Death to the Death Penalty

Death is the one thing that cannot be undone. Whether the death was from intentional killing, natural causes, or a fatal injury, once someone’s life has been ended, that’s it. So, where does capital punishment stand? Many states have abolished it, but not all. Why is it okay to put someone to death for killing someone else? This was first conceptualized in the eighteenth century, as part of Hammurabi’s Code. His philosophy was “an eye for an eye”, and there were 25 crimes punishable by death. This hypocritical thinking was not brought to America by the Babylonians, but rather European colonists. The first recorded execution was a Captain from Virginia in 1608, for being an alleged spy for Spain. Capital punishment only first started becoming controversial in the 1980’s, when DNA testing became a factor in determining who committed a crime; when it would be known for sure who committed a crime, even if it was after the execution.

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In my opinion, capital punishment needs to be abolished in all states. One reason is because it is inhumane. There have been many instances of “botched-executions”. This means that something went wrong and that the death became long and painful, which violated the eighth amendment. Also, death penalty trials are known to be very expensive. A single trial can cost over a million dollars, and take years before a verdict is reached. This tax money should be used to reform the criminal justice system, and keep the crime rate low. Thus, the death penalty needs to be abolished in all states.

~Julia

End of the world? 3 days left…

As we all know supposedly the world will end in just a few days. On December 21, 2012, according to the Mayans, the human race will die. The Mayan calendar ends on December 21 , 2012 and now people are convinced that we will all die in a matter of days.The mayans were a very smart culture , to find out more go to this website: http://www.history.com/topics/maya.  Since the Mayans were very smart for their time period and were very accurate to the real amount of days in the year people started to believe them. Now some people think we could get hit by comets, pulled into the sun or even have a volcano erupt that wipes out everything living.

Personally I don’t believe that the world will end in a few days. The first reason why I don’t believe that this will happen is because they’re very few Mayan people left. If they were such a smart civilization how did they manage to have their entire empire wiped out? If we were going to die in a few days because a comet will hit the earth, NASA would have already been able to detect it coming into our orbit. The downfall of this is that NASA might not be able to detect the comet. Or if they did detect it, they wouldn’t tell us. I also don’t think a volcano could kill the entire race. If the world would end because of a volcano more than one will need to erupt at the same time. Of course the largest volcano in the world, the Mauna Loa in Hawaii, is still active but couldn’t wipe out the entire human race. Even though many people believe that we will die in a few days it is almost impossible that we will all die.

~Mikenzy Golebiewski

Is There No Privacy?

When your driving on the highway and you pass a car crash what’s your first instinct? That’s what I thought. Almost every single person’s instinct is to look at the scene of the accident and try to guess what happened or maybe feel bad inside for the people that got hurt. It’s just human nature! But I wonder, are humans nosy because they care about others, or are humans nosy because they’re bored with their own lives?

I think people are just bored with their own lives. Let’s face it, you’re day would be boring without knowing who Sally’s dating and what grade Tommy got on that test. Humans always ask questions about others, which in my opinion makes humans nosy. Think about it: news broadcasts are just letting everybody know what’s happening in other peoples lives, and broadcasts go on for hours! People just can’t get enough of it! So what do you think,are humans nosy because they care about others, or are humans nosy because they’re bored with their own lives?

~Leah Kaczmarek

Casey Anthony Let Free

Casey Anthony has been in the public eye since June of 2008, when  her precious two-year-old, Caylee, was supposedly kidnapped by her nanny and brutally murdered. The horrific case remained a hit for several years on television shows such as, Larry King Live and Nancy Grace.

Since the beginning of the investigation, many of Casey’s actions were questioned.  She was seen out partying, and dancing at night clubs. She was also accused and arrested for a brief period of time for lying to law enforcement, obstructing a criminal investigation and child neglect. She was later indicted by a grand jury, and was arrested for first degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and four counts of providing false information to police.  Even with 400 pieces of obtained evidence, it wasn’t enough to incriminate Casey Anthony of a crime many Americans believed she had committed. On July 5, 2011, Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murdering her daughter.

With the news of Casey Anthony proven not guilty, the public went wild. In many of the American viewers eyes Casey was so obviously guilty, and many people, whether  at home, or outside the courtrooms, began rioting and voicing their opinions on the verdict. Casey was given extra security, for many predicted that there would be threats and appalling behavior aimed at her.

Although a young tot lost her life, there were some positive outcomes of the trial. “Caylee’s Law” was created and instilled in New York, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Florida. It  would impose stricter requirements on parents to notify law enforcement of the death or disappearance of a child. Also, “Caylee’s Song” was composed by many artists, and was broad casted throughout multiple radio stations and television shows. With all the media attention on Casey Anthony, it is also important to remember the lost soul of Caylee, whose memories will remain in the lives of every American.
~Alexis Giosa