Analysis Of The Episode Aftershock From The Well Renowned Television Series Law And Order From A Restorative Perspective

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and an American police procedural crime show that is set in New York City. Many of the episodes are loosely based on real crimes found in the news that have created a lot of attention. The Special Victims Unit is portrayed as a new elite squad of NYPD detectives who investigate sexually related crimes and crimes involving women and children. This police drama was originally set to follow the detectives, Elliot Stabler and his partner Olivia Benson as they are portrayed as seasoned detectives that have seen it all and have had difficult past which motivate them to solve crime.

“Complex/Capital Case.” I stared at these words typed on my local county sheriff’s inmate directory. Above was an image of a man — face beaten and showing dozens of gang-affiliated tattoos — and I attempted to see a resemblance between his face and my own. I spent hours researching what “complex/capital case” means, and once I read the words “death penalty,” and although I knew that he had yet to be tried, what I did know was that this was the end for him. On the screen in front of me was the image of a man who was convicted of seventy-one counts of assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, and attempted murder.

As far back as one can look into human civilization, justice for a murder victim has always been by taking the life of the killer. In today’s society capital punishment is needed to defend it from further harm, bring justice and/or vengeance to the victims of the loved ones, and encourage psychological deterrence. As of today, there are thirty-two states which offer the only just punishment for a crime without parallel and eighteen states having abolished the death penalty.

Anthony Graves was living on death row for almost two decades while being in solitary confinement. While he was proven un-guilty of murder he still has the punishment of eighteen years of living while being mentally and physically dead. After Mr. Graves was let out of prison, he still has to rethink about almost being killed because of a prosecutor that didn’t want to lose her case. How unprofessional could that be, letting someone rot in jail for a crime he didn’t commit, while the prosecutor knew of doubts, but went along like he didn’t hear it. The cost of one’s life is more than all of the money in the world, because once someone is lethally injected, no one can bring them back. Now I am starting to wonder about the death penalty and questioning myself is it fit for the worst of crimes for is it not fit at all. Kerry Max Cook was a former death row inmate that had conversations with Robert Earl Carter, "Anthony, I really believe, is innocent. I'm stunned that an innocent person is this close to execution (Rice,2005), was stated by former death row inmate Cook, that was let off for being proven

In Oklahoma, Greg Wilhoit serves as an inspiration to end the infamous capital punishment. His wife was viciously murdered in Tulsa, Oklahoma on the 1st of June. Greg was alleged for the death of his spouse, and was found guilty when the bite marks found on his wife’s body matched his teeth. He was then put in jail and was sentenced to death in 8 years. However it was proven wrong and he successfully won the case, but he didn’t win the nightmarish trauma that strongly affected his mentality during those forlorn 8 years of false accusation. It led him to depression and eventually his miserable demise. Greg’s case is an example of an inaccurate and flawed judgment of death penalty. Everyone deserves a second chance, less allegations which cause wrong executions, and reverence to human rights.

Throughout history, societies have witnessed deviance and criminality among its citizens, and criminologists have spent centuries attempting to understand what causes deviance, why do people act how they act and do what they do. No matter how criminals come to be, the criminal justice systems have consequences in place in order to maintain peace in the communities. One of these consequences is capital punishment, the authorized killing of a person as punishment for a crime, and in most states in the United States of America, lethal injection is the common practice used for ending the life of someone. In one state particularly, Arizona, many citizens are calling for a reexamination of the death penalty due to its effect on the economy and crime rate, and how it is arbitrarily applied within the criminal justice system.

In today’s society the criminal justice system is seen as the biggest enemy there is, but I see the system as is. The system is here to protect civilians, but along the way the system has picked a few bad apples for authority. As a young woman growing up in North Philadelphia, I have witnessed many illegal doings done by the system. As a young girl witnessing authority taking advantage and not understanding how the system worked puzzled me. A family member and I once attended a high school basketball game in 2010, which irrupted into a huge fight outside. The fight became overwhelming for the security at the high school, so the police were called immediately. As the fight was taking place my family member and I were walking home when suddenly

Prior to this realization the author found himself as being a head strong, young, ambitious, and up and coming prosecutor. He felt that ninety-nine percent of the defendants were guilty and that his only job was to put bad people behind bars. It seemed that he didn’t look at the people he prosecuted as people but as “others” that needed to be reprimanded for committing crimes. To add, he was also aware that the system was unfair, acknowledging that he was aware that during trial ninety-nine percent of police officers lied under oath. Despite all of these things it seemed that his desire for justice outweighed the fact that sometimes justice entails not strictly following the law especially where there is evidence that the law isn’t being adhered to by all

When jurists begin to become skeptical of how the justice system works, that means there needs to be a change for the better- and quick. “Retributive theories have been characterised as encouraging the motive of blood vengeance” while non-retributive theories, such as restorative justice systems lower the need and want for revenge (Doyle 54). Punishment is needed in any society, but capital punishment and incarceration do not have to be the the answer every time. If a society would open their minds to a new justice system, they would fully accept it if they knew what the current system can do to innocent people. A problem in our society is many people already have the mindset of criminals “associated with punitive, carceral punishment so that other means of securing justice have been almost completely obscure” making it difficult to introduce new ideas into minds (McGlynn 826). For punishment and justice to both have equity in a society, restorative justice could be an answer people are looking

The article What Will Doom the Death Penalty by Daniel LaChance is discussing the issue of capital punishment and how to successfully get the death penalty abolished by trying a different strategy than what is most commonly used. LaChance an assistant professor of Law at the University of Emory his view of the death penalty is expressed as “an intolerable affront to human dignity” (1), LaChance is displaying the fact that he is extremely passionate towards his views on capital punishment. The first argument of the article is the support for capital punishment has greatly declined throughout the year, many would think the decline is because of the emotion factors that are present with capital punishment but in reality has more to do with the whole process. At a certain time capital punishment was wanted by Americans because of an increase in violent crimes in the mid-1960s it was easy for Americans to want justice and not in LaChance's words “time off for good behavior”(3). This option of punishment than was what Americans were looking for but had a massive downfall that would later lead it to its failure.

The criminal justice system is made up of many complex components that all work together in order to maintain law and order in society. Of the different parts in the judicial system, criminal courts play a vital role in the execution of justice not only for the victim, but the community as well. Accordingly, criminal courts in the United States have been used to maintain social control of citizens and create social change within the population (Hartley & Champion, 2009). Because every state and the federal government have differing methods on how to prosecute criminals, the process seemingly becomes difficult to comprehend and follow. Some states utilize a standardized sentencing structure where as others afford the judge more leeway in deciding sentence terms. Criminal court is open to the general public for viewing; therefore, attending a session is presumably one of the more hands on methods of researching criminal justice in order to evaluate how the system works at the community level. The intent of this paper is to reflect on the criminal court proceedings witnessed at a local criminal court session, explain and understand the roles of all in the courtroom setting, and analyze cases in regards to the administration of justice.

However satisfying vengeance may seem, a civilized society cannot accept an eye-for-an- eye, tooth-for-a-tooth delivery of justice. Although some families and loved ones of murder victims approve the death penalty, many others are against it. Further, some family members of homicide victims comment that the death penalty process prolongs their pain, and only serves to make their healing more elusive. Financial and emotional support is what they need most, not more violence. In the words of the father of one murder victim, "Violence is not an acceptable method of solving the problems that arise in our daily lives.... The use of the death penalty only lowers the standards of government to the

Crime in America is something that has been around for many decades. While a large number of crimes are considered minor, many more result in the serious injury or death of another human being. “When we think about crimes, we … normally focus on inherently wrongful acts that harm or threaten to harm persons or property” (Bibas 22). The death penalty, also called capital punishment, has been used as a means of punishing the most violent of criminals in an attempt to prevent others from committing similar crimes. Over the centuries, the methods used to conduct these executions have evolved and changed due to effectiveness and public opinion.

The episode “Tango” in the television show “Law and Order” tells a story of an investigation regarding a murder of a teenage girl, including the arrest and prosecution of two different offenders within the criminal justice system. The story line and the characters embody different assumptions and values within their roles and the crime. There are many different restorative assumptions and values that are could have played a vital role in healing and resolution, but were unfortunately missing from the storyline. The portrayal of the criminal justice system that is represented in “Tango” does have an impact on viewer’s faith and perspective of the system and its effectiveness. These arguments are active in an analysis of the “Law and Order” episode “Tango” through a restorative justice lens.

An issue that has continually created tension in today's society is whether the death penalty serves as a justified and valid form of punishment. Whenever the word "death penalty" comes up, extremists from both sides start yelling out their arguments. One side says deterrence, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder. Crime is an evident part of society, and everyone is aware that something must be done about it. Most people know the threat of crime to their lives, but the question lies in the methods and action in which it should be dealt with. In several parts of