... lower the sentences given to crack-related crimes such as possession and trafficking. Many people believed the law was racially discriminatory because crack users are typically poor and living in a black neighborhood. On June 30th, the commission decided to apply the lesser sentences to those who are already in prison (Serrano). Patti Saris, the head of the commission, said the Fair ... 's vice chairman (Serrano). The law will go into effect in November barring that Congress does not veto it, although that is highly unlikely. The average crack sentence will be reduced by about 37 months,...

• Word Count: 790
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... mugger. Johnny had the option to stay with a new family, he chose not to. He does not have a stable identity and is troubled by it. He has experienced too much change. Johnny's identity changes over the course of the book when he runs away from home, he suddenly ... leader. Johnny is not prepared to be a gang leader. This is apparent when he is shocked, as he witnesses a mugging of a man, by the gang. Towards the end of the book, this is probably where Johnny and his identity change the most during the entire book. A few ... of the factors that influence his identity are the fact that h...

• Word Count: 622
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... he had his arm amputated and when it had heeled he was taken to Clayton, New Mexico where the judge sentenced him to death. So it was set Black Jack was going to be hung for his crimes even though he plead innocent to most of them but the judge found him guilty. The hanging had been ... so the lawmen pushed his hanging up to April 26. On April 26, 1901 they slipped the noose around his neck but before they hung him he said his final words; "I'll be in hell before you start breakfast boys, let her rip"(Thomas Ketchum) He was hung, and his hanging turned out to be a big town ... event peop...

• Word Count: 716
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Wrong information always shown by the media Negative images is the main criteria infecting the young minds faster than bacteria Kids act like what they see in the cinema These are lyrics taken from the recent Black Eyed Peas song, "Where is the love. They express a negative view of the media, blaming the media for the problems in today's society. This verse provides ... ...

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... as, do people have the right to take justice into their own hands? And, is the Criminal Justice system colorblind? Clanton, Mississippi. The life of a ten year old black girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men when she is brutally raped and left to die. The mainly white town reacts with shock and horror at this inhumane crime. That ... the jury that his witness is still credible. Meanwhile, the K.K.K is becoming more active and eventually Jake becomes aware of this when his house is burnt to the ground. The black churches around Mississippi show their support for Carl...

• Word Count: 728
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Death Penalty Many controversies exist surrounding the use of the death penalty in the American criminal justice system. While reading A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, I came across several key points that reflect many of the arguments associated with these controversies. One example ... time did not afford Jefferson a trial that was motivated by the search for the truth. Instead it was a trial motivated by racism and inequality. One where a white jury will almost always find a black man guilty whenever a white man is killed, and a black man is the suspect. While in no way am ...

• Word Count: 806
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Alexander does a great job of using emotional appeal to demonstrate how ex-criminals are ushered into a new form of underclass akin to those of black citizens during the Jim Crow era. The stigmas that come with being an ex-criminal, Alexander states, have become as much of a detriment in ... While the realities ex-criminals face after paying their debt to society are not color based, they are just as harsh as those faced by blacks post slavery, Alexander therefore correctly likens the struggles of these ex-criminals to those of free slaves during the Jim Crow era. Through ... and carele...

• Word Count: 683
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... threshold of police limitations at different heights. The NYPD has been one of the most controversial police departments in the racial profiling debate. Black and Hispanic groups have long complained about the injustice that they receive from the NYPD. And now with heightened national concern of homeland ... certain guidelines is essential to police department activity. The problem with racial profiling is not the policy itself, but the abusing of the policy by individuals in positions of authority. One would be a fool to believe that police departments aren't, unfortunately, plagued wi...

• Word Count: 659
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... born a slave, and purchased and sold at a young age. Aaron and his family were sold about three or four times until they were purchased by a slave owner by the name of Bosket, that's when they received their surname Bosket. Aaron Bosket wanted his own land and to become a share cropper with a ... were more blacks in the population then whites, so when the votes came about the blacks were voting for the republicans whom would be fighting for black people's rights, the ratio is said to be 4:1 blacks. White southerner's seen themselves as above the law, honor and slavery gave them that ......

• Word Count: 3198
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... broken out recently, officials were able to clear out Occupy L.A. protestors in a peaceful manner. The camp, which resided in City Hall's south lawn, was the nation's largest Occupy camp before hundreds of police officers quickly encircled the demonstrators and peacefully arrested more than 200 demonstrators (Linthicum). Police used a new technique to gather protestors rather than their previously used methods of ... encircled the demonstrators within ten minutes. There were some cases of thrown rocks and taunting, but in general protestors either left on their own or resigned themselve...

• Word Count: 574
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• Has Bibliography

... district attorney's office is insisting that Strauss-Kahn plead guilty to a misdemeanor, but his lawyers will not allow it (Dwyer). Strauss-Kahn was the leading candidate for the French presidency before being accused of sexually assaulting the Guinean housekeeper when she showed up to clean his room. Although he will never reach that status again, the new discoveries will ease his ... phone charges to five different companies but insisted that she only had one phone. She also claimed she did not know anything about the deposits except that they were made by her fianc...

• Word Count: 840
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

I recently came across the article 'I See a Killer Die' by Allan Hall in this article I was intrigued by the different view on capital punishment, although I strongly agree with the death penalty. Robert Harris was a man with no conscious he ... as a living being if you get a place to live, eat and shower. We cannot let mass numbers of innocent lives die because of one individual. Just before Harris death Allan Hall says 'His head twitched around and he breathed frantically gasping for air – breathing just like a woman in labour might breath'. This ... gives the reader a vivid im...

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... a fifty-fifty chance, which means that he liked it equal. For a former convict, it appears that Bulldog has manners, quoted from the text "He didn't want to offend him by trespassing." And last but not least, Mr. Spencer's wife, Mrs. Spencer. She was the only one in the story who was reasonable. Mrs. Spencer would often tell her husband ... to pick the bananas before he lost them all, but ignored as she was, her husband chose his honor before reason. Theme To be the biggest and powerful person. The theme of "An Honest Thief" is the longing to be the ... said, quote, "this is a matter o...

• Word Count: 678
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Texas judge William Adams, who ironically presides over child abuse cases, caused uproar when daughter Hillary Adams uploaded a video on YouTube of him savagely beating her with a belt when she was sixteen years old. According to Hillary, the abuse was not a one-time thing. Her mother, Hallie Adams who has since divorced William, claimed that her ex-husband had bouts of violence caused by his "addiction," which they kept as a "family secret" for a long time. Because the statute of limitations has lapsed, William cannot be charged with child abuse, although it is yet to be seen whether his care...

• Word Count: 531
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Anthony Sowell, the sex offender who was convicted of murdering 11 women, faces the death penalty unless his defense team can successfully convince the jury that Sowell was provoked by post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses. Sowell, who is an ex-Marine, abused the bodies after the women had died, and then stashed their bodies around his house, ... ...

• Word Count: 803
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... people's lives and caused strong social reactions. Our task to maintain food safety remains challenging," said Wang Shengjun, the country's top judge (Jiang). Before this surge in cases, government had cracked down on food safety violations, backed by a state media campaign. However, recently cases were revealed using milk laced with melamine, pigs fed with performance enhancing drugs to watermelons juiced up with ... to postpone death sentences for two years if an immediate execution was not necessary. Earlier, the Chinese legislature amended the country's penal code to reduce the numb...

• Word Count: 519
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of local as well as federal law enforcement that the MS13s are being sent trainers. Their gang is one that is controlled from El Salvador, and it has been decided by those in charge that the local organizations might need a little more training in drug trafficking, racketeering, extortion, etc. So the higher ups in the organization are sending those that can ... good for the Charlotte area. "There seems to be a concerted effort to better organize the gang here in Charlotte," says FBI Special Agent Ray Duda. "And that effort was initiated by leaders in El Salvador." The MS13s are not you...

• Word Count: 426
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... enter society as a productive citizen. As the criminal is about to be released from prison, I would offer the poem "A Psalm of Life" written by Henry Longfellow. The piece "A Psalm of Life" is a beautiful and truly inspiring poem. Longfellow's main intention and purpose for writing this piece is ... tomorrow than they did today. "A Psalm of Life" is a message to everyone that they should live life to the fullest, bettering themselves day by day in order to leave behind something that others can benefit from. "We can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us footprints ... ...

• Word Count: 542
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... of the killers which allows the reader to understand how they evolved into murderers. Richard Hickock and Perry Smith both suffered from mental illness caused by their pasts; although they were guilty of the crime, putting them to death was unjust because of their mental health and because they were ... apart. Dick's mother stated that "[a]fter that [accident], he wasn't the same boy. Gambling, writing bad checks. I never knew him to do them things before" (166). When thrust into a situation where he had very few options to make a living Dick was forced into a life of crime. It started w...

• Word Count: 2417
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... of the gang live is in ruins and rubble from bombings. Children and teenagers growing up in this catastrophic environment are unfortunately greatly impacted by their environment. The boys of the gang value violence as they are used to seeing destruction; corrupting their thoughts so they destroy the ... lose their status. Once again, Trevor views the world being bitter and harsh. More specifically, by destroying Mr Thomas's house there would no longer remain any memories of the town before the bombings had taken place. The other members of the gang also lose their innocence and become .....

• Word Count: 848
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... in Siberia, and realizes that surrender to true love and equality finally puts his mind at peace and ease. In closing, Raskolnikov experiences a paradigm shift upon himself and the world by looking at himself as an equal rather than a superior to life and to others. It is at this moment that Raskolnikov is able to enter himself back into society and ... sanity by realizing his love for Sonia. Delineate the superior man argument and evaluate Raskolnikov by the theory. Raskolnikov's theory upon the existence of two separate types of man - the ordinary and the "extraordinary" – is quite ...

• Word Count: 1095
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... meter from the wall of an empty house in order to steal money in it. This caused the gas to seep into the next house and the woman was affected by it. He was not found guilty because he did not realise that the gas would seep but he was charged under the 1861 act of maliciously administering a noxious thing. In ... of a continuing act then the existence of the mens rea in the offence can be present at any time. In Fagan (1969) the defendant was told by the officer not to park by the kerb, by obeying the officer he accidentally drove onto the officer's foot. The policeman asked him to mo...

• Word Count: 791
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... of conflict resolution we currently have. It is my position that Christie's argument has merit and should be used as a tool within the context of our current legal framework by restoring victim's rights and putting more emphasis on humanizing offenders. However, it is difficult to comprehend how our current society, which relies heavily on formal institutional processes, could resolve ... focuses on the process which he describes using five characteristics: 1) the conflicting parties are in the centre of the room and are the focus of everyone's attention; 2) they are surrounded by loved...

• Word Count: 1599
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... injures most of the family. The Misfit and his two companions come across them, and after inspecting the family's car, begin to execute the family one by one. While the Misfit's companions are executing the family members in the woods, the Misfit has a conversation with the grandmother. He expresses his concern ... punishments. The grandmother, after a while, begins to feel compassion for him and touches him on the shoulder, at which time the Misfit shoots her. By this, O"Connor is telling us that love and compassion does not have to be just. The family is not perfect, nor is the Misfit...

• Word Count: 951
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... men, Simmons and Moore. A jury later found Gregg guilty of both offenses and at the sentencing stage the jury decided on the death penalty. Troy Gregg appealed his death sentence and the Supreme Court decided to hear the case of Gregg v. Georgia (Buranelli 97). Gregg argued that the death ... penalty violated his Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court ruled in 1976, by a majority of 7-2, that the new state laws under which Gregg was sentenced to death did not violate the Constitution (Quarterly 245). The 1976 case ... in place, the judicial system...

• Word Count: 1245
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School