Are you familiar at all with the real story of the "West Memphis Three?"
Are you familiar at all with the real story of the "Central Park Jogger?" (Yes, NY Central Park)
Are you familiar at all with the real story of Kalief Browder?
Are you familiar at all with the real story of Ethan Couch?
COMMENT
1) What do they have in common?
2) Which one of these stories is the most .........(you choose the adjective)? Explain the reason of your choice.
REPLY: Pick a reply that opened a new perspective to your understanding of the way "it" really works.
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ReplyDelete1. The thing that all of these cases have in common is that all of the supposed suspects were teenagers when the alleged crimes were committed.
ReplyDelete2.Which of these stories is the most "disturbing?"
The story that I found to be the most disturbing is the story of Kalief Browder. I say this because the way the whole case was handled was disturbing and resulted in Kalief committing suicide due to all that he endured with the courts and in prison. In one of his statements he even said,"...I feel like I was robbed of my happiness." It is disturbing because the justice system allowed this to go on for so long with such a lack of evidence of him even committing the crime. It is a shame that a young man decided to take his life because of something that could have been avoided.
Hey Amanda,
DeleteI agree with how all the prosecuted people were teens. I think it was very unfair someone can get even put into solitary confinement for stealing someone’s book bag in the first place. That is a little extreme isn't it? Doesn't it make more sense to get a fine or something even if he did steal the book bag. No one should be sent to prison/jail/confinement for such a small crime. The whole story doesn't make sense.
Hi Amanda,
DeleteI wholeheartedly agree with every word you elegantly put together. It is extremely upsetting to think that tax payer money is going towards rigged justice systems. I initially jus thought to blame the prison system for what has happened to him but you're absolutely right that the whole judiciary system is responsible for this man taking away his life.
1) After reading all four stories, they seem to have one common thing is that all the people who were sentenced to prison were all teenagers at the time of the accidents.
ReplyDelete2) The story I feel is the most unjust is the one with Ethan Couch, and Kalief Browder. First of all, Ethan couch was not sentenced long enough, he killed four people and injured nine people in total and got away with only 10 years in prison. He deserves longer I don't care what age you are, if you kill someone for reckless behavior like drunk driving you don't deserve a second chance at life. You ruined someone else’s life because of your bad decision that night. Now onto Kalief Browder, I hope I can pick two because they both upset me, Kalief was sentenced to solitary confinement for 3 years then let loose due to lack of evidence, then after his release he couldn't cope with being back in civilization eventually killing himself by hanging himself. It's not fair at all that he was sent to solitary confinement without proper evidence.
I couldn't stand these two cases either because they were two opposite injustices. Kalief Browder, though innocent, was severely charged, and Ethan,Couch though guilty, was given a relatively light sentence. I kept comparing the cases and the injustice and (lets be honest) racism really frustrated me.
Delete1. The similarity in all the cases is that all the convicts were teenagers and male and were all later released. Another similarity is that all these cases seemed quite unfair.
ReplyDelete2. The most unfair case seemed to be that of Kalief Browder, an African American teen. After all the reading I've done on the internet I did not find the mention of any evidence against Browder. It seems he was convicted solely on an accusation. Browder was only sixteen at the time and since his parents could not pay the bail he had to spend three years in solitary confinement. I personally admire Browder for never pleading guilty even though it would benefit him. His case is so sad because after he was released three years later Browder had been so mentally damaged that he committed suicide at the age of twenty two. And all this because of something as trivial as a robbery of about 1000$, and one he wasn't even responsible for. The case of Browder seems especially unfair and racist when compared to that of Ethan Croft's. He killed four people and injured nine and he had hard evidence supporting this statement. His was a case of manslaughter that he had indeed committed and yet he got away with a lighter sentence because of "affluenza", being rich and white. Comparing the two cases it is clear how unjustly Browder was treated. He was not a robber yet he was robbed of his life.
Hi Haris,
DeleteI absolutely agree with you about the unfairness in the cases of Browder and Couch.It is absurd that a person who committed manslaughter and caused 2 serious injuries was able to get off so lightly. Might I add, initially, I believe it was his lawyer who wanted to send him to rehabilitation center with recreational facilities (basically a resort). While Kalief went through so much for merely being accused of stealing a bookbag. Even if he did steal the bookbag, to go through such an ordeal I believe, is absolutely ridiculous. It is really sick in my opinion how unjustly a person can be treated based on their race and the amount of money that they possess.
1) The common denominator of all of these stories is that all the alleged suspects were teens at the time they committed their crimes.
ReplyDelete2) The story I feel is the most "tragic" is the story of Kalief Browder. I find it the most tragic because it further illustrates how the prison system is not made to change these felons for the better but instead break them down to a point of no return. It was chilling to read that he not only attempted suicide in jail but also when he returned home. He was not conditioned to return to his normal life in prison, instead he was brought to a point where he thought there was no longer a reason to live which should never be the case. I watched a documentary about Rikers Island a few years ago which happens to be the penitentiary he was sent to and it was the most vile disregard of basic human rights. The inmates were not treated like human beings but instead like animals and I'm very enthusiastic that they decided to finally close it down because that is not where tax payer money should be invested by any means.
Omar,
DeleteI did not know about the Rikers Island case.I always wondered why it closed down, but to now know why makes me very angry and I want to further investigate. Thank you for sharing this information as I learned something knew.
As you said, I too, think criminals needs to be treated like humans and have programs in place to improve. Some may argue differently, but is a drug addict really a criminal or are they suffering from mental illness? Why should one suffering from a form of mental illness be in prison instead of maybe a mandatory rehab?
I know the case we read is different than a simple drug case, but this is just my own example and relates to what we read and how he felt like there was no hope. He had no hope because there was no chance for Browder to have a different outcome. Maybe programs and interventions in jail would have been a game changer.
I love your input on how the system is made to have "convicts" succumb to the pressures and to the the crimes in which they are accused of. Unfortunately, its happened many times, where people have been imprisoned for crimes they didn't commit and it is figured out years after imprisonment. Its sad really.
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ReplyDelete1. After reading both stories it seems as though these stories target a certain group. This group is identified as teenage males engaging in criminal activity. In addition, it seems as though the consequences of these crimes are unjust.
ReplyDelete2. I feel as though the story of Kalief Browder is the most educational story. This story challenged my thoughts and opinions about the prison system. The story highlights how the system does not better the outcomes of these criminals, but rather destroys any hope and behavior changes. In my opinion, I think prisons need more educational programs, rehabilitation, and psychiatric services. These programs will benefit criminals and give them the potential for a second chance.
I happen to agree with you that the prisons should have more educational programs like rehabilitation and psychiatric services implemented. Before reading this story I was not fully aware of the outcomes that prisons can have on an individual. Having a better understanding I also agree that these services need to be implemented so that the person themself can feel like they have a chance in the world, and not result themselves to prison suicides.
Delete1) The thing that all of these stories have in common is that all the suspects from the stories were male teenagers at the time when they were convicted and imprisoned. Another thing that these stories had in common was that all of the suspects were convicted unfairly; they were not given a fair trial.
ReplyDelete2) Out of all these stories, the story that I found the most sad was the story with Kalief Browder. Because of the poor way that his case was treated Kalief ended up committing suicide. If his case would have been handled a better way he might not have felt depressed and could have possibly prevented his death. Kalief is quoted with saying that he was robbed of his happiness; he felt that he had nothing else to live for in his life. His loss of happiness and life could have easily been prevented if Kalief felt that he had a chance in the world. This story was so sad to me because not only was his case treated poorly, it also resulted in a suicide that shouldn't have happened in the first place.
1) In all the stories, the common factor is how all the accused individuals were teenagers.
ReplyDelete2) Kalief Browder’s story was the most upsetting and mid bottling. The system failed him and his life ended due to the injustice embedded in our society. There wasn’t enough proper evidence and it corrupted his life. He was unable to re-assimilate back into civilization. Browders life was flipped upside down. The problem is that we are blinded with many factors and don’t realize that these are human lives that are being played with.
No none of this story are not close to similar at all, it is case of race and social wealth.
ReplyDeleteEthan Couch's parent are rich and influential people, he was a privilege kid that every decision that he made good or bad he had mom and daddy to back him up.At the age of 16 he killed 4 people because he decide to drink and then drive. he got away with "just" probation. Money can do all things, i guess in his case the system worked for him and his parent.
Meanwhile Kalief Browder is black from a lower class family does not have a wealthy family to protect him. At the age of 16 he was wrongly accused of a crime that he did not commit and he spent 2 years in Riker island one of the worst jail in USA. the system failed him but he had an opportunity to join the society again. he was released and he joined the society but it was difficult for him to engage with people. he committed suicide outside his mother bedroom. Both case have different value but race and wealth played a major role. the guilty one walked away free and the innocent one lost his life.
What I believe they all have in common is that a person was told they commited a crime as a teenager. The Ethan story was the one that stuck out the most because it was about a white teeanger who commited a crime and had gotten away with the crime because of his race.
ReplyDeleteIn all stories is the common factor is that they all seem to be teenagers. Ethans story was the one that intrigued me the most out of all of them, due to he fact he got away with his criminal activities due to his race, color.
ReplyDelete