I think some times people have the misconception that online classes are easy. This class was pretty hard for me. I think I would have done alot better if I would have worked more on my blog. I think the class work be better if we were able to free write on the blog more.All in all I think the blogs were a good idea, but it's some times hard to write on a subjesct picked by some one else . I did enjoy reading others post, although it was frustrating when my classmates had not completed their blogs yet. I thought the surveys were pretty cool too. I am all for extra credit! The final was horrible, once again writing on a predetermined subject was hard. I am pretty stressed at this point about my grade. I am walking a fine line between a B and a C. Like a one point fine line. I sure hope it works out as I really need a B!

What's on My Mind

Well after the events of Boston this last weekend I have been thinking alot about our country and the state of chaos we are all in. We all take for granted the freedoms we have, almost to the point we think freedom is owed to us. It is indeed the same freedom so many have paid for with thier lives. We ship are troops over seas to Iraq to fight the terrorist, but indeed the attacks on us have been right here in lady liberty's back yard. The war on drugs has been ongoing since the 80's but we still can't seem to stop the hundred's of thousands of pounds of drugs from entering our country each year. Our foster care system, as a direct result of the drug problem in America, is overwhelmed. Children still slide through the cracks, remaining abused and molested, right here in our country, while our movie stars and idols adopt from another countries. We have stripped lady liberty from her clothing, ripping the moral fabric that makes family. Not long ago TV parents had seperate beds on screen, but now it's not uncommon to see people engaged in sex on TV. How can we as a country teach our children to be leaders when we have allowed so much filth in their brains and fueled their bodies with happy meals. We have a new era on the rise of muderous children as well. I watched the tiny faces of Sandy Hook on my TV and cried. I couldn't help but see my own daughter in the face of all those little kids and my heart shattered. I asked God why? Why ? What happened to that kid that he would kill his mother then all those little kids. Truth is there is no specific answer, but many small answers. I am so saddened that these terrible things happen. I hope instead of everyone screaming we are FREE to be vulger, FREE to own guns, FREE for this and that, that some one realizes our forefathers intended for us to be free to be safe, to own guns to protect our families and feed them, they gave us freedom of speech not so we could hurl obscenities publicly, but so we could express concerns and opinions openly, they gave us assistance not so generations could live off the government but so families could get on thier feet. I guess that's my rant for the day.

essay draft

Hey guys, I am taking a leap here and going to post what I have so far on my essay. Please read and give any suggestions you may have as I need a good grade on this. I am not half way done because I am waiting on another DVD to come in the mail (Netflix) and hoping to be able to speak to Scott Ellington myself.

 To Be Free

Cassie Davis

BRTC Ashley Hall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judge Not

            Wrongful convictions occur every day. With a legal system that is at times dependent on eyewitness accounts and hearsay there is room for error. Sometimes these errors of justice are quickly rectified, but at other times the process can be long and drawn out. In the case of the West Memphis three: Damian Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, were teenagers when they were arrested for the murders of three young boys: Chris Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch. For nearly two decades, although convicted of the crimes, the West Memphis three denied any involvement in the murders. The West Memphis three case is a prime example of how small town misconceptions and rumors can take hold of a criminal case and twist non-existent evidence into concrete evidence, leading to a miscarriage of justice. Damian Echols, Jessie Misskelley and Jason Baldwin are innocent of the murders of Christopher Byers, Stevie Branch and Michael Moore.

            On the 6^th of May 1993 most of Arkansas watched the news and learned a terrible crime had been committed. Three little boys had been found beaten, murdered, and thrown in a ditch like trash. As the news spread of the murders of Michael Branch, Steven Moore and Christopher Byers, details of the case began to be leaked. Most details of a murder investigation are kept private. This is done in an effort to keep out false confession and used in following leads from tips. However, news that the boys were found naked, beaten, cut, and that one of the murdered children was castrated quickly spread and became common knowledge in the town. These leaks of information were the first in a series of investigation mishaps.

            With rumors in their ears and a community scared, the pressure was on for the West Memphis Police to find the monsters that did this. One would think all aspects of case like this would be explored. However, on the night of the murders employees at a nearby BoJangles restaurant called the West Memphis police to report a strange incident that occurred in one of their public bathrooms. A man, wet, covered in mud and blood had entered the restaurant women’s bathroom and left a mess. An officer responded to the call but no evidence was collected until the next day.(Perrusqia 1994) The evidence that was collected at the restaurant, after the boys bodies had been found, was subsequently lost by officer Brian Ridge, the same officer who would later interview one of the accused. It can clearly be seen that losing evidence of any sort at such a crucial time is an example of police incompetence.

            Satanic panic is a term mentioned a lot in this case. Damien Echols name was first mentioned by an overzealous juvenile officer named Steve Jones early in the investigation (the day after the bodies were found). Due to the leaks in the press about the injuries on the murdered boy’s bodies and rumors of satanic rituals Mr. Jones was contacted by officer Sudberry of the West Memphis police department. During this informal conversation, Jones states he knows of a person he believed to be not only to be involved in occult activities but that could also be capable of this type of crime; Jones named Damien Echols. (Steel 2012) Based on this hunch, with no evidence, both officer Sudberry and Mr. Jones went to speak to Damien Echols at his home the next day. During this interview with Jones and Sudberry, Echols made a statement he thought one of the murdered boys had been injured worse than the others. This statement was later used against Echols, even though it was common knowledge in West Memphis at the time. (Steel 2012) There was no reason at this time to suspect or interview Echols at this time. One can clearly see that Echols was mentioned at this point, not because of evidence, but more convincingly, because he was different.  According to Mara Leveritt, Damian Echols stuck out in a crowd, often wearing all black along with a long black trench coat. (Leveritt 1993)

            One would think a person would never admit to doing something so terrible such as murdering three little boys if they had not committed the crime. But according to Jennifer Schell, PhD. this occurs more often than once thought. In research compiled by Schell the following statistics were given about false confessions: 93% were made by males, 81% occurred in murder cases, 74% of the time the real perpetrator was found, 63% were younger than 25, and four out of five of the false confessors who went to trail were convicted. (Schell 2011). Could this have been the case with Jessie Misskelley?

Jessie Misskelley was picked up in early June by officer Brian Ridge , the same officer who earlier lost blood samples from the Bo Jangles restaurant. In an interview given by chief criminal inspector Gary Gitchell, Miskelley “was only picked up in hopes he knew something about cult activity.”(Berlinger & Sinofsky 2012) Misskelley at the time was only 17 years old. With no parent present, without Miranda rights being read to him, Misskelley was questioned for 12 hours of which only the last 41 minutes were recorded. During this last 41 minutes of a 12 hour interview, Jessie Misskelley, whose IQ is 72, confessed to the murders of the three little boys and also indicated accomplices’ Damian Echols and Jason Baldwin.  Even though his supposed confession contained many inconsistencies such as the time of the day; Jessie originally said the crime occurred in the morning, but investigators knew this could not be true. Byers, Moore, Branch, and Baldwin had all attended school that day. Misskelley stated the boys were “tied with rope”; however, they were actually tied up with their own shoe strings. Also there are many inconsistences in Misskelly’s confession when compared to the injuries of the boys. One can come to the immediate conclusion that if Misskelley made this many crucial mistakes during the 41 minutes he was recorded, even after 12 hours of interrogation, he was lying. Gitchell’s entire case relied on this faulted confession.

 

           

           

           

           

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berlinger, J., & Sinoksky B., (Director & Producer) (2012). Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory [DVD]

            United States: Home Box Office

Leveritt, M. (1993,June 24). Can’t Shake the Scock; The horror from three West Memphis

 murders hangs on. The Arkansas Times, (12). Retrieved from

http://callahan.8k.com/images2/exhibits/Def_Exhibit_E.jpg

Schell, J. PhD., A European Association of Psychology and Law - Student Society Publication,

            FACT SHEET: False confessions,(1)

Steel, F. (2012) Crime Library criminal minds & methods: The West Memphis Three.

            Retrieved from

            http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/memphis/suspect_4.html

 

 

Three Free

I am doing my paper on the infamous story of the West Memphis three. This is criminal case of three teenage boys accused of murdering three little boys in West Memphis Arkansas. I chose this case because  of a personal family argument it presented. After watching the documentries several years ago, I made my mind up these three guys had been railroaded. My father's opinion however is very different. You see my dad is friends with the man who was the chief of police at the time, and has known him for many years. My dad says that he, and his police chief buddy, had two conversations concerning this case. One of these conversations took place right after the boys were arrested and the second after they were freed. My dad says his buddy is an honest man who truly believes the three are guilty. Although the defense says that the case was based on no factual information, my dad says there are many things the public will never know pointing to their guilt. I ,however believe they are innocent. I believe that streotypes are powerful, that these boys were wrongfully convicted in what has been compared to a witch hunt. The West Memphis three were released from prison last year. I was among the crowd cheering.  The state of Arkansas struck a deal called the Alfred plea, allowing the now grown men to walk free after 18 years in prison, while stating their innocence ,yet still pleading guilty. What a legal robbery. Robbed of their youth, robbed of their character, and the families of the victims robbed of closure. You see the case is closed; they aren't looking for any possible leads or murderers. As far as Arkansas acknowleges they had their murderers, yet they chose to let them go. Many still think they are guilty, but many are like me and believe the system is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent. Unfortunately, I think the system failed. The system failed not only the West Memphis Three but the little boys that were murdered.

Hush, Don't Talk About it

As far as you banning topics in your class I think it's your right. I mean after all, it is your class. As for the topics you have choosen to ban they all have potential to be very heated topics and could easily envoke very strong opinions. My grandmother, as a true southern belle, use to tell me it's innapropriate to discuss race, religion or politics at a the table. I always thought this to be silly, but now that I am older I can understand why. Such topics, and opinions about them, could ruin a family's evening. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. I try to respect the beliefs and opions of others; even when I have noticed others my not respect mine. Back to this being your class... the topics you have banned also have potential to be debate topics instead of discussion topics. I mean this is an English class after all. I can only imagine how hard it would be to put a grade on heavy words and angry paragraphs. I can see where these particular topics have potential to become a verbal war instead of just discussion. I am sure Miss Hall you as well have your very own opinion on these topics, and i wonder how difficult it would be to maintain unbiased. We are all after all human and subject to our own opinionated faults.This Blog may come up short, sadly because my personal opinion of this topic is short. It's your class, you can do what you want to do.

Show Me the Money

When I was younger my grandmother use to give me ten dollars for every A I brought home on my report cards. I am sure she did this as an incentive, but usually I only got excited about it at the end of the nine weeks when I was certain I was getting paid. My delayed excitement may have been due to my not so studious behavior. I think cash for grades should be up to the parents, not the school. Most school districts today struggle for funding to keep their doors open, espically in rural areas.I think the grade in inself should be the reward; the promise of college and hope of good future. I am afraid that the children who were already economically challenged would still be left out due to poor living circumstances and lack of resources. I think cash for grades is a short term incintive and I would have to see alot of research for before I would sway in my opinion that it worked. By research I mean long term results of the students and where they end up. I think it should be a parents personal decision on how to reward their children out side of school, and that traditional methods of rewards such as scholarships should remain in place. I think kids should get good grades because it is expected of them to. My father use to tell me you don't get rewarded for doing what you are supposed to do any way. I think cash for grades falls in line with what advice my dad was giving me at the time. As a mom I expect my kids to go to school, study hard, do their homework, and yes bring home good grades. As a parent I think it is my job to assist them by providing them with materials needed, answering questions, and cooperating with the school and staying informed on their progress. I understand that not all children have a support system at home. It is my hope that the children that don't would already be targeted by the school and recieve some extra incentive or assistance by the school. I think in the end education in its self is the greatest reward, and a child's drive to reach his or her goals rely greatly on many outside factors.

Smoke on that

Many states have made medical marijuana legal. I think at this point 18 states have made medical marijuana legal to smoke. But what some don't know is that in states like Arkansas we have something else called Marinol , a pill that is that is prescribed by a doctor in chronicly ill or terminal patient.Ingredients of Marinol are capsules contain man-made dronabinol (THC). THC is also a naturally occuring component of Cannabis sativa. (marijuana). So it sounds to me medical marijuana is already legal and avaliable for those who truly need it. My main concern if marijuana was legalized would me the message it would send to our youth that drugs are ok that coupled with the theory of Marijuana being a gateway drug could open our kids to other stonger drugs. My stance on this issue is on the fence. On one hand I know the sick and dying could benefit from the use of THC as pain reliever and appetite increaser. Obviously the benefits are enough for the major drug companies to want to replicate it with Marinol.
But to legalize it for the general public would be a mistake. I think it would be abused by many more then those who truly needed it, and drug dealers would have to make up in loss revenue. I think if legalized we would find an increase in addicts. Aslo there are down falls and health risks to smoking marijuana ,marijuana can cause low sperm in men and can increase the risk of cervical cancer in women.Who knows, it all comes with a risk. I am interested to see how it's working for other states before i give my vote to  jump on the puff puff train.I wonder if it would be taxed or if people could grow their own? I wonder what stiplations would be placed on it by the government?

Who to Choose

     I have some interesting people to choose from. I haven't decided for sure, but I really I reallly like Uri Geller. Uri is a magician best known for his spoon bending trick.He is also a self proclaimed psychic.Uri was born in Isreal, his father a retired military sergeant. His magic has long been a source of skeptics. Uri has taken great offense to anyone who dared to publicly doubt or criticize his talents; at times even takeing his offense to the court room and sueing his critics.There is alot more to Geller then simple hand tricks. He is able to speak English,Hebrew, Hungarian, and has written several books, he is to say the very least a gifted mind. Uri's claims to psychic ability were also backed by Stanford scientists who put him through a stream of labratory tests. However tested Geller's abilites have been hit and miss in the public eye. When asked  to help in a in a missing person case Geller failed miserably and publicly, predicting the missing would be found alive and when when in fact she had already been murdered.
   My second option would be Mother Theresa.I can personally remember the day she died and being shocked that she had spent her whole life as a humanitarian ,yet her death was over shadowed by that of Princess Diana. Mother Teresa grew up poor, her father died when she was only eight years old. Her mother taught her about the importance of giving to others, her mother even invited the homeless into their home to eat dinner.At he tender age of 18 when most girls are thinking of marriage and babies , Mother Teresa decided to be a nun and moved to Ireland.She began to teach and did so for 17 years before being called by her God again to help the poor.
   As you can see I have some very interesting subjects to choose from. I can say I am excited as there is an abundence of information about them out there.I was truly concernd I would get someone and be at a loss for something to write.

The Skinny of it

I wasn't too sure what thinspo was, but after reading the article it didn't take me long to realize it is where media and social status has once again played on the mental illness of others. I think it's sickening to take already starving images,photo shop them even more then call it a form of art. Absolutely pop culture can produce mental illness and send a pre-disposed, impressionable teenager into all out anorexia. It is a long standing stereo type I believe that over-weight people are lazy, that along with other misconceptions I think have been taught by main stream media. I myself out of curiousness googled thinspiration and was shocked. But to someone who was struggling with their weight and looking for answers could be misguided. The women I saw looked SICK, not at all beautiful. I have heard the saying pictures are worth a thousand words I agree and the women in the pictures I saw were saying "I am hungry!" It's crazy that so many can be lead to think what is beautiful. I don't understand how some ones self image can be so distorted.

Banned in the USA

If we ban books we are banning part of history. Some books like "The Diary Of Ann Frank" tell a long lost story that many need to know. Others about the underground railroad are our history. The speeches of Martin Luther King bring words of peace from a grave. No I don't think some should say the things they do, but my dad fought in two wars to make sure we all should be able to read and speak freely.The worlds our children live in now have a different out look. The only way they will ever know the past is from books and history.And a poem from Maya Angelou can place you in a time capsule to another time. No I don't think books should be banned.I think they should be read,taught, and passed on.Many stories are horrific but very true. I think if we don't pass on the injustices that have occured in our history we may be doomed to repeat it.When i was younger I read many Dean Koontz books. They did not teach me much about history, but they did spark a great interest for me in books.I also read "The Diary of  Ann Frank" and it prompted me to study about the Holocaust.It's hard to believe in todays world that things such as mass murder, starvation, and experiments were done to even the smallest of children was allowed to happen a time in history that many would like to forget. Reading use to be a privilege. A privlege that many were denied in hopes to keep them ignorant by people trying to suppress them.

The Yellow Wallpaper

I wasn't sure if the story teller was mentally ill or suffering from post-partum depression. I think she saw herself locked in the wallpaper as she was locked in the room. Her husband, a doctor, only furthered her illness by his constantly denying his wife to express herself. I think the story teller contemplated suicide to break free from her vaction style prison. But in the end found releif in helping the lady in the wallpaper who represented herself. I think there may have been alot of feminist symbolism in this story, however the narration coming from the mind of a mad women made it very hard to read and to follow. I was left confused and in the end wondering if she possibly killed her husband. The work was very descriptive as I could see the wall paper in my minds eye.

A man's code

    I think Hemingway had some underlying issues. After reading "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" I was very disappointed that Francis died. Just as he was gaining self confidence from hunting the buffalo he was shot down by the same women, his wife, who had obviously been shooting him down for years. I thought the same as Mr. Wilson she did it on purpose. I hardly saw where Mr. Macomber achieved heroism. As a women I felt the character of Margot was trashy and mean. I wonder now if all the women in Heminway's stories are similar. I saw Mr. Macomber only being sure of his money, but without confidence in anything else.

survivor

  My daughter really caught me off guard tonight. She asked me for a dollar, which is nothing new, but she stated it was for a ribbon. I told her i could buy her a whole roll of ribbon for two dollars. She said, "no mama I want to buy Miss Christina a ribbon because she is a survivor." I was humbled and gave her five dollars. Miss Christina is a teacher at my daughters school who at the young age of twenty eight was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is indeed a survivor. The ribbon my daughter wanted had a meaning that even a child understood.

  I have certainly learned my vocabulary is lacking. I was certain of some of the vocabulary words,but others I had no clue as to their meaning. I think i have really limited my variety of words when I stopped reading books.I still enjoy reading, but I am limited in my time. Kind of like the saying if you don't use it, you lose it! I also learned I remembered more then I thought from English 1 and Writing Fundamentals. Which has been great. I am not as uncertain as I was the first go around.

  Now for the quesions. I am wondering if anyone else is still uncomfortable with their blog. I am a Facebook addict. So I am not so sure  as to why this blog has me bent out of shape. It's not like I am social media shy.

To digi or not to digi?

    So, I guess the question of the week is (drum roll please) are we going digital and perhaps loseing interest in good old fashioned text? Seriously, I am the student who is at this very moment as I am  type this wondering if I am correctly set up to blog. Are these thoughts bound to be read by my fellow students and eventually graded by my teacher or will they be lost into cyber abyss. At this point it's any ones call. I do most certainly believe that the time of digital is takeing over.

    Now to how I feel about the new wave digital seige? To sum it up in one word "LOST".I do own a Kindle reader. I got a few books on it, but for the most part it has remained in its box in my drawer. I like going to Hastings,and as my kids look at the at the newest cds I browse the books. I enjoyed keeping a journal as a little girl, but my daughter only has interest for her Ipod. My kids act as if reading a book is only to be done when as assigned for homework. Kind of how I view this blog. I am not at all excited about the technical take over, but what do you do? The world is changeing; you either keep up or get let behind.

Miss Hall I am super pumped to have  this blog, but I will come by tomorrow so we can try on one of the three accounts I tried and miserably failed at setting up.

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