Woman Kills Her "Mouthy" Children

In January of 2011, a woman named Julie Schenecker shot her two children in their Florida home. Julie armed herself with a .38 Caliber Revolver the night before with intention in killing her children. Julie first shot her 13 year old son named Beau in the head twice. Afterwards she walked up behind her 16 year old daughter named Caylx while she was doing homework and shot her once in the head then in the face. The police interviewed Julie after the murders and she claimed to have done it because “they were talking back and being mouthy.” Julie's trial is happening now and they have decided that she will not receive the death penalty due to mental illness.

We were talking about the Puritans in English a while back and this case reminds me of them. Puritans had certain beliefs and thought that everyone should think in the same way that they did. When someone didn’t think in their way they thought they would be doing God’s work by killing them, for no reason. Julie did the same thing as the Puritans. She thought that she children should behave a certain way and when they didn’t do as she wanted them to she killed them both. `

This is a cruel and depressing story. The children were just minding their own business then killed by their own mother. They both could’ve had a bright future but now we will never know. A mother has no right to do something like this. Even if Julie’s kids were being “mouthy” there was no need to shoot them over it. There are many other techniques to try and stop them from being disrespectful. Another thing I don’t understand is how Julie was denied the death penalty because of mental illness. In my opinion the death penalty is what she needs. This woman murdered her own children, and for what reason? They claimed that she has mental issues but she raised her children for 16 years, she had a normal family and everything seemed like it was going good for them. Just because she randomly killed her children for a non legitimate reason doesn’t mean she has mental issues. If she was sane enough to go buy a gun to intentionally kill her children then I think she is sane enough to face the death penalty.

• What is the central idea of the passage and how is it developed and refined throughout the selection? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

- The central idea of this passage is to inform the reader of information about what Julie did and give information on her life before the crime. We learn more about the murder when in paragraph eight the author says, “Officers at the scene found the boy still in the passenger seat, with his seat belt on. The report said Schenecker then shot her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx, in the face as the high school cross-country star studied on her computer at their upscale home.” This quote gives details on the murder and shows that one of the ideas of the passage was to inform us of the murder. In paragraph ten the author gives more information by syaing, “Julie Schenecker was born in Muscatine, Iowa. There, she was an athlete and that continued in college, where she played volleyball for the University of Northern Iowa.” This quote proves that another idea of the passage was to give us background information on Julie before the murder happened.

“Florida Military Mom On Trial For Killing Her Teenagers.” Fox News. N.p., 28 Apr 2014. Web. 4 May 2014, <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/28/jury-selection-to-begin-for-tampa-military-mother-accused-killing-her-2/>

Roberson, Richard. “Every Bullet Has Someones Name On It.” Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo, 25 Jan 2008. Web, 4 May 2014, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/61593595@N00/2220085330>

Innocent Man In Prison For 18 YEARS

This blog post was about a former prisoner named John Thompson. Thompson was in prison for four years then death row for fourteen years and was released in 2003. He was arrested for shooting a hotel executive. He was released because he was proven innocent, due to blood tests that were held back in his previous trial back in 1984. After Thompson’s release he decided to sue Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office for violating federal civil rights by holding back evidence. After winning the case Thompson’s hopes were let down when the office took the case to the supreme court who overturned the judgement. Although Thompson lost the case he was able to own a shop with his wife and make a reasonable amount of money. After Katrina hit Thompson lost the shop causing him to be forced to fill out applications. He found it quite difficult because he had no idea how to operate a phone or a computer, due to spending nearly a decade behind bars. “We think states and cities should provide housing and job training”, is what Thompson said after struggling to find work. He then started a program for exonerated ex-prisoners that would teach them how to adjust to society after prison.

This article relates to a book I read in English class called To Kill A Mockingbird. There was a man named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a woman. He went to court and was proven guilty, when he did nothing at all. He was sentenced the death penalty and wasn’t given a chance to prove himself innocent. This is similar to what happened with John Thompson, he was proven guilty even though he was innocent. The only difference is that Thompson was saved while Robinson wasn’t so lucky.

I believe that although the attorney office did hold back evidence that fourteen million was a little much to ask for. I also think that the supreme court shouldn’t have overturned the judgement. The office should’ve gave Thompson some money. What they did was a horrible thing and Thompson could have been doing something great with his life instead of being in death row all that time. I also believe that it is a good idea to have a program for exonerated ex-prisoners to help them get back on their feet. I just believe that they should only accept people proven innocent. People that have been in prison for a reason and proven guilty should not be allowed in prison because they got what they deserved by being in prison so long.

• What is the central idea of the passage and how is it developed and refined throughout the selection? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

- The central idea of this passage is to give the reader information on the program that is now available to ex-prisoners proven innocent. The information in refined throughout the passage by giving background information on Thompson and giving the reasons why he started the program. In paragraph  seventeen the author puts a quote in by Thompson, "There's not a lot of vocational training on death row; the only thing you're trained for is to learn to die." This quote shows one of the reasons why Thompson decided to start the program to help innocent ex-prisoners. In paragraph twenty the author says,”Thompson's lawyers tried to convince him to go to a residential counseling program in California” this quote shows another reason to why the program began. The quote gives you information on how difficult it was for Thompson to see guidance on how to adjust to the world after prison.

Hawk, Thomas. “Process.” Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo, 7 Jan 2007. Web. 6 Apr 2014, <https://www.flickr.com/photos/51035555243@N01/465697821>

Grinberg, Emanuella. “Life after death row: Helping break the 'jailhouse mentality.” CNN. N.p., 5 Apr 2014. Web. 6 Apr 2014, <http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/04/us/death-row-stories-thompson/index.html?hpt=hp_c2>

Aliens took the Malaysian Plane?

This article was about the missing plane from Malaysia airports. It was mainly about all the theories set around the situation. There are some ridiculous theories, like alien abduction, and there are some theories that sound quite accurate. One theory is that the pilot was using the plane to commit suicide and mass murder. Terrorism is another theory because two passengers on the plan had stolen passports. Some say that decompression caused the plane to lose oxygen and killed everyone. The shoot down theory is also very popular. It is said that the plane lost power but the engine still worked so the pilot decided to turn around in the middle of the night. When the pilot turned around he passed by some unfriendly country and they shot the plane down then covered it up.

This article can relate to the Salem witch trials that we learned about in English class. No one knew that the town was going through a wave of hysteria so they came up with crazy scenarios to solve the problem. They clung to witchcraft as the reason to why everyone was acting that way. Now since no one knows what is going on with the plane people are making up crazy theories to what the actual problem is.

I believe that it is a good thing and a bad thing that people are coming up with these theories. It could be good because it allows people to be more open to what could've happened. It gives ideas on where to search for the plane and who to ask about the planes whereabouts. Some of the theories could be a big help to the search party of the plane because some of them actually make sense. While on the other hand, some theories are expecting the worst. The bad theories are worrying families of the missing passengers. They aren't helping the situation at all and are just making things worse.

• How does the author use language to advance her point of view? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

-The author uses sarcasm and humor to get her point across on how ludicrous the theories are about the missing plane. In paragraph two she shows humor and sarcasm by saying, “And last but not, least here's that old Internet standby so popular among conservative conspiracy theorists: It's Obama's fault.” In this quote she was trying to be funny by making fun of people that blame everything on Obama. Even when there is something that has nothing to do with. Another example in paragraph two is when the author says, “ Somebody shot it down. Aha! We can't see the plane because it's invisible! No, it's a sign from God that the Rapture is coming! The Illuminati are behind this!” This is another example that shows the author using humor and sarcasm to get a point across. She is being sarcastic on what happened with the plane.

Dooley, Kevin. "US Airways." Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo, 23 Nov 2013. Web. 23 Mar 2014, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/12836528@N00/11262472956>

O'Neill Ann. "Flight 370: When Facts Run Few, Imaginations Go Wild." CNN. N.p., 22 Mar 2014. Web. 23 Mar 2014, <http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/21/world/asia/missing-plane-mystery-clues-theories/index.html?hpt=hp_t1>

Mother Tries To Kill "Possessed" Children

A pregnant woman, named Ebony Wilkerson from South Carolina was making her way to Daytona Beach. Wilkerson had her three children with her in hopes of keeping them safe from her violent husband. She fled to her sister’s apartment and her sister noticed something strange about her. Wilkerson’s sister decided to take her to a hospital to have her checked out. Wilkerson checked in the hospital and quickly decided to check out. She got into her minivan with her children inside of it and dove to the beach. Witnesses saw her drive her van straight into the Atlantic ocean and fled to save the children. As the men worked towards opening the doors, the children pleaded, "Please help us, our mom is trying to kill us." Wilkerson was fighting her son over the wheel as he was trying to steer the car out of the water. The helpers were able to rescue all three children and even the mother. After they had her children out of the van she just walked away. Before the accident Wilkerson was talking to her sister about there being demons in her house. It is believed that Wilkerson thought her children were possessed and that is why she attempted to kill them.

This story connects to my English class. We were just learning about the Salem Witch Trials and this article relates. In the witch trials people would accuse others of being a witch or working with the Devil. After they were accused they were given an unfair trial and most were hung or killed in other ways. In this story Wilkerson accused her children of being demons. After accusing the children she decided to take action and attempt to murder them, luckily this didn't work out.

It is horrible to even think something like this could be true. The children did not deserve this at all. If she didn't want the children there was no need to try and kill them. There are other options out there, like putting your children up for adoption, or just giving them to a trusted family member. She should not be allowed to have her children back at any point in time. As soon as she gives birth to her newborn they should take it away from her also. Wilkerson deserves many years of prison for such a crime, or at least lots of time in a mental hospital because it is apparent that she has serious issues.

• What is the impact of using [statistics/quotations/headings/bullets/personal experience] (choose one of the options and write only on it.) If you have another element that you would like to discuss on this question, get the okay from me before proceeding. Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

- The impact of using quotations is that the choice of the quotations put into the article give us an idea of the emotions from the mother and children during the accident. In paragraph seven it states that the children were screaming, "'Please help us, our mom is trying to kill us'" as people were trying to save them. This shows that the children were terrified for their lives as their mother was attempting to murder them. As the people were trying to open the doors of the van the mother kept repeating,"'We're OK. We're OK. We're OK'", which is stated in paragraph eight. This shows us that the mother had no emotion or any kind of thoughts going through her mind as he drove into the ocean. It also shows that she must be going through some kind of mental issues.

Botelho, Greg. "Mother Who Drove With Children Into Ocean." CNN, 9 Mar 2014. Web. 9 Mar 2014, <http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/08/justice/florida-mother-minivan-ocean/index.html?iref=allsearch>

Nosha. “Atlantic.” Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo, 19 Feb 2009. Web. 9 Mar 2014, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/77316550@N00/3300416216>  

Girl Leaves Home With Man She Met Online

Seven months ago a 16 year old girl named Kaitlyn Harp, started dating a 19 year old man named Daniel Bridgeman online. Their relationship got to the point to where she wanted to be with him very badly, but she knew her parents wouldn’t allow it. Last Tuesday, Kaitlyn decided to runaway with Daniel. She left a note for her parents then drove off with Daniel without her parents knowing where she is. Her parents went online to obtain any information on their daughter’s location that they could find. They found a picture of Daniel and Kaitlyn together and they noticed that Daniel was dressed as a Chick-fil-a employee. The parents then drove down to the Chick-fil-a at a Jacksonville airport to talk to a manager. The manager, Lita Fannin exclaimed, "I have kids at home the same age, and I would hope if that something like that happened with me, someone would act quickly.” Lita posted the picture on the Chick-fil-a Facebook page and someone quickly responded. Manager, Elio Florin recognized Bridgeman as one of his employees, he quickly contacted Bridgeman and convinced him to take Kaitlyn home.

This news story relates to a book I have read for English class. The book I read was Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl. Linda Brent and Kaitlyn have something in common. They both ran away from their homes. They ran away for similar reasons also. Both knew that they wouldn’t be able to do what they wanted if they stayed home. Plus they both did it for a loved one. Linda ran away to be with her children, protect her children, and to have them free from hard labor. Kaitlyn ran away to be with her loved one also.

I believe that Kaitlyn made a big mistake running off with Bridgeman. There were many wrongs in her actions. First off she ran away from a family that loves and cares about her. There are many children that would kill to have a family that cares about them, but she took it for granted. Another wrong done in her actions was running off with someone she had been dating online. That basically speaks for itself. Why run off with someone you barely know? On top of that they had only been dating for seven months, which is way too early to moved in with your boyfriend or girlfriend, especially when you're only sixteen. There was a chance that Bridgemen could have been a murderer or something similar. She is lucky to be able to return home.

• How does the structure of the text refine and support the author’s claim? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

- The structure of the text refines and supports the author’s claim by using quotes to show just how serious the matter  could have been. Kaitlyn’s father showed how serious the matter could’ve been by saying, “Because of their involvement what could have taken days, weeks, or months, only took a matter of two or three hours once they got involved." This shows that Kaitlyn’s parents were very lucky to be able to reunite with their daughter and it could have been a lot worse. The author also added the quote where Kaitlyn’s father says, “It is beyond words, as a parent, this is your worst nightmare.” This shows that the outcome could have been horrid for the parents and Kaitlyn. Luckily it wasn’t and everything worked out well.

“Chick-fil-A Managers Help Find Runaway Teen in Florida”. Yahoo, 24 Feb 2014. web. 24 Feb 2014, <http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/chick-fil-a-managers-help-find-runaway-teen-in-florida-185629961.html?vp=1>

Moore, Brent. “Mark Your Calendars! July 11”. photograph. flickr. yahoo, 27 June 2008. web. 24 Feb 2014, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/94502827@N00/2653720098>

Getting shot for loud music??

This article was about the court case of Jordan Davis’s murder. Jordan and a few of his friends were waiting outside in a car on one of his friends that went in a store. Michael Dunn was parked near them. He noticed that they were playing their music loudly so he decided to demand them to turn it down. Jordan refused to turn the music down and this caused an altercation between them. Not long after the argument started Dunn pulls out a gun and shot Jordan Davis to death. Now Dunn is being tried in court for murder.

This article is similar to the situation occurring in the Crucible. Just like Abigail, Dunn believed that he could cause someones death just because he didn’t like the persons actions or who they are. Abigail didn’t like how Elizabeth was trying to keep her away from John and Dunn didn’t like how Jordan wouldn’t turn his music now. They both thought that those factors should cause the person to die. Another way this article relates is the way that both Abigail and Dunn lie in court to get their ways. Dunn lied and said that Jordan and his friends were carrying a gun in their car. While Abigail lies about seeing people with the Devil.

I could not put into full words on how I feel about this case. I find this man repulsive and heartless. It saddens me that people like this exist in the world. Dunn see’s nothing wrong with what he has done. Although the article states that, “he became "crazy with grief," vomiting and experiencing stomach problems for about four hours before taking a nap (McLaughlin).” How could this be true when he went out to get pizza right after taking another person’s life? This shows just how “crazy with grief” he was. I don’t understand how someone could do something so vile and despicable to someone who didn’t do a thing to you. In my opinion this man deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison.

• What is the purpose for using [statistics/quotations/headings/bullets/personal experience] (choose one of the options and write only on it.) If you have another element that you would like to discuss on this question, get the okay from me before proceeding. Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

- The purpose of the author using quotations was to get the reader to fully understand what was going on in the courtroom during the trial. The author mainly used quotes said by Dunn. McLaughlin used quotes like,  "My eardrum was vibrating. It wasn't loud; it was obnoxious "(Dunn), to give more of a perspective to Dunn’s side of what went on that night . This quote shows us to why Dunn felt obligated to say something to the teenage boys. "My intent was to stop the attack, not necessarily end a life"(Dunn), is another example of how McLaughlin added quotes to show Dunn’s side. This quote tells us that he really did not mean to end Jordan’s life and it wasn’t in his intentions to do so.

McLaughlin, Elliot. “Defendant in loud-music murder trial says he was 'crazy with grief' after killing.” CNN, 2 Feb 2014. Web. 2 Feb 2014, <http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/justice/florida-loud-music-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t1>  

N.a. “Outline of Gun.” Photograph. Commons.wikimedia. Mediawiki, 14 July 2009. Web. 2 Feb 2014, <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gun_outline.svg>

Unfair 1944 Case

This article is about a black man that was executed at age 14 in 1944, almost 70 years ago, trying to get out of prison. George Stinney was accused of killing two young white girls that were 7 and 11 years old. "Somebody that didn't kill someone is finally getting his day in court", says Frierson. Frierson personally knows Stinney and has dedicated his life to helping him. Next Tuesday Stinney’s lawyers plan on arguing to reopen the case. The 40’s was a very racist time and trials weren’t judged fairly. The case took place in a town called Alcolu in South Carolina and it didn’t even last over a day. Stinney was interrogated without a lawyer and little investigation took place.  Another factor that led to them wanting to reopen the case is that all evidence used in the old case against Stinney has disappeared.

This article very much resembles a book we have read in English this year. This case is similar to the book To Kill A Mockingbird. It is similar because the case in the book basically happened in real life. The book took place around the same time this case did. The black man was in trial for an assumption of assault on a white girl and was falsely executed for it. All because of the color of his skin. The same thing has happened to Stinney.

In my opinion I believe that it is a great thing that they are reopening this case. He was executed very unfairly and wasn’t even allowed a chance to defend his self. My only problem is the question of why it took so long for this man to have an opportunity to an equal case. This should’ve happened a long time ago. Stinney has spent his entire life in prison and there is nothing you can do to return the years he spent paying for something he didn’t do. The best they can do is allow Stinney to live the rest of his life as a free man, like he deserved to 70 years ago.

• How does the author support his claim? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

- The author supports his claim by using evidence that makes it clear that Stinney didn’t do anything to deserve what happened to him. He does this in paragraphs one and two. “Nearly all the evidence, including a confession that was central to the case against Stinney, has disappeared, along with the transcript of the trial.”, says Collins. This means that the little evidence used in the case in 1944 is gone, so there is no reason to hold Stinney in prison when there is no evidence and they can’t prove that he should stay in prison. Another piece of evidence in this article is: “The trial lasted less than a day in the tiny Southern mill town of Alcolu” (Collins). This shows that the case in 1944 was to quick for them to be sure that Stinney did what he was accused of and he should be given another chance.

Collins,Jeffery. “New trial sought for SC boy, 14, executed in 1944”. Yahoo, 21 Jan 2014. web. 24 Jan 2014, <http://news.yahoo.com/trial-sought-sc-boy-14-executed-1944-172035983.html>

Myers, Drew. “Keep the Dream Alive”. photograph. flickr. yahoo, 21 Jan 2008. web. 24 Jan 2014, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/14012681@N00/2211382500>