The Whistler by John Grisham is a novel about a Board of Judicial Conduct worker in Florida.The worker’s name is Lacy Stoltz who takes a case that is very dangerous. The theme of this novel is to never give up through the rough times and keep going. One example is when Lacy took the case and met with Mix and didn't turn it down when she heard what it was about. When Lacy first got this case Hugo and her were very nervous and scared about it but Lacy knew she could do it. “He said he wished he could carry a gun. That really bothers me, Lacy. You gotta promise me you guys are not getting into something dangerous.(46)” This quote from the book shows that Lacy promised to Hugo’s wife that they were not getting into anything dangerous and that it
Monster is an example of what Patty Campbell would call a “landmark book.” Texts such as these “encourage readers to interact with the text and with one another by employing a variety of devices, among them ambiguity” (Campbell 1) Because it is told through the eyes of Steve himself, the plot can be difficult to decipher. It is ambiguous whether he is innocent or guilty of being involved with the crime. Steve learned to make things unpredictable from his film teacher Mr. Sawicki who teaches him, “If you make your film predictable, they’ll make up their minds about it long before it’s over” (19). Steve took his teacher’s advice and made this film script entirely unpredictable, even after it is over. His lawyer, O’Brien, says in her closing statement, “What can we trace as to the guilt or innocence of my client, Steve Harmon?” (245) This leaves the jury with an undoubtedly difficult decision, as well as the reader, because there are clues to both guilt and innocence in Steve’s case.
The book isn't just about the cold working of a criminal empire. Boxer tells his story with unexpected sensitivity and a Chicano brand of optimism. The man is highly charismatic. Yet, there is a dark side shown that is absolutely sobering. It's the part of him that is a frighteningly intelligent and ruthless. He shows us a man who can find dark humor in a jailhouse murder.
``In criminal law, confession evidence is a prosecutor’s most potent weapon’’ (Kassin, 1997)—“the ‘queen of proofs’ in the law” (Brooks, 2000). Regardless of when in the legal process they occur, statements of confession often provide the most incriminating form of evidence and have been shown to significantly increase the rate of conviction. Legal scholars even argue that a defendant’s confession may be the sole piece of evidence considered during a trial and often guides jurors’ perception of the case (McCormick, 1972). The admission of a false confession can be the deciding point between a suspect’s freedom and their death sentence. To this end, research and analysis of the false confessions-filled Norfolk Four case reveals the drastic and controversial measures that the prosecuting team will take to provoke a confession, be it true or false.
...r as if they were in the courtroom of a murder trial. In some ways, the use of advanced diction could cause problems for the reader to comprehend it, however the author has worked in small descriptions of what some of the more advanced judiciary terms are. Finally, the author uses a very advanced characterization of virtually all the characters mentioned within the story, from the mature and well-respected Theodore Boone to the every-so opinionated office secretary Elsa. Without a doubt, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer entices the reader into the mystery that is will Mr. Duffy be proved innocent or guilty? John Grisham does a great job into hooking the reader into wanting more of this eye-opening crime and drama novel.
Throughout the article Nielson and Kubrin remain objective and not formally leaning in favor of Mr. Skinner or the courts decisions. This goes to show that the authors were maintaining a professional standpoint which boosted their credibility in this text. The authors use ethos throughout the article in order to make his statement clear that ethically one should not consider rap lyrics as evidence. They give examples such as “Nobody believes that Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno or that Bret Easton Ellis carried out the gory murders described in “American Psycho”; neither artist claimed that he was writing autobiographically,” the same applied to Mr.Skinner. Nielson and Kubrin also addressed the manner in which providing the jury with the rap lyrics is not ethically right because it allows there to be a bias against the
Case one was in August of 1906 when John asked Polly Hutchison’s parents for permission to ask for Polly’s hand in marriage. They were all very excited about this “and a bit relieved after Jack’s dramatic announcement, that if he wasn’t allowed to marry Polly, he would blow his brains out” (8). People who have a stable mental state do not threaten to commit suicide, especially when it is hardly necessary. In another instance, Simmie mentions Jessie having to hide John’s guns; “she had hidden his service revolver more than once when he threatened to kill himself,” (110). A new wife having to hide her husband’s service revolver to prevent him from committing suicide is not normal and is just another reason Sergeant John Wilson is insane. As well, while John is fantasizing about a life with Jessie he considers how great his life could be if Polly “conveniently died”(56). Luckily for Polly, John decides not to proceed in that direction right away because many people in Regina know Polly, but he never once states murder would be wrong. John having thoughts of harming him or others for personal benefits is not a healthy mentality to
The struggle going on inside of Goodman Brown's head is really between remaining innocent and having blind faith i...
In both of Hawthorne’s short stories “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister Black Veil” and in Miller’s The Crucible, jumping to conclusions has ruined people’s lives. Jumping to conclusions without fully understanding the situations allows one to end up going in the wrong direction. If young Goodman Brown had taken the time to think about the meeting, he would have realized it was a dream. If the people had taken the time to ask Mr. Hooper why he was wearing the mask, then Mr. Hooper’s life would not have been so gloomy. Finally if the court had have taken the time to make sure Abigail was not lying, then her victims lives would have been saved. If we as humans can learn to investigate and try to think things through before we act, then in some cases people’s lives may be saved.
... Redford shows that every character in the movie is highly depended upon their moral decisions to determine their outcome. Charles Van Doren was persuaded by the producers of the show to make decisions which when against his ethics and morals. Herb Stempal was also pressured by both producers, Enright and Freedman, to “take a dive” in the show, Twenty-One, and allow Van Doren to become the show’s new champion. He had to make a decision which conflicted with his ethics and morals. Richard Goodman also thought ethically when he made his own decisions. He wasn’t persuaded by the producers, like Van Doren and Herb Stempal. Robert Redford demonstrates that decisions of the main character in the movie were influenced by their ethical thinking. Some of these characters made decisions based on their ethics and morals and some didn’t, which lead to inevitable consequences.
The question asked in “37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police”, by Martin Gansberg is “How is it possible not to become involved when a murder is occurring?” In the article, Gansberg presented the timeline of events, which took place during the night of March, 1964 that led to twenty-eight-year-old Catherine Genovese’s murder. Gansberg wants the reader to ask themselves if they would / would not have become involved. I have never experienced anything of this nature, I certainly would like to believe I would have chosen to become involved.
Because police investigators are usually under pressure to arrest criminals and safeguard the community, they often make mistakes. Sometimes, detectives become convinced of a suspect 's guilt because of their criminal history or weak speculations. Once they are convinced, they are less likely to consider alternative possibilities. They overlook some important exculpatory evidence, make weak speculations and look only for links that connect a suspect to a crime, especially if the suspect has a previous criminal record. Picking Cotton provides an understanding of some common errors of the police investigation process. During Ronald Cottons interrogation, the detectives did not bother to record the conversation “But I noticed he wasn 't recording the conversation, so I felt that he could be writing anything down”(79) unlike they did for Jennifer. They had already labelled Ronald Cotton as the perpetrator and they told him during the interrogation “Cotton, Jennifer Thompson already identified you. We know it was you”(82). Jenifer Thompson 's testimony along with Ronald Cotton 's past criminal records gave the detectives more reason to believe Ronald committed the crime. Ronald Cotton stated “ This cop Sully, though, he had already decided I was guilty.”(84). Many investigative process have shortcomings and are breached because the officials in charge make
Anybody can write and persuade a certain audience, based on how the writer wants their audience to look at the situation. In Steve Earle’s essay “A Death in Texas”, he persuades his readers that he wants to believe that Johnathan Wayne Nobles was rehabilitated. In the essay, Nobles was a changed man within faith from becoming a religious man within the prison walls. Prison guards learned to trust Nobles with his quick-witted charm and friendliness. Steve persuaded himself that Johnathan was a changed man from the words that they had exchanged over the years on paper. Reality states that no matter how much someone changed in the present, it doesn’t change what they have done in the past. Earle describes in the essay “There he will be pumped full of chemicals that will collapse his lungs and stop his heart forever” (Earle 73). He’s persuading the audience with horrid emotion with facts of a lethal injection that will happen to Johnathan. What Earle doesn’t describe is how gruesomely Johnathan’s murders were. In this world everyone has a chance to know right from wrong, even if someone was brought up wrong in the society. Johnathan was not rehabilitated, maybe at one point accepted his past, but he was still a murderer and a
...T. M. (1997). Can the jury disregard that information? The use of suspicion to reduce the prejudicial effects of retrial publicity and inadmissible testimony. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(11), 1215-1226.
Jake Brigance is a local attorney who has been thrown into the midst of a legal battle of an estate settlement. His character plays a major role in this novel. After losing his home, his secretary, and even his dog because of an earlier racially fueled fire, Jake finds himself embroiled in another fierce trial that could possibly divide the small town of Clanton, Mississippi. He has been given the job of defending a handwritten will “to the bitter end.” Racial tensions were still high in the eighties, especially in small southern towns like Clanton, Mississippi. Jake has to figure out how to win his case without causing a race war in the town he loves.
Lois T. Stover (2001), a prominent academic in the field of young adult literature, states that, "Good young adult literature deals with the themes and issues that mirror the concerns of society out of which it is produced.” Graham Greene's novel, The Quiet American, complexly reflects upon the role of bystanders in society, who resort to apathy in difficult circumstances which do not affect them. Through the character of Fowler, the novel demonstrates that no one can remain uninvolved because his or her morals or feelings will inevitably be impacted by events around them. Greene also presents the complex concept that people will be involved in situations around them due to the nature of human behaviour, and that those who choose to be detached will inevitably be forced to engage in challenging situations. In its meaningful intricacy, Greene invites teenage readers to evaluate their engagement with events and issues pertinent in society, allowing them to understand the complexities of dealing with these issues.