In 1989 Westley Allan Dodd was hanged to death for sexually assaulting and heinously murdering three defenseless children; all boys aged 11, 10, and 4. The details and events from his shocking diaries portray horrific accounts of the murders he committed and those he planned to enact had he not been finally brought to justice by one of his potential victims. Dodd was born in Washington State, July 3rd 1981. He had two older brothers and often described his home as loveless. His parents divorced when he was 15 years old (Newton, M n.d.). “Dodd stated his dad criticized a lot of what he did and that he could never live up to his expectations.” (Branch, Bryan, Giovenco, Nichols, Yeatts, n.d.). At 13 it is believed that Dodd began abusing children. He would expose his self from an upstairs window or bike around the neighborhood and expose his self to children. Dodd never claimed to be sexually abused but he wasn’t educated about sex. “Westley’s father, Jim Dodd, told The Oregonian that he acknowledged his son’s sexual deviancy with “father-son chats,” but mostly avoided talking about it, despite Westley’s increasing arrests and warnings. The eldest of three kids, Westley was otherwise well behaved. “He never did drugs, he never drank, he never smoke” said the elder Dodd.” (Scott, S n.d.). Dodd’s exposing abnormalities began to escalate to molesting around the time his parents divorced. Dodd would put his self in positions of trust with children. He often would baby sit the neighborhood boys; he also became a camp consular and would play games with children, later to trick them into performing some type of sexual activity. It is believed that Dodd molested or abused as many as 50 young boys with ages ranging from two to twelve ye... ... middle of paper ... ...opaths diminish or dehumanize their victims. I feel like Dodd began as a molester and that road lead him to become a sadistic lust murderer that merged sexuality with violence to achieve his erotic fantasies. The initial molestation works similarly as a gateway drug. As the gateway drug leads the drug user to addiction, the molestation leads Dodd to the brutal murders of those three innocent boys. The only bright spot in this entire life of Dodd is that several agencies sprang up that pushed the court systems to enforce tougher and stricter laws designed to illuminate child molesters and incarcerate more of them for their crimes. You can blame Dodd’s murders on the court systems failures, but we need to remember, although the justice system failed to keep Dodd from killing, Dodd ultimately committed those crimes against the innocent and not the justice system.
On the night of November 28th 1976, 28-year-old Randall Adams was hitchhiking on a Dallas road when 16-year-old David Harris picked him up. Harris, a runaway from Texas had stolen the car along with his father’s shotgun. They spent the day together and that night went to a drive-in movie The Swinging Chandeliers. Later that same evening officer Robert Wood was shot and killed when he pulled a car matching the exact description as Harris’s over. Two witnesses-including Harris, named Adams as the murderer. Adams received a death penalty sentence that in 1979 that later was reduced to life in prison. It was early in the 1980’s when director Errol Morris happened upon Adams’s court transcripts whilst shooting a different documentary about a Dallas psychiatrist who was frequently consulted in death row cases. Convinced of Adams innocence and the false accusations made against him Morris began making a film on the subject.
In George Orwell’s essay, “A Hanging,” and Michael Lake’s article, “Michael Lake Describes What The Executioner Actually Faces,” a hardened truth about capital punishment is exposed through influence drawn from both authors’ firsthand encounters with government- supported execution. After witnessing the execution of Walter James Bolton, Lake describes leaving with a lingering, “sense of loss and corruption that [he has] never quite shed” (Lake. Paragraph 16). Lake’s use of this line as a conclusion to his article solidifies the article’s tone regarding the mental turmoil that capital execution can have on those involved. Likewise, Orwell describes a disturbed state of mind present even in the moments leading up to the execution, where the thought, “oh, kill him quickly, get it over, stop that abominable noise!” crossed his mind (Orwell.
A. Aileen Wuornos was born to a teenage couple. Her father was arrested for child molestation and hung himself in jail. Her mother abandoned her, and the maternal grandparents assumed guardianship. Most of western culture can agree the abuse of a child is a deviant act. In the case of Aileen, what social factors and “social controls” impeded the recognition of such deviant behavior?
Pryor was born December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. In Peoria, he had a rough childhood living next door to a brothel ran by his grandmother and his mother even being a prostitute. Abandoned by his mother at the tender age of ten, he experienced an absence of a maternal figure growing up. His father, a WWII veteran, was a bartender and boxer who was an alcoholic and not necessarily a “fit father.” As a young teen, he was moved into his grandparents’ home, along with his other siblings. Throughout his life, Pryor was molested by a teenage neighbor and a Catholic priest. To escape this tyranny, he would spend his time in a local theater. In school, Pryor was noticed as a class clown. However at age fourteen, his clownery ways resulted in him being expelled from school. As a result of his consequences, Pry...
Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith was born September 26, 1971 in Union, South Carolina to Linda and Harry Vaughan. She was born the third child in the Vaughan family, with two older brothers. Linda Vaughan divorced Harry when Susan turned 7, and five weeks later Harry committed suicide at 37 (Montaldo). Within weeks of Linda and Harry’s divorce, Linda got remarried to Beverly (Bev) Russell, a local successful businessman. Linda and the children moved from their home into Bev’s, a larger house located in an exclusive subdivision in Union, South Carolina. Susan grew to be a well-liked teenager, and even became president of her Junior Civitan Club and Friendliest Female in her senior year (Montaldo). Everyone liked her, and she put on a great show at school. But after the last bell rang, she had to look forward to seeing Bev at home, something she feared above anything else. Bev had taken to molesting Susan when she turned sixteen, and it was not long afterward that she sought help with the local Department of Social Services (Wiki). The Department of Social services did little to help Susan, only making Bev attend a few counseling sessions (Wiki). When he returned home, he chastised Susan heavily for “airing their dirty laundry in public” and continued with the molestation (Montaldo). I believe thi...
Now, it takes a lot of courage for an investigator to stand up and admit a wrongful conviction, especially in a case that he helped to convict. That brings me to think agree with the statement of Chief Justice William H. Rehmquist “the justice system has not yet learned to confront the fact that, even when there are no easily identifiable misstep, it can produce an unjust outcome.” (Clifford 4) It is because of this reason, that manyinnocent people end up in jail. Despite the efforts to get them out, many of them are denied. It took nine years for federal agents to even consider looking into the Edward Garry conviction case. In addition, it took another three years for Garry’s lawyer to get a post-conviction motion, which was denied by a Bronx judge, saying that the new evidence wasn’t credible. And still, Garry has yet to be absolved for this crime that he did not commit despite witnesses testifying on his behalf. This is a really depressing case because of the fact that Garry has become broken. “Garry gives the impression of a man who has been inside literally and figuratively for far too long.” Twenty one years of his innocent life that he may never get back. All because this justice system has failed him as a
"Cameron Todd Willingham – Innocent and Executed." Cameron Todd Willingham Innocent and Executed RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. http://camerontoddwillingham.com.
Salter, Anna C. (2004). Predators: pedophiles, rapists, & other sex offenders: Who they are and how they operate, and how we can protect ourselves and our children. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Marshall, W. L., and H. E. Barbaree. "An Outpatient Treatment Program for Child Molesters." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Article First 528.1 (2006): 203-14. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.
In 1993, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, aged ten at the time, abused and murdered a two-year-old boy, James Bulger. There was media uproar about the case with the two boys being described as ‘evil’, ‘monsters’ and ‘freaks’ in the media (Franklin & Horwath 1998). There were many references to evil in the newspapers; with the telegraph stating that Thompson’s nickname was ‘Damien’ (from The Omen) and declaring that Venables birth date was Friday the 13th. The majority of society was united in the belief that these two boys were the epitome of evil and it was the media that nurtured this belief. ‘Newspaper reports were unequivocal in their denunciations of Thompson and Venables as inherently evil, prompted perhaps initially by Justice Morland’s description of the murder as an act of unparalleled ev...
...of Sexual Abuse." Recognizing Signs of Sexual Abuse. Child and Family Institute, 2001. Web. 21 Apr.
The theories of Anderson, Hogg,Walker and Wilson are justified opinions and could be advantageous to the criminal justice system. However, even if these theories are implemented into our society, corruption will still always occur. Unfortunately, it is just part of human nature. It is futile to establish new methods of judgement without considering the fact that corruption occurs throughout all levels of society. Juries, police, and lawyers can all be persuaded and succumb to corruption if it suits their needs to do so. Likewise, DNA samples can be tampered with or plagued by human error. It is a vicious circle and until human beings change, miscarriages will continue to occur. Miscarriages of justice are definitely not exceptional and occur much more frequently than most people realise. They place a great burden on our society as a whole and cause injustices and hardships to many people. Just because we do not hear about them, does not mean they don't exist. As Walker states "since justice is applied by fallible, prejudiced human beings, miscarriages are inevitable".
While roaming the hills around an isolated home, a young boy named Henry, displayed rather unusual characteristics associated with his behaviors. What seemed like a cute and innocent boy was nothing but a face of hidden evil. Henry was a very free-spirited and often wild 12 year old boy who enjoyed engaging in daring activities while experiencing adrenaline rushes. His behaviors and curiosities seemed to be limitless, to the point where it brought forth a bit of suspicion. At this age, these types of behaviors may seem “normal” for a young boy like Henry; behaviors that display some hyperactivity, and self-exploration. However, Henry’s attitude and behaviors took a quick turn as his real intentions and motives became ever so clear. Henry is a young boy who grew up in a rather large home, set on top of a hill, overlooking the ocean in the state of Maine. He comes from two loving parents, a mother and father, and has a younger sister who looks up to him. He also had a younger brother named Richard, who died a while back from “accidently” drowning in the bathtub. Despite the tragic loss, he seemed to have a stable family lifestyle.
"Child Sexual Abuse Facts." - The Children's Assessment Center Houston, Texas USA The Children's Assessment Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.