from being afraid to feeling lost with himself through doubt, disappointment, and damage. Image how other people feel in
In fact, during the trial, the prosecuting attorney refers to Steve Harmon and the rest of the individuals allegedly involved in the crime as "monsters." Even though Steve is a relatively shy, kind person who has a positive reputation throughout his school as a talented filmmaker, he is categorized as a "monster" simply because he is on trials. She was always trying to make Steve looked bad as the other individuals allegedly involved in the crime. His depiction by the prosecuting attorney as a "monster" and whose treatment in the criminal justice system is as depraved as the crime of which Steve is accused, could foreshadow a ruined existence. Even though Steve in some way took part in the robbery was not the type of person she wanted the public and the jury to believe he was.
A store owner reported selling the boy the same knife earlier that day. Most of the jurors agree that this type of knife is very unique and uncommon making it seem obvious that the boy is the killer. Juror number 8 pulls out an exact replica of the knife used and shows the other jurors how common this type of knife actually is. Two people have claimed to witness the attack one an elderly man and the other a middle aged woman, Juror 8 questions how the accurate of a witness the elderly man is. The elderly man claimed to have seen the boy running 15 seconds after hearing the body hitting the floor.
Steve’s judgment of his actions is similar to a pendulum swinging. Although Steve believes within himself that he is innocent, of the important people around him, make him insecure as to the degree of his innocence and turn to others for confirmation. Steve Harmon, the defendant, is faced with an internal conflict that questions his self-identity and his character in relation to the crime.
Caleb Sirmans Bridget Tomlison 9th grade Lit/Comp 13 Febuary 2023 An astonishing 93% of the inmates in the United States prison system are males. While incarceration impacts each prisoner differently, thier lives are forever changed. Although the fictional account of Steve Harmon’s time behind bars details his own individual struggles, it often mirrors the experiences of many real-life inmates.
Perceptions from others can be cruel. Criminals are often thought of negatively by themselves and are also disrespected by others in society. The novel Monster presents the impressions people have about Steve Harmon, an accused criminal on trial for robbery and murder. Furthermore, the text explains Steve’s views of himself during and after time in prison from first person point-of-view. The novel Monster by Walter Dean Myers highlights the various perceptions that exist about an accused criminal.
One piece of evidence that proves the boy’s innocence is the uncommon kind of knife. The testimony said that it was one of a kind knife, while juror number eight brought the exact same one in a local pawn shop proving that the knife wasn’t that rare. In addition to the not uncommon knife, we also have
While it is true that the boy did not have his knife after the night of the murder and that the shopkeeper confirmed that he bought one the jury must find the defendant not guilty because there is not sufficient physical evidence to prove that the young man killed his father. An example of this is when the shopkeeper confirms something. The shopkeeper confirms that the boy bought the knife that looks the same as the murder weapon and that the knife is very rare to find. But juror 8 found a knife that looks exactly like the murder weapon and in the same neighborhood as the defendant. At this moment members of the jury see that the shopkeeper wasn’t the only person selling those types of knives in the neighborhood.
