The similarities in the lives of this father and son are uncanny. I will look at the murders committed by both Butch and Willie. They both committed two murders. I will look at the correlation between the two men and the murders they committed. I will touch on their lives and their treatment at home. In addition, how that eventually affected them and the eventual murders they both committed. Their mother has sent them both away. They were both sent to the same juvenile detention centers at different times. This affected both men differently. The psychologists gave them the same diagnosis at different times, but no one realized this at the time. It is astonishing that there was no connection made between the two men. There was bound to be tragedy in their lives given the history in this family. Butch and Willie both committed heinous crimes, but for different reasons. I will look at why I think they killed and what sentences I believe they should have gotten for killing. When Butch was nine years old, his mother sent him away with a quarter and told him never to come back. He rode the subway for days, until he was picked up by the police and taken to court. This was in August 1950, he was sent to the Children’s Center. It would be the beginning of a lifetime of institutions for Butch. Butch had to learn at a young age to defend himself. To be the toughest kid in the institution. He had to strike first or he would get hurt. He was all he had. His mother did not want him. He learned early “that a willingness to fight was essential to survival.” (1) Butch became hard to handle at the Children’s Center. He was then sent to Wiltwyck, another institution for boys. “Wiltwick had become nationally renowned school, officiall... ... middle of paper ... ...ner, more respected person on the streets. All it did was make him an uncaring, ruthless killer in the end. The sentences that I have set forth for these two men are just. Butch was showing he could make something of himself. Willie would never be the man his father was. Works Sited 1 - Butterfield, All God’s Children, 1995, pg 92 2 - Butterfield, 1995 pg 93 3 - Butterfield, 1995 pg 87 4 - Butterfield, 1995 pg 89 5 - James Alan Fox, Jack Levin, Kenna Quinet, The Will to kill. Making Sense of Senseless Murder, 2008. pg 31 6 - Butterfield, 1995 pg 114 7 - http://www.nationalyouth.com/conductdisorder.html 8 - Butterfield, 1995 pg 149 9 - Butterfield, 1995 pg 210 10 - Butterfield, 1995 pg 211 11- Butterfield pg, 1995 211 12 - http://www.abanet.org/publiced/features/DYJfull.pdf pg 10
As a young boy Barnes was “introverted and shy” (p. 8). He wasn’t able to fight like the other young boys his age, and quickly became a punching bag for bullies. The after school brawls became so severe that Barnes’ mother asked his principal to allow him to leave school fifteen minutes early everyday. After viewing the extent of Barnes’ bruises, the principal had no choice but to comply. On the other hand, once the other children learned that Barnes could draw they no longer laughed and made fun of him, “They just watched [him draw] in silent awe” (p. 8).
The Book “Fist Stick Knife Gun” by Geoffrey Canada is a biographical account of his childhood in the south Bronx. He and his 4 brothers were raised by only their mother. She would survive on no more than ten dollars a week. He moved several times as a child until finally landing on union avenue, the place were many of his life lessons were learned and at times applied. He learned about the ranking process of kids on union Ave. and how the only way to improve your status was to use your fists to fight your way up the chain. Looking back Geoffrey Canada notices the major shift in attitudes concerning the rules of the streets. What once was harmless fist fighting has now turned over to guns. His opinions can be seen in his title “Fist Stick Knife Gun”.
“…and on the charge that the prisoner did with others to conspire to destroy the lives of soldiers in the military service of the United States in violation of the laws and customs of war-Guilty” were the words that soared out of Wallace’s mouth at the end of the trial. It was then that Henry Wirz was found guilty. Why? Why was he found guilty? This decision was based on the emotional aspect of the witnesses, and not by the actual guilt. Not only my defense, but also the defense of Wirz’s attorney, Baker, the testimony of the defendant, Henry Wirz, shows that Wirz should not have been found guilty.
The lives of everyone in the town of Springfield Oregon changed on May 21st of 1998. A quiet boy named Kip Kinkel became known as “The Killer at Thurston High” after killing both of his parents, murdering two classmates, and severely injuring 24 others. There are many factors in the 15 year old boy’s life that led up to the horrific events that occurred on that day. The same factors that influenced the tragedy in occurring could have very easily insured that it never happened to begin with.
On an October afternoon in 1954, a 12-year-old Clay attended an annual convention of the Louisville Service Club at the Columbia Auditorium with a friend. He arrived at the black merchant bazaar upon a new $60 red and white Schwinn. However, after Clay and his friend indulged themselves with free popcorn and ice cream they left the auditorium to find that their bicycles had been stolen. A tearful Clay was directed to the basement of the auditorium where a policeman was manning the boxing gym. Joe Martin listened to young Cassius boast about a statewide hunt for his precious bike and heard the threats he was making to the thief if he was ever caught. After a while, Martin asked of Clay, "Well, do you know how to fight?" Clay quipped back, "No, but I'd fight anyway." Martin's best advice to the hot-tempered preteen was to come back around the gym and learn to fight. "Why don't you learn something about fighting," Martin suggested, "before you go and make any hasty challenges?" (2)
It is known that our family is the most important influence on our socialization. As Butterfield explains throughout the first half of his book, the Boskets always dealt with non-promising circumstance and events. These events and circumstances led them to develop and pass down traditions of violence and a lack of trust. One example of this is found on page 143, "Worse it reinforced Willie's belief that the way to settle things was by getting physical." Another example of this is found in how "Laura never knew her father and thus when Butch, was in prison she felt that he had neglected her, similar to the way her father did" (135). Also, Willie's mother taught him to swear at a really young age; Butterfield notes that "he was swearing and committing deviant acts before he even entered school" (138). Through this action one not only sees the distrust passed down but the onset of Labeling theory and how it will haunt Willie his whole life.
Inevitably, there comes a point in everybody’s life at which they have an experience that completely alters their view of the world. This moment is when one loses his or her innocence, or comes of age, and he or she realizes that they do not live in a utopian Golden Age. Parents are charged with the monumental duty of protecting their children’s innocence, but everybody inescapably grows up. This experience can be anything from an embarrassing situation at school to coming within seconds of death. In the short story “Ambush” by Tim O’Brien, the author tells the true story of his daughter confronting him and asked him if he had ever killed anyone. In an effort to be a good parent and protect the nine-year-old’s innocence, the author does not share with her the story he goes on to tell to the reader. He explains how many years ago, he was serving in the army and was taking a shift guarding his troop’s campsite when all of a sudden, a young man from the opposing army came walking up the trail. Without a second thought, O’Brien killed the boy with a grenade, and he lost his innocence after realizing he had killed a defenseless man without hesitation. Tim O’Brien develops Ambush as a coming of age story through the use of literary devices.
This term paper is on one of the most controversy discussion known as Capital Punishment. This is a topic in which the writer believes does not have a positive effect on decreasing crime in the world. For almost three years now, the writer has grown a passion for criminal behavior in some of the notoriety of a few crime cases that resulted in Capital Punishment and Wrongful Executions. One of my personal favorite crime cases in history is the Scottsboro Boys. This case represents an incident where five innocent African American men nearly faced execution after being accused and convicted of raping two white females on the back of a train back in 1931. This case is one of many reasons I am against capital punishment because it can lead to wrongful deaths of innocent men and women without justified evidences and witnesses. The writer is also
David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the “Son of Sam”, was notorious for his crimes committed between 1976 and 1977 that ended the lives of six innocent victims and wounded several others in New York (“David Berkowitz Biography”, n.d.). At first, police did not make a connection between the murders because there was nothing unusual about them; all the victims were shot with a 40 caliber gun, not fairly unusual during this time or place especially since the killings were over an extended period of time. Police finally made the connection when Berkowitz began to live behind notes that were meant to tantalize authorities since they had yet to catch him (“David Berkowitz| Son of Sam Killer,” 2015). Often times, the psychological structure of a human
Claude Brown writes precisely of these detrimental effects as he writes an autobiography about his experience growing up in Harlem. In the book, Sonny (Claude’s kid nickname) joins a gang called the “buccaneers” when he is eleven. His friends run the streets stealing, skipping school, and rebelling against their parents. It all seems like harmless fun to Sonny until he is arrested and sent to the Wiltwyck boy’s home, a reform school.
These two men, both coming from different backgrounds, joined together and carried out a terrible choice that rendered consequences far worse than they imagined. Living under abuse, Perry Smith never obtained the necessary integrity to be able to pause and consider how his actions might affect other people. He matured into a man who acts before he thinks, all due to the suffering he endured as a child. Exposed to a violent father who did not instill basic teachings of life, Smith knew nothing but anger and misconduct as a means of responding to the world. He knew no other life. Without exposure to proper behavior or responsible conduct, he turned into a monster capable of killing an entire family without a blink of remorse. In the heat of the moment, Perry Smith slaughtered the Clutter family and barely stopped to take a breath. What could drive a man to do this in such cold blood? The answer lies within his upbringing, and how his childhood experiences shaped him to become the murderer of a small family in Holcomb, Kansas. ¨The hypothesis of unconscious motivation explains why the murderers perceived innocuous and relatively unknown victims as provocative and thereby suitable targets for aggression.¨ (Capote 191). ¨But it is Dr. Statten´s contention that only the first murder matters psychologically, and that when
One of the many excitements in the news during the late sixties was the “Chicago Seven” Trial. People read about this crazy trial and the outlandish events that took place in the courtroom from the defendants wearing judicial robes to crude names and accusations directed towards the Judge. Who could we possibly expect to act so unruly in a place of order and justice? Why, the “Chicago Seven” of course. The events that led up to this trial all began with Democratic Convention of 1968 which took place in Chicago, Illinois.
The role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences” both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences,” both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympathetic of the two.
Nelson parents were just like any other parents but the fact that they were two busy working to sustain a life made it easily for their sons to become exposed to the crime in Chicago. At the same time the city of Chicago is to blame for not providing a safe place individuals to grow and not become exposed to the life of crime. At the same time Nelson didn’t have the opportunity to learn the values of life since his parents weren’t around as much and when he was sent to a boys home at the age of thirteen didn’t help him in learning what is right and wrong.
However, there was nothing heroic of his actions, and there wasn’t any redemption in the way he took action. Was Willy a hero? No. He benefited his family with life insurance money, but there comes a cost with such, which was never talking to or doing life with Willie again. Does Willy realize he was the source of this outcome? No. Willy did not find a moment of agnarognisis, he does not take any given opportunity to provide for his family, and he lacks any sense of nobility. In his own mind, he was doing the only thing he could do, and he thought he was being noble in killing himself to provide money for his family, however these actions don’t help in the long run. Did Willy’s life benefit the world? No. This is shown in the fact that nearly nobody shows up to Willy’s funeral service. Willy now has nothing to build upon, because he is not living anymore; He cannot rebuild his relationship with family or friends, because he is not living anymore; And because he is not living anymore, he cannot figure out why his life resulted this way. Willy was a hero to himself, and a salesman to the world; yet tragic in