14 Days in May - This documentary is about a black american citizen accused of killing a white police officer and raping a white woman.

GCSE English Coursework 4 Days in May This documentary is about a black american citizen accused of killing a white police officer and raping a white woman. The documentary is set in America. The prisoners name is Edward Earl Johnson, a religious man with a big family. He had spent eight years in prison on death row convicted of the crimes mentioned above. He was said to have shot the white police officer five times, and raped a white woman. Life in the prison didn't look bad for the prisoner. He was treated equally among all the other prisoners, regardless of colour, and all the prisoners were treated the same. The atmosphere in the prison was good, and calm. No-one was rude to anyone else, and no-one did anything bad or anything they were not supposed to. The prison staff had mixed feelings toward whether he was innocent or not. Some believed he was innocent, but others didn't. The people who believed he wasn't innocent may have believed it for different reasons, but I think one of the main reasons for this was prejudice. The prisoner himself was coping with the situation very well. Even though he knew there was a strong chance he would die, he was very calm. He prayed everyday, he slept soundly, and he was at peace with himself. The different people in the prison reacted and responded to the prisoner in different ways. The prison guards treated him well, as an equal to

  • Word count: 943
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay

Capital Punishment Sources Question

Capital Punishment Sources Question a Source A shows the execution of the gunpowder plotters against James I in 1605. As the plotters were commoners from lower classes they had been sentenced to the fare worse fate of being hanged, drawn, and quartered. This form of punishment had been introduced in the Middle Ages mainly for treason and had been used by Edward I against William Wallace of Scotland as a punishment for rebellion. During the time of the Tudors and Stuarts it had been revived, and was used mainly through the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles II. It meant that the accused be dragged to the gallows, as they were not worthy to walk on the ground given to them, he would then be hanged by the neck but cut down before whilst he was still conscious. One once tried to jump to break the neck but the rope broke causing him to be fully conscious during the next part: the accused would have parts cut off or dug out and burned in front of them. Then slashed from the crutch through to the chest their entrails taken out and burned as before in front of them, this was the part known as 'drawn' in the punishment. At this point in the execution the head would be cut off and the body would be cut in to four pieces and be at the kings disposal. 1b The plotters were treated differently depending on their social order. The punishment of being hanged drawn and quartered as

  • Word count: 2878
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay

The Death Penalty

Discursive Writing Coursework. (The Death Penalty) The death penalty is a subject that can be counted upon to stir emotion and controversy into any conversation or argument. The very concept provokes a perfuse amount of valid questions and opinions. We live in a world rife with crime and violence; therefore many people believe that the severity of punishment should be increased. These people believe that the death penalty is the only answer. Death is not the only answer, death simply acts as vengeance and teaches that violence is how we should deal with social problems. Proponents of the death penalty quote passages from the bible such as, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," to try and justify their argument. This concept is clearly wrong, if these people were as religious as they claimed to be they would realise that a society that respects human life should not kill them for their sins. Only God has the right to bestow punishment upon these people. Human rights are not given or granted by the government, so why should they have the right to take a life away? Human rights belong to everyone from the time of birth. An execution is a brutal public spectacle, which endorses killing to solve social problems. The following is a description of an execution: " At half-past eight, the first jolt of electricity passed through Mr Evans body. It lasted thirty seconds. Sparks

  • Word count: 902
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay

Writing to Argue- Should the death penalty be reinstated?

Writing to Argue- Should the death penalty be reinstated? Last week America executed their 1000th person. Should we view this as a momentous occasion or a travesty in American history? The bible states "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" but surely murder is not the answer in the 21st Century? The death penalty is barbaric, primitive and inhumane. When the word death penalty is used, it makes yelling and screaming from both sides of extremist. One side may say deterrence and the other side may say, but you can execute an innocent man. Those who want the death penalty reinstated say that it can reduce the crime rate in the UK. For example it will deter people from committing more crimes. However it may not necessarily deter people from committing crimes as they might view the death penalty as a better option than being sent to prison. The death penalty is necessary: it is the only way to make criminals so scared that they will not commit a serious crime. It's the only way to invoke a fair punishment for murder for instance the murderer has taken a life and therefore loses their life in return. On the other hand there is always the risk of hanging someone who is innocent. For instance, someone who has committed a crime has a chance of getting away and there can be an innocent person who can be framed and had their life taken away. Families and the general public who

  • Word count: 631
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay

Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment Capital Punishment is described as corporal punishment in its most severe form; it is the legal infliction of the death penalty, meaning in acute circumstances, a man or woman can be put to death for the crime they have committed. It is both commended and criticised with an on-going argument as to whether it is right or wrong. Though Capital Punishment was stopped in Britain in the 1960's, it is still a standard procedure in many nations throughout the world. Some example nations are America (38 of the 50 states have the killing punishment), Iran, China, and Saudia Arabia though there are many more who still retain the death penalty for crimes they feel serious enough. Methods of execution can vary; it has been inflicted in many ways in the past, today however the main processes used are hanging, electrocution, gas chamber, firing squad, beheading, or lethal injection. So what kinds of people deserve such a brutal, barbaric ending? And is their crime really so ruthless that death is the only punishment seen sufficient? There are many pros and cons of the death penalty; it's extremely hard to come up with a satisfying conclusion as to whether it should continue being an optional punishment, or if lifetime imprisonment is a sufficient enough punishment for the offence the person has committed, even for something as profound as murder. One of the main

  • Word count: 3730
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay

Justice and Forgiveness.

Justice and Forgiveness Christians follow simple guidelines to help them get through some of life's problems. One of the most important is to "love your enemy", which Jesus taught in " Sermon on the Mount", that way you learn to forgive people for doing any wrong to you. Christians take these teachings very seriously, because Jesus taught it to them and they believe that if they don't forgive others, then God will not forgive them. That's kike in a parable of "The Unmerciful Servant", the king forgave his servant but when he found out that he was being unforgiving to another servant he threw him in prison. It isn't very easy to follow the rules even for a Christian because if someone does something horrible to you, you would want to return the insult and hurt them. If they find it hard to forgive they often pray to God to give them strength to do it. An example of a Christian who has lived out Jesus' teachings and forgiveness and love of enemy is Corrie Ten Boom, when she forgave the people who killed her sister and an ex-guard at the concentration camp during the Second World War. When Peter asked Jesus about the number of times he should forgive people, Jesus said that you should keep on forgiving non-stop. Even if someone does something that is really wrong then you should still be willing to forgive. However Christians still believe that the offender should get a just

  • Word count: 1596
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay

What Attitudes Might Christians Hold About Capital Punishment?

What attitudes might Christians hold about Capital Punishment? A Christian believes that their life is totally dedicated to God, and there is only one God. We should love everybody including people who we have extreme dislike for. A Christian also believes that he/she should worship God at church or at home. A Christian believes that we should forgive other people as God forgives us. A Christian also believes that we should live our life as a disciple, loving one another, reading the Bible and following it. Capital Punishment is when you execute a person for a crime they have committed. The methods for Capital Punishment are lethal injection, electric chair, hanging, stoning, and firing squad. The reasons for someone to receive Capital Punishment is most obviously murder, if someone has murdered, they maybe receive Capital Punishment in some countries. There are many other reasons for someone to receive Capital Punishment like terrorism, rape or drug-traffiking. The countries in which Capital Punishment is legal are Iraq, Russia, Islamic Countries, Pakistan and some states in the United States of America. A Christian believes in God. They believe that Jesus Christ forgave people that have sinned so that's what they should do. Christians worship God by going to the church, praying at home/church, and reading the Bible; in all these you are communicating with God. Christians

  • Word count: 1719
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay

Truman Capote favors Perry over Dick in his novel, In Cold Blood.

Capote and Perry In Truman Capote's non-fictional novel In Cold Blood, he tends to favor Perry, one of the killers, over the other killer Dick. This unfairly hinders the reader's opinion towards the final sentencing, which is the death penalty. Capote does this by adding un-journalistic comments in his "journalistic" writings. We do not even know if Capotes telling us the word for word truth of what happened, he could have altered what actually happened, because he didn't take notes or recordings when he interviewed the killers. Another reason why I consider his writings unfair to the reader is because his emotional status, his announcement of homosexuality. This is the story of the murder of the Clutter family in Kansas. The book starts off beginning with the day of the murders to the day the killers were executed. The two men, Dick and Perry, plan to rob a wealthy farmer's home. They plan to receive great wealth and move off to exotic islands, instead they gain a total of 42$ and bloodshed. The four members of the Clutter family are murdered with a shotgun pointblank in their home by the intruders. The killers then escape and travel around the country to avoid being caught. They are finally brought to justice in Las Vegas, and after their hearings and testimonies they both receive the death penalty. In the novel Capote often inserts un-journalistic comments that

  • Word count: 951
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay

The Black Death - diary accounts.

The Black Death 26 March 1348 The new trade routes to our country have brought many new thing, new medicines, new medical ideas and new ways to kill our people. The most vicious of these is the Black Death. I heard about how this sickness had affected many of the busiest port towns, but I never thought it would affect my small rural community. How wrong could I have been? It has now taken so cruelly the lives of my mother and many of my close friends. Only last week, I remember sitting at my mother's bed side dampening her forehead with cool water on a flannel in an effort to keep her fever at bay. My husband and father were also gathered around me, offering support. We prayed twice every day, asking for Gods forgiveness. But the illness just took a firmer grip on my mother's life. She developed painful swelling on her armpits and groin and smaller blister appeared all over her body. The fever stayed and soon turned into a raging headache. We gave her herbs and took her to see the local medicine man, but nothing worked. After five days of pain and suffering, my mother finally left us. She had died a slow and painful death and I prayed that the Black Death would not rid me of any more family members. God obviously did not here my solemn repent. 31 March 1348 My father, with the sadness of my mother's death, has now contracted the Black Death. Many of the

  • Word count: 746
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay

Eternal Darkness.

All welcomed the long dark of the night. It was greatly preferred to the sickening brown smog of the day. The sad fact was that none of them had seen real daylight for too long. Far too long. The hard silhouetted shadow of Death Mountain looked more imposing than before. They could see shadows of orcs parading around their watchtowers, and had been doing so for some time now. It was hard to believe that once, the proud flag of Hyrule flew against a clear blue sky. Now, a horned skull mocked the residents from a deathly black background. There had been a great war. A huge army had risen from the barren wastelands in the west, marched to Hyrule, and thrown out all of the human inhabitants. There was very little resistance, and most simply fled in terror. That was then. This is now. Now is about 5 years later. Now things have got worse. Now the whole land of Hyrule is under Orcish rule. What's left of it anyway. Most of the human race has been wiped out by orcs coming down from the mountain and slaughtering people. The fetid stench of death hung in the air. The orcs thought that humans were extinct. Orcs are not very smart. Link glanced at a picture of his parents. They had been killed by a battalion of orcs who came down from Death Mountain to search for riches. It was the only thing he was able to grab hold of as he ran. He had to abandon his home and take up with a

  • Word count: 623
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
Access this essay