Leslie Black—a man who beat, raped, and set a woman on fire—is on a trial to see if he classifies as a dangerous offender. Between Black’s tragic back story and what he did to the woman, there are questions as to whether or not he should be giving the dangerous offender designation, or given some other form of punishment or treatment. I have my own opinions on what should be done to Black, and am strong for them. My opinion is based off what I know, and is about what I think should be done as well as what a proper punishment is.
On the night of the crime, a drunk Leslie Black beat a drunk woman—Marlene Bird—with a board with a nail in it. After that, he raped her, then set her on fire before leaving. But after all of that, Bird survived; however, her legs needed to be amputated and her destroyed left eye covered. Black ruined Bird’s life. Bird already drank a lot before the crime, but she drank even more afterwards. People want Black to pay for what he did. But there are some who think he should not be given the title of dangerous offender because, as a child, he watched his mother get murdered on his ninth birthday. Even so, a decision as to what should be done must be made.
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With all that said, I do not think Black is a dangerous offender.
What he did is horrible, and I think having a terrible backstory is no excuse for what he did. He definitely needs to pay. But looking at his past crimes, the attack on Bird was the only violent one—all others just have to do with property or drug offences. The crime that is so debated seems to be his first strike, and not his third, so it would be impossible to know I he would do it again. The attack seemed to be mostly a result of his drunkenness at the time, and not because he as a person is actually dangerous. Leslie Black is not a dangerous
offender. So what should be done to him? Firstly I think Black should be put into jail as if he did kill Marlene Bird—he certainly killed the emotional part of her. While in prison, he should get some sort of treatment to help with his drunkenness—which was the largest cause of the incident—and his PTSD, so he can learn to cope with what happened to him as a child. When he is released after the proper amount of time, I suspect he will be rehabilitated and safe enough to be able to walk the public streets. From what I know, I do not think Leslie Black is a dangerous offender, though he should still get punished. Looking past what happened to him as a child, the attack on Marlene Bird was Black’s first violent attack, which happened mainly due to his alcohol problem. He should go to prison as a result of what he did, but more than likely, there is still hope for him getting better if he gets the proper treatments. With this being only his first strike, Leslie Black deserves another chance.
The author has a reputation for tough sentences, thus earning nicknames like "Ice Princess" and "25 to Life" among defendants. Several criminals who passed through her courtroom have threatened her life. Her family has had round-the-clock protection on several occasions. One chapter in this book is devoted to the judge's experience and perspective as a "victim" in regards to these threats.
In “Bring Back Flogging,” Jeff Jacoby, a journalist, argues why the current criminal justice system in America is not effective or successful. As a solution, he suggests that America should bring back the old fashioned form of punishment, flogging, once used by the Puritans as an alternative to imprisonment (198). This article originally appeared in the op-ed section of the Boston Globe. Therefore, the primary audience of this article is people who want to read arguments about controversial topics and have probably read some of Jacoby’s other articles. His argument that the current criminal justice system is not working is extremely convincing. He appeals to pathos and uses statistics to prove that thesis and to persuade the audience. However, he provides no reason why corporal punishment is the best alternative to imprisonment and never offers any other options. Additionally, he does not make an effort to explain why corporal punishment would be more effective or successful than imprisonment. Thus, in “Bring Back Flogging,” Jeff Jacoby successfully informs his audience of the dangers and problems with imprisonment by using verbal irony, appealing to the emotion of pity, incorporating logical
Racial discrimination has been an immense problem in our society for a very long time. The fact that the race of a victim plays a role in his or her sentencing is appalling. Discrimination within our society needs to come to an end. It’s frightening to think that if you are a minority facing a capital punishment case, which you might be found guilty only because of the color of your skin.
In her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander states that we still use our criminal justice system to “label people of color ‘criminals’ and then engage i...
The majority of our prison population is made up of African Americans of low social and economic classes, who come from low income houses and have low levels of education. The chapter also discusses the amount of money the United States loses yearly due to white collar crime as compared to the cost of violent crime. Another main point was the factors that make it more likely for a poor person to be incarcerated, such as the difficulty they would have in accessing adequate legal counsel and their inability to pay bail. This chapter addresses the inequality of sentencing in regards to race, it supplies us with NCVS data that shows less than one-fourth of assailants are perceived as black even though they are arrested at a much higher rate. In addition to African Americans being more likely to be charged with a crime, they are also more likely to receive harsher punishments for the same crimes- which can be seen in the crack/cocaine disparities. These harsher punishments are also shown in the higher rates of African Americans sentenced to
On September 12th, Carmela Buhbut, a battered wife who shot her husband to death 31 times from a close range, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment. She then appealed to the Supreme Court against the severity of the sentence. No less than three different justices held the complicated appeal- Bach, Kedmi and Dorner. All three of them, agreed that there is no doubt, that taking a person’s life is a crime which Buhbut should be punished for. However, only of them, justice Kedmi, thought the appeal should be dismiss in limine.
To ban a book is to remove it from a library or from other sources such as online websites. A book is evicted by dense communities of people and can only be banned for reasons deemed unfit such as being: “politically incorrect, containing sexual subjects; and(or) talk of extreme racial tensions” or explicit violence (Downs and Sweet). An example of a banned book is Black Boy, which contains vulgar language, crude depictions which drove people of certain communities to evict it from High School libraries. It was banned in Mississippi 1945, by a senator who was so religiously biased that a book questioning God and a book that contains vulgar language should not be allowed to be read by teenagers of the Mississippi community
While in prison criminals become part of the gang or a member of the gang's victim pool. Race and culture seem to be the major factors in the victimization of inmates. The inmate may not be racist when he enters the system, however the need for survival against other inmates may force these characteristics to become more prominent. In the summer of 1998, a young man named William King was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of James Byrd Jr. Byrd was a black man from Jasper County, Texas, whom was bound at the ankles and dragged to death behind a truck. Why would this young man commit such a terrible and seemingly racist crime? Most would agree that it was his time spent in prison that led William King to take the life of James Byrd Jr. Friends and family of William stated that he was a pleasant before he went to prison for burglary. When he was released, he was a different person who spoke about white supremacy and was anxious to initiate his own supremacist gang. King’s defense attorney explained that it was the high rate of violence in the Texas correctional institute that caused him to become a gang member for a sense of security. William's defense attorney argued that he was merely a victim of the deteriorating prison system in this country (Racism, tolerance, and perfected redemption: A rhetorical critique of the dragging trial, Larry A. Williamson, 2009). The reality of prison gangs is nearly impossible to ignore. King's story, although not a defense for his crime, sheds light on today's prisons and the gangs within them. Newly admitted convicts are often victimized to no end until they join a group or gang that displays power and their intentions to survive prison life. Violence, rape, and murder are just a fe...
Late Tuesday night at about 9:30 a Clinton, Missouri police officer named Ryan Morton was fatally shot and two others injured. It’s said that dispatchers sent them to the wrong address while following a 911 call. The call consisted of two women screaming at each other in the background. As they entered the house they got struck by gunfire at the door, killing Morton. When officers later arrived they found suspect James E. Waters who was 37 dead on the crime scene. It is still unclear how James died, whether he was shot by the police or killed himself.
While we dance in the streets and pat ourselves on the back for being a nation great enough to reach beyond racial divides to elect our first African-American president, let us not forget that we remain a nation still proudly practicing prejudice.
Race plays a large factor in showing how you are viewed in society. Although there is no longer slavery and separate water fountains, we can still see areas of our daily life clearly affected by race. One of these areas is the criminal justice system and that is because the color of your skin can easily yet unfairly determine if you receive the death penalty. The controversial evidence showing that race is a large contributing factor in death penalty cases shows that there needs to be a change in the system and action taken against these biases. The issue is wide spread throughout the United States and can be proven with statistics. There is a higher probability that a black on white crime will result in a death penalty verdict than black on black or white on black. Race will ultimately define the final ruling of the sentence which is evident in the racial disparities of the death penalty. The amount of blacks on death row can easily be seen considering the majority of the prison population is black or blacks that committed the same crime as a white person but got a harsher sentence. The biases and prejudices that are in our society relating to race come to light when a jury is selected to determine a death sentence. So what is the relationship between race and the death penalty? This paper is set out to prove findings of different race related sentences and why blacks are sentenced to death more for a black on white crime. Looking at the racial divide we once had in early American history and statistics from sources and data regarding the number of blacks on death row/executed, we can expose the issues with this racial dilemma.
First, Chesney-Lind points out that research on female offenders in general is lacking, and that victimization plays a key role in the offending of women. "…Responses must address a world that has been unfair to women and especially those of color and pover...
On September 2, 2014, after 3 decades of waiting for their death row, Henry Lee McCollum, 50, and his half-brother, Leon Brown, 46, were declared innocent and ordered released with $750,000 in compensation from the state (Brothers Henry McCollum). After thirty years of isolation, both of the brothers has been affected mentally and physically. McCollum and Brown, who are now middle age men, have no education, job, or family have to reorganize their lives in which they could have done 30 years ago. The two brothers, who were only scared, mentally challenged teenagers, while under pressure, confessed to killing Sabrina Buie. The question on whether does race played a factor in the two brothers’ sentence remain unjustified.
A hate crime is a crime motivated by several reasons that include religion, sexual orientation, race, nationality, gender etc. It typically involves physical violence, intimidation, threats and other means against the individual that is being targeted. It is a crime against the person and it can have a devastating impact on the victim. Several argue that hate crimes should be punished more severely. However, it is not a crime to hate someone or something if it does not lead to some sort of criminal offense.
Race and crime is a major topic in today’s world because it is a highly debated subject and has a major impact on how society is today. Race and crime go hand in hand. No matter who commits a crime, there is always a race involved. With race and crime there are many stereotypes that come with the subject. Race and crime are both active matters in everyday life. It is everywhere. Social Media involves race and crime in practically anything. If one is active on say for example twitter, the point of twitter is to keep your followers interested by what you are showing them. There is a reason why the news opens up with the most violent crimes and twitter is no different. As a matter of fact any form of media grasps onto it. Another example would