Investigation Of Justice State V. Hickock And Smith

Katie Dyer Professor Vanderwall English 1120 30-September-2016 Investigation of Justice in State v. Hickock and Smith In compliance with the United States Constitution, â€Å"in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury† (U.S. Consitution. Art./Amend. XIII)†. The infamous trial in the state of Kansas, State v. Hickock and Smith, documented in the iconic true crime novel In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote details the events of the murder of four innocent people and the trial of their killers. Upon reading Capote’s depiction of the trial, readers are placed in the position of deciding if the rights of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were violated during their trial, and whether or not justice served in the case of State v. Hickock and Smith. The constitutional rights guaranteed to Perry Smith and Richard Hickock under the fifth and fourteenth amendments of the constitution were violated during their trial. Due process states that Smith and Hickock had the right to a fair and just trial, however, the presiding judge, members of the jury, and the defense failed to uphold and execute their roles in a professional and unbiased manner. â€Å"These were grave assertions, reflecting upon the integrity of two respected lawyers and a distinguished district judge, but if even partially true, then the constitutional rights of the defendants had been abused (Capote 326)†. â€Å"Shultz had a score of charges, but underlying them all was

The United States Criminal Justice System - 1827 Words

The United States criminal justice system has failed to rehabilitate criminals. Even after being penalized for their crimes, prisoners continue to commit crimes without learning that what they did was wrong from being incarcerated and are sent back to prison. Jails are set up to aid those imprisoned by helping them obtain skills that will hopefully reduce future incidences and allow them to act like the citizens they should be. However, punishing criminals is not as productive as many think it is. This is shown by the increased imprisonment rate from 250,000 in 1976 to almost 2 million by 2003 (Lynch 26, 49). Instead of learning how to work towards handling their problems, inmates are expected to learn from their mistakes by being isolated from society and even sometimes from human contact. Since the prisoners are unable to learn from their delinquencies after doing time in prison, many recommit offenses and find themselves back in jail. Prisons should become more education based, to achieve this goal the overall costs of prisons has to decrees. According to Shadd Maruna, director of the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice for Queen’s Law, â€Å"of the more than 100,000 released from prison each year, 70 percent will return to prison.† The re-incarceration is mainly due to the incapability of these convicts to re-adapt into society. After being detached from the real world, it is problematic to adjust to changes, depending on how long the prisoners wereShow MoreRelatedThe United States And The Criminal Justice System Essay1662 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States considers itself to be the best country in the world. This sense of nationalism is present because of the country’s history of opportunities and their emphasis on the power of their people. Safety is a crucial aspect that peopleconsider when choosing where to live. The United States provides their citizenswith national safety throughthe enforcement of their criminal ju stice system.As a result of their intentions of maintaining a secure living environment, the United States has theRead MoreCriminal Justice System Of The United States1722 Words   |  7 Pages  Criminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. Those accused of crime have protections against abuse of investigatory and prosecution powers. Goals In the United States, criminal justice policy has been guided by the 1967 President s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, which issuedRead MoreThe United States Criminal Justice System Essay1132 Words   |  5 Pagespunished for a crime. The film focuses on racism in the United States’ criminal justice system. According to DuVernay, the part of the 13th Amendment that says â€Å"unless you are being punished for a crime† is a loophole that has been used to allow slavery to continue in the early days during reconstruction and even now. This loophole coupled with the criminalization of the black man has led to mass incarceration of minorities. The United States which has only five percent of the world’s population butRead MoreThe Criminal Justice Systems And The United States1169 Words   |  5 PagesThe criminal justice systems in Bolivia and the United States have different structures with some similarities. I was born in La Paz Boliv ia and we will be taking a look into Bolivia and the U.S’s governmental and criminal justice systems. Bolivia is a republic with a democratic government. The U.S. also has a democratic government. The Napoleonic code (civil code) and Spanish law compose Bolivia’s legal system, whereas the US is based on common law. The U.S. and Bolivia may have their similaritiesRead MoreThe United States Criminal Justice System1670 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States Criminal Justice System is an extremely complex, but yet extremely important part of the United States. The criminal justice system is defined as â€Å"the set of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws). Although there are many different groups of people that make up the criminal justice system, the two main and most discussed the state division or the federal division. The state division of the criminal justiceRead MoreCriminal Justice System And The United States2244 Words   |  9 PagesAbstract The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Many failed policies have led us to the issues we have today. Policies such as America’s â€Å"get tough on crime† failed us and put us into a bigger hole than we already were in. Our criminal justice system needs to be evaluated and failed policies and procedures must be thrown out. It is a time for a reform for our criminal justice system. However, we must first address these policies and procedures that led us to where weRead MoreThe United States Criminal Justice System2824 Words   |  12 PagesThe United States criminal justice system is essential to the functioning of American society. A central component to the criminal justice system in our country is the U.S. courts. The U.S. courts uphold those rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens under the Constitution while also enforcing the laws and precedents set forth by the United States government. Over the course of the last several months I have b een given the opportunity to sit in and observe the workings and proceedings that take placeRead MoreThe United States The Criminal Justice System856 Words   |  4 Pages In the United States the criminal justice system does not always create policies that affect everyone equally. There are many policies that seem to target a specific group of people, whether this is intentional or not is beside the point. The important thing is to change the criminal justice system in order to stop race disparities. Marc Mauer in his lecture speaks of the reason for the disparity between races when it comes to the incarceration rate, as well as steps that can be taken in orderRead MoreThe United States Criminal Justice System Essay1463 Words   |  6 PagesThe United States criminal justice system can be described as flawed in many ways. Some of these flaws have a larger impact on the people of this country than others. Two of the largest problems we have currently revolve around the issues of wrongful convictions and prosecutorial misconduct. The whole criminal justice system revolves around making sure people follow the laws put in place, and if they do not punish them for their wrongdoing. This system is also about affording the same rights to everyRead MoreThe Criminal Justice System And The United States Essay1445 Words   |  6 PagesOvercrowding The Criminal Justice System has made many changes since it first started in the 17th Century. The Criminal Justice System first began in the United States during the colonial times, when the colonist had to follow the rules of the British. During the Colonial times, the Criminal Justices System was not as fair as our current system is today, which meant a lot of people did not have liberties and were ultimately treated unfairly. Times have definitely changed for the Criminal Justice System and for

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Free Essays

The literary piece â€Å"The Bluest Eye,† written by Toni Morrison and published in circa 1970, has centered on the story of an eleven-year-old female character, Pecola Breedlove (Foerstel, 2002). The central theme that has been apparent in the story is the desire of Pecola to have white skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. Not only does she want a set of blue eyes but she actually wants the bluest shade of blue that there is. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison or any similar topic only for you Order Now Her desires for this kind of physical appearance stems from her idea that those who are given these physical features are given or are receiving a certain kind of privilege from the society because of the stigma associated with it. Chloe Anthony Wofford, more popularly known as Toni Morrison, is the second of four Black children who belonged to a family who worked their way to living (â€Å"Toni Morrison: Biography,† 1993). She was born in 1931 in Ohio and proceeded to earn her degree in prestigious universities, more specifically Howard and Cornell University (â€Å"Toni Morrison: Biography,† 1993). She has earned her positions in credible institution both in the academic ladder and in writing (â€Å"Toni Morrison: Biography,† 1993). Later on, she made an impact through the novels she made that showed the plight of the Black Americans that contained narratives of different characters’ lives (â€Å"Toni Morrison: Biography,† 1993). With the novels she made, she has earned several awards and recognition from different award-giving bodies in the field of literature that even included the Pulitzer Prize for the year 1988 (â€Å"Toni Morrison: Biography,† 1993). Summary of the Novel In Morrison’s novel, â€Å"The Bluest Eye,† Pecola has shown to be a girl who is born to parents who lived difficult lives in their past. Pecola’s mother, Pauline, has lived in isolation, often beaten up by his husband who she often provokes to do such, and only feels worth at work where she is made to clean the house of a White woman. On the other hand, Pecola’s father, Cholly, is a drunkard whose current state of misery is blamed to his parents abandoning him when he was still a child. He is made to live with his great aunt and an experience he could not forget is the incident where he felt humiliated when to White men caught him cohabiting and sexually exploited him. Soon, he found where his father is but the latter refused to take him in his life and later on met Pauline. They built a life together but soon, love is lost between them and they have both lost everything they had. Pecola came to their lives but she has also received failures from the personal angst of her parents. She has adopted the desires of being White from her mother as they both think that it is their only way to draw acceptance from the society they live in. It has served as an important part of their lives to desire for the physical features of a White individual because it somehow gives them hopes of being in a better condition than what they have now. However, it gives them frustrations, too, as society continuously rejects them and presses on their being Black as the very reason why they are treated badly. As for the miseries of Cholly, he ends up raping Pecola out of both guilt and emotional feelings for his child. Pecola becomes pregnant but the baby dies and her father decides to rape her for the second time. After this, she becomes lunatic which is the time when she thought that she had the bluest eye there is. Approach to the Novel The novel, during the time of its publication, has taken a different course from the usual ones taken by the Black women writers, who, in their literary works, meant to â€Å"destroy negative stereotypes of Black women, to present the relationship between Black men and women as ‘complimentary,’ and to affirm the Black family and community† (Dubey, 1994, p. 33). It has been exceptionally regarded as a literary piece that has laid before its audience the problems within the selves of the Black community that requires attention in order for them to proceed into accepting that they are a race equally superior and equally beautiful as the White (Dubey, 1994). While they condemn the disparities between the White and the Blacks, within them are the desires to be among the White people. Their condemnations arise from the issues they have with regard to their acceptance in a society dominated by the White people and they see that assimilation to this particular culture is the means through which they could fight it but is actually not. As shown in the novel of Morrison, it is best to realize the psychological and social impacts of the desires to be White in order to fully acquire an identity for the Black community (Dubey, 1994). Moreover, it should be understood that the work of Morrison requires an understanding of the history of the Black community as they tried to establish a place for their selves in the society where they live in. There is a common factor which should be targeted, which is the presence of direct and indirect discrimination against the Black community. Through time, it has become apparent that there is really a big difference with how White and Black individuals are treated. Moreover, the source for the discrimination felt by the Blacks should be understood in order to understand the novel. This is because the source of the Black characters in the story stems from a real-life dilemma that is not explicitly stated in the text. There is a need to unravel the true cause for the behavior of the characters in order to understand the way they feel and the way they are in terms of their relationship with society. Traditional beliefs, Practices, and Artistic Forms â€Å"The Bluest Eye† also contains elements of traditional beliefs, practices, and artistic forms in the later life of Pecola. When she became pregnant, Claudia and Frieda McTeer, children of the couples whom Pecola lived with, used their money in order to buy marigold seeds. They believed that if this would bear flowers, then the baby of Pecola would live, which is what they wanted despite the opposite stance of the people in their community. The money they used in order to buy the seeds is originally meant for the bicycle they wanted to buy for themselves but because of the importance and great belief they put on this practice, they prioritized the seeds instead of the bike. Their belief on this particular practice is further reinforced as the plant does not bloom and the baby of Pecola dies, which they could correlate because of the incident. Moreover, it has shown that the artistic manner of communication by the Blacks has been adopted by Morrison. The author wants to present the â€Å"aural literature† as she deliberately formed the sentences in such a way that a Black individual will be heard conversing to the audience and to other characters. To a certain extent, it pushes the approach away from the typical written language but delves more into the spoken language (â€Å"Toni Morrison,† 2009). While there are critics who mentioned that â€Å"her prose is rich,† she claims that it is an inherent quality of the Black language (â€Å"Toni Morrison,† 2009). She treats the manner of speaking observed from the Black people to be a distinct and different set of language that forms a body of its own as modifications and creations have evolved to how they use this language now. Moreover, it is said that the novel and other literary pieces written in the same manner has replaced the role of music played by the Blacks before (â€Å"Toni Morrison,† 2009). However, replacement may not be the term intended for this but rather, they simply shared the same portion and works towards the same goals, because of the same purpose, but uses different means. Preserving the Black Language With the manner by which the author structured the words and the sentences, the Black language has become apparent throughout the text. The rich and poetic form that is embodied in the language of the Blacks is an element that the author wants to retain. This lies beneath the psychological and social themes of incest, racial discrimination, and desires to be White. It tries to preserve the approach of this language developed within this race through the experiences of the characters and the conversations included in the story. It has been mentioned earlier that the different forms of Black music has shared a role with the literary pieces in keeping the culture alive for the Black community. With the onset of popular culture and the desires for assimilation, it is important that the unique characteristics and the distinct nature of the Black culture be preserved together with their history and unique experiences. Adopting other Cultures and Traditions As the author means to direct the entire story towards the Black community, most of the cultures and traditions that have been presented come from that of the Blacks. However, it still relates the Black culture into the White because of the interaction between the two that served as the important aspect of the paper. The only element that is taken from the White culture is the seemingly distorted and limited view of beauty, which requires them to see it within a white-skinned, blonde, and blue-eyed individual. Better treatment and the regard for superiority of people fitting this description has been ingrained into the lives of the Black characters as it is adopted from the White culture. This is seen to be the condition of the people during the time of the narrator’s existence but is constantly changing as we now see it. References Dubey, M. (1994). Black women novelists and the nationalist aesthetic. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press. Foerstel, H. (2002). Banned in the USA: A reference guide to book censorship in schools and public libraries. (2nd Ed. ). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing. Toni Morrison: Biography. (1993). Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://nobelprize. org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1993/morrison-bio. html. Toni Morrison â€Å"The Bluest Eye. † Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://academic. brooklyn. cuny. edu/english/melani/cs6/morrison. html#black. How to cite The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Papers

Conflicting Perspectives Speech free essay sample

Conflicting perspectives require students to explore various representations of events, personalities or situations†¦ Medium of production, textual form, perspective and choice of language influence meaning† How would you feel if the man of your dreams, cheated on you, and left you for another woman? Then again, imagine what your life would be like living with someone who was mentally unstable. How would your friends, family, and possibly the general public perceive that situation? Of course they would all have opinions of their own. It is conflicting perspectives similar to these, which resonate from Ted Hughes’s ‘The Shot’ and ‘The Minotaur’ and the film ‘Sylvia’ Directed by Christine Jeffs (2003). The different representations of personalities across the two textual forms shape understanding in regards to the relationship between Plath and Ted Hughes d The film Sylvia was created for three reasons. Firstly to entertain an audience comprising of the general public, it would have been dramatized and exaggerated to appeal to large numbers of people. Secondly it was created to make money. The dramatization of the story would have increased general appeal, leading to more viewers, increasing the profit. Thirdly, it was designed to show visually, through the use of cinematic techniques the conflicted story of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath’s relationship Hughes’s poetry on the other hand is subjective, and is an expression of his thoughts and feelings about Plath and their relationship. He uses Poetic techniques and language devices to communicate his side of the story. Through the use of personal pronouns, and the repetition of â€Å"you† we get the feeling that his poems are speaking directly to Plath, almost conversationally. Throughout the film ‘Sylvia’, Plath is portrayed as a helpless, innocent young girl, who is corrupted by Hughes, the leading cause of her eventual demise. Jeff’s has depicted her in this way to allow the audience to emotionally connect and sympathise with her throughout the film. In the opening scenes, a tracking shot of Plath riding a bicycle, down the streets of London, with cheerful, non-diegetic music playing in the background, nfluences the audience to feel approval towards Plath, forging a positive bond between the two. Would anyone here say that guns and bullets are cheerful? No? I didn’t think so. Well In the shot Hughes shapes a destructive, powerful and out of control Plath, by metaphorically comparing her to a bullet. â€Å"You ricocheted the length of your alpha career with the fury of a high velocity bullet† the Dangerous imagery, and the personification of the bullet juxtapose with the portrayal of Plath in ‘Sylvia’ as a sweet harmless young girl. Throughout the shot, Hughes goes on, extending the metaphor to describe her as nearly indestructible, â€Å"you were gold jacketed, solid silver, nickel tipped,† The use of the high quality metals give Plath an air of importance, emphasised by the assonance in â€Å"Nickel Tipped†. However he juxtaposes these claims, weakening the strong image he has built up for the length of the poem by lines like â€Å"inside your sob-sodden Kleenex and your Saturday night panics†. This quote alludes to the changing Highs and the Lows of her emotions. The use of alliteration highlights the change in description, emphasising her fragile mental state. Plath’s mentality is a common topic used in The Shot, The Minotaur and the film ‘Sylvia’. Hughes uses American slang contrasted with biblical allusions to emphasise paths obsessive nature â€Å"Ordinary jocks became gods Deified by your infatuation†. During the film ‘Sylvia’, her obsessive nature and the highs and lows of her emotions are symbolised through quick editing of a white ball being thrown up and down, a close up of Plath’s eyes as she Throws the ball and a mid shot from behind of Plath and the ball hitting the ceiling repeatedly. These images are accompanied with Plath chanting â€Å"Ted Hughes, Ted Hughes, Edward Hughes, Edward Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, Mrs Sylvia Hughes† The chant shows the depth of her infatuation, while the white ball moving up and down visually symbolises the highs and lows of her emotions in regards to their relationship. If opposites attract then of course the supportive ‘considered and calm’ Hughes described in ‘the Minotaur’ would be drawn to Sylvia and her unpredictable emotions. Throughout ‘the Minotaur’ Hughes makes it obvious hat he supported Plath and her poetry in its entirety, also taking credit for her success. â€Å"That’s the stuff you’re keeping out of your poems! Get that under your stanzas and well be away† Hughes use of dialogue to show his mentoring of Plath, give the poem a sense of realism, and that the scene of events are occurring as you read. From the words ‘and we’ll be away’ Hughes is implying that he is responsible for some of her best poetry. Hughes’s portrayal of himself in ‘the Minotaur’ conflicts with the image in ‘The Shot’ of the victim of Plath the bullet. Vague as mist I did not even know I had been hit, or that you had gone clean through me† the dramatic simile, comparing his awareness to mist and the descriptive imagery emphasises Hughes innocence in the relationship. This ‘innocence’ portrayed conflicts significantly with the film Sylvia, where Hughes is portrayed as an unfaithful husband, and the eventual cause of Sylvia’s suicide, the colours Plath wears when in the presence of Hughes are light blues and greys, compared to the bright red and pinks she wears when she is living without him. This colour difference represents visually the change and negative effect Hughes had on Plath’s life. From ‘the shot’, ‘the Minotaur’ and the film ‘Sylvia’, different interpretations and opinions influence the portrayal of personalities. Through these different perspectives we are able to build a larger picture of the relationship between ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. The difference in representation across medium help us to better understand the meaning of Ted Hughes’s poetry and the meaning behind his words.