...punishment for a crime, is a very divisive topic. Supporters believe that people who commit such а terrible acts like a murder, rape of children, they should not live. On the other hand, opponents say that by killing the criminal, the state does not find the reasons which force him to make the crime (poverty, ignorance, inequality and mental disorders). In my opinion the death penalty should be abolished for many reasons. First of all, there is the possibility of judicial errors. The death penalty makes them irreparable. For example, in the city of Elizabeth, the U.S. court dismissed charges against 46-year-old Biron Halsey, who spent 22 years in custody for a crime he did not commit. In 1985, Halsey was sentenced for the rape and murder of two children - seven or eight years old. Halsey was threatening the electric chair, but the jury chose a "soft" sentence - two life sentences plus twenty years in prison. The innocence of the convicted person was able to prove only with the help of the modern scientific study of DNA. Only because of this he got a chance to return to freedom. Unfortunately, miscarriages of justice in our time are not uncommon. In America, because of DNA tests, more than 200 prisoners receive chance to get freedom. Secondly, with the existence of the death penalty, executioners should exist. Executioners are people who kill criminals on behalf of the government. But I do not see the difference between criminals and executioners. For me these...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...Introduction The book “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland” was published in 1992. The book is written by Christopher Browning. It talks about the Holocaust, which involved the killing of the Jewish people by the Nazis. The event took place between 1942 and 1943. The book is mainly based on the findings of a study conducted on the causative factors made evident in the testimonies of people serving in German Reserve Unit 101. The study was carried out in the 1960s. The Police Battalion 101 was ordered to massacre and deport Jews living in Poland. At the time, the country was occupied by the Germans. The German legal investigations involved 210 of the men 20 years later. The investigations looked into war crimes in order to press charges against certain members of the government. The men who carried out these atrocities were middle-aged. Their average age was 39 years (Browning 48). Surprisingly, they seemed to have voluntarily taken part in the exercise. The reason is that none of them was coerced to participate in the killings. The men would end up following the orders given in spite of the fact that they were contrary to what they deemed right. In this paper, the author will analyze some of the reasons that led the men to commit such inhumane acts. The soldiers obeyed the orders in spite of the fact that they were aware of the effects of their actions. In addition, the author of this paper will analyze the lack of self-recognition among these...
Words: 1187 - Pages: 5
...political theorists of the twentieth century, Hannah Arendt's whole life may be said magnanimous, the identity of American German Jews, Heidegger's favorite pupil, experience during World War II, and the achievement in philosophy. These factors give us enough interest to find out her stories. The film "Hannah Arendt" has chosen a very important turning point in her life. The plot is about the before and after the publication about the special comment to Eickermann in “New Yorker”. The moive uses a small aspect through her life to interpret her philosophy. As the Arendt in the reality, the Arendt on the film also always carries a cigartte on her hand, especially the curl of the cigarette...
Words: 1946 - Pages: 8
...were more prominent during the 20th century which caused massive violations of human rights and jeopardized the overall security of humans. Determinants of ethnic cleansing and genocide root from socio-political factors influenced by deeply embedded ideologies which are manifested by political leaders of specific regime types. During World War II, German authorities targeted Jews and other minority groups like the gypsies and Pols due to their perceived racial inferiority. The German ideology in attempt to eradicate these auxiliary groups led to the conflict known as the Shoah. The Shoah is the biblical word meaning destruction and it is the standard Hebrew term for the murder of European Jewry. The Shoah was the systematic, bureaucratic and state sponsored persecution of six million Jews. Comparable to other ethnic based genocides, Germans believed they were racially superior and that Jews were inferior; and deemed a threat to the “German racial community” resulting in their mass murder. Various interpretations of the Shoah has given rise to similar attitudes and opinions regarding its historical events. The Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database, is one of the largest resources of its kind which includes millions of personal records from the extensive collections of archival and library materials, oral histories, artifacts, photographs, films and other materials that could assist in researching the fates of Jews during the Holocaust. Inclusive to the extensive records, there...
Words: 3519 - Pages: 15
...Jin Law Professor Moss ENGL 1301 April 21, 2009 Should capital punishment be abolished or retained? Capital punishment, or the death penalty, has been using for thousands of years. In the last two centuries, as people have realized the importance of human rights, debates over capital punishment have never stopped. More and more people join the campaign against capital punishment, while the others defend it. However, either abolishing the death penalty or retaining it has inextricable problems. The writer’s opinion is that capital punishment will vanish from this planet someday in the future, but for a long span of time from now, to abolish it or not depends on the social situations of different countries. People who are against capital punishment, and advocate replacing it with lifetime imprisonment, list five reasons why they condemn it. Right to life is the first punch. In The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 says, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” (1). Among all the human rights, right to life is the cornerstone and the carrier of all the other human rights. Deprivation of the right to life is equivalent to deprivation of all the rights, which is inhumane in modern society. On the other hand, capital punishment is a product of the old barbaric concept “an eye for an eye, a life for a life;” and it is actually vengeance killing. Nowadays, most societies do not agree with vengeance killing. Such a brute act...
Words: 2159 - Pages: 9
...assassination was John Wilkes Booth, a successful actor and Confederate sympathizer. “John” notes that Booth’s family was a renowned acting dynasty at the time of the Civil War. Booth himself was an ardent supporter of slavery with a burning hatred of Abraham Lincoln (Britannica.com). “Assassination,” suggests that Booth’s hatred may have been caused in part Lincoln’s undemocratic practices. The President deemed censorship of speeches and newspapers necessary during the Civil War. Additionally, the President was able to suspend any writ of habeas corpus, which prevented trials from taking place (2009). Booth himself wrote about Lincoln in a negative manner. “Our country owed all her troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of his punishment” (Booth, April 13-14, 1865). This quote proves that Booth saw the assassination of Lincoln as both patriotic and righteous. In spite of his love for the Confederacy, “Assassination” confirms that Booth did not fight as a soldier. The actor aided the rebel cause in a different way. “Booth began taking on small assignments for the Confederate Underground, a loose network of Southern spies living north of the Mason Dixon Line” (2009). “Assassination” adds that Booth began to think of a more significant way to help the Confederates turn the tide of the Civil War: kidnap the President of the United States (2009). Kidnapping a President of the United States may sound like a ridiculous notion, but Lincoln was actually a viable target...
Words: 1596 - Pages: 7
...continued to live at home, he ranged over Upper Austria selling oil products, locating sites for petrol stations, and setting them up. He also arranged kerosene deliveries. On Saturday he conscientiously completed his paperwork and reported to his superiors. Eichmann did well and was transferred to the Salzburg district. But by 1933 he had tired of the job and, anyway, was laid off. He had learned a lot, though: how to identify prime sites at communication junctions, how to timetable and organise deliveries, how to sell a product and persuade people to do your bidding. During his trial he pretended to be apolitical, but Eichmann came from a strongly German nationalist family. Like many Germans his father lost his wealth during the post-war economic crisis and had the embittering experience of starting all over again. He enrolled his son in the Wandervogel youth movement which, while ostensibly apolitical, was strongly imbued with völkisch ideas about the Heimat (homeland). Later, Eichmann joined the Linz branch of the Heimschutz, a right wing paramilitary association of army veterans. In April 1932, he joined the Nazi party. At the instigation of the local gauleiter, who knew his family, he attended a Nazi rally and was approached...
Words: 3615 - Pages: 15
...to the eighth amendment that prohibits excessive bails and fines as well as cruel and unusual punishment. In effect, this argument hindered the death penalty law of forty states and the federal death penalty decrees and altered the sentences of 629 inmates who were on death row during that period (“The Death Penalty in America”). Now, if the death sentence of 629 inmates were commuted at the time, it means that there could have been an alternative form of punishment applied in place of the death penalty. Therefore this gives rise to questions, is the death penalty really necessary? Is the life of the murderer any less valuable than that of the victim? Over the years, the view that the death penalty is a deterrent to serious crime has been immensely debated, in this paper the debate against death penalty as a good deterrent to serious crime will be continued. Democracy is a prime feature of the system of governance in the United States and as part of democracy the freedoms and rights of the people are held in high esteem. With the imposition of the death penalty, the intention of the Constitution of the United States to preserve the liberty and freedom as inspired by the declaration of independence (“Liberty, Opportunity, and Security for All”) has been jeopardized by rather limiting the freedoms of people by act of fear and emotional distress. Michael Radelet, a sociologist, witnesses the ordeals of...
Words: 1507 - Pages: 7
...Many works of art have cried out against injustice, but few have been so powerful that they have influenced the world and created a new perspective and understanding of the pains and horrors of war. Pablo Picasso’s Guernica shows the catastrophes of war and the torment it inflicts upon the individual, particularly on civilians. This work has gained massive status, becoming a continuous reminder of the heartbreaks of war, and a model for peace. In 1937 a Basque town in the province of Biscay, Guernica was subjected to three hours of destruction by dozens of German and Italian bombers lead by General Francisco Franco, a Spanish military leader and statesman who ruled as the dictator of Spain from 1936 until his death in 1975. He came to power during the Spanish Civil War. More than 1,500 people were killed in a cruel act of war unmatched in European history. Picasso was asked to create an artwork by Republican Spain that would go in the Paris World Exposition. Up until two months before the exposition Picasso found himself uninspired. But as soon as knowledge of Guernica was exposed to the public Picasso swiftly made it clear to that Guernica would be his subject for the Paris Expo. He worked non stop for two months to produce the devastating display of the horrors of war in harsh black and white, measuring eleven feet high by twenty-five feet long so large that Picasso had to attach his paint brushes to long sticks to complete it. It is an oil painting on canvas, and is on...
Words: 1983 - Pages: 8
...12 April 2012 Capital punishment also known as the death penalty is the process by which convicted criminals are executed by the federal government. The death penalty has always been part of human history; there is archaeological evidence that proves executions were practiced as early as the 8th century BCE. The first execution in the American colonies took place in Virginia in 1608 when George Kendall was accused of espionage. By 1612, many colonies approved the method of execution by hanging or firing squad; the executions were made public in an effort to increase fear of committing a crime (Issitt, Micha L.Newton, Heather). Executions were abolished in 1972, by the Supreme Court during the Furman v. Georgia. The court ruled that death sentences are handed down arbitrarily, violating the 18th amendment of the U.S. constitution and where “cruel and unusual” (Farley Matchett). The United States did not perform any capital punishments for five years. Then, in 1976 the death penalty was reinstated and Gary Gilmore was the first person to be executed after this hiatus (Issitt, Micha L.Newton, Heather). In a modern society that values life, righteousness and justice, the United States is still part of a decreasing number of countries that still use this sort of punishment. The death penalty is a highly debatable topic since it makes it hard for an observer to pick a side, because for every point there is a counterpoint. From where I stand, after making extensive research, the death...
Words: 2075 - Pages: 9
...Report in Institutional Correction Submitted by Frondozo, Gabriel Pascual, E-gel Alido, Paolo Capones, Bryan Villanueva, Marvin Marchadesh, Jervi Marcelo, Submitted to Prof: Hannosour M. Cali Title Chapter IV Fruition of Punishment and Penalty Corporal Punishment is derived from a Latin word meaning body. It meant physical punishment and in the past it was very common. In the past corporal punishment was by no means limited to children. It was used on adults as well. Flogging has been a common punishment since ancient times. Jesus was flogged before crucified. In England from the Middle Ages Whipping was a common punishment for minor crimes. In the 18th century whipping or flogging was a common punishment in the British Army and Navy. This punishment Meant beating a person across the backside with birch twigs. Once a common punishment in schools it could also be imposed by the courts for minor offences. Birching civilians was banned in Britain in 1948 (except in prisons where it was used until 1962). Meanwhile for thousands of years until the late 20th century teachers beat children. In the Ancient World the teachers were strict and often beat the pupils. In the Middle Ages Discipline was also severe. Boys were beaten with rods or birch twigs. Punishments in Tudor schools were still harsh. The teachers often had a stick with birch twigs attached to it. Boys were hit with birch twigs on their bare buttocks. Public humiliation is the dishonoring showcase of...
Words: 3778 - Pages: 16
...changed its conscience towards a new penal jurisprudence in abolishing the capital punishment. This is to counter the plenary provisions of Article 5 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 and its protocol in 1989 where the State parties believed that abolition of death penalty should be in the scale of enhancement of human dignity and progressive development of human rights and recalling Article 3 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted on 10th December, 1948 as well as Article 21 of our Constitution.1 It can be judicially said “I don’t punish you for killing the man but so that the other cannot be killed.” That is, the chief aim of capital punishment is to make deterrent to others for same crime . Now this concept is having a new direction. The Supreme Court and High Courts in India interpret the cases before giving the death sentence as rarest of rare cases. The Court moves its eye also for other aspects of society. The landmark cases where death sentences were awarded in India are Ranga Billa case2, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case, Laxman Nayak case 3 and the lastly, it was awarded to Dhananjoy Chatterjee on 14th August, 2004 in connection with Hetal Parikh case of West Bengal after the Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence awarded by lower courts and President also refused to grant him pardon. In the year 2003, Government laid a bill in the Parliament which proposed to add a provision of the punishment...
Words: 13513 - Pages: 55
...World War II: Hitler’s Jewish Genocide It is regarded as the most widespread and deadliest conflict in human history, killing more than 50 million people. World War II was the largest armed conflict in history, spanning the entire world, and involving more countries than any other war. The war has been generally believed to start on September 1, 1939 and lasting until September 2, 1945. Historians are still arguing about the exact cause of World War II, however the common belief of fault resides on the implementation of Adolf Hitler. Hitler was possessed by a passionate set of ideals to expand Germany, and with his election as German chancellor in January 1933, marked the start of an accelerating progression towards world war. Under the dominion of Hitlers ambitions, Germany invaded western Poland as a result of the intransigence between both countries. World War II ravaged civilians more severely than any previous conflict, and served as the justification for genocidal killings by Nazi Germany, under the order of Hitler. To fully understand how Hitler attained the support of a nation to agree with his ideology, one must know the conditions before the wake of World War II, and how Hitler instilled influential ideas of national pride. In this essay, I intend on showing why it is important to understand a certain aspect of World War II. I will first focus on establishing the importance of knowing what events led Germany into the circumstances it was in prior to...
Words: 2082 - Pages: 9
...Belarus Belarus, officially known as the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country located in the north-east of Europe and has international borders with 5 countries: Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The capital of Belarus is Minsk, a modern international city located in the centre of the country, it is considered modern because it has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, most recently after World War 2, when it was almost completely destroyed, also because Belarus an important trade and transport route between Europe and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). The country of Belarus is divided into six administrative districts, each centred around a major city: Brest Region, Homel Region, Hrodna Region, Magileu Region, Minsk Region and Vitebsk Region. After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than have any of the other former Soviet republics. Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president since 1994, the country is run through authoritarian means and a centralized economic system, the government also has restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion. Cultural trends - Religion: Religion in Belarus is considered a unifying factor since 80% of the population are Eastern Orthodox while only 20% are of other religions. But the Government restricts religious freedom both actively...
Words: 1385 - Pages: 6
...studying the Holocaust must know the factual background before some of the more technical studies can be understood. As well as general works we have included books of specialized interest concerning the matters about which we at The Holocaust History Project are most frequently asked. Many of these books deal with more than one subject, but in the interest of brevity we have not cited a book more than once. General history of the Holocaust The Holocaust was not just an event. It was a process that continued for over a decade and involved millions of people. No single book could cover every aspect of the Holocaust. Those listed below will give the reader a general idea of the historical realities of the Holocaust. Lucy Dawidowicz, The War Against the Jews, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York (1975) Martin Gilbert,...
Words: 5578 - Pages: 23
