...the Law Stop For years the insanity defense has turned into a difficult defense system in the court of law. The exact law changes from state to state, but the main idea remains the same. The insanity defense could apply and be used on an individual who is considered legally insane. The individual must have a severe mental disease or defect, their lawyer must prove that they were at the time of the crime. We need to abolish the insanity plea and make the death penalty the law of the land again. An individual accused of a crime can pled guilty that they committed the crime, or argue that they are not responsible for it because of a mental illness. “Not guilty by reason of insanity.” There’s an important distinction between pleading guilty by reason of insanity and diminished capacity. Diminished capacity is pleading to a lesser crime. Pleading insanity is a full defense to a crime, it’s equivalent to pleading “not guilty.” The insanity defense is a compromise on part of society and the law. Society believes that criminals should be punished for the crimes they committed and society believe that people who are ill should receive treatment for their illness. When we talk about the insanity defense, we go to the M'Naghten rule. The M'Naghten rule is the required test that must be given before the jury can decide whether the individual on trial knew that he or she could not tell right from wrong. This is the first famous legal test for insanity. In 1843, Englishman Daniel M’Naghten...
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...Daniel E. Sickles Role in The Battle Of Gettysburg As a middle aged man Sickles saw the door open for him to become a general in the Civil War. He finally could make a name for himself as the Civil War began. He started to become very intrigued in the raising of volunteers in the state of New York. As he worked Sickles became a colonel of a group of people he organized himself (Historynet 1). Right after this he was promoted to a brigadier general of volunteers, which met his dream of becoming a general. Sickles had a bad influence on the Battle of Gettysburg, Sickles did not listen to Meade on the second day and did not succeed. Although Sickles made a poor decision he was not considered the worst general at the Battle of Gettysburg. Daniel...
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...truly escaping this need for murder. He is a sadistic, lethal and complex person with the skill set needed to get away with murder. As we follow him through the Zoo of Central Park in New York City, we quickly learn what foul thoughts travel through Patrick’s devious mind. He sees joy but wants chaos. He sees laughter but wants despair. He throws coins into the seal habitat with the purpose of them choking to death for Gods sake. The man is without a doubt a psychopath! He gets a rush of excitement from the scene he can create and control. He wants the attention and he wants it now. As he’s standing in the darkness of the penguin habitat he spots a young boy with his mother. The mother asks the boy to throw away the wrapper of the last meal of the five-year-olds life – a candy bar. As the boy approaches the trash can in the dark corner of the room the merciless Patrick crouches behind it. Patrick quickly catches the attention of the young boy and lures him in his reach like a killer animal lures in its pray. “Would you like – a cookie?”. Those are the last words the small boy hears before a knife blade is cutting open his neck thus ending his life. Don’t ever talk to strangers. One might wonder what could drive a person to kill a defenseless five-year-old child. Is it a lust for blood? Is it insanity? A...
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...The first thoughts to cross my mind when I think Van Gogh are of his personality; the insanity, instability, and his pure obsession with the art he created, but the first time I saw Starry Night, I was overcome with an immense feeling of calmness and serenity that completely took me by surprise. Van Gogh’s Starry Night was one of the many works painted during his time in the Saint-Remy Asylum in 1889 and is now one of the most recognizable and desirable works of art in the world. Starry Night now resides in The Museum of Modern Art it New York, New York where it is admired and appreciated by thousands of people daily. I honestly don’t know the true definition of my feelings towards the painting. I only know that it stands out to me more so than any of his other works. When I see Starry Night, I see the dark sky that Van Gogh saw; and not only the darkness, but the exact opposite as well. I see the extreme brightness and color that he emphasizes throughout the night sky. He portrays the colors of the night with such brilliance and I am irrevocably drawn to that. Van Gogh gives the wind, literal and unmistakable movement that is impossible to interpret in any other way. The stars are oversized and shine brighter than our current reality, but I would assume it was to emphasize their brightness, and it’s a possibility that Van Gogh had a much better view of the stars than we do now and lived without our mass amounts of modern light pollution. The color blue in Starry Night is...
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...In 1909, the federal government followed suit by passing the Anti-Opium Act. The federal ban however, only served to make the laws racial motives all the more obvious by solely outlawing opium use in its smoked form, which was the customary Chinese method. It made exceptions for injecting opium and mixing opium with drinks, both of which were popular methods of use among whites (Gray, 2000). In 1914, The New York Times ran a headline that read “Negro Cocaine ‘Fiends’ are a New Southern Menace: Murder and Insanity Increasing Among Lower Class Blacks…” (Williams, 1914, p. 1). Blatantly racist articles such as this were common at the time, and even worse of this one, was that it was written by Dr. Edward H. Williams, a prominent medical doctor in the United States. Dr. Williams went on to make ridiculous claims such as southern police officers having to switch to larger caliber guns because when black people used cocaine, “bullets fired into vital parts that would drop a sane man in his tracks, fail to check the “fiend” (1914, p. 1). The idea of the “cocaine crazed negro” was engrained in the public mind, and because professionals like Dr. Williams helped peddle the hysteria,...
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...West Side Story. West Side Story is a relatable modern take on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that is pop culture staple. The retelling began as the brainchild of choreographer-director Jerome Robbins in 1947. There is a popular 1961 movie by the same name, and Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner currently have a remake film in the works. Our star-crossed lovers Maria (Andrea Carroll) and Tony (Norman Reinhardt) are connected with two rival New York City teenage street gangs: the Sharks and the Jets. Maria’s brother is leader of the Sharks and Tony is one of their hated enemies. Maria is a starry-eyed new arrival from Puerto Rico who sees a...
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...Aurora, Colorado (CNN) -- One year after a gunman killed 12 people in an Aurora movie theater, the city is marking its losses with solemn moments and a continuing debate over the place of guns in society. Tom Sullivan was part of an observance at a state park Friday, where volunteers read aloud thousands of names of victims of gun violence. His son, 27-year-old Alex Sullivan, died in the Century 16 theater on July 20, 2012. Pay tribute to the victims "A guy walked into a movie theater with a 100-round drum, and one second my son was watching a movie and the next second he was dead," Sullivan said. Aurora victims are getting married The ceremonial reading, which lasted more than 10 hours, ended at 12:28 a.m. Saturday, the moment when the shooting began one year earlier. The event was part of the "No More Names" bus tour, sponsored by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Carlee Soto came to mark the Aurora killings, although she lost her sister five months later. First-grade teacher Victoria Soto, 27, was killed in the elementary school massacre in Newton, Connecticut. "Every situation is different," Carlee Soto said. "From a movie theater to an elementary school to a church, it's all different. But we all carry the same grief, and we all share the wanting to change our gun laws." A handful of gun rights advocates peacefully protested the event Friday. One of them, Rob Blancken, said all Coloradans should remember...
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...truly escaping this need for murder. He is a sadistic, lethal and complex person with the skill set needed to get away with murder. As we follow him through the Zoo of Central Park in New York City, we quickly learn what foul thoughts travel through Patrick’s devious mind. He sees joy but wants chaos. He sees laughter but wants despair. He throws coins into the seal habitat with the purpose of them choking to death for Gods sake. The man is without a doubt a psychopath! He gets a rush of excitement from the scene he can create and control. He wants the attention and he wants it now. As he’s standing in the darkness of the penguin habitat he spots a young boy with his mother. The mother asks the boy to throw away the wrapper of the last meal of the five-year-olds life – a candy bar. As the boy approaches the trash can in the dark corner of the room the merciless Patrick crouches behind it. Patrick quickly catches the attention of the young boy and lures him in his reach like a killer animal lures in its pray. “Would you like – a cookie?”. Those are the last words the small boy hears before a knife blade is cutting open his neck thus ending his life. Don’t ever talk to strangers. One might wonder what could drive a person to kill a defenseless five-year-old child. Is it a lust for blood? Is it insanity? A yearn for fatal power? Or is it simply the need to be able to take away the...
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...mother passed when he was very young, as well as his sister. The blow of the passing of these family members was not to be softened by a military father who twisted Christianity to fit his radical views. Family tragedy caused Dr. Munch to be very violent and depressed. This, as well as Edvard’s consistent illness, was the motivation for Dr. Munch to constantly lash out and claim that this was Gods way of punishment. Edvard is quoted saying, “Sickness, insanity, and death were the dark angels standing guard at my cradle and they have followed me throughout my life”. The Scream was born from this shadowy place in Edvard’s heart and mind. Originally made from pastels on cardboard, it was created several times with multiple mediums by Munch. On record, The Scream is currently the most expensive painting ever sold. The 1895 pastel and cardboard painting was bought in May of 2012 for $120 million in New York City. This piece is not only rich in monetary value, but meaning as well. Edvard Munch created The Scream to displays the insanity within himself, and how he views the world around him. In his self-expression there are formal interpretations of colors and dramatic use of space and perspective, as well as rippling curves of the landscape which all come together to describe the anxiety and manifestation of the piece. The most evident formal element in the scream is color. Drastic use of color depicts the mood, greens and intense reds form chaos and disorder, and helps the viewer...
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...Book Report on Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 1 Book Report on Jeannette Wall’s Glass Castle Book Report on Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls 2 Jeannette Walls's story is one that gives the reader an idea of what it is like to grow up in a very complex and often self-destructive family system. Jeannette Walls's memoir Glass Castle begins with her riding in a taxi through contemporary New York City on her way to a party. As she looks out the taxi window, Jeannette sees her mother digging through a dumpster. Even though her mother had been homeless for years, Jeannette was all of a sudden filled with shame and gloom about her mother's life. Jeannette then begins to reflect on her childhood and how her Mom and Dad's choices affected her. The story then transitions to a three-year-old Jeannette and her story of catching her dress on fire while cooking her dinner. After a few days in the hospital, Jeannette's father shows up, lifts Jeannette out of bed, and leaves the hospital without paying the bill. The memoir continues with the family moving town to town in the American Southwest. Only staying in one place until Jeannette's father could no longer hold a job, or her mother demanding they spontaneously uproot and start again. Jeannette's father's paranoia about the state and organized society, coupled with his alcoholism, leads them to move more and more frequently. Finally, they settle down in a small mining town, Battle Mountain, Nevada, for a few months; where Jeannette enjoys...
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...survey has claimed that incidents seem to be increasing since 1970 14. However patients still have great trust for health care professionals, after all only a handful of doctors and nurses have abused this trust. It's also because of strong health systems which overseas the duties of health care professionals and ensures that they are accountable for their actions. It is clear that most reforms that have occurred since the practice of medicine began have been in order to increase patient safety. BIOGRAPHY 1.Bunyan N. The Killing Fields of Harold Shipman. The Telegraph. 2001; [cited 10 October 2015] 2. Boy W. JANE TOPPAN, AN EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF MORAL INSANITY. New York Times. 1904; page 31. 3.http://www.biography.com/people/hh-holmes-307622 Accessed 12/10/2015 4.Larson E. The devil in the white city. New York: Crown Publishers; 2003. 5. Martin J, Lynn B. The Master of the Murder Castle | Harper's Magazine - Part 2 [Internet]. Harper's magazine. 2015 ; pages...
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...ENGI1020-Robbins In The Year 1977 Murder is the most vindictive crime society can commit, it happens everywhere and at least one murder takes place every day. In 1977 the estimated murders and no negligent manslaughter was 19,120. In general a case that involves a murder usually contains a motive, however the 1977 serial killings of ‘Son of Sam, the “Girl Scout Murder, and the ‘Hillside Strangler’ had no motive and no respect for human life that’s what makes the theme of the year for 1977 ‘thirst for blood.’ On the day of August 11, 1977 the people of New York City had one less concern as they went about their busy day. That morning the headline of The New York Times paper read “Suspect in ‘Son of Sam’ Murders Arrested in Yonkers; Police Say .44 caliber weapon is recovered.” The suspect is a man named David Berkowitz. He terrorized New York City for over a year, murdering six people and wounding seven others. The ‘Son of Sam’ crimes haunted New Yorkers in a big way not only because the crimes were random and the killer had no motive but mostly because he would leave messages through the letters he wrote. This letter was written to Captain Borrelli, It was left inside the car at the scene of the crime where the bodies of Valentina Surian and Alexander Esay were found. It read: Dear Captain Joseph Borrelli, I am deeply hurt by your calling me a wemon hater. I am not. But I am a monster. I am the 'Son of Sam.' I am a little brat.When father Sam gets drunk he gets mean. He beats his family...
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...family suffered from severe mental illnesses and so did he also. His father was 43 years older than his mother and was 75 years old when Albert was born. He lived a very rough childhood. He was in an orphanage until the age of nine. Albert had gotten beaten daily and once he started enjoying the pain that is what triggered what he did. When he was 10 years old his mother had a government job that helped him get out of the orphanage. He was the youngest out of three: Walter, Annie, and Edwin. Everyone in his family had a history of a mental illness. His uncle suffered from mania, his brother was confirmed into a mental hospital, his mother had hallucination and the other suffered from some kind of illness. In 1890 Albert moved to New York City and he became a prostitute and started to rape little boys. Eight years later, his mother arranged a marriage for him, was married for nine years and had six kids. He worked as a house painter. He also continued on molesting boys under the age of six. The so called “man lover” he had took him to a wax museum and that is when was fascinated with the bisection of the penis. In about 1917 his wife had left him for another man. The man's name was John Straube and he was a handyman who boarded with the Fish family. That left Albert to raise all his children all on his own. She had taken everything the family had owned and after that he started to have hallucinations. After having all these hallucinations, he started to harm himself; he embed...
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...The man who loved flowers When you meet a normal person at a normal event, you talk to them and everything they say seems normal. They laugh at your jokes, they comment on the weather, they complain about politicians and how they should lower the taxes, as I said a normal person. But after they have left the event is everything about them still normal? This is a story about a young guy from New York who to everyone seems normal guy who has found the love of his life, but actually is a grieving killer who kills woman when they tell him that they are not his soul mate Norma who died 10 years ago. This is Steven King’s “The man who loved flowers”. The story takes place in New York of May 1963, and the setting is very happy. The opening sequence tells us how everybody seemed to be smiling, the air was soft and beautiful, and that this was one of those nights where people who love the city would love this night. To add to the setting the main character is also very happy and very much in love. Because of the happy setting, you feel safe when you read it and you think of the main character as the “good guy”. His happy outer has en effect on the setting for example he makes the old woman at l. 13-17 p. 1, where because of the positive vibes he expresses makes her think of dancing and how spring is beautiful and so on. She begins to have happy thoughts. Even on l. 6 – 13 p. 2, when the radio is talking about how a lot of awful things are happening in the world it doesn’t change...
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...Josephine Fontana Professor Fioravante English 111 November 6th, 2014 Sometimes moving to a new place can cause some problems, especially if you’re considered “non- american” or “not a part of an american culture”. This can make you feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable especially when you try to learn to grow accustomed to the american way of life. You try to feel normal like everybody else, but it’s hard to when you’re not treated fairly because all in all, we are all the same. Brent Staples in “Black Men And Public Space” and Firoozeh Dumas “The F Word” both discuss the transitioning of where they came from until they moved to a different place. In “Black Men And Public Space” that first appeared in 1986 in Ms. magazine, Staples explains that even walking down the street, he was given certain looks; worried looks. He explains that he came across a young woman who kept her distance. He states “To her, the youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket- seemed menacingly close”(Staples 346). The young woman picked up her pace and was soon running. Staples had began to suspect people take him to be as dangerous as a hazard in itself. When he had worked as a journalist in Chicago he was mistaken for a burglar. Firoozeh Dumas who was born in Abadan, Iran and then moving into the United States, discusses the troubles her and her family had faced with their ‘ethnic names’; she...
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