In the novel, The Rag and Bone Shop, by Robert Cormier, Trent, the investigator, coerced Jason, the protagonist, into confession to a murder he did not commit. In real life, this could not have happened because of the tactics and techniques Trent used against Jason. Trent knew that Jason would be easy to manipulate because of his age and inexperience. He was just a child and did not fully understand his rights and how to respond in stressful situations. Children this young tend to act on impulse, without processing the consequences of what they say. According to law and professional studies that concern juvenile interrogation techniques, what Trent did was not legal. In the case of J.D.B. v. North Carolina (2011), it was “ruled that age was an objective factor and concluded that officers could evaluate how a youth’s age would affect feelings of custodial event.” (Feld 2). Jason’s age was a factor because of his limited knowledge. Even though Trent told him a lawyer or his mother could be present (Cormier 81), Jason shook off the idea because he thought having his mother …show more content…
there would be humiliating. In the case of Corley v. United States, it was noted that “Custodial police interrogation, by its very nature, isolates and pressures the individual,” and there is mounting empirical evidence that these pressures can induce a frighteningly high percentage of people to confess to crimes they never committed. Jason felt so vulnerable that he even tried to escape when Trent left the interrogation room.
Trent only cared about maintaining his reputation with his perfect confession rate. When Cleary disputes that “Although all suspects are constitutionally entitled to waive that right, the notion that juvenile suspects so frequently decline legal representation during police questioning raises concerns about their lack of understanding of the protection attorneys provide in that context” (279), it shows that it was more than likely Jason was unaware of his surroundings and the consequences. Trent's wife often said "You are what you do” to him. Trent's negative influence on Jason echoes through the book's ending and the probable murderer that Jason becomes is exactly what Trent convinces him that he is. Trent was doing his job of obtain a confession, whether it be false or not, but it was not fully
legal. “While the state of Massachusetts doesn’t require departments to tape their interrogations, many do in light of a 2004 Massachusetts Supreme Court decision that a jury must be told “the State’s highest court has expressed a preference that (custodial) interrogations be recorded whenever practicable” if an unrecorded interrogation is entered into evidence.” (Gavett) The recording of Jason’s confession shows his lack of experience and his emotional state, along with the aggressiveness of the interrogation. Trent’s idea was not to get the truth and details of what happened, but just to get Jason’s confession. He knew Jason was a loner and unpopular and took advantage of him by promising things to him just to hear what he wants. In conclusion, police and interrogators should adopt different policies and tactics for juveniles. Trent was merely taking advantage of a boy unaware of the law, to further his perfect confession rate. Jason was clearly affected after the interrogation, on medication and feeling “suffocated” in his house (Cormier 153). His view of reality had been warped by Trent’s difficult questioning and giving a false confession. Jason then wanted to show what he could really do; instead of saying he did something when he did not.
In the case of 14 year old Timothy Kane a Florida teenager, reveals how youths can be hauled away for life, when the evidence shows he was just a tagging along with a group of friends
There was a presumption against the teenager’s plea for bail due to the fact the adolescent had partaken in an activity classified as a serious indictable offence. He was brought to the jurisdiction of Campbelltown Children’s court since his age was less than 18 years old where he was charged with the murder of Wayne Boyce.
English textile factories were very bad for the health of the working class families. As Dr. Ward stated, “Last summer I visited three cotton factories with Dr. Clough of Preston and Mr. Barker of Manchester, and we could not remain ten minutes in the factory without gasping for breath...¨ This shows that the conditions were so bad that they had trouble breathing because how bad the air was. Dr. Ward also says, ¨Cotton factories are highly unfavourable, both to the health and morals of those employed in them. They are really nurseries of disease and vice. These factories were very unsafe and you could get many diseases and injuries, especially if you were a kid as a lot were. The kids were in many accidents in the factories, as Dr. Ward states,
“The police can question a minor without their parent(s) present when the minor in not in custody.” (Cop Watch of East Atlanta, 1999) This was illegal on Calumet Co. part because technically Dassey was in their custody and they were questioning him without giving him the choice to have his mom there. They had come to the school that Dassey attended and arrested him from there. This wasn’t really a major point brought up during his trial but it should’ve been something to get Calumet Co. in trouble with them being police and knowing that he had the right to have a parent. It’s as if they took complete advantage of
Edwidge Danticat novel, The Farming of Bones, provides readers with an understanding of the relations of Haitians and Dominicans by chronicling the Haitians escape from the Dominican Republic following the parsley massacre and emphasizing the importance of remembering the past. Though it is a work of fiction, Danticat is able to present characters and plot points that illustrate the racial and ethnic relations between Haiti and The Dominican Republic that led to the spread of antihaitianismo. The main themes of the novel explores the impact of nationalism and the formation of ethnic/racial formation through the characters actions which allows the reader to understand the ethnic/racial tension occurring at the time on a much personal level,
Having lost all of his memories, Jason is put in a difficult situation where he cannot look at his past to help him with his decisions. This quote shows his lack of confidence before the start of his quest “Everyone seemed to think he was so brave and confident, but they didn’t see how lost he really felt. How could they trust him when he didn’t even know who he was?” (Riordan 166). He is forced to rely on his instincts, and what his heart tells him is right, so that he can make the best decisions. This quote shows us how he makes decisions “He reached in his pocket and pulled out the gold coin. He let his instincts take over, flipping the coin in the air like he’d done it a thousand times. He caught it in his palm, and suddenly he was holding a sword—a wickedly sharp double-edged weapon.” (Riordan 23). Keep in mind that when doing this, he had no knowledge of him ever doing this before. This was all done on his instincts. Jason might not have memories of who he was, or what he did, but he has learned that if he is going to lead his friends like a Husky leading a sled ☺ (Simile) he is going to have to lead with integrity and use his instincts to help
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.
The conditions of an interrogation room, small and dark, make it easy for the interrogators to get in one’s head. The hostile conditions create a divide and discomfort between the suspect and the interrogator, already losing trust on both parties. “He eventually confessed, but investigators had to ‘spoonfeed’ him the details”(Patrick). The suspects feel uncomfortable and scared of the interrogators therefore, they feel the need to please the police, even if the idea did not come from them. In this case, the suspect Michael Crowe was under an immense amount of trauma, getting rushed in a cop car from the crime scene straight to the police station. After being interrogated for three and a half hours he was taken to a different location to get interviewed, “he was emotionally drained and so tired he could barely walk”(Warden 13). In the second interview one interrogator asked Crowe to write a letter to his dead sister he was accused of killing, “it is almost like I am being convinced of this[more] than really knowing it...I pray to God that you forgive me for what they say I did”(Warden 13). Crowe uses the phrase “what they say I did” proving that the confession was not his idea, but the police’s instead. He was innocent and the police forced him to make up a story and confess to a crime he did not commit, utilizing the mental strain of interrogation against
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)...
Lincoln Rhyme, former head of Central Investigation and Resource Division, is persuaded by Lon Selitto and his partner to help the kidnapping investigation. In the mean time, the "Bone Collector" abducts another victim.
First of all, ‘The Lovely Bones’ is about a girl named Susie Salmon and tells a story of how she died and how people get along together and live without her. She was a normal fourteen-year-old girl when she was murdered in the novel 's opening pages. She narrates the rest of her story from heaven, often returning to Earth to watch over her loved ones; mostly family, some friends and Mr. Harvey and the other people he kills. ‘Lovely Bones’ is represents Susie’s body the connection of heaven to earth, earth to heaven. This is main symbolism of this book as Susie. ‘She began to see things without her and the events that her death will influence her in heaven and her family and friends in earth.’ In this passage, the author talks about her life
In this book Robert Cormier does fantastic work by creating the character of Trent (the interrogator). He completely manipulates people into thinking they did things that they did not. He is able to convince Carl that he was the murderer of a little girl when he actually was not. After Trent was able to force Carl to confess Sarah stated “That's not possible...they have the killer in custody” (Cormier 148). He uses psychological manipulation by making you question your own life. His interrogation worked so well that it turned Carl insane and he ended up becoming a murderer because of it. This happens at the end of the book when Carl says “I am going to show what I can do and really do it this time instead of saying he did it when he didn’t.” (Cormier 154). This is one of the best examples of psychological manipulation because Trent is able to make people think whatever he wants them
“Salvage the Bones" is a young woman's coming-of-age story in the face of the devastating hurricane, written by Jesmyn Ward. Esch is a fifteen year old pregnant teenager, who lives in poverty in a rural town in Mississippi, and has no parental guidance or structure in her life. Esch's coming- of-age narrative is complicated because she is pregnant, has no relationship with the father of her child, and the reality she lives in. Author Jesmyn Ward gives us a different perspective on the bildungsroman. Esch not only has to come of age for her own identity, but she also must learn to mature and grow up more quickly for the sake of her child. The result is a difficult narrative where the development of herself not only affects her, but also her
Pain and suffering is something that we all would like to never experience in life, but is something that is inevitable. “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?” is a question that haunts humanity. Mother Teresa once said that, “Suffering is a gift of God.” Nevertheless, we would all like to go without it. In the clinical setting, pain and suffering are two words that are used in conjunction. “The Wound Dresser,” by Walt Whitman and “The Nature of Suffering and Goals of Medicine,” by Eric J Cassel addresses the issue of pain and suffering in the individual, and how caregivers should care for those suffering.
Evidence provided in many courtroom cases can range from DNA samples, eyewitness testimony and video-recordings, to name a few. What happens when one of the main sources of information in a case comes from a child? Even worse, what if the child is the victim in the case? The topic of children participating and providing testimony in courtroom settings is an image that, presumably, most would not associate as a “usual” place for children. Yet in cases such as sexual abuse or violence towards a child or within the child’s family, it is not impossible to have cases where children are the predominant source of information provided for judges and jurors. Ref It is then important to consider the reliability of children’s testimonial accounts much like how adult testimonies are examined. The question of focus is then, to what extent can we rely on child eyewitnesses? Specifically, what factors influence the veracity of their testimonies?