Impact of Criminology on the three Strike Law Research Paper

Impact of Criminology on the three Strike Law - Research Paper Example These laws have been implemented in quite an uneven manner and have impacted the financial and population side of prison and have even impacted the way the judiciary was functioning. According to the law, if an individual has conducted a crime once and has been held responsible for committing the crime again, he/she may serve twice the length of jail time he should serve for committing a particular crime. The law further states that if the individual has been held responsible for the third time, he should face sentence period of 25 to life or thrice the amount of jail time he is entitled to for committing a particular crime. The law states that the nature of the crime has to be serious and violent in nature. Crimes that were considered as serious in nature under this law includes: rape, robbery of a house hold while having the intention to conduct an assault and looting a home. 1 This source was used to obtain information about the history of the law and the various components of the law. When three strike laws is not applied, criminals serve 50% of their jail time and are even provided relaxation in jail time due to their good conduct, this law has made it essential for criminals to serve 80% of their jail time. This law even denies the use of alternative correctional programs such as drug therapy programs and sentences criminals to jail. Those who were in the favor of this law stated that this law can save hard earned money of the taxpayers which is spent while a criminal is injected evacuated from the justice system. They even believe that when a criminal is allowed to leave the jail, he causes increased cost for the family of the victims. Those who were against this law, believed that this law was not just and very expensive for the justice system. They believed so because the law was treating criminals of different levels in the same manner. The opponents were right in their analysis because several criminals were held responsible and assigned a jail time of 25 to life for conducting very low level crimes such as stealing bicycles. After the first five years of the passage of the law, the law was highly protested as opponents figured out that only 1% of the individuals who were convicted under this law were murderers and the two thirds of these individuals were those who had conducted small property crimes (Carangelo, 2002, p.57).2 2 This source provides information about the reasons why individuals are against the law and how has the law performed five years after it was passed. Body The main purpose of designing a law such as the three strike law was to ensure that the streets of US were safe without felons who conduct repeated crimes. This law has been greatly exercised in the jurisdiction of California and has experienced heavy criticism since it was accepted as a law during 1993. Researchers, theorists, academic criminologists and attorneys have repeatedly condemned the law as they believe that the law is increase cost, is not j ustified and does not achieve the purpose for which it was made. These laws are recognized as recidivist laws; this means that these laws are created to elevate the amount of penalties for those criminals who continuously commit crime (Walsh, 2007, p.138).3 The jail time that repeat

The Search for Truth in Anton Chekhovs The Cherry Orchard and Sophocle

The scholar is engaged in the interminable quest for truth. The knowledge that one can never understand everything makes a person wise. Ignorance is the assumption that one can understand all about the world around them. An ignorant person is so confident they comprehend the truth, that they are blind to the greater truth. Anton Chekhov and Sophocles deal with the idea of this sinful pride that leads to ignorance in their respective works, The Cherry Orchard and Oedipus Rex. In each drama, certain characters are slapped in the face with the truth; the light is revealed. However, these characters make the connection when it is too late. Their destruction is already destined to become a reality, a horrid fate that could have been prevented. Both Chekhov and Sophocles present the universal theme that an open mind, constantly in search for truth, is the mark of a worthy individual, and prideful stubbornness can only lead to demise. The question must then be asked, what truths are evident in these texts? Oedipus is the proud king of a county called Thebes. However, his country has fallen on hard times as a result of angry gods displaying their wrath. The oracle reveals to Oedipus that the curse shall be lifted when the murderer of the former king is put to justice. As the incriminating evidence piles up against Oedipus, he remains ignorant of the truth that he is the killer whom he seeks. He stubbornly refuses to believe that he cannot escape his fate. Sophocles presents this ironic truth in light and dark imagery. The chorus dramatically demands, â€Å"Artemis, Huntress, / Race with flaring lights upon our mountains / [†¦] Whirl upon Death, that all the Undying hate! / Come with blinding torches, come in joy!† (Sophocles l.198-204). The... ...hile she awaits the news of what happened to the cherry orchard, she is still kidding herself with false hope, ignorant hope. She did not want to see the truth, and now her fate is sealed. Had she opened her eyes, things might have ended up differently. Trofimov tells her to look the dreadful truth straight in the eye because she â€Å"served [her] own destruction† (Sophocles l.1468. 20). And yet, despite the wisdom of our predecessors, do we not still find our vision obscured by a prideful stubbornness, our eyes sealed against the light of truth? Works Cited Chekhov, Anton. The Cherry Orchard. Four Plays. Trans. David Magarshack. New York: Hill & Wang, 1969. Eekman, Thomas A. Critical Essays on Anton Chekhov. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1989. Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed.Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: Longman, 1997.

Dramatic Incident Essay

â€Å"Never messed up with me or else, I will get back on you! † This is the line that the people around me were used in hearing for almost 5 years, since my college days. I was such a braggart, an attention deficit student in our College Department in BS Psychology. I wanted to be always the center of attraction to anyone. All I wanted was attention, love and respect. The things which were deprived by my family, friends and peers. I can say that because of what and how people treated me when I was still in high school made me in to who I was in College and until now. When I was in high school, I used to be the laughing stock in our room. Why? because of how I looked. I did not appear appealing to my classmates and even teachers. They based their respect and love with looks. I was so devastated that time that it came to a point where I asked myself. Why am I like this? Why do I look like this? Why do I have to be laughed of? Do not I have to right also to be respected and loved? All these things ruled in my mind for 4 years in high school. It was not just in school, but also in my family, in my home! They thought of me as nobody. They even didn’t recognize my achievement. I tried my best to be an honor student for them to appreciate me, but I was just frustrated. They never did! All their attention was with my beautiful sister. My ever loving, pretty and obedient sister named Grace. They always supported her on everything she does, in everything! I was so mad at this reality! That I decided that when I finished high school, I will get my freedom. I will redeem my being back, the one they stole from me. Then I graduated high school as a Valedictorian. Never have I received any appreciation or any rewards from them. But they did not know that it was already my time to see and let them see the side of me that they would not want to see. I enrolled at a known University as a scholar. I enrolled in BS Psychology. Then after one semester, I flanked all my subjects, I quarreled with a professor, I had a fight with Mrs. McGowan, who is the Dean of our College. I was so happy upon seeing my family suffer because of what I have done. They were so angry that their anger put me into the insanity of happiness. It was just the start of my revenge. Then second semester came, I enrolled in BS Nursing. After one week they found out that I did not paid the money they gave me which was intended for my tuition. They were horrified at this! Again, I was so happy. My mouth was filled with laughter then. After that event, I had a physical fight with a classmate. It made the Dean of Nursing call their attention for my detention. Then a week after that, I met a Mark. Our neighbor which was my long time friend. I courted the guy. Yes! I was the one who courted him and good thing he said yes. We went out for 3 weeks then suddenly, one cold night. I asked him to elope with me. At first he said no, for surely my parents were going to kill him. But I insisted and insisted. I blackmailed him that if he won’t agree, I will kill myself. Then he finally said yes. In the morning after that, we did it. We went to a place where nobody knew about us. In a secluded place, there we stayed for two days. After those days, I received a phone call saying that my mom had a heart attack. I was horrified upon hearing this. Even if I am such a stupid and disobedient daughter, I still love and cherish my mother so much. My mother who brought us up. The one toiled a living just for us to be in school and have a future. In hearing that bad news, I was so devastated and immediately decided to go back in our place. My boyfriend allowed me then so I immediately packed my things up and proceed to our home. I went there with my boyfriend. When we stepped into the house, all my siblings welcomed me with arms wide open. I could feel their love and care. They were all asking forgiveness at me. They were sorry for they knew they caused me too much hurt starting from the past. We exchanged forgiveness. I have nothing to do but to forgive them. I love my siblings so much that I do not want any trouble between us anymore. After we reconciled, we then went to the hospital to visit my mom. Upon arriving their, I talked with my mom. I asked forgiveness and her too. I explained my part and poured everything that I felt from the start. Just after I embraced my mom, she died. She held my hand so tight that I shouted from the very top of my voice. â€Å"Oh Lord! What have I done! If not of what I did, she should have been alive† talking to myself in front of the mirror. I was so guilty; my conscience was eating me up. I cried, and cried. I asked forgiveness for all the things that I have done that caused her so much hurt. I regretted the day when I decided to take my revenge against them. I was so downcast, I was so gloomy. I thought to myself, I should have been the one lying dead in the hospital bed and not my mother! I felt like I was the killer. But my siblings hugged me and said they did not blame me for what happened. It should not have been that way if I was not eaten up by my anger. But then things already happened. I guess things happen for a reason. They happen for a specific purpose in our lives, in my life. We should learn to forgive and forget. Forgive even if that person caused you too much pain, and forget, even if the experience and hurt is unforgettable. God has a purpose in everything. He let things happen in our lives for us to become strong and firm in our faith in Him. We should learn to rely on Him and not to ourselves. God would not give us something we can not bear. He will never leave us nor forsake us, even to the lowest valleys in our lives. He will always be there for us. I have realized that He is the only one that I need. I do not need anybody to feel love. I just need my Lord, my God! He is all that I wanted which I should have realized from the beginning. He is my only refuge and strength in times of trouble. His love is just enough and very satisfying in my soul. He is my all in all. I believe that my mother is already happy in heaven. I know she has forgiven me already. And I know she is there with God, eternally.

Levallois Technique - Paleolithic Stone Tool Working

Levallois, or more precisely the Levallois prepared-core technique, is the name archaeologists have given to a distinctive style of flint knapping, which makes up part of the Middle Paleolithic Acheulean and Mousterian artifact assemblages. In his 1969 Paleolithic stone tool taxonomy (still widely used today), Grahame Clark defined Levallois as Mode 3, flake tools struck from prepared cores. Levallois technology is thought to have been an outgrowth of the Acheulean handaxe. The technique was reckoned a leap forward in stone technology and behavioral modernity: the production method is in stages  and requires forethought and planning. The stone tool-making Levallois technique involves preparing a raw block of stone by striking pieces off the edges until it is shaped something like a turtle shell: flat on the bottom and humped on the top. That shape permits the knapper to control the results of using applied force: by striking the top edges of the prepared core, the knapper can pop off a series of similarly sized flattish, sharp stone flakes which can then be used as tools. The presence of the Levallois technique is commonly used to define the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic. Dating the Levallois The Levallois technique was traditionally thought to have been invented by archaic humans in Africa beginning about 300,000 years ago, and then moved into Europe and perfected during the Mousterian of 100,000 years ago. However, there are numerous sites in Europe and Asia which contain Levallois or proto-Levallois artifacts dated between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8 and 9 (~330,000-300,000 years bp), and a handful as early as MIS 11 or 12 (~400,000-430,000 bp): although most are controversial or not well-dated. The site of Nor Geghi in Armenia was the first firmly dated site found to contain a Levallois assemblage in MIS9e: Adler and colleagues argue that the presence of Levallois in Armenia and other places in conjunction with Acheulean biface technology suggest that the transition to Levallois technology occurred independently several times before becoming widespread. Levallois, they argue, was part of a logical progression from a lithic biface technology, rather than a replacement by movement of archaic humans out of Africa. Scholars today believe that the long, long range of time in which the technique is recognized in lithic assemblages masks a high degree of variability, including differences in surface preparation, orientation of flake removal, and adjustments for raw source material. A range of tools made on Levallois flakes are also recognized, including the Levallois point. Some Recent Levallois Studies Archaeologists believe the purpose was to produce a single preferential Levallois flake, a nearly circular flake mimicking the original contours of the core. Eren, Bradley, and Sampson (2011) conducted some experimental archaeology, attempting to achieve that implied goal. They discovered that to create a perfect Levallois flake requires a level of skill that can only be identified under very specific circumstances: single knapper, all pieces of the production process present and refitted. Sisk and Shea (2009) suggest that Levallois points — stone projectile points formed on Levallois flakes — might have been used as arrowheads. After fifty years or so, Clarks stone tool taxonomy has lost some of its usefulness: so much has been learned that the five-mode stage of technology is far too simple. Shea (2013) proposes a new taxonomy for stone tools with nine modes, based on variations and innovations not known when Clark published his seminal paper. In his intriguing paper, Shea defines Levallois as Mode F, bifacial hierarchical cores, which more specifically embraces the technological variations. Sources Adler DS, Wilkinson KN, Blockley SM, Mark DF, Pinhasi R, Schmidt-Magee BA, Nahapetyan S, Mallol c, Berna F, Glauberman PJ et al. 2014. Early Levallois technology and the Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition in the southern Caucasus. Science 345(6204):1609-1613. doi: 10.1126/science.1256484 Binford LR, and Binford SR. 1966. A preliminary analysis of functional variability in the Mousterian of Levallois facies. American Anthropologist 68:238-295. Clark, G. 1969. World Prehistory: A New Synthesis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Brantingham PJ, and Kuhn SL. 2001. Constraints on Levallois Core Technology: A Mathematical Model. Journal of Archaeological Science 28(7):747-761. doi: 10.1006/jasc.2000.0594 Eren MI, Bradley BA, and Sampson CG. 2011. Middle Paleolithic Skill Level and the Individual Knapper: An Experiment. American Antiquity 71(2):229-251. Shea JJ. 2013. Lithic Modes A–I: A New Framework for Describing Global-Scale Variation in Stone Tool Technology Illustrated with Evidence from the East Mediterranean Levant. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 20(1):151-186. doi: 10.1007/s10816-012-9128-5 Sisk ML, and Shea JJ. 2009. Experimental use and quantitative performance analysis of triangular flakes (Levallois points) used as arrowheads. Journal of Archaeological Science 36(9):2039-2047. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2009.05.023 Villa P. 2009. Discussion 3: The Lower to Middle Paleolithic Transition. In: Camps M, and Chauhan P, editors. Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions. New York: Springer. p 265-270. doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-76487-0_17 Wynn T, and Coolidge FL. 2004. The expert Neandertal mind. Journal of Human Evolution 46:467-487.