Man Gave Parole In A Flagstaff Hotel Analysis

In the article titled ”Man Denied Parole in a Flagstaff Hotel” the article follows the case of then teenager Jacob Wideman murdering his bunkmate Eric Kane while he slept in his bed at a summer camp hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1986. Jacob was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, the article was written in 2011the year of his first parole hearing. The issue for the readers to decipher in the article is if they believe Jacob who has served the past 25 years in prison should be granted parole and be released from prison. The article gives up to date insight from the parents of both of boys, Jacob who committed the murder, and Eric the victim all leading up to Jacob’s parole hearing. In this paper I will highlight key points from the article while answering key questions to give a better understanding of the trial for myself and for the readers. Eric Kane the victim of the murder was only 16 years old at the time of his death. 16 years young and with a promising life ahead of him cut short by his tragic death. 25 years later the Kane family still wants the man who killed their son years ago to remain

Jacob was very young when he committed his murder but I think he still may exhibit violent and harmful behaviors. When he confessed to the other murder of a young woman I felt that was a prime example of his mental state. The article never confirmed if he actually did kill the woman but regardless even in an attempt to speed up his own death was disturbing. In 1993 when he assaulted the prison staffer it goes to show that he still may have those violent impulses. It’s easy for him to say he changed to help his release but like the parole board in Flagstaff I’m also not convinced. He took another person’s life and for that despite him saying he has changed he still is a murder and must pay for