About discussion n. 24, most of you missed the mark in evaluating the 4 cases.
In 1, 2, 3, it was prejudices, bias and neglect that led to those tragic outcomes.
In 4, it was prejudice in reverse.
What those cases have in common, is MONEY: whether they had it or not. I hope you will care to expand on this thesis in your COMMENTS.
Looking back at the 4 cases I can see how the commonality between them was money. In the case of the west memphis 3, may celebrities supported the accused by fundraising to oay for their investigation and legal bills. In the central park jogger case,3 of the original supect sued the city for 250 million dollars for malicious prosecution, racial dicrimination and emotional ditee.. Under Mayor Deblaio there was a settlement of 1 million dollars for each year the men spent in prison. In Kalief Browders unfortunate circumstance, he was arrested and bail was set to 3,000 dollars. Due to his family not being able to raise even $900, he wa ent to Rikers Island. With Ethan Couch, the privilege of this young man was very evident. At first it was reported that he would be sent to a rehabilitation center that cot 450,000 annually. However, it was settled thathe would begin treatment at a hospital where his parents would pay $1170 per month despite the daily rate being $715.
ReplyDeleteIn these cases particularly with Ethan Couch and Browder, it i obvious that the reaoning behing Couch' lighter sentence and reduced payment is due to his race, wealth and privilege. Based on the occurances in Browder's case, if they had been in an identical situation, I do not belive that Browder would have been granted the same leniency. In fact, he probably would have been treated more unjutly than need be.
After reading this, I'm shocked I did not emphasize on the aspect of money. The first three cases were of poor boys, all races included. Though, their race was probably a factor that gave some of the suspects a lower chance to begin with, if they had enough money, could afford good lawyers who would dig deep into their cases and show that there wasn't sufficient proof to convict them, they would have probably been given justice. Money is what turned the tables for Ethan Couch. His parents could afford anything for him, they could afford the best of lawyers, his hospital fee of $1170/month. If hey could not, he would certainly end up in jail too. If he couldn't receive treatment for his said "mental illness" he would obviously not have been allowed to roam free. Money is what saved Ethan Couch.
ReplyDeleteI actually did notice that the stories had money involved in some way or another but I thought that the fact they were teenagers was more evident. None of the four cases had a lot of money to post bail. There was little mention about their families wealth. In cases that had multiple suspects involved the trials were unfair because some suspects had different penalties for the same crime.
ReplyDeleteI did not notice these stories highlighted money. I went back and looked at all of these stories and I am surprised I did notice. The first three cases were of three boys living in poverty. They could not afford good lawyers. Ethan Couch came from a family with money and the family could pay the fees. Money saved Ethan Couch and now that I can see that money was a huge factor in these cases, it makes me critique them differently. There are many factors that play a role in these cases and money is a big factor. It can make or break a case.
ReplyDeleteMoney is alway important in cases like these. Unfortunately our society is one that sees money as the pinnacle of American life. Even worse is that, although these cases were high profile- people still allowed the justice system to favor those who were better off financially.
ReplyDeleteIt also displays how desperate a need for a job and money really is in America, because if anything is to happen you'll need money to move forward in American society.
While I missed the deadline on the previous discussion, I may as well focus on why money truly was the connection between the 4 cases.
ReplyDeleteAs previous comments have mentioned, the Memphis 3 consisted of suspects that could not afford lawyers that would have helped. The second case consisted of a high compensation for damages to those whose charged were vacated. The third case, and possibly the most important one, showed how a small case could completely change a suspect's life due to their poverty-stricken life and family. Case 4 is the opposite of this, where the availability of funds led to a much lighter charge on the suspect.
All 4 cases show how important money is in everyday life and law. The more money you have, the more leeway you'll have on certain cases. It also shows how visibly corrupt the justice system is, where cases and convictions vary based on age, race and income.
Looking back on these stories I can see now how the common factor between them all was money. Money is what made these stories reach their full importance. In the first three stories, the boys who were convicted were poor. These boys could not afford good lawyers in court, could not afford nice clothing to where on trial, and could not afford all, or any at all, of their bail money. Ethan Couch was able to be 'saved' because his family came from money and he was able to afford good lawyers, good treatment, good doctors, and medication. Initially, I thought that the common factor between them all was that they were male teenagers. After rereading them I am able to see that money is in fact the real factor that connects them all. The issue or concept of money ties each story to the next while emphasizing on the roll of poverty.
ReplyDeleteGoing back at these stories, there is the common aspect of money. Each of the first three cases involved the teens not being able to afford lawyers and help financially. In the last case with Ethan, his parents were able to pay his way out of his situation although, he committed an enormous crime. These four cases show how important money is when it comes to the law. If a person is not wealthy then they will have a much harder time than if they were wealthy.
ReplyDeleteIn the four cases, money is a common denominator. The Teenagers all needed lawyers but of course the individual with money is always priority. Some of the boys could not afford lawyers.
ReplyDelete