‘I see a killer die’ by Alan Hall is an article, which narrates the death of convicted felon Robert Harris. It also goes on to tell us the victims story and how the families are coping. There is also a surprise inclusion of pleads of virtue from world renowned, Nobel Peace Award winning nun; Mother Teresa. TV reporter Michael Tuck narrated his eyewitness experience of watching ‘double killer Robert Harris writhe and die in the gas chamber.’ Mr Tuck describes the execution using the words; ‘His head twitched around and he breathed frantically, gasping for air - breathing the way a woman in labour might breathe’ This line may make the reader feel pity for Harris. The words ‘breathed frantically, gasping for air’ make the reader feel he …show more content…
This could provoke an emotional response from the reader as in their mind, they’ve just witnessed a man die. The word ‘fell’ makes the reader feel pity for Harris, as it shows he didn’t die a peaceful death and might make the reader think he could’ve avoided the trauma if he hadn’t killed the teenagers. Despite the pity, it is not going to be change the mind of the readers who are adamant upon the punishment, as this response may have …show more content…
We are going to have a party when he goes.’ Even inmates of death row we’re disgusted by Harris. This shows the extent of his crime. To be publically condemned by other inmates is shameful to say the least. This shows hatred of Harris is universal and his crime is frowned upon by everybody. The words ‘We are going to have a party when he goes.’ Illustrates how much joy the death of Harris is going to bring them. A reader may feel the inmate is heartless and in no position to be judging Harris for his crime, whereas another reader may feel proud for supporting the execution as the inmates’ opinion may increase their hatred for
This examination will look at the short story “Killings” by Andre Dubus and the main characters in the story. The story begins on a warm August day with the burial of Matt and Ruth Fowler’s youngest son Frank. Frank’s age: “twenty-one years, eight months, and four days” (Dubus 107). Attending the funeral were Matt, his wife Ruth, their adult children and spouses. Matt’s family is extremely distraught over the murder of their youngest son/brother, in their own way. There are implications of wanting to kill Richard Strout, the guy accused of being the murderer: “I should kill him” (107), as stated after the service. This comment is considered a fore-shadowing of what is to come in the thought progression of Matt and Ruth.
The Murderers Are Among Us, directed by Wolfe Gang Staudte, is the first postwar film. The film takes place in Berlin right after the war. Susan Wallner, a young women who has returned from a concentration camp, goes to her old apartment to find Hans Mertens living there. Hans took up there after returning home from war and finding out his house was destroyed. Hans would not leave, even after Susan returned home. Later on in the film we find out Hans was a former surgeon but can no longer deal with human suffering because of his traumatic experience in war. We find out about this traumatic experience when Ferdinand Bruckner comes into the film. Bruckner, Hans’ former captain, was responsible for killing hundreds
The documentary titled Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America’s Greatest Threat is a documentary shedding some light on the growing trend of America and its expanding waistlines. The documentary is geared to unmask the epidemic of obesity in our country. The film sheds some light to our society is how our society is fixated with living and unhealthy lifestyle. The film goes on to inform you on how bad the situation really is, where two-thirds of the American population qualifies as obese or overweight. The documentary tried to uncover the root and causes of how this epidemic came to be and how it can be reversed.
The second prisoner was a young boy who was being hanged for the fact that he stole weapons during a power failure. The significance of this particular hanging was the young boy’s lack of rebellion, his quiet fear and the unbearable duration of his torment. The boy had lost all hope and was one of the only victims who wept at the knowledge of their demise. What made this case different from the rest was not only his youth, but also his silence, and emotion and the fact that it took a half an hour for him to die, as a result of the lightness of his young body. Even though he was constantly tortured and provoked by the guards before he was hanged, he still said nothing, unlike the two people who joined him, who both shouted in defiance. His quiet courage really stood out as an unspoken and unannounced rebellion not only for the Jews, but it showed the doubts that some of the guards began to have. “This time, the Lagerkapo refused to act as executioner.” Although this quote is one sentence it still shows the effect the boy had on everyone in the camp. Even though the prisoners had been living with the constant presence of death, the execution of this young boy made them feel emotion they believed they had lost forever. This death was an unsaid act of rebellion in the sense that it showed the audience that there was indeed still some sensitivity left no matter how much both the prisoners and the guards were dehumanized: the prisoners as merely a number, and the guards as ruthless
Right from the start, the author begins to reveal his judgment on capital punishment before he introduces his essay. This judgement is apparent in the title ‘Kinder Executions’. The author uses this not only in the title but also throughout the entire essay. The word kinder contradicts the common meaning of
In 1986, Warren Hill was sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend, and then was sentenced to death for a deadly prison beating of a fellow inmate in 1990. What is special about Hill’s case is that he has seen the death chamber four separate times. Although it is not uncommon for an inmate to have numerous execution dates, all of Warren’s reprieves were last minute, during his last hour of being alive. One in which he was already strapped to the gurney and heavily sedated. Brian Evans, head of Amnesty International USA’s Death Penalty Abolition Campaign, states that mock executions are a form of torture under international law. Just imagine being strapped to a gurney, knowing that your life has come to an end. You think of all the good and bad things that have happened in your lifetime, in which you have finally accepted death, only to have that stripped away from
... Belcher and Hawkins remain at ease, thinking themselves safe. In the end both Hawkins' futile appeal to the friendship of his "chums" and Belcher's resignation serve to emphasize the horror of the executions.
“Trial by Fire” by David Grann written on September 9th, 2009 is a piece that unearths everyone’s innermost fear of being punished for a deed that they did not commit.Grann argues that capital punishment is a crude and unruly sentence, given the fact that many of these cases are not conducted properly. So called arson investigators that used a “systematic method” to corroborate a case against a man because of his troubled history. Cameron Todd Willingham was charged with murder of his children by arson due problematic evidence against him such as pour patterns and puddle configurations leading investigators to believe that he used a liquid accelerant to start a fire. This evidence would later be disapproved by Gerald Hurst, an acclaimed scientist
Stuart. Death of a Criminal. 20 April 1999. Justice For All. 19 April 2001. www.prodeathpenalty.com.
Szegedy-Maszak, Marianne. "The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal: Sources of Sadism." Writing and Reading for ACP Composition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Custom, 2009. 210-12. Print.
On April 29, a botched death penalty execution in Oklahoma shocked the nation. Clayton Lockett, a 38-year old man, convulsed, writhed, and groaned for an extended period of time as lethal injection was being administered. According to eyewitness accounts, Lockett died from a collapsed vein and a heart attack nearly an hour after the execution began. President Barack Obama even responded to this incident, describing it as “deeply troubling” and calling for a review of the death penalty’s application.
In 1973 Author Shawcross was convicted of raping and murdering two children in upstate New York; however, after serving 15 years Shawcross was paroled in 1988. In a horrific 21-month killing spree, Shawcross took 11 more lives. That is 11 innocent people who would be alive today had justice been served (Pataki, Deterrent 2). With the topic of the death penalty comes a lot of controversy which is rooted from questions like: is the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment, is it helpful in crime control, is proper representation applied to these cases, and should reform be applied in the areas of crimes punishable and methods? Although some people argue that the death penalty is inhumane and against human rights, crime rates could be lowered through the use and reform of the death penalty.
Buckman, Adam. “Following Footsteps of a Killer.” New York Post (Nov. 2002): 124: Proquest. Web. 28 Feb. 2014
In 1989 Westley Allan Dodd was hanged to death for sexually assaulting and heinously murdering three defenseless children; all boys aged 11, 10, and 4. The details and events from his shocking diaries portray horrific accounts of the murders he committed and those he planned to enact had he not been finally brought to justice by one of his potential victims.
Her character is portrayed as being anxious through the author’s choice of dialogue in the form of diction, which is “waves of her [the mother] anxiety sink down into my belly”. The effect of this is to allow the readers to establish the emotions of the narrator, as well as establish an the uneasy tone of the passage, and how stressful and important the event of selling tobacco bales for her family is. Additionally, the narrator is seen to be uncomfortable in the setting she is present in. This is seen through the many dashes and pauses within her thoughts because she has no dialogue within this passage, “wishing- we- weren’t- here”, the dashes show her discomfort because the thought is extended, and thus more intense and heavy, wishing they could be somewhere else. The effect of the narrator’s comfort establishes her role within the family, the reason she and her sister does not have dialogue symbolizes that she has no voice within the family, as well as establishing hierarchy. The authors use dictation and writing conventions to develop the character of the narrator herself, as well as the mother. The narrator’s focus on each of her parents is additionally highlighted through