Mane Squeeze
Austin Scully
Self Evaluation Dear Professor Eakman, My writing has improved in my choice of words. In the beginning of the semester i was making good observations that were obscured by inexact word choice. For example in my Rhetorical Analysis paper i claimed that the death penalty was “distasteful,” the justice system is “adulterated” and that the community is “distraught,” all have the tone i was looking for but are inappropriate and irrelevant words for the subject. In my most recent work, the Final Research Paper, my word choice is simplified. I claimed that the nation was “horrible” and “violent,” and that children in prisons are “traumatized” by adults. I am no longer trying to fill space with unnecessary descriptive words but focusing more on research and opinions. The purpose of Freshman Studies has been to develop skills in research and argumentation. We were to learn how to effectively convey our messages, through proper research and evaluative opinions and transfer them into writing. I have improved on using my research to backup my opinions as well as embedding the research into my papers.
This was the first class that provided an adult/professional environment where I was allowed to express opinions and views openly. What I will transfer from this class is the importance of staying ontop of my work.There were plenty of times where i was struggling to complete an assignment because of procrastination but the course forced me to go out and figure out how to do things for myself. The assignments were not specific they were somewhat abstract and the course helped me to cope with my difficulty in performing work that is not clearly expressed. A threshold concept that i learned about writing is the evaluative argument; is the subject effective at its stated goal? The evaluative argument stays in the back of my mind while a new subject has been revealed and it forces me to ask that question and use research to determine if the subject is effective or not. The linked lecture and writing class was a change in environment, from a small class with large classroom discussions to a large class with primarily lecture. It was interesting how the concept of capital punishment was the main topic of the language and comp. class, and then was provided a history of in freedom and rights. Freedom and rights mentioned court cases and provided movies to be watched that would tear me between favoring the death sentence at least for some people and then wanting capital punishment to no longer exist. It went from mainly peer opinions and a onesided book, to a neutral perspective on the subject that was only informative and allowed me to form my own opinion. Lauren was always helpful by providing information about assignments and updates on the Facebook page. I did not utilize her like I should have, there were opportunities to meet with her for the revision of multiple papers but I was AWOL. I would not have her do anything differently, she exceeded my expectations as a TA. Sincerely, Austin Scully
Unjust Life Sentencing Upon Children in the U.S. Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer/the author of “Just Mercy,” makes arguments against harsh sentencing in the criminal Justice system, mainly of which he focuses on the Capital Punishment, also known as the death penalty. One of the arguments is not directly being sentenced to death, but is equally distasteful, and that is the sentencing of children to life imprisonment without parole. His arguments are based upon facts, emotions, and ethics, and he describes tragic stories pertaining to just a few of the children who were forced to serve life sentences in prison. Stevenson is appealing to the general public with his thoughts about the death penalty and trying to inform/persuade his readers that the Justice system is adulterated and needs refinements. He appeals to logic, emotion, and ethics to convince the reader that a life sentence imposed on a child is unnecessary and that there are other ways of dealing with our most violent crimes, especially for the youth. If we don’t show compassion towards the people we are sentencing, then the community is distraught and we are just as bad as the people we are convicting with Capital Punishment.
Stevenson wrote on the basis of Justice and equal rights. He grew up in Delaware which was declared as a Southern state. The South has always been a place of racial segregation and unfair treatment for African Americans, so Stevenson himself being black and growing up in the south, dealt with and witnessed the unfair treatment of the black community. His family was poor and lived in a rural setting. This makes him a good advocate for the people he represents since most of them are black and poor. Another thing about Stevenson that makes him stand out is that the Equal Justice Initiative he founded is a non profit organization that provides legal help to those who cannot afford it. The EJI is located in Montgomery, Alabama, the Deep South/the place where a great majority of racial conflicts still occur today in the United States. Bryan Stevenson represented many people who committed crimes in their teenage years, specifically Trina Garnett, Ian Manuel, and Antonio Nunez.
Rhetorical Analysis
Stevenson provides statistics within his book, mainly The greatest rhetorical strategy that Stevenson uses pertaining to Capital Punishment being given primarily to is pathological appeals. Stevenson uses the stories of those who are poor, black or have mental problems, but the the kids to cause grief for the readers. He uses pathos statistics about the children sentenced to life imprisonment to dive into our emotions and allow us to feel for these without parole were shocking. And many of those who were young minds. He first tells us their situation before they sentenced were poor, a minority, or even had mental committed the crime which is heartbreaking. Trina problems. He states that Florida alone has sentenced over a grew up with an abusive father who molested her and hundred kids to serve life in prison for nonhomicidal crimes, the other girls. Antonio live in a neighborhood where in many cases some of them were only thirteen years old. I there were constant shootings, his father would beat remember when i was thirteen i could not even imagine being him while his mother neglected him, and he abused in prison for even a couple of days, but these kids were forced drugs. The children he represented grew up being to face the terrifying place for the rest of their lives. Another abused and neglected during their adolescent years. even more disturbing fact is that Juveniles are five times more Many of the children, poor and without parents, were likely to be sexual assault victims in prison because of their forced to live on the streets, eating garbage from vulnerability. I am sure that being placed in solitary dumpsters and struggling to survive. These kids are confinement was the best option for many of these children. I the most vulnerable members of our society due to all know most people would definitely prefer it to the alternative, the neglect and trauma they have encountered. It is which is large men molesting you. These facts are horrifying evident that due to their life struggles many of them and allow the reader to get an actual sense of exactly how who are sentenced to life imprisonment have severe many children are faced with harsh and cruel punishments in cases of mental problems prior to being convicted. the criminal justice system.
And once they were prosecuted they suffered more of this mistreatment due to being placed in adult jails where they would possibly be raped, this can cause further mental problems to those who already have them, and can create problems for those without them to begin with. Trina was already dealing with her own mental issues by the time she reached prison, and once she was raped by her correctional officer, it only deepened her issues causing for more distress. Ian was forced to stay in solitary confinement because of how small he was, he stayed in there for eighteen years, which seems unnecessary since by our early twenties we are practically done growing. These poor kids are being treated like they are adults when they have not even been allowed to grow outside of prison. They were not given the chance to experience all that life has to offer, for these kids, prison is the only thing they know. PEOPLE CHANGE. It’s not like these kids are going to remain in their exact same state of mind throughout their entire lives. Stevenson states: “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”(Bottom of pg. 17) We should not let the crimes committed in a person’s adolescent years allow us to define them as criminals forever.
And what gives us the right to decide that they will spend the rest of their life in prison, anybody would wish that they would receive mercy for a mistake they made when they were only a mere child. The woman that Ian shot even wanted his sentence to be reduced because he was only thirteen at the time, he was very problematic, and had no one to take care of him or support him. Most states have outlawed life sentencing because of how morally wrong it is. The kids know the crimes they committed were wrong and they do deserve punishment but many of them don't deserve to be forgotten, in fact no one deserves to be forgotten. if these kids were raised properly and not thrown away as society's trash they probably wouldn't have been convicted in the first place. He also believes that there should be other places for the ones with mental problems to go, instead of rotting away in a prison cell, they should be moved to a mental institution that would be able to provide for them the care that is necessary. It is wrong to hold mentally unstable people living in the same place as people who are actually dangerous and will hurt them.
Rhetorical Analysis
Bryan Stevenson uses his evidence very sufficiently. He provides three instances of children being sentenced to life in prison, all of which he gives their backgrounds in detail and describes their crimes with no bias. He states that there are hundreds of cases similar to the ones he described, but the main topic throughout the book was the death penalty, not the life terms served by children. If he were to give even more examples of children who were sentenced harshly and unfairly, he would distract from his main point, although they are very closely related and equally important. The facts that he provides are easily confirmed as we can look up any of the names provided on the internet. They are not randomly scattered throughout the text either, he places his evidence in the text after he makes a claim about each child’s condition to either support the claim or expand upon it. Life sentences of imprisonment placed on adolescents is an important sub topic that mirrors the death penalty. Bryan Stevenson makes great use of rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos, to convince readers that these life sentences are unjust and there needs to be an alternative solution for handling the crimes, especially for the non homicidal incidents.
An Injustice for Juveniles Every year the children of America are placed in Adult prisons to suffer for the rest of their lives. Capital punishment and its application to juvenile offenders is unlawful because the 8th amendment prevents cruel and unusual punishment; it is cruel and unusual to sentence those who are incapable of making rational decisions to life imprisonment. Historians have concurred that the first execution of a condemned American juvenile took place in 1642(Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquincy Prevention, 3). The 16th century educational reform movement in England that perceived youth to be different from adults, with less than fully developed moral and cognitive capacities, fueled the movement for juvenile justice reform in America. In recent times, states such as California have passed what is called Proposition 21, this is designed to increase punishment for minors for specific crimes. It is a step backwards in the Justice system, it takes the focus away from what should be done for these juveniles; which is proper rehabilitation and redemption. ttle bit of body text According to the Equal Justice Initiative black youths are 5 times more likely to be sentenced to life than their peers. Even in the society we currently live there exists such inequality that we look at some children differently from others. This is an injustice within an injustice which contradicts all the forward steps we have made as a nation towards equal rights. Roper v. Simmons was the 2005 court case that declared death by execution unconstitutional for minors. Prior to Roper v. Simmons 365 children had been legally executed in the United States(EJI, 2014). Thats one for every day of the year. Imagine one full year where as a nation we put a child to death every single day, now imagine how horrible and violent that nation must be. Since the court's ban on juvenile execution, the focus has now turned to the 3000 children who are currently dealing with life sentences without the chance of parole. Children in prisons are often traumatized by adults. Trina Garnett at the ripe age of 16 was raped by her correctional officer during her sentence, she became pregnant and was burdened by having to give her baby away, and her mental health was affected by the experience of being raped.(Stevenson,148151) Ian Manuel was constantly harassed by adult inmates, he was forced to stay in solitary confinement until he was old enough and large enough to defend himself.(Stevenson,151154) Solitary confinement is what is given to inmates when they are having behavioral issues and are causing grief for guards and other inmates. Ian had done nothing wrong outside of his original sentencing and yet he was forced to stay in solitary confinement, doing nothing but reading, writing and staring at empty walls. Robert Johnson, a Professor of Justice, Law and Society at American University, claims that an unnamed juvenile offender stated,"I wish I still had the death sentence... Really, death has never been my fear. What do people believe? That being alive in prison is a
Research Paper
good life? This is slavery." This juvenile has so much disdain for his life that he would rather have been sent to lethal injection. He compares his situation to slavery, which is something from our nations dark past of racism and hatred that we would like redeem ourselves for. One day children being locked up in adult prisons too will be something that is just part of our country's dark past. Germany although currently one of the world's leading Democracy's has a dark history of mass incarceration and genocide. Even the nation who was responsible for the holocaust and WW2 does not even sentence its juveniles to capital punishment. How can we, a nation who has fought against the worlds cruelest of leaders, be the only country that legally allows children to face capital punishment? As a country we value our children as obligations. “We are a nation who is killing its youth,”(Suzanne D. Stratter, 1995). We must take care of our young, we must provide for them, forgive them, and correct their mistakes. Juveniles cannot be treated as adults in trial because they are not fully developed in their minds. They lack maturity and a sense of responsibility which inevitably causes them to be suseptible to outside pressures in the negative sense(Weiner, 98). More than 60% of sentecned Juveniles suffered neglect, 15% suffered physical abuse, and 10% suffered sexual abuse. (Cruel and Unusual: Sentencing 13 and 14YearOld Children to Die in Prison, 16) The conditions these children grow up in certainly affect their likelihood to commit crimes. These acclaimed criminals are victims of neglect and have suffered enough, they dont deserve to be punished further in the prison system. Capital Punishment is ineffective at bringing juveniles to justice and it is unfair in the sense that their experiences in prison are worse than the adult experiences. Children are incapable of making rational decisions therefor capital punishment is ineffective as a deterrent. It is also immoral to sentence a child to life imprisonment for any crime they have committed, they will never be allowed to redeem themselves and become fully formed members of society.
Research Paper