Case of Sylvia Likens: Tortured and Abused

Was It Worth 20 Dollars?

Murder, as the online dictionary Merriam-Webster states, is the crime of unlawfully killing a person. This is a general term for murder and is further broken down into subcategories. This is done in order to adequately distinguish the multitude of different types of murder. With names such as first degree, second degree, and voluntary manslaughter, many murders can be classified under a specific category.

First degree murder is classified by murder with a malicious intent; it also includes murder while committing a crime. Second degree murder is the act of killing a person with no prior intent. Involuntary murder, which is sometimes called third degree murder, is murder that results from a disregard for human life; this would include acts such as drunk driving. Finally, voluntary murder occurs when a person with no prior intent to kill enters a circumstance in which his emotions get the best of him and murder occurs.

Sylvia Likens was the daughter of Lester Likens and Elizabeth Frances. Sylvia and her sister, Jenny, were living with their mother, who was recently divorced. One day, their mother got arrested for shoplifting and was thrown in jail. Because they had no parental supervision, the girls walked around their town and soon became friends with one of Mrs. Baniszewski's daughters. The Likens girls stayed the night at her house.

Mr. Likens went to visit his daughters and found them missing. Because of this, he searched the streets for them. Eventually, he found his daughters at the Baniszewski household. After talking to Gertrude, Lester worked out a deal where the girls would stay with her for 20 dollars a week; today, that amount of money would be worth just under 150 dollars. Most ...

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...Gertrude should have received life in prison without parole. The three boys who went to prison should have been given a longer sentence; I would want around seven to 10 years in prison. They committed involuntary manslaughter, and they should not be given a slap on the wrist; they need to pay for their actions. The other kids should be given half a year in prison because they played a role in Sylvia’s death, and they should learn that this kind of behavior is wrong.

Murder is the crime of unlawfully killing a person. While I might not agree with the charges brought upon the accused killers, I do know that this was murder. Sylvia Likens was killed, but she did not die in vain. She lives on as a reminder of the abuse that goes on in our country today. While we cannot change her outcome, we can affect the lives of other people going through similar situations.