The West Memphis Three Analysis

A key factor in the case of Walter McMillian was that he was an African American man who at one point was respected by his community. However, an extramarital affair with a white woman is what crossed the line. Affairs were not out of the norm in the Monroeville community, but given the fact that McMillian was black dramatically changed what was perceived as socially acceptable behavior. The significant questioning of McMillian’s character came into play when a young woman, Ronda Morrison was murdered. The profound change in the community’s view toward McMillian was an incentive to point to him as the mastermind behind the murder. The police were unable to produce any viable suspects which led to pressure from the community to find and convict a killer – even if the person accused was innocent. The interrogation tactics used during the questioning of suspects and witnesses produced false allegations. Tactics such as intimidation and bargaining. These practices encompassed covert operations that allowed the law enforcement – police, district attorneys, judges – to navigate the case. Several people were instrumental in concocting the false story placing McMillian at the center of the crime. After his initial lie, Ralph Myers’s was pushed by police to produce additional information which although false, was used by police to arrest McMillian. As the story gained traction in the town,

In The Devil’s Tongue, author Stacy Schiff describes the Salem Witch Trials, specifically Tituba’s testimony throughout the trials. The theme of the story is how both society today, and during the trials in 1692 draw conclusions and point fingers at the innocent. Schiff makes an example out of the Boston Marathon bombing, specifically how the innocent Sunil Tripathi was blamed by thousands of people to be the marathon bomber, although the FBI later revealed that the true suspects were Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. In this article Schiff attempts to explain two things, how the witch epidemic gathered momentum, and how it came to be known as a satanic plot. Schiff provides a powerful argument, despite lacking evidence for her points, by writing in a way that creates an emotional response, and appeals to the readers logic.

While spring is a time for growth, newlife, and awakening, in the spring of 1692 a rotten presence (both figuratively and literally) swept over Salem Village, Massachusetts when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. Not only was this the spark of a religious uproar in the quaint, puritan town; but a spark that lit the match which eventually convicted over a hundred innocent people and claimed 20 lives. While the true pain of these trials cannot be seen in photographs or videos, it can be experienced through the words that have been written. In Marilynne Roach’s novel, “Six Women of Salem”, she tells the untold story of six women who underwent the grueling Salem witchcraft trials, and she evoked a strong sense of empathy for the victims through her use of first person narratives and factual evidence. Through these devices Roach successfully highlighted the twisted, prejudice, and uneducated society that America was, and, in some ways, still is today.

In the world today, it is not unusual for people to be accused of terrible actions that cause negative effects to the general public. One of these cases rests in the believed racial tensions between police officers and African Americans. Over the years, police officers have been accused of being racist towards African Americans due to the amount of shootings This has led to many Black Lives Matter movements being put into effect to stop these events. It has also led to African Americans fearing being in the presence of police in fear that they will be their next victim. The events of The Crucible, despite being different events, happen to be similar in these means. Having the same hysteria, reactions from the public, and madness as these current events. Despite being different events from different parts of history, the accusations of police having racial tensions and The Crucible, fall under a theme that certain beliefs lead to paranoia.

The prosecution’s case in this matter, centered on proving Monique was more involved in the crime than either she or Beau were admitting. Since Beau had already plead guilty to first-degree and attempted murder, both with a deadly weapon, he would likely receive the death penalty. Monique was not admitting her involvement, and Beau was taking full responsibility for the crime. It was, therefore, up to the prosecution to provide evidence Monique had physically participated in the crime. In order to do that, they not only had to prove Monique was present in the trailer, but also that she had stabbed one or both of the children.

In the video “The Confessions” presented by Frontline, a murder of a women that was committed by one man, quickly resulted into a false gang murder-rape scene committed by eight men. The victim, Michelle Bosko, was seen to be raped and killed in her apartment in Norfolk, Virginia. From the video, it has been proven that seven out of the eight men that confessed were innocent, but somehow they all received an unequal punishment. Because the innocent men admitted to a murder that they didn’t commit out of fear, they were all sentenced to some time in prison. The head detective, Glenn Ford, intimidated the men so much that they either were convinced that they were at the crime scene or they told him every detail that he wanted to hear.

In 1951, the first television crime drama series, Dragnet significantly influenced our American culture. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, the term “dragnet” is a symbol, for, a system of coordinated measures used to apprehend criminals or suspects. Most crime drama series solve a different case each episode. Although, in current pop-culture crime dramas focus on one particular crime, throughout an entire season. Similar, to the show “Homeland,” the HBO crime drama True Detective adds a twist on the conventional series. The show depicts a subject matter that has affected modern society as a whole. Southern Louisiana police detectives Rust Cohle and Marty Hart, in 2012, are asked to revisit their solving of a ritualistic murder case from 1995. The murder of a former student of the Light of the Way Christian Academy lays the foundation, for detective Cohle’s doubts about the true design of religion. The True Detective storyline portrays the utilization of religion, education, and politics, by men in power who manipulate and control young innocent children.

When this Central park case was made public, the New York Police Department and District Attorney office’s main focus was to solve the case as quickly as possible. When the five teenagers were found “wilding” in the park the night of the women’s death, the police believed they had found the suspects. The police were so confident of the teenager’s guiltiness, the five boys were interrogated of their involvement in the crime. The police used their authority and persuasion to get the boys to confess and promise them that they would go home if they talked. Through strenuous and intense interrogation, the five boys confessed to the killing and rape of the young women on videotape. These confessions were given even though

There was no evidence collected and tested at the crime scene which could have proved who committed the murders. A lieutenant who contacted a juvenile officer in Memphis both agreed that the murders had to have been done by someone in a cult. The juvenile officer quickly knew of someone who was involved in a cult and said this juvenile could be capable of a crime like this. The accused, Damien Echols, was immediately interviewed and asked questions that the police believed no one but the killer would know the answers to. The answers that were given by Damien Echols were known answers throughout the community and this made Damien look guilty. Damien’s appearance was very strange and different and he was not considered “normal” in the communities beliefs. He was considered guilty by his Wiccan beliefs and his gothic appearance. Not only was Damien deemed guilty of this crime, but two other boys were also accused of these murders. There are many inconsistencies with the case. The police did not collect all evidence in the woods that could have been collected to possibly link the murders to someone. According to TruTV Crime Library, there was a boy who claimed he saw who committed the murders. He claimed he even saw men who spoke Spanish commit the murders. He later changed his story and said he saw one of the victim’s fathers killing the three boys. This same boy could not even identify two of the boys

Another crucial point mentioned in the article is the power of perception and how media can often times influence perception. “One of the most powerful lessons of these films is how easily our opinions about a crime can be influenced by the manner in which information is presented to us” (Rich, 2013). An example used is that of Hobbs. Rich mentions that throughout the first film Hobbs appeared “dazed” and “ruined” over the death of his son. When they show the same footage in the third film, he looks like a man who is trying to hide something. With this new context the audience, watching began to see him in a different way. This is another way “truth” works as Professor LaFleur explained in the Fall semester. In this case, the West Memphis Three supporters sought to exonerate the accuse and accuse instead who they felt had committed the murders. The case with the backing of many celebrities and supporters gained national notoriety. Their agenda, which was blaming Hobbs, intensified in the documentary. With accusations, people who watched would begin to see Hobbs in a different light. Anybody can support a claim with the right “evidence”.

Prior to taking this course I wouldn’t be able to explain the differences or even be able to compare it to the criminal justice system. However, I now have a better understanding of how the criminal justice system works. This movie takes place in the southern state of Alabama and revolves around two teenagers accused of killing a store clerk. Throughout this essay I will explain the legal processes that appeared in the film as well as the processes that did not appear in the film.

Most citizens saw so wrong doing in what the guys “supposedly” did and were all concerned about the bright future of these guys. From the things that the guys did to Leslie in her childhood leading up to the trial these things did not raise any alarm to the parents because their children held the title of jocks and their statues were elite. Being jocks gave them flexibility when it came to the rules. Lefkowitz (1997) stated:

I was disappointed in the fact that the teens were convicted before the trail, I feel as once they walked into the police department the law enforcement team knew they were going to pin this crime on the teens by any means. This would have been easy for the public to believe because of the color of their skin and easy to see them as violent

Two nine-year-old girls are abducted from a bus stop. Both are found dead in a drainage ditch the next day, disposed of less than 100 yards away. The press refers to the victims as “fallen little angels,” and the investigators do not conduct an investigation into the victims’ family histories, focusing instead on a possible serial

The first Paradise Lost documentary offers a fairly unbiased perspective on the case, as well as the suspects and West Memphis, with its purpose seeming to simply educate viewers on such a complex investigation. However, subtle questions about whether the West Memphis Three truly committed the crime interweave the main documentary. Berlinger and Sinofsky reveal a very open case and leave many issues unanswered for audiences, which ultimately led to the film’s success. In a final credit scene, we are told, “Damien was sentenced to die by lethal injection. Jason Baldwin was sentenced to life without parole. Misskelley continues to serve his life plus forty years. They are all appealing their convictions”. This title credit being the final screen audiences see amplifies its importance and exudes a lasting impression on viewers, knowing that the convictions are being appealed against suggests that the court case is far from over.