Analysing a documentary called "14 Days in May".
GCSE ENGLSIH COURSEWORK "FOURTEEN DAYS IN MAY" In this piece of English course I am going to be analysing a documentary called "14 Days in May". This documentary is produced by a TV Director who diverges with Capital Punishment. I will be focusing on the presentational devices used by this director in order to get his point across and how he tries to persuade the audience into believing that Capital Punishment is erroneous. Therefore this documentary "14 Days in May" has been set in the state of Mississippi in 1979. It is about the story of Edward Earl Johnson (EEJ) who is an uneducated black male and has been charged with the shooting dead of a (white) police Marshall and the attempted rape of a 60 year old (white) woman. Now EEJ had spent the last 8 years on death row appealing the case and is to be executed in Fourteen (14) days time from now onwards. To fight EEJ's lawyer Clive Stafford Smith has stood up for him. Stafford Smith has also won stays of executions in over 200 cases and has lost only 4 of those cases. This documentary exhibits the last two weeks of EEJ's life, and its focal point is on the affects this has on the staff of the penitentiary and deathrow inmates, who are also on death row. On the other hand the death penalty is widely used in the Southern States of America like: Texas, Alabama and Mississippi because of the issue of racial disparity;
Capital Punishment
R.E COURSE WORK -CAPITAL PUNISHMENT! Crime is a social act that offends the laws of society. There are lots of causes for people carrying out crime, whether it is because they are so poor they commit robberies to survive or because they are mentally unbalanced and do not realise the difference between right and wrong. There are lots of ways to punish the criminals but it isn't all about punishing them. Punishment can be used as a deterrent to stop the criminal committing crime and also to stop others as well. Punishment can also be a form of retribution or revenge on criminals for their behaviour. Some people for the case of capital punishment believe that the law should be based on the idea of "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." In simple terms what you do wrong should be done back to you. E.g. if you kill someone, you should be killed also. This view can be backed up in the bible in the book of Leviticus chapter 24:17-20. It says: "If the person strikes another and kills him, he must be put to death. Whoever strikes an animal and kills it is to make restitution, life for life. If anyone injures and disfigures a fellow countryman it must be done to him as he has done- Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth." It makes them suffer for their crime that they have committed. It can also be a form of protection to society from the criminal. The criminal
Analyse the philosophical principles of at least one ethical theory and evaluate its application to a moral dilemma.
Analyse the philosophical principles of at least one ethical theory and evaluate its application to a moral dilemma. UTILITARIANISM AND THE DEATH PENALTY I The debate over capital punishment usually revolves around several theories of punishment and social justice: retribution, right to life, deterrence, forfeiture of rights, and utilitarianism. Practical objections arise over issues of the culpability of the state, the inconsistent way in which death-as-justice is applied, and the danger of executing innocent people. E.g. Robert Brown. These arguments and objections appear to hail from different schools of thought and types of reasoning, but they can all be assessed within a utilitarian framework. Applied to the whole of society over a long period of time, utilitarianism takes into account all but two extreme arguments for and against capital punishment. The death penalty must, to be acceptable, be supported by positive arguments, not merely the negation of objections. As in the criminal justice system, the burden of proof must lie with those seeking to impose punishment. To argue otherwise is an absolute negation of human worth. The death penalty is the taking of a life, no matter how little value society places on that life. To justify this act, supporters of the death penalty must prove that there is a far more important good to be served by ending a life than
Death penalty.
Death penalty June 22, 2000, a day when technology such as computers, digital cameras, worldwide contact, mobile phones, and space shuttles, rapid fast internet, is a part of daily life. Still, this is a day to grieve. This is the day that the 36-year-old American, Gary L. Graham was executed. According to Amnesty International, who thoroughly researches the death penalty because they oppose it, Gary Graham was exposed to several types of violence in his youth. Growing up with a mentally ill mother and an alcoholic father drug and alcohol abuse were a part of his life. Under the influence of both and in order to survive, Graham started to steal food, money, anything. Although his life is what America could grieve, because nobody needs to grow up like this; America should grieve for his death. When he was 17 years old Gary had apparently fired the fatal shot that killed Bobby Lambert. Although real evidence was never found, Gary was found guilty. In his trial, his lawyers were either too busy, not interested, inexperienced, or convinced that he was guilty, because they failed to interview those who could have plead him innocent, because they did not identify him as the murderer. Because of inadequate legal representation, on June 22 two years ago, Gary Graham was executed in Texas. "One of his lawyers has admitted:" I have serious questions whether we presented a fair
The Punishment must fit the crime
The Punishment should fit the Crime Oliver Latham 10J A young teenage girl walking home was murdered. The murderer who had been following the girl on several occasions planned to kill her when the opportunity arose. This was the murderer's first crime. What should be his punishment? Death? Prison sentence? Many religious groups have different views on the matter and I will refer to some of these in the essay to come to a final conclusion of my own opinion. Murder is both a crime and a sin. Sin is an act against god's teachings which are set down by the Ten Commandments in Christianity and for Muslims, the Qur'an their holy book. Crime is an act disobeying laws set down by secular organisations like the government. In Christianity ones of the Commandments: 'Thou shalt not kill' states that no human may take another's life without punishment from God. The Commandments, set down by Moses after he rescued the Hebrews from the hands of slavery in Egypt, tell Christians what they must never do if they wish to follow God correctly. To break any of these would be seen by a Christian as very wrong. In a similar way in Islam religious teachings from the Quar'an teach that murder is wrong. As Muslims believe their holy book is directly from god they know they must follow all the laws and that if they break any of them they will be punished by Allah severely. In English
Capital Punishment, is it an effective or ineffective deterrent?
Capital Punishment, is it an effective or ineffective deterrent? This is a very emotive subject; there are strong arguments both for and against the death penalty. "No one has the right to condemn another human being to death, if the death penalty were a truly effective deterrent, and then theoretically, there would be no violent crime where it is in place, which simply is not the case. Capital punishment is described as an unfair form of retributive justice, because it could wrongfully target innocents or the insane, therefore, this deterrent should be abolished".1 Since ancient times, capital punishment has been used around the world as a lawful punishment tool, Its use has been advocated throughout history from the eighth century Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon, to the Roman law of the Twelve Tablets, to medieval Europe, to the forefathers of America2. The death penalty or capital punishment is lawful killing carried out by the state as a punishment and since ancient times it has been used for a wide variety of offences. In ancient time the most popular form of punishment was crucifixion, death would then occur normally through exhaustion or heart failure. This from of execution was stopped in the west around 400AD, but it continued in Japan until the latter part of the 19th century.3 The Bible prescribed death for murder and many other crimes, including
My view on Euthanasia.
My view on Euthanasia. Euthanasia is, according to a dictionary, the act of killing an individual for the reason of mercy. This essay will examine the issue of active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is an intervention that would cause death to take place when it would not otherwise happen. Passive euthanasia is the decision to withhold help from an individual, ultimately leading to the death of the individual. This essay is supposed to deal with the circumstances, if any, that euthanasia, active or passive, would be morally permissible. Before I build the wall of moral delineation between these two scenarios, consider that they are but two possible choices on a broad continuum of options about death. I would suggest that there are three hard points on this continuum; 1. Do not allow death if at all possible 2. Do not interfere with death 3. Death is a choice under this 7logic, numbers 1 & 3 define the continuum limits and number 2 the centre point. I would argue that both active and passive are between numbers 2 & 3. Active is clearly close to number 3 while passive still advocates interference with the natural process of death. Passive euthanasia is a choice to allow death when you have the option to prevent it, even in the face of the wishes of the sufferer means that you are exercising a choice about death. So maybe there are really only two hard points to the
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
Capital Punishment
Capital Punishment This piece of coursework is about the moral issue of Capital Punishment. It will hopefully provide some insight into whether the state should decide the fate of convicts. Should Britain change it's laws to make sure murderers don't commit murder again like in USA or should they be given a second chance. I myself feel that murder is wrong. Yet I also feel that letting murderers walk free is also wrong. I feel that anybody who murders another person in cold blood should suffer the same fate as his or her victim. Therefore I personally believe that the government should be allowed to administer the death penalty. Even though this is murder, it is justified and would prevent the criminal from committing another crime. As the death penalty is extremely harsh I would only vote for it if the only punishable crimes were treason, murder and if the criminal had committed multiple crimes. I feel that if the criminal pleads guilty though they should only be given a life sentence that actually means life and not just 20 years. I've researched this topic with several different sources. I've used books and encyclopaedias to get a general overview and some background knowledge on the death penalty. I've used the Internet to find out specific peoples views. I will also create a poll to find out peoples opinions on a more local scale. Methods Hanging: A noose
Dead man walking - Film analysis
Dead man walking - Film analysis coursework For many years, the death penalty has been a punishment for severe crimes. However, the law has long moved on since then, and more humane ways of death have been devised for the few states where the death penalty is still legal. Lethal injection is now the main way of carrying out the penalty, and Texas is the state that uses it most. It is a very controversial punishment and the moral issues of it have been debated for a very long time. Many protests have been made to try and change this law, and they have been successful in most countries. The film 'Dead man walking' is set in the state of Louisiana, near Texas and re-enacts an ethical case where a decision whether to sentence a murder to death or not has to be made. During the film we can never be certain whether Tim Robbins is in favour, or against the death penalty. He uses very effective methods to represent both sides of this moral argument. For example, his methods include his choice of the character Matthew Poncelet, his choice of Sister Helen Prejean, sound effects and music, flashbacks, characters viewpoints, costumes and many more. One of the most important of these techniques is the way he has decided to present his main character, Sister Helen Prejean. The first time we see Helen Prejean is when she is driving to the 'Hope House' in her car. There is happy music in