Analysis Of The Documentary ' Dear Zachary '

The Supreme Court reviewed the constitutionality of mandatory life sentences without parole enforced upon persons aged fourteen and younger found guilty of homicide. The court declared unconstitutional a compulsory sentence of life without parole for children. The states have been barred from routinely imposing sentences based on the crime committed. There is a requirement for individual consideration of the child life circumstance or the defendant status as a child. The court rejected the definite ban on life sentences without parole. This is because in some cases the instances may be uncommon, but jurors

In July of 2008, one of the biggest crime cases devastated the United States nation-wide. The death of Caylee Anthony, a two year old baby, became the most popular topic in a brief amount of time. Caylee’s mother, Casey Anthony, became the main suspect after the child supposedly was kidnapped and went missing. To this day, the Casey Anthony case shocks me because justice, in my opinion, wasn’t served. I feel as if the criminal conviction system became somewhat corrupted in this case. The entire nation, including the court system, knew that Casey Anthony was behind this criminal act, but yet she escaped all charges. I chose this case not only because it’s debatable, but also to help state the obvious, this case was handled the wrong way.

This event was a very unfortunate tragedy, although it was used as an opportunity to create a new legal precedent which determines whether or not a child can be convicted for crimes though to be classified as an ‘adult crime’, for example, manslaughter. Doli incapax, assumes that any child aged 10-14 is incapable of criminal intent unless proven otherwise.

Facts: Kyle John Kelbel was convicted of first-degree murder, past pattern of child abuse, in violation of Minnesota state statute section 609.185(5) and second-degree murder, in violation of Minnesota statute 609.19, subdivision 2(1). He was sentenced to life in prison for the death of Kailyn Marie Montgomery. Kelbel appealed, and argued that the district court failed to instruct the jury that it must find that the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the acts that constituted the past pattern of child abuse and he also argued that the evidence against him was insufficient to prove past pattern of child abuse

Christopher Simmons was charged with burglary and the murder of Shirley Crook. He and his two friends plotted to break into her home rob and murder her. One of his friends decided not to go through with the plot, but his other friend helped. They went in the middle of the night into her home bound her and threw her over the bridge. At trial with the evidence, videotaped confession from Simmons, and the testimony against him from his friend proving that it was a premeditated plan the jury recommended a death sentence. He appealed his case with counsel and felt his past history of a clean record and his troubled background should have been a factor in the sentencing. Simmons’s case worked its way to the courts and it was eventually overturned. According to Birckhead (2008), “With its decision in Roper v. Simmons,11 invalidating the imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were younger than eighteen when their crimes were committed,12 the Court has, perhaps, heralded yet another shift in the perspective of the legal system-and the culture at large-towards adolescents who commit crimes”(p.389). The Supreme Court ruled that the punishment now violates the Eighth Amendment 's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Thus, they sentenced Simmons to life imprisonment without parole.

The big day was March 1st, 2005. The verdict was reached and the decisions were made in the Rehnquist Court. The Chief Justice William Rehnquist ruled against Simmons, the defendant. Being a strict constructionist, or one that strictly adheres to the Constitution, this decision was consistent with his beliefs because nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the execution of minors is a cruel or unusual punishment. He reasoned that it was justified based on the defendant’s actions. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is also a strict constructionist, believing in loyalty to the original Constitution and also in judicial restraint, where she tends to support previous judicial rulings. In this case, she was somewhat consistent, since she voted against Simmons as well and voted to uphold the previous ruling (Stanford v. Kentucky), which ruled that the death sentence of minors was permissible. In fact, she even responded to the argument that many international laws have denounced execution of minors and death penalty in general by stating that international law should have no relevance on the supreme law of the United

In State of Oregon v. Kipland Kinkel, Judge Haselton summarizes the decision to deny Kinkel’s appeal of his sentencing. Kinkel was sentenced by the Lower Court to 111 years and 8 months for the confession of 4 murders and 25 accounts of attempted murder. Several medical personal and parents testified against Kinkel at the hearing stating that, “he is and remains dangerous,” (para. 15). The defense’s grounds for appeal consist of the sentencing being cruel and unusual and that the protection of society was considered more than reformation. The higher court denied it was cruel and unusual because it did not shock the conscience. The presiding judge also denied that reformation was of higher significance than the protection of society because there were multiple victims affected in a public setting.

In the case between R. v Maracle, it was about a 14 year old Brantford female was kidnapped at gunpoint by David Maracle on May 26, 1997 and brutally and repeatedly raped. This event had accused on 1997, and then was farther investigated and made its way to court. On November 8, 2000, the trial judge found the appellant to be a dangerous offender and ordered him detained for an indeterminate period. The appellant appeals conviction and sentence. The case was later appealed in 2006. This case took place in superior court of justice. This case took place because the appellant’s conviction and sentence. In this case it shows the dangers so sex offenders and how hard they try to get away with crime that they have committed, even though they left all the proof / evidence behind at the location which was all leading up to them, being the one to frame. (http://www.thespec.com)

Rodney Hulin was only 16 years old when he was charged with arson and sent to an adult prison for eight years. During his time in prison he spent a year with a clean record but then was transferred to another person without reason or notice to his parents. He was 17 at the time and during his first week in prison he sent his father a letter saying “"Dad, I'm really scared, scared that I will die in here. Please pray for me. Pray that I will get my job changed, sent to a hospital, get out of here alive, and that I will get out on parole...I want to live with you when I get out, if I get out alive" (XXX). The father did not know what was going on but found out his son was raped and sodomized two days after he received his first letter. From being transferred to the new jail on

Gail Garinger, the author of “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences,” argues that children should not be struck down for life because they commit the most vile and horrible crimes imaginable, based on the sole fact that they are still adolescents, and that they should be given the chance for parole and rehabilitation because they are not fully developed; therefore, in her article she shows exceptionally strong ethos to support her claim. Garinger first exposes her strong ethos by using the authority of the Supreme Court to exclaim why the youth shouldn’t be punished to a life sentence for homicide or manslaughter by saying, “the Supreme Court

The second half of Bryan Stevenson’s book, Just Mercy, brought successful conclusions to the stories that were introduced in the first half. Stevenson also introduced multiple new cases that displayed just how much his little law firm in Alabama has grown and changed the United States’ judicial system for the better. Stevenson mentioned that he had won a historic hearing that life-without-parole sentences for all children are unconstitutional, which changed the lives of many children and how they are treated today by courts in the United States. While he has saved many people from their wrongful convictions, their lives are never the same and the time they lost in prison can never be returned. This is why Stevenson started a fight that

A broken; crooked Justice System is a sad but unforgotten tale of our nation. “Just Mercy” tells the everyday motif of an innocent person wrongfully convicted to death until new DNA evidence has been brought up. Even the states that still sentence people to capital punishment have botched people’s lives and cleared them of all charges years after their execution. “Just Mercy,” personalizes the struggle and hardship minorities face every day while dealing with injustice in the story of one lawyer Bryan Stevenson.

In 2008, Patrick Kennedy was ruled guilty of raping and causing serious internal damage to his eight-year-old stepdaughter and was sentenced to death by a Louisiana court. The court sentenced death, saying that although the U.S. Supreme Court would not allow the death sentence for the rape of a woman, that did not apply if the victim was a child. The Louisiana Supreme Court argued that because five other states had similar laws, they could punish Kennedy with death. Kennedy brought the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the way five states interpreted the Eighth Amendment is not a “national consensus” and Coker v. Virginia should apply to all rapes. The Supreme Court ruled (5-4), that yes, the Eighth Amendment does not allow the death penalty for rape if the crime did not result in and was not intended

In 2001, 15 years old Columbus, OH resident Brandon Moore along with another teen kidnapped robbed and raped 22 year old woman. The woman was abducted as she arrived for an evening work shift and was repeatedly raped at gun point before being released. Brandon was tried as an adult and convicted of armed kidnapping, robbery and gang rape in the 2001. Moore now 29 received multiple sentences in total of 112- years in prison in 2008. Couple weeks ago Moore’s lawyer argued that a 112-year prison sentence imposed on a convicted rapist should be overturned because it amounts to an unconstitutional life term for crimes he committed at age 15.

Within the mind, we have thoughts and triggers that set our fears. Fear is the number one thing that can cause us from doing things in life. No matter what time frame we are in, on this planet, we learn that fear is worth controlling in life. One spectacular movie that inhibits fear and control so well in our human nature is The Village by M. Night Shyamalan. Mr. Shyamalan shows so much potential in this film with ourselves and the viewing of certain scenes that trigger the mind with control and fear. A few of the scenes in the movie inherit the cultural background with the late 1800’s time frame and sets a real tragedy throughout the film. In this motion picture, we learn certain things that fear some of us and have plot twist actions that make the movie so spectacular. As we approach the plot twists; fear, themes, and control for this video, it is a life lesson in most cases maybe for those who are in-love or just looking for a movie to open our minds.