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Murder Of Catherine Genovese Research Paper

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If you had the opportunity to go back in time and save someone’s life with no more than a phone call would you do it? I’m sure you would, along with the 37 bystanders who witnessed the assault of an innocent young woman who cried for help, yet did nothing. Although it is not surprising to hear about homicides often occurring in New York City, the murder of Catherine ‘Kitty’ Genovese is an iconic tragedy because of the lack of compassion and humanity exhibited by the neighbors who could have prevented this tragic death. It seems though people are losing a sense of community over the fear of “getting involved”.
It was just a late night for Catherine, also known as Kitty, returning home from work around 3am. She parked her car and proceeded to walk to her apartment, about 100 feet away, in a quiet upper middle-class neighborhood. Less than a block away she was then grabbed by a strange man, "Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please help me!” She screamed. A light turned on in a nearby apartment and a voiced replied, "Let that girl alone!” Then the lights went out, the attacker walked away, Kitty was …show more content…

Fifty years ago and still there are no explanations as to why witnesses refused to report any sign of crime in the event of it happening. When police questioned the neighbors in the community as to why the authorities weren’t notified sooner, they received vague answers like “I don’t know” and “I didn’t want to be involved” or “I didn’t think it was serious”. This type of social behavior is what brings a community down. In my opinion, because there were multiple witnesses, everyone assumed that someone would do something to help, therefore not feeling obligated to do anything. When in fact, everyone did nothing, and an innocent young lady lost her life as result of the failure of the community to step

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