Wow. This book is really interesting. What makes it interesting is the fact that its true. For part four, I was in disbelief the whole time reading this. I had to keep looking on the back of the book to re-read that this book truly was non-fiction.
While at one of Zeitoun's houses, Todd, Nasser, and a resident named Ronnie that had been using the phone, all were arrested without question. Zeitoun and the others complied and believed there was just a big mix up and they would send them back after questioning. However, as soon as they got out of the law inforcements' boat, they were takeled to the ground, tied up, and brought to what seemed to be a military base for questioning. Todd asked why they were there, and one soldier said because the were al Qaeda. Todd was in disbelief to this reasoning, but Zeitoun feared this day would come and knew they would be there for a while. I think the reason Zeitoun and his friends were targeted by this military force was because there were two men from the middle east with them. "After 9/11, he and Kathy knew that many imaginations had run amok, that the introduction of the idea of "sleeper cells" ...meant that everyone at their mosque, or the mosque itself, might be waiting for instructions from their presumed leaders." (Eggers 212) Unfortunately, many Muslims are discriminated still to this day because of 9/11 and the idea of undercover and waiting al Qaeda living within the U.S. As a result, bad things happen to good people like Zeitoun and Nasser, and the others in the group. When they brought Zeitoun in, they provided no information for him. "Zeitoun had not been read his rights. He did not know why he was being held." (Eggers 216) Does this sound like our American government? To take someone from their home, accuse them of being a terrorist, tell them virtually nothing of the reasoning for the arrest, and then give them no rights in prison? Not even one phone call. When reading this happened to Zeitoun, I was furious that our federal troops would do such a thing to an innocent person. That America would stoop so low as prejudice. Isn't that what America is supposed to be against? Not only this, but they were in caged in an outside prison made entirely out of cage similar to that of Guantanamo Bay. Everything and every body was visible from the outside and they were unprotected from the elements. In each cell there was only a portable toilet and a steel, upside down U-shaped bar cemented to the ground used as a guide for lines of people in the bus station. Perhaps what made me most mad, was the fact that this prison had to take time to build, so the government was planning to create a prison in New Orleans. "Within a day of the storm's eye passing over the region, officials were making plans for the building of a makeshift outdoor prison." (Eggers 226) So instead of planning how they would have to save so many people and evacuate them out of the city, the government was busy thinking of terrorism. I can't comprehend why they were planning to make this prison. Why wasn't the government's main priority saving people? During Zeitoun's stay at the prison, he witnessed things I would never believe our federal troops would do. They bribed prisoners before they were interviewed, they would give Muslims pork for food, and they would torture people with pepper spray when they touched the fence or wouldn't keep quiet. Zeitoun was later transferred to another high-security prison and learned he wasn't the only one that was arrested for no apparent reason. One sanitation worker was doing his job of cleaning up the city, when the National Guard pulled up and arrested him on the spot. They even arrested a fireman who had been asked to stay. Zeitoun came to the conclusion if a "man came to be suspected by the U.S. government, and, under the president's current powers, U.S. agents were allowed to seize the man from anywhere in the world, and bring him anywhere in the world, without ever having to charge him with a crime." (Eggers 255) I think the government is capable of many things and, although it goes against America's values, I think what Zeitoun's thought was right. When the government puts their mind to something, they are very capable of doing what ever it takes to get what they want, even if it means arresting innocent people. By the end of the section, Zeitoun began to think this country was fallible after all and that mistakes could be made. If I were in this position, I would think the same. I still am shocked to see what the government did to Zeitoun. Zeitoun's situation, was one of those American mistakes.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Zeitoun: Part 3
What frustrates me the most when reading this book, is the thought that perhaps many more people suffering could have been saved. While patrolling in his canoe, Zeitoun noticed a helicopter hovering over a body. Zeitoun thought it was a rescue mission, as I would have thought, but it wasn't. "No. A man was pointing a camera at the body. He did so for a few minutes and then the helicopter rose, tilted, and drifted off." (Eggers 148) When reading this, I felt disgusted to know that helicopters were flying around looking at the damage and dead bodies, while people were trapped in their homes and in the super dome. I think that every resource possible should have been in New Orleans getting these people out of the toxic flooded city. That helicopter should have been picking up all sorts of people to save, but instead it was used to observe the destruction and suffering. Anyone with a sufficient vehicle could have saved many. For example, Todd, who lived in the neighborhood, had a motor boat and saved many people. "Todd told him stories of his own rescues -- how he'd picked up dozens of people already, how he'd been shuttling them to hospitals and staging grounds, how easy it was with a motor boat."(Eggers 138) This shows that one person can make such a difference for the lives and safety of others. Federal forces could have done so much with their fan boat, and perhaps they did eventually, but why didn't the ones that Zeitoun saw help? Those boats could save so many people even though it may seem like a little for each boat, it adds up to many saved in the end.
I am contemplating what the goal of the media during Katrina was. For Kathy, the media only brought disparity. Every time she watched it she could not believe what she was seeing or listening to she turned it off so she would not get upset. "There were roving gangs of armed men. That's all the media could talk about -- that it was the Wild West out there." (Eggers 169) I don't see how this could help the situation other than sending in troops, but for the wrong reason. Everyone just needed help to get out, and needed food and supplies sent. Chief Eddie Compass would exaggerate the crime in the Superdome perhaps to get the attention of law enforcements so they may be sent. He said, "We had babies in there. Little babies getting raped...the people, in my opinion, they got to this almost animalistic state, because they didn't have the recourses." In the video we watched in class, there was someone who was in the Superdome and said none of that type of violence occurred. In fact we saw video of the Superdome and in the hard times people started singing not "raping babies." In Compass' self defense, I think he was desperate to get recourses to the people, but that is no reason to over exaggerate. I'm still unsure of the media's purpose, but I know it didn't help kathy in her time of need when she could not get a hold of Zeitoun. Right now in the book, Kathy hadn't received Zeitoun's phone call for about 2 weeks and she assumed the worst. Until someone called saying Zeitoun was in jail. Thats where I stopped. So far this book is pretty good, I cant wait to see why he's in jail.
I am contemplating what the goal of the media during Katrina was. For Kathy, the media only brought disparity. Every time she watched it she could not believe what she was seeing or listening to she turned it off so she would not get upset. "There were roving gangs of armed men. That's all the media could talk about -- that it was the Wild West out there." (Eggers 169) I don't see how this could help the situation other than sending in troops, but for the wrong reason. Everyone just needed help to get out, and needed food and supplies sent. Chief Eddie Compass would exaggerate the crime in the Superdome perhaps to get the attention of law enforcements so they may be sent. He said, "We had babies in there. Little babies getting raped...the people, in my opinion, they got to this almost animalistic state, because they didn't have the recourses." In the video we watched in class, there was someone who was in the Superdome and said none of that type of violence occurred. In fact we saw video of the Superdome and in the hard times people started singing not "raping babies." In Compass' self defense, I think he was desperate to get recourses to the people, but that is no reason to over exaggerate. I'm still unsure of the media's purpose, but I know it didn't help kathy in her time of need when she could not get a hold of Zeitoun. Right now in the book, Kathy hadn't received Zeitoun's phone call for about 2 weeks and she assumed the worst. Until someone called saying Zeitoun was in jail. Thats where I stopped. So far this book is pretty good, I cant wait to see why he's in jail.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Zeitoun: Part 2
Hurricane Katrina finally hit. Zeitoun was ready for it, putting all his valuables and more on the second floor of his house. Then he put buckets and garbage cans under leaks in the house to gather the water. Besides a few windows broken, some shingles lost, and a fallen gutter, Zeitoun's house was in pretty good shape for being in a "category 5" hurricane. The truth was however, that the hurricane had not directly hit New Orleans and the damage was less than anticipated. The next morning, Zeitoun realized the worste was not over. He woke up to the sound similar to that of a river. That sound was the water from the levees escaping due to the lack of structure needed to hold back water from a category 2 hurricane.This is another issue; why was something built by the government and paid for by tax payers and was supposed to save many lives and property, built so poorly? The people of New Orleans were dependent on the levees because the city is 6ft below sea level! They expected the levees to hold back the water like they were supposed to, but they didn't. For this, many people were unprepared for the event including Zeitoun. "It made him sick, the anguish this would cause. Know one, he knew, had prepared for this, adequately or at all." (Eggers 95) This is why hurricane Katrina was such a catastrophe, because no one expected the levees to break and flood the city, so no one was prepared. As a result, it cause immense damage and the lives of many.
One might think, in an incident like this, that the government would send federal troops there right away saving all sorts of people, but they seemed to take their time. As Zeitoun was patrolling the neighborhood in his canoe, he saw some type of armed government force driving by in a fan boat. He and Frank waved for their help to save an elderly woman in her house. The soldiers gave no attention to them and drove past without helping. Zeitoun was thinking, "Where were these boats going, what were they looking for, if not residents of the city asking for help? It defied belief." (Eggers 101) These are questions I am pondering as I read through this book. Perhaps one reason for the governments slow response was an issue with race. Most of the people that needed help in New Orleans were black and they had been described over the radio to be in a "third world" state. "Residents were being referred to as refugees." So when Governor Blanco said, "I have one message for these hoodlums, these troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will." To me, it seems that the Blanco is saying that the people in New Orleans are hoodlums because they are black and because they are looting. I think Blanco, along with the media was blowing the crime way out of proportion to make it seem like they have to send in armed forces to stop them rather than helping them. I recall seeing an article about two instances about looting. One instance was a black person being described as looting a grocery store, while the other was a white person described as searching for necessary belongings. I will tell you, based on the pictures I saw, they both were taking essentials for surviving in that city. You cant tell me that the New Orleans situation had nothing to do with race.
One might think, in an incident like this, that the government would send federal troops there right away saving all sorts of people, but they seemed to take their time. As Zeitoun was patrolling the neighborhood in his canoe, he saw some type of armed government force driving by in a fan boat. He and Frank waved for their help to save an elderly woman in her house. The soldiers gave no attention to them and drove past without helping. Zeitoun was thinking, "Where were these boats going, what were they looking for, if not residents of the city asking for help? It defied belief." (Eggers 101) These are questions I am pondering as I read through this book. Perhaps one reason for the governments slow response was an issue with race. Most of the people that needed help in New Orleans were black and they had been described over the radio to be in a "third world" state. "Residents were being referred to as refugees." So when Governor Blanco said, "I have one message for these hoodlums, these troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will." To me, it seems that the Blanco is saying that the people in New Orleans are hoodlums because they are black and because they are looting. I think Blanco, along with the media was blowing the crime way out of proportion to make it seem like they have to send in armed forces to stop them rather than helping them. I recall seeing an article about two instances about looting. One instance was a black person being described as looting a grocery store, while the other was a white person described as searching for necessary belongings. I will tell you, based on the pictures I saw, they both were taking essentials for surviving in that city. You cant tell me that the New Orleans situation had nothing to do with race.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Zeitoun: Part 1
I've separated this book into five equivalent sections and after reading one I will post a blog about the issues and what I think. The first section of this book what sort of uneventful mostly because all books start off slow because they need to introduce everything. However, there was the issue of religious intolerance and prejudice to the main character and his wife. This book takes place a few years after September 11th and people are still hateful toward Muslims. Zeitoun is Syrian and some people deny his services as a carpenter because he's Syrian. For example, people would ask where the last name Zeitoun originated and where he's from. Once his wife and secretary, Kathy, says he's from Syria, some people don't want their services. I can't believe some people would chose to not hire one of the best carpenters around just because of his race or religion. Reading this book, it seems like Zeitoun is the most loyal and reliable person someone could know, but some people can't see past his name of religion.
Kathy is Zeitoun's wife and used to be Christian, but later converted to Islam. She wears a hijab, what some women of Islam wear to cover most of their head. Kathy doesn't mind wearing this and is proud of her faith, but she knows other people don't like it. She knows she'll encounter "ugliness" sometimes when she goes out. "The frequency of incidents seemed tied, to some extent, to current events, to the general media profile of Muslims that week or month. Certainly 9/11 it was more fraught than before, and then it had calmed for a few years. But in 2004 a local incident had stoked the fire again."(Eggers 45) Basically the incident was a tenth grader of Iraqi decent being harassed by her history teacher for her race and he pretty much got away with it. After that, there had been a noticeable increase in harassment toward people from the middle-east. Kathy had people repeatedly sneak up behind her and quickly remove her hijab in public as a joke. She hated it it and at times felt like an exile in her own country. I think people should be more informed about other religions and races so they could learn to respect them. Kathy claims people, "don't know or don't care, that Islam, judaism, and Christianity were not so distantly related branches of the same monotheistic, Abrahamic faith."(Eggers 66) She also says thats how she felt until she looked into the Islamic faith and realized it was right for her. I think if people are well informed about other religions and races they would be so quick to hate and harass them. No one should be judged for their appearance of religion especially in America.
Kathy is Zeitoun's wife and used to be Christian, but later converted to Islam. She wears a hijab, what some women of Islam wear to cover most of their head. Kathy doesn't mind wearing this and is proud of her faith, but she knows other people don't like it. She knows she'll encounter "ugliness" sometimes when she goes out. "The frequency of incidents seemed tied, to some extent, to current events, to the general media profile of Muslims that week or month. Certainly 9/11 it was more fraught than before, and then it had calmed for a few years. But in 2004 a local incident had stoked the fire again."(Eggers 45) Basically the incident was a tenth grader of Iraqi decent being harassed by her history teacher for her race and he pretty much got away with it. After that, there had been a noticeable increase in harassment toward people from the middle-east. Kathy had people repeatedly sneak up behind her and quickly remove her hijab in public as a joke. She hated it it and at times felt like an exile in her own country. I think people should be more informed about other religions and races so they could learn to respect them. Kathy claims people, "don't know or don't care, that Islam, judaism, and Christianity were not so distantly related branches of the same monotheistic, Abrahamic faith."(Eggers 66) She also says thats how she felt until she looked into the Islamic faith and realized it was right for her. I think if people are well informed about other religions and races they would be so quick to hate and harass them. No one should be judged for their appearance of religion especially in America.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Abortion
1. For me, its tough to say what I support. After looking at both the websites I would say I'm pro-choice, but only before the first 12 weeks. Looking at the ways abortions are performed, I lowered my standard for abortion. At some point, when the fetus is older, it just doesn't seem right to me. However, I think a woman should have a choice of what she wants to do with her body and as long as its before 12 weeks an abortion seems constitutional to me. The pro-choice movement seems to be losing because more and more states are putting restrictions on abortion. 15 states have a near total ban on abortion and 20 states have a near ban on abortion after 12 weeks. Pro-life argument is based on a woman's right to chose what she does with her body. They also have a strong support when they say they support improving access to birth control and teaching young people sex education so that there doesn't have to be abortions. I think this is important because it shows they're trying to solve the problem while supporting the rights of women. The pro-lifers seem to use the fact that the killing of a fetus is wrong for their argument. I think this argument is valid, but I also believe in a women's right to chose whats best for her. They use a lot of fact and one of their main purposes is to inform women of all the abortion techniques and their side-effects. This is important because a women should know all the side-effects they may have.
2. I think both of these sides have valid arguments and its hard for me to make the decision of what side I'm on. Like I said earlier, I'm pro-choice so long as its before 12 weeks into the pregnancy. I think parents should know if their child is getting an abortion, just because the child is living under their household and their paying for medical insurance. If a daughter is 18 year old I don't believe they need a parents consent because they are considered an adult. However, any age lower a parent must consent.
3. If a daughter is living under her father's household then I believe he should be notified of the abortion simply because he takes care of her and most likely helps pay medical care. However, I don't think a father's consent should be required, I think only one parent needs to approve if the daughter is under 18, not both, so it may or may not be the father.
4. Illinois seems to have the same opinion as me about abortion. I agree with all the pro-choice laws because they seem to help women in need of abortion or preventing abortion via birth control. However, there are some pro-life laws that I don't agree with. After 12 weeks, Illinois has a ban on abortion with no exception on a woman's health and I think there should always be an exception if their health is at risk. Illinois also has laws refusing to provide medical services and referrals concerning abortion to some women. This is wrong because if a women wants to get abortion or wants information on it she should receive it without delay. Also I disagree with the law requiring the spouse's consent of the abortion because they have no say in the other spouses medical care. So I think Illinois has a good handle on abortion laws for the most part, but I would not like as much restrictions on the women that want more information or coverage for an abortion. A women should be fully educated when making her choice, and once she makes her choice, she should be fully supported.
2. I think both of these sides have valid arguments and its hard for me to make the decision of what side I'm on. Like I said earlier, I'm pro-choice so long as its before 12 weeks into the pregnancy. I think parents should know if their child is getting an abortion, just because the child is living under their household and their paying for medical insurance. If a daughter is 18 year old I don't believe they need a parents consent because they are considered an adult. However, any age lower a parent must consent.
3. If a daughter is living under her father's household then I believe he should be notified of the abortion simply because he takes care of her and most likely helps pay medical care. However, I don't think a father's consent should be required, I think only one parent needs to approve if the daughter is under 18, not both, so it may or may not be the father.
4. Illinois seems to have the same opinion as me about abortion. I agree with all the pro-choice laws because they seem to help women in need of abortion or preventing abortion via birth control. However, there are some pro-life laws that I don't agree with. After 12 weeks, Illinois has a ban on abortion with no exception on a woman's health and I think there should always be an exception if their health is at risk. Illinois also has laws refusing to provide medical services and referrals concerning abortion to some women. This is wrong because if a women wants to get abortion or wants information on it she should receive it without delay. Also I disagree with the law requiring the spouse's consent of the abortion because they have no say in the other spouses medical care. So I think Illinois has a good handle on abortion laws for the most part, but I would not like as much restrictions on the women that want more information or coverage for an abortion. A women should be fully educated when making her choice, and once she makes her choice, she should be fully supported.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Death Penalty #3
Response #1) I think the fact that there are so many steps involved in this process helps secure the rights of the accused. Each step is made to ensure everything is backed with evidence and the decision of death penalty is as sure as possible. However, those who cannot afford a lawyer have an extreme disadvantage. This is where there is a fault in our justice system. Each step does not require the defendant to have a lawyer, but without one, an innocent person may have a hard time defending himself.
Response #2) I cannot believe some of the executions that were used even with the eighth amendment in place. Hanging is incredibly risky because so many factors could lead to a slow death. Same goes with firing squad, plus the fact that someone is being torn up with bullets by execution is just inhumane. The electric chair seems like one of the most painful experiences with the description made by William Brennan. Similarly, the gas chamber seems very painful and slow with symptoms similar to a heart attack. Caryl Chessman nodded his head that it was painful before he died. When being executed, no one should feel pain and their death should be quick. None of these executions followed the 8th Amendment because all were cruel and unusual. The lethal injection seems somewhat humane because it puts the person being executed asleep before they die. This allows them to feel no pain. However, there are some flaws to this, such as not being injected into the vein. If the needle is put into the muscle it could be very painful. This is something we should not be risking when considering the lives of people. Until we find a flawless quick and painless execution, we should not execute at all.
Response #3) Generally the states with the most executions are in the south, but there are exceptions. I'm not quite sure why this is, maybe people in the south generally embrace it more. Most of the states that have no execution are in the north, with the exception of New Mexico. I also find that the states with higher population have more people on death row. This makes sense because there is more people. I found that the ratio of whites to blacks on death row are about even, but the ratio to blacks and whites who have been executed is not. I found that generally more whites have been executed. This is strange because most things I've heard from say the system is prejudice toward blacks and more blacks have been executed. There is far more men than woman on death row for psychological reasons that I don't want to get into. The state with the most women on death row is California, most likely because its high population. There are no statistics for juvenile executions because as of 2005 in Roper v. Simmons, the supreme court ruled that it is cruel and unusual to execute someone that has committed their crime under the age of 18. I was surprised to see any states at all to still have hanging and firing squad as a form of execution. They both seem so out dated and cruel. Most states use lethal injection as a form of execution because it is seemingly the most ethical. As of today, Illinois has had only 15 death row inmates and 12 executions. Illinois is currently in favor of the death penalty and uses only lethal injection. Surprisingly California only had 16 executions, but leads all other states in number of death row inmates with 690. Texas takes the number one spot for most executions with ease more than quadrupling its runner up with a whopping 451 executions. I still notice a large trend of southern states favoring the death penalty. Perhaps the south is more conservative.With the number of black to white inmates just about even I don't see any prejudice in the system at all, though there may be a slight more amount of blacks. And there is more whites that were executed than blacks so it evens out a bit. Judging by this data I would say justice is blind and everyone on death row is treated equally.
Response #4) This data strengthens my previous response when I said the ratio of black to white inmates on death row is about equal. However, this does not eliminate racial prejudice in the justice system when determining the death sentence. One chart convinced me that prejudice is in our justice system. From this chart and other information, it was found that one was 3.5 times more likely to be executed if their victim was white. Those that killed whites were 3 times more likely to be sentenced to be sentenced to death than those who killed blacks and 4 times more likely than those who killed Latinos. Heres another statistic, 98% of all district attorneys are white. Coincidence? I THINK NOT! So this changed my perspective, because its not so much the execution itself where racism resides, its in the victims of the defendant. What I really like about this site, is that it gives a lot of raw fact and information, but not only this, it gives the opinions of Americans and professionals. Americans go about 50/50 when it comes to the death penalty. However, I don't think they all know how much they're paying for the death of some convict. The California death penalty system costs taxpayers $114 million per year beyond the costs of keeping convicts locked up for life. If I knew this while being a tax payer, I know I wouldn't be pro execution. Not only this, but 88% of criminologists believe that the death penalty does not lower the rate of homicides. So what good is the death penalty doing? Thats opinion coming from an expert, so its convincing to me. Looking at this information overall, I would most defiantly say its leaning toward anti -execution. It provides so many information suggesting that the death penalty brings no good and only does harm to a community. I must say this informational site did a good job because it convinced me. The information and statistics is all laid out for me to make the choice, its all raw fact. Although, perhaps they may have left information that might help the other side of the argument. I believe its best to provide both sides of the argument so people can make a good choice. After looking at this, I believe there are problems regarding racism in the process of the death penalty and I've come to decide that the death penalty is a pointless and expensively unnecessary punishment for inmates.
Response #2) I cannot believe some of the executions that were used even with the eighth amendment in place. Hanging is incredibly risky because so many factors could lead to a slow death. Same goes with firing squad, plus the fact that someone is being torn up with bullets by execution is just inhumane. The electric chair seems like one of the most painful experiences with the description made by William Brennan. Similarly, the gas chamber seems very painful and slow with symptoms similar to a heart attack. Caryl Chessman nodded his head that it was painful before he died. When being executed, no one should feel pain and their death should be quick. None of these executions followed the 8th Amendment because all were cruel and unusual. The lethal injection seems somewhat humane because it puts the person being executed asleep before they die. This allows them to feel no pain. However, there are some flaws to this, such as not being injected into the vein. If the needle is put into the muscle it could be very painful. This is something we should not be risking when considering the lives of people. Until we find a flawless quick and painless execution, we should not execute at all.
Response #3) Generally the states with the most executions are in the south, but there are exceptions. I'm not quite sure why this is, maybe people in the south generally embrace it more. Most of the states that have no execution are in the north, with the exception of New Mexico. I also find that the states with higher population have more people on death row. This makes sense because there is more people. I found that the ratio of whites to blacks on death row are about even, but the ratio to blacks and whites who have been executed is not. I found that generally more whites have been executed. This is strange because most things I've heard from say the system is prejudice toward blacks and more blacks have been executed. There is far more men than woman on death row for psychological reasons that I don't want to get into. The state with the most women on death row is California, most likely because its high population. There are no statistics for juvenile executions because as of 2005 in Roper v. Simmons, the supreme court ruled that it is cruel and unusual to execute someone that has committed their crime under the age of 18. I was surprised to see any states at all to still have hanging and firing squad as a form of execution. They both seem so out dated and cruel. Most states use lethal injection as a form of execution because it is seemingly the most ethical. As of today, Illinois has had only 15 death row inmates and 12 executions. Illinois is currently in favor of the death penalty and uses only lethal injection. Surprisingly California only had 16 executions, but leads all other states in number of death row inmates with 690. Texas takes the number one spot for most executions with ease more than quadrupling its runner up with a whopping 451 executions. I still notice a large trend of southern states favoring the death penalty. Perhaps the south is more conservative.With the number of black to white inmates just about even I don't see any prejudice in the system at all, though there may be a slight more amount of blacks. And there is more whites that were executed than blacks so it evens out a bit. Judging by this data I would say justice is blind and everyone on death row is treated equally.
Response #4) This data strengthens my previous response when I said the ratio of black to white inmates on death row is about equal. However, this does not eliminate racial prejudice in the justice system when determining the death sentence. One chart convinced me that prejudice is in our justice system. From this chart and other information, it was found that one was 3.5 times more likely to be executed if their victim was white. Those that killed whites were 3 times more likely to be sentenced to be sentenced to death than those who killed blacks and 4 times more likely than those who killed Latinos. Heres another statistic, 98% of all district attorneys are white. Coincidence? I THINK NOT! So this changed my perspective, because its not so much the execution itself where racism resides, its in the victims of the defendant. What I really like about this site, is that it gives a lot of raw fact and information, but not only this, it gives the opinions of Americans and professionals. Americans go about 50/50 when it comes to the death penalty. However, I don't think they all know how much they're paying for the death of some convict. The California death penalty system costs taxpayers $114 million per year beyond the costs of keeping convicts locked up for life. If I knew this while being a tax payer, I know I wouldn't be pro execution. Not only this, but 88% of criminologists believe that the death penalty does not lower the rate of homicides. So what good is the death penalty doing? Thats opinion coming from an expert, so its convincing to me. Looking at this information overall, I would most defiantly say its leaning toward anti -execution. It provides so many information suggesting that the death penalty brings no good and only does harm to a community. I must say this informational site did a good job because it convinced me. The information and statistics is all laid out for me to make the choice, its all raw fact. Although, perhaps they may have left information that might help the other side of the argument. I believe its best to provide both sides of the argument so people can make a good choice. After looking at this, I believe there are problems regarding racism in the process of the death penalty and I've come to decide that the death penalty is a pointless and expensively unnecessary punishment for inmates.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Clifford Boggess- to be or not to be?
The question is; should Cifford Boggess have been executed or served life in prison? I beleive he should have been executed like he was because he was a killer and nothing was going to change that fact. Sure, Boggess did show some change in his life after several years on death row, but so do all others on death row. Looking at my list, the reasons to be executed far exeed that of mitigating factors. Its very small, but there is a slim chance he could escape from prison and that is not something I'd like to risk. He told his girlfriend that he'd kill her if he ever got out and I'd think he'd be quick to kill others too. Why have this killer among us, even if he is locked up? Killing came easy for Boggess, there was anger in his killing and almost no sympothy or regret. He even stated that he enjoys killing, and people say he shouldn't be executed? And when going to prison he showed no emotion because he was a tough guy that killed people. Having this killer is prison for life will do no one any good and will only do bad for others. The victims' families could not rest until they knew Clifford Boggess was executed. Knowing Boggess was executed, they felt they didnt need to worry about him any longer, though the pain was still there. Clifford Boggess brutaly killed two defensless people and theres nothing that can chnage that. No new religion or paintings can ever change that he is an angry, brutal killer who enjoyed killing. For this, it was justified he was executed.
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