Ashan Perera Ms. Rish English 10 25 April 2012 In the majority of the world someone convicted of a crime is seen as an innocent person until proven guilty. There are also some places in the world where not only are you seen guilty until proven innocent, but also are judged base on race, sex, and religion. In the case of Absalom, the son of John Kumalo, not only was he looked down upon because he was black, he also had no chance because everyone in court proceedings was white. Absalom was also in a time period during the late 1940’s where there was apartheid and blacks were looked down upon. In his book Cry The Beloved Country Alan Paton displays how Absalom, the black man, is not only too harshly punished and given unfair trial due to his skin color, but also he is receiving this treatment because he is in a South African apartheid in the 1920’s.
As if being black in America was not enough to get you into trouble in the south, lynch laws and Jim Crow laws put into perspective of how racially inferior African Americans were presumed to be as opposed to their white counter parts; and used to reestablish a white social and political power (90 – 92). The simplest misdeeds such as the thought of a black man wanting a white woman in any sexual way was reason enough to get lynched. Various other reasons include “attempting to vote, unpopularity, self-defense, or testifying against a white man.” For black males, however, “winking, looking directly into the eyes, failing to distance himself, or whistling at a white female” were considered especially heinous. Black men were portrayed as these animalistic savages who wanted their precious white woman’s purity. Black women, on the other hand, were viewed as loose harlots who were sexually driven; basically saying that us as black woman wanted these white southern men to rape us.
This shows he cares more about what is right for the people then his own personal benefits. The authors used very strong language quoted by Del. Davis throughout the paper such as, “the death penalty is flawed, ineffective and racially biased. And if we can get enough people to understand that, then in a few years we can repeal the death penalty in the United States once and for all” (Jealous & Braveboy, p. 11). Those sentences speak a lot about how powerful words can affect us.
More than anything, for many of us, it is exhausting. Exhausting because nothing could bring back our lost child, exhausting because the verdict, which should have felt shocking, arrived with the inevitability that black Americans know too well when criminal law announces that they are worth less than other Americans. Every step Mr. Martin took toward the end of his too-short life was defined by his race. I do not have to believe that Mr. Zimmerman is a hate-filled racist to recognize that he would probably not even have noticed Mr. Martin if he had been a casually dressed white teenager. References Yankah, E. W. (2013, July 16).
In the article titled “The Folly of Capital Punishment”, Jeffrey Reinam concludes that capital punishment is immoral to our society; and thus, should not be legalized. Reinam reasons the death penalty is unjust, inhuman, and goes against the progress of civilization. Reinam’s primary argument and rebuttal to Ernest Van Den Haags deterrence argument, is that the death penalty goes against the advancement of civilization. Reinam explains that throughout history we take steps to "lower tolerance for one's own pain and that suffered by others". Due to the states high visibility, size, and moral authority, it is capable to have an impact on citizens beyond the immediate act it authorizes.
Some were even offered bonuses. What was interesting to me is that Vermont refused to help the Federal government and President Fillmore threatened to use the army to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. Nothing came out of this incident. The new law of 1850 left a very bitter taste in a lot of mouths. The author of these pages wanted us to focus our attention on all the hardship that African Americans had to endure whether slave or free.
This was moving to me because back then going to jail was not a little thing but something that blacks were terrified of because usually when a black man was sent to jail, they were never seen again. Most likely the ones sent to jail were lynched. The second is Martin Luther King Jr's “I have a Dream” speech. This speech moved many people to see different views when it can to segregation and not being treated equal. This speech was a turning point in the civil rights movement that made Martin Luther King the face and leader of civil rights.
The judicial branch of government is by far the weakest branch. The judicial branch posses only the power to judge, not to act, and even its judgments or decisions depend upon the executive branch to carry them out. Political rights are least
Atticus was his lawyer and it was a completely scandal because he is a white man defending a black man, no one would do that because the black people did not had rights in that time. But we can see that there were descent people like Atticus, that have clear that everyone is equal and he had to make justice in Maycomb; He would fight until the end, and he did, he showed enough evidence to expose Ewell….”Did you Called a doctor, Sheriff? Did anybody call a doctor? Asked Atticus, No sir, repeated Mr. Tate, Why not? Asked Atticus, Well I can tell you why I didn’t.
When Tom said that he felt sorry for Mayella it was wrong in their minds because he is an African American who should not feel bad for a white person whose class is higher. After Tom said this the trial went down hill from there because he said he felt sorry for a white woman, which shows white supremacy in the town. In conclusion, this proves Tom Robinson to be a victim of racial discrimination and white