Truman Capote 's A Cold Blood Makes A Great Case For Justice

Murder is the most atrocious crime fathomable, reasons why someone would do such a thing are beyond the understanding of most people, however much too often this horrific act is committed due to a larger and more confusing reason, and that is mental health. Those who suffer from these disorders require more research and a better understanding to fully judge and punish those inflicted by these awful and tormenting ailments. The novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote depicts the story of two mentally ill men that, due to ailment commit the slaughtering of a family. The story of these men ends with state ordered execution, demonstrating the country's lack of guidance in how to properly punish mental patients.

The next sentence is structured to show how the government is hypocritical as it murders people even though it is against the law. This shows how the system of murder is against the law, it shows how punishment is not legally justified. The system of murder does not give mercy as described later on and does the opposite. The parallelism of the word mercy shows how the system of murder is an ineffective form of punishment as it does not give mercy but instead seeks revenge by killing someone. Through syntax, Dick describes his ideas on capital punishment. Capote states that all the government wants is revenge by stating that ”They’re mad ‘cause they’re not getting what they want revenge. I believe in hanging. Just so long as I’m not the one being hanged”(336). The informal tone is broken with the hyphen that makes the word revenge stand out. The tone is said with more emphasis and it becomes very serious. Thus, the capital punishment did not provide justice but instead only focused on revenge rather than improving a person's mental state.

Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood (1963), implies that the death penalty should only be used as a last resort.

In Truman Capote’s Novel, In Cold Blood, Capote synthesises the writing techniques of a reporter and an author to tell the horrific and true story of the Clutter family murders. Capote uses comparison, selection of detail, and understatement to pose his argument that capital punishment is not a correct practice.

Throughout the history of man there has always existed a sort of rule pertaining to retribution for just and unjust acts. For the just came rewards, and for the unjust came punishments. This has been a law as old as time. One philosophy about the treatment of the unjust is most controversial in modern time and throughout our history; which is is the ethical decision of a death penalty. This controversial issue of punishment by death has been going on for centuries. It dates back to as early as 399 B.C.E., to when Socrates was forced to drink hemlock for his “corruption of the youth” and “impiety”.

In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the author confronts the reader with the discussion of the need for the death penalty, by presenting the issue through the characters of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. He writes, “Our state provides that the punishment for murder in the first degree shall be imprisonment for life or death by hanging. That is the law. You, gentlemen, are here to enforce it. And if ever there was a case in which the maximum penalty was justified, this is it.” (27-31) The Prosecuting Attorney Logan Green uses the law as a justification of the death penalty. This statement clarifies the penalty and proves the necessity of its use. The Attorney views this to be the prominent solution, in which anything less would be too fair to the murderers. He then states, “So gentlemen, what are you going to do?

In this day and age the term “murder” is coined as a word used in everyday language, albeit fifty years ago in the [rural] heartland of America, that word evoked emotion out of the entire town’s population. Prior to writing In Cold Blood, Truman Capote had written several pieces that lead him to writing a piece of literature that would infuse fiction and nonfiction, thus In Cold Blood was created, albeit after six years of research (“Truman” 84). "Truman Capote is one of the more fascinating figures on the American literary landscape, being one of the country's few writers to cross the border between celebrity and literary acclaim…He contributed both to fiction and nonfiction literary genres and redefined what it meant to join the

Warning! A runaway robber has just been caught in the middle of the highway. Policemen are investigating the case and considering if they should punish the criminal or let him go. How will prison affect the person? Will he benefit from time in prison or will it only make him worse? The theme of justice and punishment is explored in real life and books. Life in prison may have some positive influences, but to a large extent it is not successful in changing someone’s mindset. In the book “In Cold Blood”, Truman Capote uses syntax,diction, and a variety of details to support the theme that justice and punishment is not effective.

Louis P. Pojman provides an argument for retribution as he states, “The moral justification of punishment is not vengeance, but desert. Vengeance signifies inflicting harm on the offender out of anger because of what he has done. Retribution is the rationally supported theory that the criminal deserves a punishment fitting the gravity of his crime” (p. 57). Therefore, retribution is not based on hatred for the criminal, but is the belief that the criminal deserves to be punished in proportion to his crime, whether or not the victim or anyone else desires it. Retribution, as explained by Louis Pojman, supports the death penalty as it proposes that those who have taken a life deserve to lose their own life.

In Cold Blood and the Death Penalty Is the killing of certain people morally acceptable? In his novel, In Cold Blood, Capote makes an argument about the death penalty. In Cold Blood, written by Truman Capote, is a seemingly objective account of the Clutter murders of Holcomb Kansas. Capote details both the lives of the Clutters and the lives of the two men involved in their murder. In this novel Capote argues against the death penalty using devices such as simile, metaphor, juxtaposition, and.

In discussion of In Cold Blood, one controversial issue has been Perry’s plea. Was justice served correctly by sentencing Perry to death row? On one hand, it is a fair eye for an eye sentence, in which the consequence matches the wrongdoing. On the other hand, Perry could have been sentenced to an insane plea, which would’ve spared his life, and therefore given him a chance at treating his psychological illness. In his book, In Cold Blood, Truman Capote illustrates the events of the trial to the reader. On November 15, 1959, both Perry Smith and Richard Hickcock broke into the Clutter’s home in hopes of finding a safe with a monetary reward. Unfortunately, there was no safe and Richard, who was the mastermind behind this massacre, felt it was

I chose this passage because of its significance to the plot. Once Officer Dewey was assigned to the Clutter case his life was consumed by evidence, witnesses, and long nights reading over potential breakthroughs. The murders injected fear into Dewey’s family and the entire Holcomb community. Therefor, he was constantly being asked for any breakthroughs or information he has obtained about the case and he began to feel overwhelmed. One night Dewey has a nightmare in which he is chasing Hickock and Smith. They stand beside the graves of Herb, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon Clutter and laugh and mock him. Dewey repeatedly shoots the men directly at their heart but they are unharmed. He wakes up in a cold sweat and learns that Dick Hickock has been

The death penalty is merely retribution, not at all revenge, as they are not nearly the same. Retribution is a punishment for doing something. Revenge is to avenge as oneself usually by retaliating in kind or degree, or to inflict injury in return for. Punishment is harm inflicted by a person of authority upon another person who is judged to have violated the law (“Death Penalty”). It is easy to mistake the two for being the same thing, but their definitions state

     Capital punishment should be viewed as the stripping away of humanity from a person. The death penalty itself should be "executed" because of racial inequities, the concept of murder, the possibility of error, lack of deterrence, the cost, and an overwhelmed legal system. "The goal of capital punishment is revenge" (Introduction 1). Capital punishment is simply an outlet for the bloodlust of the American people (Introduction 1).

Does taking another’s life actually avenge that of another? The disciplinary act of capital punishment, punishment through death, has been a major debate in the United States for years. Those in support of capital punishment believe that it is an end to the reoccurrence of a repeat murderer. The public has, for many years, been in favor of this few and pro-death penalty. Yet as time goes on, records show a decrease in the public and the state’s support of the continuation of capital punishment. Those against capital punishment believe it is an immoral, spends taxpayers’ money improperly, and does not enforce a way to rehabilitate criminals and/or warn off future crimes.