Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary

My Opinion on the Issue of Police Brutality

After being imprisoned for peacefully parading against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama Martin Luther king Jr. wrote a lengthy letter while confined behind bars. He titled it “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Kings letter was specifically addressed to clergymen due to their criticism of his demonstration, calling his works “unwise and untimely” (566). In his letter, he carefully focuses on why he has been placed in jail and explains why it is necessary that humans stand up for they believe and what is consider right. Most importantly, this letter gives insight on the events of police brutality that took place not only in Birmingham, but in America as well in 1963. King also describes the series

Prior to the incident, Brown had forcefully robbed a convince store and stole cigars. On top of that, Michael Brown had been using the illegal substance, Marijuana. The shooting sparked several riots which urged Wilson, the police officer, to resign from his position and was later charged with murder (Hitchcock 20). Brown was in the wrong. He should have never robbed or stolen from a store and he most definitely should not have tried to run from the officer. Whether Brown had been white, brown, prink or black, all criminal justice system officers would have reacted to the situation the same. Wilson was just doing his job. Shortly before, Brown had robbed a store and stole from the same place. Wilson had no idea of what the eighteen-year-old was capable of performing next, therefore, he had to do what was best for himself and everyone surrounding to make sure the small population were out of harm’s

According to Kerr Putney chief of the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Police Department, officers were searching for a wanted man when they witnessed Keith Scott get into a car with a gun in hand. Officers then approached Scott and warned him several different times to release his weapon. Instead Scott tried to get back out of the vehicle still clutching the handheld gun, which was when he was shot by Brentley Vinson, a black official (Shoichet and Sandoval). There were two mistakes made by Scott. The first was carrying the gun. According to the North Carolina Firearms Law, the only person who may carry guns in public places are, law enforcement officer, military soldiers, investigators, and “[a]ny individual with a valid concealed handgun permit (under either North Carolina law or the law of issuance) provided the weapon is a handgun, is in a closed compartment or container within the person's locked vehicle, and the vehicle is in a parking area that is owned or leased by State government” (11). Following my research, it was concluded that Scott was not of any authority and did not possess a permit to tote the gun. His second faux pas was refusing to follow the orders of the officer. When he tried to escape out of the automobile with the firearm, the patrolman felt threatened and defended himself due to the fact that he could not sense how Scott was going to react with his weapon. Again, alike both