##enton And Brenton In A Lesson Before Dying And Murder On A Sunday Morning

assistance of council, and procedural bars, venue, and jury selection, as well as potential racism by jurors. According to ( Tabak, 1999) “these reasons apply in cases in which the death penalty may be sought.” When illustrating the use of prosecutorial discretion two crime types that can be

In the last several years, too many people in the United States have been wrongfully sentenced with the death penalty. Several accused have their sentence overturned or they have been totally exonerated. There are at least 8 people who were executed by United States and later proven innocent (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org). Over a 20 year period, 68% of all death sentences were reversed (http://karisable.com). A noteworthy example is of Jerry Banks who was convicted and sentenced with the death penalty for two counts of murder in 1975. Five years later, in 1980, Banks' conviction was overturned on the basis of newly discovered evidence which was allegedly known to the state at the time of trial. Another example was the case of Lawyer Johnson who was sentenced to death in 1971 by an all white jury for the murder of a white victim. Later in 1982, Johnson’s conviction was overturned and Johnson exonerated when a previously silent eyewitness identified the state’s chief witness as the real murderer. (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org) Human error is inevitable, particularly

From the very beginning, when Jefferson is convicted for a murder he did not commit, and all throughout the novel, prejudice is present. The most inherent racism in the trial comes from Jefferson’s defense attorney. While arguing for Jefferson’s release he states, “What you see here is a thing that acts on command. A thing to hold the handle of a plow, a thing to load your bales of cotton, a thing to dig your ditches, to chop your wood, to pull your corn”(Gaines 8). This description of Jefferson strongly resembles that of a slave. The attorney undoubtedly is racist and tries to defend Jefferson in the murder case by depicting him as incapable of planning a murder. He argues that Jefferson deserves mercy on the grounds that he is more similar to a hog than to a man. This statement not only shatters the bit of dignity Jefferson has but also devastates his godmother, Miss Emma. Grant agrees to Miss Emma’s request that he “educate” Jefferson because he wants Jefferson to the fight racism in their community. As Grant tells Jefferson, when

Throughout history, various cases have not been properly executed in such a way that rightful criminals are taken to justice (hence the creation of courtrooms). The result of improper trials have led to the death of innocent lives which is unfortunately not unprecedented. A trial that epitomizes such unfair charges, leading to the execution of an innocent, was the Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping Trial. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was not guilty of the murder pertaining to the Lindbergh’s baby; he was wrongly convicted under circumstantial and biased evidence. The kidnapping of the baby had led to widespread speculations, and caused the case to spread amongst the

``In criminal law, confession evidence is a prosecutor’s most potent weapon’’ (Kassin, 1997)—“the ‘queen of proofs’ in the law” (Brooks, 2000). Regardless of when in the legal process they occur, statements of confession often provide the most incriminating form of evidence and have been shown to significantly increase the rate of conviction. Legal scholars even argue that a defendant’s confession may be the sole piece of evidence considered during a trial and often guides jurors’ perception of the case (McCormick, 1972). The admission of a false confession can be the deciding point between a suspect’s freedom and their death sentence. To this end, research and analysis of the false confessions-filled Norfolk Four case reveals the

Is it fair that someone is murdered, but the murderers get away pronounced innocent? That is exactly what happened in the case of OJ Simpson and Lizzie Borden. On the night of June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were were found gruesomely slashed to death at the entrance to Nicole’s home. It is believed that OJ was responsible for this murder. This case caused confusion and question to who did this in public reactions. Years before this case, there was a similar case. On August 4, 1892, Andrew Borden and Abbie Borden were found murdered in their home. There were similarities on how the victims were killed in this murder and in the other one. This murder caused the majority of the public reactions to support Lizzie Borden,

Although Jefferson and Steven both accused of murder, their results were completely different. Jefferson was sentenced to death after shortly being in jail. Steven had life in prison. Steven also had another case before the murder, he was accused of sexual assault. Jefferson only had one but he was the bystander of the situation of the shooting of two people in the corner store. In Jefferson’s case he was also stealing after the shooting incident which in Stevens case had nothing to do with stealing or any of Jefferson’s problem.

Jefferson was wrongfully convicted of murder and later sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Since blacks barely had any rights, Jefferson was guilty until proven innocent. The prosecutor's story was "When the old man and the other two robbers were all dead, this one- it proved the kind of animal he really was- stuffed the money into his pockets and celebrated the event by drinking over their still- bleeding bodies" (Gaines 6-7) which made Jefferson seem like he was guilty of the crime. Another cruel act of injustice against Jefferson was stripping him of his human dignity. "Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this." (Gaines, 8) the animalistic classification reflects the attitude held by the white society towards blacks. Lastly, the acts towards the black children compared to the white children in schools are injustice. Black children received tattered books and lack of firewood to keep warm in the winter as to the white children. Black children were evaluated on their physical fitness, not math and reading skills. This shows the injustice through giving the black children a lower quality of education. Therefore, in the state of Louisiana cruel acts of injustice are clearly revealed in the

Jefferson and Grant Wiggins played major role in the novel A Lesson before Dying. Jefferson was from black family background, and he was excellent person as personality. Also, Jefferson was educated person by Grant Wiggins. One day Jefferson got involved in the murder because of his friends. Grant Wiggins is a great person because he is a teacher in the village.

The miscarriage of justice becomes more likely when proper protocol is not followed. This is very evident in the the 1969 wrongful conviction of David Milgaard who was accused of the rape and murder of Gail Miller. Though modern forensic science was virtually non existent in 1969, that does not negate the fact that a lack of strict protocol was what lead to an innocent man being incarcerated. The improper interrogation of the witnesses in this case and the fact that investigators where not following up on all leads given played a huge role in his conviction.

In the book A Lesson Before Dying, Jefferson, an African American, is accused of a crime he didn’t actually commit. When this was taken to trial, Jefferson already knew what the outcome would be, death. Grant, who is also African American, understands why Jefferson was put in this position because of his skin color, but also believes he should not approach Jefferson because he is going to be facing death anyway. During the trial,

Given the circumstances of having an all white jury in a time period of harsh racism against African Americans, giving in to their likely racist mindset and getting them to agree with you was the only chance Jefferson had at avoiding a death sentence. In his statement, Jefferson’s defendant adds “A cornered animal to strike quickly out of fear, a trait inherited from his ancestors in the deepest jungle of blackest Africa” (Gaines 7). The jury was unable to sympathize for this animal, as the text mentions “Death by electrocution. The governor would set the date.” (Gaines 9). By giving this demoralizing speech, which is unable to lift Jefferson from punishment, his lawyer stripped him of his dignity, and was still unsuccessful.This sets a starting point for Jefferson’s

However, not all cases receive the luxury we call justice. Many cases have been turned over and neglected, leaving individuals who patiently await their trial date deprived of justice. Injustice in the judicial system has been an apparent problem for decades. Every case has to be viewed in an unbiased perspective with a sufficient amount of evidence. If these conditions are not met, the possibility for injustice increases drastically.

There are three similarities amongst “A Lesson Before Dying” and “Making a Murder”. First, both Jefferson and Steven Avery we’re charged with major criminals that will affect their life for ever. Jefferson was seen at the murder scene by bystanders, with money and liquor on his persons. Steven Avery was questioned by cops for a murder that apparently happen on his property. After taking Steven Avery into custody for murder they found the key to Teresa Halbach Vehicle. Second, it was hard on their families, seeing their loved ones receive should harsh treatment for the law. In “A Lesson Before Dying” Jefferson aunt Miss Emma was very heartbroken to see him be treatment with such disrespect. “Making a Murder” Steven family was torn apart done

Unfortunately, this kind of misjudgment can never be reversed in pair with capital punishment. Even if the innocent is proven to be not guilty in the future, no one is able to return his or her life back to the body. No matter what compensation the nation could offer afterwards, it will never result in fairness and equality. Therefore, capital punishment should be abolished to prevent those innocent people from horrible unfairness.