The Spirit Of The Law

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The Spirit Of The Law “When one obeys the spirit of the law and not the letter of the law, one is doing what the authors of the law intended” (Wikipedia, para 1). The spirit of the law allows for flexibility in the justice system. It allows for the interpretation of situations and cases. The spirit of the law allows for individuals to think from various perspectives and requires a deeper understanding of the situations. Rather than having one specific perspective on the issue such as Letter of the Law, the Spirit of the Law allows for the analysis of cases, flexibility, and justice. It is important to interpret the situations leading up to an outcome, as it allows for a better understanding of what has occurred and why it has occurred. “On October 24th, 1993, Tracy Latimer was found dead. She had died [under the care of her father]. Mr. Latimer confessed to the crime and admitted that he had killed Tracy, [by placing her in his truck and connection a hose from the truck’s exhaust pipe to the cab]” (Wikipedia, para 4). Tracy passed away from high amount of carbon monoxide. Mr. Latimer was “found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 10 years” (Wikipedia, para 4). It is important to note that Mr. Latimer did not commit this crime out of senselessness but because he wanted to place Tracy out of her misery. Jean Jacques Rousseau, a famous French philosopher, based a handful of his theoretical perspectives on the Spirit of the Law. He believed that people deserved freedom. Laws are vague and rely on the interpretation of individuals. It is evident that the sentence given to Mr. Latimer was not interpreted through the eyes of a father but a criminal. Although he did break... ... middle of paper ... ..."Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Aristotle . N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. . "Jean-Jacques Rousseau." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 3 May 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. . "Jean-Jacques Rousseau Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. . "Robert Latimer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Feb. 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. . "Sean Bell shooting incident." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Feb. 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. "The Shooting Death of Oscar Grant: What You Need to Know." About.com Civil Liberties. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. .

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