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The Empty House Of Lena Bruner

analytical Essay
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• Michael Gulley (15), Nathan McCants (17), and Joe Sullivan (13) break in the empty house of Lena Bruner. Michael takes money and some of Ms. Burner’s possessions.
• Later that afternoon, the elderly Ms. Bruner is raped and is unable to clearly describe her abuser. All she knew was that it was a dark colored boy with curly hair. Michael Gulley, Nathan McCants, and Joe Sullivan are all African American.
• Nathan accuses Joe of sexual assault in order to save himself. Joe is not apprehended that day but he voluntarily turns himself in the next day. He admits to helping in the burglary but denies any knowledge or involvement in the sexual assault.
• Joe is tried as an adult at only thirteen years old.
• Michael and Nathan make up all of these lies about Joe and convince the court that he did in fact rape Ms. Bruner, when this was not the case. Michael and Nathan were lying to save themselves.
• Nathan is sentenced as an adult to four-and-one-half years and serves just six months.
• Michael has a criminal history and somehow he is tried as a juvenile and only spends a short period of time in juvenile detention.
• They had semen and blood samples that they did not test and someone witnessed a glimpse of a black male running from Ms. Burner’s house after she was raped. Yet, no one makes use or pays adequate attention to this evidence, probably because it would prove Joe innocent.
• Ms. Bruner is even hesitant towards naming Joe as her offender. Nothing is done properly throughout this entire case.
• No one gives Joe a fair trial, he thought he did the right thing by turning himself in, however, he sent himself to jail. Based off of his background and the need to arrest someone, Joe was an easy target.
• He is sentenced to life i...

... middle of paper ...

...who reflects on his or her own teenage years: Young teens lack the maturity, independence, and future orientation that adults have acquired” (Stevenson, 2014, p. 268). Bryan tries to explain this to the court as a way to prove that trying children as adults is unethical.
• “More than 2,500 children in the United States had been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Most juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment without parole had been convicted of homicide crimes. We estimated there were fewer than two hundred juveniles serving life without parole for non-homicide offenses” (Stevenson, 2014, pp. 269-270).
• Bryan goes to the U.S. Supreme Court to discuss these issues. Nothing is decided or determined during this chapter.
• After speaking to the U.S. Supreme Court, Bryan visits Joe and catches up with him. As always, Joe is eager to have someone to take to.

In this essay, the author

  • Describes how michael gulley, nathan mccants, and joe sullivan break into the empty house of lena bruner. michael takes money and some of ms.
  • Narrates how the elderly ms. bruner is raped and unable to describe her abuser. michael gulley, nathan mccants, and joe sullivan are all african-american.
  • Analyzes how nathan accuses joe of sexual assault in order to save himself, but he turns himself in the next day. joe admits to helping with the burglary but denies any knowledge or involvement.
  • Analyzes how michael and nathan lie about joe and convince the court that he did in fact rape ms. bruner, when this was not the case.
  • Explains that michael has a criminal history and he is tried in juvenile detention.
  • Opines that no one uses or pays adequate attention to this evidence, probably because it would prove joe innocent.
  • Analyzes how ms. bruner is hesitant to name joe as her offender. nothing is done properly throughout this entire case.
  • Opines that joe was an easy target based off of his background and the need to arrest someone.
  • Explains that joe's appointed appellate counsel did not help him appeal if anything they stopped him from doing so. they didn't do their job to help joe get out of prison.
  • Describes how joe is sent to adult prison where he is raped and sexually assaulted for the next 18 years.
  • Analyzes how the man attempted suicide on multiple occasions and developed multiple sclerosis, which eventually forced him into a wheelchair. his neurological disorder might have been triggered by trauma in prison.
  • Explains that bryan takes on joe’s case in 2007 and does all that he can to get him released because bryan sees that joe should never have been convicted of raping ms. bruner.
  • Analyzes how bryan goes to santa rosa to visit joe and realizes that he did not encounter a single colored individual when 70% of the men incarcerated are brown or black.
  • Analyzes how bryan discovers that anyone sentenced to life has to wait in a cage when visiting someone. joe and his wheelchair end up getting stuck.
  • Analyzes how bryan feels like he is talking to a child when bryan talks to joe.
  • Describes how bryan receives letters from joe almost every day for the next three months. joe is excited that someone is helping him and that he has someone to talk to.
  • Narrates how bryan helps ashley jones (convicted of killing two family members at fourteen) and evan miller (he and his friend tried to steal his neighbor’s wallet, the neighbor woke up and they beat him on the head with a bat).
  • Opines that evan cannot understand some of the hostile and violent behaviors he sees from prisoners and the other people around him.
  • Explains that many children are confused about their adolescent behavior, therefore, they should not have life sentences without parole when one does not understand their actions.
  • Narrates how bryan's grandfather died when a group of adolescents stole from him and killed him, but he was too old to stop them anyway.
  • Explains that people need to understand children's backgrounds in order to determine a proper punishment. life sentences are not always the best solution.
  • Analyzes how bryan explains that biological and psychosocial developments explain what is obvious to parents, teachers, and any adult who reflects on his or her teenage years. he tries to explain this to the court to prove that trying children as adults is unethical
  • Estimates that more than 2,500 children in the united states had been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
  • Explains that bryan goes to the u.s. supreme court to discuss these issues. nothing is decided or determined during this chapter.
  • Describes how bryan visits joe after speaking to the u.s. supreme court and catches up with him. joe is eager to have someone to take to.
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