Around 20 years ago from our frame in time, from within the town of Robin Hills was an event of tragedy involving gruesome deaths of children. No matter the point in time the importance of the event that transpired has never changed. The film is based on the murders titled, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hills, focuses on the lives of the families before, during and after trials. Not only does it focuses on the deaths of the children, the film focusses on an internal theme that explores the riddle; “Is justice still served when given or taken from the undeserved?” Whether the accused teenagers are proven innocent or proven guilty that is what the directors were on the prowl for. Berlinger and Sinofsky documented every aspect they could to convey an honest and unbiased judgement into the trial. The methods the directors used is connected with how the audience will possibly judge the trial. Possibly meaning that the directors, no matter how hard they tried to be unbiased, grew emotionally attached and actually agreed at some point that the teenagers who committed the murders were actually either innocent or guilty. By the ways the filmmakers edited their film, on certain scenes suggest they had their opinions. As they …show more content…
consciously or subconsciously filmed in a matter that made the viewer think the identical ideas and emotions as the directors Berlinger and Sinofsky. During the 90’s Paradise Lost became an intriguing experiment to test the accuracy and liability of the American justice system. Within the documentary we witness an attack on the teens by the town and news media as they show little to no understanding and evidence to prove the teens guilty. Told from within the first fifteen minutes, on the night of May 5, 1993, three eight-year old boys, Steven Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore, were tortured and murdered in Robin Hood Hills, West Memphis, Arkansas. Obviously the families were devastated and the community held in outrage, there was a necessity for proper American Justice. Many citizens fed the idea of the death penalty for such an act while others were not sure if everything brought to trial was actually true or accurate. It is revealed throughout the film that it took the police only a month to make arrests. The arrested suspects were Jessie Misskelly, age 17; Damien Echols, age 18; and Jason Baldwin, age 16. Jessie Misskelley was the reason why the police had any leads due to his confession. Jessie, who has a 72 IQ and was then put into an exhaustingly tedious interrogation where the confession mentioned earlier stated his involvement in the killings. However the confession was no longer plausible because of the inaccurate information and scattering of facts. Jessie’s confession led him to be tried, convicted for life plus an additional 40 years. Sometime after the trial of Jessie, the system convicted Damien and Jason and were found guilty on similar counts. The trial ended and gave the following punishments; Damien was sentenced to die by lethal injection, whereas Jason was to spend the rest of his life in jail without the possibility of parole. Paradise Lost bring us the events surrounding the crime.
Starting from the discovery of the bodies in the opening credits to the final verdicts of the possibly guilty or innocent teens. Directors Berlinger and Sinofsky go through hell along with the families as they thoroughly film about three hundred days’ worth of crime scenes, trials, family coping and developments. Giving us as the viewer an illustration of how easily justice can flip flop and be molded to fit anyone’s game. It is impossible to answer the question of the defendants' guilt or innocence, however it is evident that from Paradise Lost that the teens, Jessie Misskelly, Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin did not receive a fair, honest trials up to America justice
standards. Seen, stated and heard numerous times during the film; There was almost no physical evidence connecting the three to the crime. Only evidence that was substantial and led to an arrest was Jessie's confession. Which was obtained by questioning circumstances from the interrogator. Berlinger and Sinofsky made sure to include that fact in the final cut. Doing this adds to the list of reasons why the trial was unfair. However the people of the town were looking to find someone accountable, people they could demonize, desensitized and just destroy their reputation. There only claim was because one of the teens Damien was "different". In his own words he stated he liked to wear black, listen to Metallica, and had shown interest in the religious arts of Wicca. This info made him an excellent target in the small town. Leaving out the confession given by the teen with an IQ of 72, Jessie and Jason were guilty only by association. Suddenly, the town and the news reports were fabricating allegations of Satanic rituals and ceremonies, with obvious indications of human sacrifice and sexual tendencies. The filmmakers wanted to let the audience know that the town had a strong belief that Damien was consumed by evil. Many times when Damien was being filmed they had Metallica songs playing in the background. Damien, Jessie, and Jason were crucified by the media and convicted by the court. With both groups against them, they clearly had no chance of victory. Nevertheless, it is strange that the three were not in contempt with the news of their convictions. They accepted their different fates with ease as their families fell into an abyss of emotional distress. Directors Berlinger and Sinofsky gained intimate insight on the case and its effects towards everyone involved. Whether victim or perpetrator, they gave an astonishing display of the day in the life of the situational conflicts due to the trials. Their cameras were allowed to capture events held inside the courtrooms, family houses, lawyer meetings, and even in the prisons/ prison cells where the teenagers were being held. Thankfully and quite shockingly friends and families of the victims and the defendants acted very cooperatively with the film makers. In numerous scenes the families of the victims kept calm and did not shy from being filmed no matter how emotional it made them. Thus making it easier for enabling them to get closer to both sides. As a result, the audience knows the faces and feelings of everyone involved. Giving them the opportunity to form a personal logical opinion about the case and its participant’s personalities. Berlinger and Sinofsky used methods to convey certain opinions about the trial based on their film. Paradise Lost has the use of music, tone, camera angles along with suspense and drama showing us how they viewed certain people during the ten months of the trial leading up to the verdicts. Persons such as Christopher Byers’ step father is among the list of interesting character development throughout the film. They show his metamorphosis as he enters the stages of grief; one day he is filled with sorrow at the gravesite of his stepchild, the next day he is shooting at pumpkins wishing they were either Jessie, Damien, and Jason. Going to the perspective of the defendants, while the directors were interviewing Jessie, they appealed to his childlike antics that were prevalent in his cell. Jessie had numerous children’s books and his family also gave him humanizing factors via showing them on the phone with each other. This is interesting because the directors did not do this with the Damien let alone Jason. There were only a few interviews with both teens and almost no interaction with their parents. With Damien they show him being a badass while smoking a cigarette and playing Metallica. They gave him unequal camera time and filmed him as an uncaring adult. The evidence shown here could suggest that Berlinger and Sinofsky had their preset opinions on the teens and chose which one they favored more. In retrospect, the only fact that pointed to the teens were some hints of Satanism. That alone was the JENGA piece that toppled their cases. It is agreeable that their only real crimes were listening to heavy metal music, wearing strange clothing, and holding unconventional beliefs; really it was just being “different” in a small town that sealed their fate. Of course there is an abundance of information we do not know about the case, but even more troubling, there is information that basically hold little value. Furthermore the people of Robin Hood Hill in West Memphis do not give any thought to those missing links. Makes one think if truth has become a joke in today’s society. If that is a true statement, then closure is far more satisfying than the truth when it comes to the justice system. Not taking either the guilty or innocent stand is what the directors did a good job at. Mentioned earlier, the makers of the film were unbiased in numerous scene and related how people felt about a certain defendant or victim. So it is difficult to say whether or not Berlinger and Sinofsky took a stand on either plea of innocent or guilty. However, it is obvious to tell that they had a liking to Jessie which is enough to suggest that they did not believe the teens were not the true guilty party of the crime.
Billy Joel once sang, “Only the good die young”. In life, it is true, the young and innocent seem to touch more lives around us than anyone else. In the Casey Anthony trial, Anthony was a suspect in the murder of her daughter Caylee. Caylee’s life shouldn’t be counted in years, it should be counted by how many lives she affected, the love she has gained, and the support the country has given her to find out what really happened. In the play, Twelve Angry Men, a boy killed his father; however, both cases were challenged by the obvious and the abstruse evidence. Large cities towards the east coast, in 1982, Twelve Angry Men, and 2008, Casey Anthony Trial, affiliated with two major trials able to modify the lives of the living and the dead. For that reason, during the Casey Anthony case, jurors were conflicted throughout the trial.
Paradise Lost is the first of three documentaries chronicling the story of the West Memphis Three (Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelly) and the allegations made against them regarding the mutilations and murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Steven Branch. The film gives an insight into the investigation of the case with a great deal of detail using crime scene footage, court hearings and interviews.
If that does not occur to the reader as an issue than factoring in the main problem of the topic where innocent people die because of false accusation will. In addition, this book review will include a brief review of the qualifications of the authors, overview of the subject and the quality of the book, and as well as my own personal thoughts on the book. In the novel Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make It Right authors Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, and Jim Dwyer expose the flaws of the criminal justice system through case histories where innocent men were put behind bars and even on death row because of the miscarriages of justice. Initially, the text promotes and galvanizes progressive change in the legal
Guilty or not guilty? This the key question during the murder trial of a young man accused of fatally stabbing his father. The play 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose, introduces to the audience twelve members of a jury made up of contrasting men from various backgrounds. One of the most critical elements of the play is how the personalities and experiences of these men influence their initial majority vote of guilty. Three of the most influential members include juror #3, juror #10, and juror #11. Their past experiences and personal bias determine their thoughts and opinions on the case. Therefore, how a person feels inside is reflected in his/her thoughts, opinions, and behavior.
“Paradise Found and Lost” from Daniel J. Boorstin’s The Discoverers, embodies Columbus’ emotions, ideas, and hopes. Boorstin, a former Librarian of Congress, leads the reader through one man’s struggles as he tries to find a Western Passage to the wealth of the East. After reading “Paradise Found and Lost,” I was enlightened about Columbus’ tenacious spirit as he repeatedly fails to find the passage to Asia. Boorstin title of this essay is quite apropos because Columbus discovers a paradise but is unable to see what is before him for his vision is too jaded by his ambition.
... I've lived among them all my life. You can't believe a word they say. You know that. I mean, they're born liars.” In this statement you can clearly tell his prejudice against the kid, just because of where he was raised. Juror # 10 and juror # 3 has prejudice against the kid. Juror # 3 has personal experience with a kid like the accused. “Reminded of his own family's personal crisis, Juror # 3 tells the jurors of his own disrespectful, teen aged boy who hit him on the jaw when he was 16. Now 22 years old, the boy hasn't been seen for two years, and the juror is embittered: "Kids! Ya work your heart out."” This is a direct example of juror # 3’s prejudice against the accused. When prejudice was in effect in the movie, it clouded the judgments of the jurors that were prejudice against the boy just because he was raised in the slums.
The Leopold and Loeb case quickly became one of the most well known case around the nations in the 1920’s and is still a well known case today. The Murder of a dead young wealthy boy by two young wealthy men. The Murder of little Robert Franks seemed completely random. Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb knew exactly what they were doing the day they planned their murder, they just didn't know who they were going to kill. Somebody they knew that would trust them and only if they had a perfect opportunity. When that opportunity arose it was Robert Franks a boy who knew the two men and even had been to the Loeb house to play tennis became the selected victim while walking home alone that day.This case from any other once the media found how wealthy the primary suspects were. These two young boys were caught and confessed within days. The real significance to the case was the plea.. Guilty. Not only did they admit the murder and plead guilty but they decided to go straight to the judge and have no jury. Through out the years Major court cases that involve the wealthy or famous normally are put to the top of the media’s priority. The media controls and attempts to persuade our view by showing the people what they want to. This affects our perspective of what crimes shown by the media, how the law is interpreted ,and also commercial culture in all that it is.
This movie really tied everything we’ve been discussing in class and seeing it unfold was actually really eye opening. I found it important going forward to make sure I do not fall into that tunnel vision mentality and to make sure I follow the evidence rather than fitting the suspect to the evidence. Again, I found it interesting like in the Norfolk Four case and in the Central Park 5 case police neglected to look at surrounding crime areas to see if any other cases matched the same modus operandi. If the police did look at surrounding cases they would have established a link between previous assaults and the assault that took place in the park that night. I was amazed how the detectives did not connect how each of the confessions varied by who did what and how they attacked the victim. It was Korey Wise in the video that kept putting up his hand when asked how big was the rock and he was just moving them back and forth. Police also neglected to look at the attack patterns of where the group first was hassling people in the park. They would have found that the boys were at one end of the park, while the victim was being attacked and there was no way they could have been in two places at once. I also found troubling during the time was the media portrayal of the Central Park 5, how they were painted as vicious young men, who brutally attacked a harmless white women. Even after each one of them was exonerated from the crime the media still portrayed them as vicious men. As we discussed in class, I think a lawyer like a magistrate should be available 24/7 when it comes to juveniles, because I believe that this five did not know their Miranda Rights and what they were entitled. If they knew what their rights were I believe the confessions never would have happened and none of them would have gone to
... the defendants had to deal with a higher human authority, the judge and jury of their area. In To Kill A Mockingbird Tom Robinson had to deal with an alleged rape, and no matter what the evidence said, or how hard his lawyer worked, he was convicted and later died. Tom was falsely accused, and his death was untimely and could have been avoided. But he accepted his fate calmly, as if he knew no matter what he would be convicted. The defendant in A Time To Kill, Carl Lee was accused of murder of the two men who raped his daughter. Carl was found not guilty, even though he did kill those men, and later on in life will have to deal with his actions. Both men had to deal with what the court brought against them, and they both did. Carl and Tom dealt with multiple issues, but the prejudices of their race, and the time they were tried ultimately determined their fates.
Steven Truscott was a 14 year old boy who was sentenced to life in prison after being accused of the murder of Lynn Harper. It was June 9, 1959 when Lynne Harper, a 12 year old girl, was heading towards a nearby school after having family dinner with her parents Leslie and Shirley. She was heading towards a nearby school playground in Clinton, Ontario where she came across Steven Truscott. She asked for a ride to a nearby highway. Steven Truscott agreed. Lynn clambered onto the handlebars of the 14-year-old boy's bike and they pedaled off. This short ride would trigger a chain of events that will hunt the lives of many for roughly half a decade. This would change the lives of two families, horrify a community, and bring doubts to the justice system protecting everyone’s lives. Lynne’s partially nude body was found nearby a bush in a farmer’s field two days after the bicycle ride with Steven. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled to death with her own blouse. Almost immediately, Steven was assumed to be the likely killer, although there was no physical evidence linking him to the murder. Steven was targeted as a consequence of being the last person to see Lynne alive. Two after the body was found; Steven was charged with the murder and was tried by the court as an adult. The trial lasted 15 days and Steven was sentenced to hang, which was after changed to life in prison. Now when did this misfortune start? It could have been when Steven agreed to give Lynne a ride, or it could have been when there was no physical evidence pointing to Truscott. Even if Steven was a potential suspect, there was no reason of why he should have been treated the way he was.
On August 20th, 1989 Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents inside their Beverly Hills home with fifteen shot gun blasts after years of alleged “sexual, psychological, and corporal abuse” (Berns 25). According to the author of “Murder as Therapy”, “The defense has done a marvelous job of assisting the brothers in playing up their victim roles” (Goldman 1). Because there was so much evidence piled up against the brothers, the defense team was forced to play to the jurors’ emotions if they wanted a chance at an acquittal. Prosecutor Pamela Bozanich was forced to concede that “Jose and Kitty obviously had terrific flaws-most people do in the course of reminding jurors that the case was about murder, not child abuse” (Adler 103). Bozanich “cast the details of abuse as cool, calculated lies” (Smolowe 48)...
The seat of faith resides in the will of the individual and not in the leaning to our own reasoning, for reasoning is the freedom of choosing what one accepts as one’s will. In considering the will was created and one cannot accuse the potter or the clay, Milton writes to this reasoning, as “thir own revolt,” whereas the clay of humankind is sufficient and justly pliable for use as a vessel of obedience or disobedience (3.117). The difficulty of this acceptance of obedience or disobedience is inherent in the natural unwillingness in acknowledging that we are at the disposal of another being, even God. One theme of Paradise Lost is humankind’s disobedience to a Creator, a Creator that claims control over its creation. When a single living thing which God has made escapes beyond the Creator’s control this is in essence an eradicating of the Creator God. A Creator who would create a creature who the Creator would or could not control its creation is not a sovereign God. For who would not hold someone responsible for manufacturing something that could not be controlled and consider it immoral to do so? To think that God created a universe that he has somehow abdicated to its own devices is to accredit immorality to the Creator. Since the nucleus of Milton’s epic poem is to “justifie the wayes of God” to his creation, these ‘arguments’ are set in theological Miltonesque terms in his words (1. 26). Milton’s terms and words in Paradise Lost relate the view of God to man and Milton’s view to the reader. Views viewed in theological terms that have blazed many wandering paths through the centuries to knot up imperfect men to explain perfect God.
One point that should be taken into consideration is that this essay was written based upon a version of The Innocents that had been cropped to žt a television screen ratio, losing the original widescreen footage. Therefore it was impossible to fully appreciate the director's true vision; consequently, some claims (such as Grose rarely being in the same shot as the governess) may only stand when a third of the picture has been lost.
Upon viewing the documentary, “Paradise Lost”, one of my first impressions was a feeling of shock at the hysteria surrounding the case, and how heavily it impacted the trial. Another area of concern was the tenuous (or nonexistent) evidence tying these youths to these horrible murders. The entire essence of the prosecution’s case was a confession of questionable authenticity by Jessie Misskelley, Jr, coupled with a community-based fear of a satanic ritual having occurred.
The book that I have chosen to write about is called Paradise Lost, which is an epic poem about Satan gaining power once again to take over Heaven, and to destroy God’s new world. The epic poem also conveys the struggles of God’s creation, mankind, with Satan’s sinful deeds, and the punishment that mankind has to go through for God’s forgiveness.