Shoulders trembling and teeth clattering at eighty miles per hour on a cold winter night. A mother that had lost her children, her world. This young woman's life had been left in ruins when she was left behind with no place to call home. A violent and abusive relationship that accumulated into a heart wrenching divorce. The now ex wife forced herself up from her sorrowful position and began traveling up the streets of Chicago. Like magic, A television switched on to the news channel as she passed by an electronics store. “AMBER ALERT,” read the title of the broadcast. “Two male, five year old children, by the names of Robert and Nick have just gone missing after the brutal murder of their father, James Douglas,” the newscaster proclaimed. He …show more content…
A young man in Peru had been claimed to have been seen stealing things from a construction site from a community member. The man was beaten by vigilantes until he confessed to his crime. “But this time he warns him: if he doesn't confess, they will take him up the hill, remove his clothes, and leave him there for the night,” (Eerten). Although these vigilantes believe they are fighting for the law, they lack the profession and evidence to punish people on their own terms. “ . . . Another clause of the bill of rights provided that no cruel and unusual punishments shall be inflicted; therefore, torture was included in the prohibition,”(Granucci) The vigilante’s punishments are questionable and identify more as cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S law. Even though Peru is not the U.S, this standard should be followed by all people to prevent further violent acts. Biased impressions can also feed into people’s cruelty in punishment of …show more content…
She twirled the knife in her hand and was submerged in her realization of what she had done. “But if I hadn't done it, who would!” She thought. “Dumb police didn’t do nothin! Nothin for me or mah babies!” She reasoned in her mind. Once her regret had drowned her, she escaped to her friends. A needle and syringe. Soon she would forget it all. She would forget the murder, the divorce and the terrified eyes of Robert and Nick peeping through the mother's luggage. Heartbreak, distrust in officers, or biased views are no excuse for punishing others when the law does not. It only leads to more violence and raises the chances of cruel or unusual punishments. Even though people believe they do what is right and punish in the name of justice, accepting that mind set would already be a crime of its
On the way over to burglarize the home, the group of 5 juveniles rode their bikes and stop on the way to feed some ducks, then dumped their bikes in some bushes. At the last minute, two of the five juveniles took off. Leaving behind Kane, who didn’t want to be labeled a scaredy-cat, and 19 year old Alvin Morton and 17 year old Bobby Garner. The group of juveniles expected the house to be empty, but found 75 year old Madeline Weisser, and her son 55 John Bowers were in fact at home.
In the United States, a citizen has rights granted to them under documents such as the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, which gives citizens certain freedoms as long as they obey the law. When someone commits a crime, they are then entitled to aspects such as a speedy trial, a fair jury, an attorney if they wish, and other things, under the sixth amendment. Even if the person is found guilty, as a U.S. citizen they have rights under the eighth amendment which include protection against excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment. Since the framers enacted the amendment, the exact definition of cruel and unusual punishment has been difficult to pin down, changing with the times and everyone’s interpretations. Pete Earley’s novel, The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison, depicts the conditions in the United States’ toughest prison, where some prisoner recounts, as well as Earley’s
The novel begins with the author’s own experiences as a law enforcement officer and his ideals on the use of deadly force. He explains that “at some deep subconscious level humans are both drawn to and repulsed by violence of any sort” (Klinger, 2004, page 8) and goes on to elaborate why the killing of a human being by an officer is acceptable in the eyes of society today. Even though this truth may seem harsh to some, the overall effects that occur when an officer fires his gun is even harsher when the light of reality is shed upon these gruesome incidences. As the novel continues, Klinger begins to share more information about the career that these few men and women choose to go into. The author describes how many of his interviewees were asked when applying to law enforcement agencies how they would feel about having to shoot someone. Most answered they would not feel any sort of hesitation, yet some men and women in their interviews with the author revealed that they never thought about themselves in that situation and were somewhat taken back by the question. Moreover, Klinger explains that shootings are uncommon incidences in the police...
Whenever an author is creating an argument, they must appeal to whatever grabs his or her selected audience’s attention. When given the topic of Michael Fay, an 18 year old American citizen who was punished in Singapore for vandalism by being caned, two sources appealed to their audience in two contrasting ways. In “Time to Assert American Values,” published by The New York Times, the author tries to capture his or her audience by stirring up emotion. In “Rough Justice: A Caning in Singapore Stirs up a Fierce Debate about Crime and Punishment,” Alejandro Reyes presents factual evidence throughout the entire article to support his claims. After carefully analyzing both texts, it is apparent that Alejandro Reyes gives a more convincing and sufficient argument due to his use of indisputable facts.
The portrayal of the justice system in this movie is unmistakably accurate; however, the downfall of the system comes when a victim wrongly identifies Mr. Balestrero as the robber. This human error sends the detectives down a slippery slope, where they forcibly find evidence against Mr. Balestrero and ultimately detain him on shallow grounds. Thankfully, the real culprit was found before Mr. Balestrero’s trial came to an end, but nevertheless, the impact a situation like this has on a person, is devastating, and most notably seen with Mrs. Balestrero. The fault, however, is not that of the justice system itself, a Time magazine article depicting the events of that case states, “He does not blame the police (“ they couldn’t help it”)” (Brean 107), but that of human error, Mr. Balestrero states, “ If they have a conscience, they’ll realize they where wrong”(Brean 107) which is an unavoidable aspect of the justice
“See these fists? They’re getting ready to fuck you up,” said Officer Ramos, before he and two other officers began to mercilessly beat a mentally-ill man at a transit station (“Full Un-edited”). Kelly Thomas was a schizophrenic homeless-man who was beaten by 3 police officers in Fullerton, Calif. He died in the hospital 5 days later due to the inflicted injuries (Salazar). None of the officers involved were found guilty of any wrong doing. In America today, use of force, police brutality, and night-time home raids are on the rise. Many of these incidents involve people who have committed no crime, who are violently beaten by law enforcement officers. These officers often suffer no consequences for their actions. It is time
As every day passes, prisoners wait patiently in their dreadful chamber, awaiting their execution day, which tends to result to physical and psychological torture. Consequently, this remains as the so-called righteousness of the death penalty, which is supposed to get rid of murderers, radicalism, and criminals that perform sodomy. Though, there are times when capital punishment goes horribly wrong, initiating the death of innocent prisoners, and instigating the prisoner to go through atrocious anguish. Moreover, the death penalty leads to additional damage to the victim’s family, since the death penalty entails the family to relieve the agony and grief of the death of their loved one for many years. Furthermore, capital punishment remains as the fundamental block to eradicate criminals, however, there are numerous drawbacks to the death penalty that lead to additional damage than solving the problem; therefore, Americans shouldn’t support capital punishment, unless their prepared to perform the undesirable job of killing the prisoners.
Torture is the process of inflicting pain upon other people in order to force them to say something against their own will. The word “torture” comes from the Latin word “torquere,” which means to twist. Torture can not only be psychologically but mentally painful. Before the Enlightenment, it was perfectly legal to torture individuals but nowadays, it is illegal to torture anyone under any circumstances. In this essay, I will demonstrate why torture should never acceptable, not matter the condition.
Do you believe in vigilantism? Do you believe in criminals and outlaws being punished for their crimes in the name of justice? What if you knew someone who was so close to you, you would do whatever it took to find those responsible for the pain they caused and punish them in the name of justice. Would you walk down the path of a vigilante and help bring about an end to their tyranny? Vigilantism can be looked at as crime if you look at it in a negative way, or it can be looked at in a positive way. Many vigilantes help make the world a better place every day by doing away with the evil people in this world who kidnap, rape, murder, and loot people in the streets. Vigilantism is justified because the vigilantes help make the world a better place and help bring to justice the ones that the law cannot catch.
Law enforcement in the United States is being perceived as a dangerous, toxic force that cannot be trusted by society. People used to trust law enforcement and come to them in a time of need for protection or help. Media has pointed out only a few corrupt people in authority abusing their power, creating fear in the public’s eye. Although these concerns are spreading throughout the nation, New Mexico is also worried as well. In order to possibly solve this issue, New Mexicans need to show more respect for law enforcement officers because most of them are not practicing racism, abusing power, or using unnecessary violent force. Society has created this image of police officers as these monsters that are in fact practicing racism, abusing their
Incidents of vigilantism are not isolated to the American frontier, though. Reports of vigilantism have emerged in countries such as the United Kingdom (Evans, 2003; Sharp, Atherton, & Williams, 2008), Kosovo (Wheeler, 2000), Nigeria (McCall, 2004), Indonesia (Barker, 2006), Israel (Yanay, 1993), and Ghana (Adinkrah, 2005). These reports often conjure up mixed beliefs. Some society members and organizations publicly chastise vigilantes (Hine, 1998; McCall, 2004; Perry & Pugh, 1989), while others publicly herald them as heroes (Perry & Pugh, 1989). Lawyers, judges, and citizens have seen vigilantes as necessary components in the framework of America (Brown, 1975) and several movies have idolized real (e.g., Issakaba series) and fictional vigilantes (e.g., Death Wish and Vigilante). Pundits and intellectuals have also defended real-life vigilantes (i.e., the Bakassi Boys) accused of torture, rape, and arbitrary imprisonment. Interestingly, individuals view behaviors such as rape and torture as deplorable when enacted in everyday situations; however, when vigilantes behave in such a way, their actions are not viewed as negatively (Ekeh, 2002; McCall, 2004).
It was midnight when it all happened. Tom Peterson was sleeping in bed next to his wife after a tiring day at work, while his two little daughters slept in the next room. Suddenly he was violently awakened by the terrified screams of his wife only to get a glance of a huge man standing over him with a butcher's knife. Tom was stabbed thirteen times, one of his daughters was killed and his wife was severely injured. Now, the Peterson family has just exited the supreme court of justice in which the judge has condemned the murderer of their little girl to the death penalty, for as it turns out the Peterson family had not been the first victim of this murderer.
In 1994 Michael Fay, a teenager arrested for vandalism was sentenced to the corporal punishment of caning, a punishment that attracted international attention for its nature. The caning of this young man can be considered torture, a punishment that holds no educational value and is a violation of his rights as a person. The New York Times editorial “Time to Assert American Values” and the article “U.S Student Tells of Pain Of His Caning In Singapore”, also from The New York Times, correctly opposed and described the horrendous consequences and nature of caning. Alejandro Reyes’ article “Rough Justice” is also correct in representing the effects of the Singaporean justice system but it price comes with the government’s ability to violate and
During the scene with the police lineup, Detective Clay tells a worried and nervous Denise Moore, that she shouldn 't concern herself with testifying because Jesse Williams is most likely going to take a plea deal, and not go to trial. This caused me to realize that an officers has little to no responsibility with ensuring the innocence or guilt of an individual. Their job is to solely remove men and women, that they feel pose a threat to the rest of society, off of the street. In another scene, Detective Riley and the prosecutor for the case are seen revisiting the crime scene, the Detective emphasizes the need for the case not to go to trial, but rather for Jesse to cop a
Around the world and around the clock, human rights violations seem to never cease. In particular, torture violations are still rampant all over the world. One regime, the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, establishes a strong elaboration of norms against torture. Despite its efforts, many countries still outright reject its policies against torture while other countries openly accept them, but surreptitiously still violate them. The US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have all failed to end torture despite accepting the provisions of the Convention.