Murder

In “Crime and Punishment” one witnesses a murder as it is graphically described by Fyodor Dostoevsky. How, after such a graphic display of evil, can the reader be compassionate towards Raskolnikov? Superficially, Rodion Raskolnikov appears purely evil, but readers become sympathetic towards his character through in a depth scrutiny of his personality. The full presentation of Raskolnikov’s thoughts reveals his true reasoning behind his crime. Dostoevsky rationalizes Raskolnikov’s actions by bringing the reader into an intimate relationship with his character. The reader sees the many ways Raskolnikov attempts to justify his actions to himself. The terrible illness that Raskolnikov takes on following the murder is another reason to pity him. As readers are finally able to forgive Raskolnikov in their minds, they realize that he was not evil, even good to a point. Raskolnikov tries many times to rationalize the murder, even before he actually commits it. The time and effort he spends attempting to justify his actions seem to make him appear more human. He shows a benevolent side by tossing any money he happens to have at the first needy person he sees. He uses this need to help others as one justification of the murder. By killing one useless woman he can do innumerable good deeds. Raskolnikov heard his own ideas echoed by some youth in the hay market. One said “What do you think, would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?” The notion of committing a crime for the purpose of good serves to give Raskolnikov a benevolent appearance despite his actions. The fact that the pawn broker was a human did not faze him as he saw her as a pest. In turn, he was killing a “louse” for the purpose of making the world a better place. By killing her he was doing people a favor; he rid the world of a useless old woman. All of these thoughts serve one purpose; they prove that the murder was not committed out of evil will but out of a desire to commit innumerable good deeds. Raskolnikov felt that if one commits a crime without cruel intentions then he is in no way evil. Raskolnikov’s primary excuse and justification for the murder is his theory on the extraordinary man. “Extraordinary people are permitted to cross the boundaries of normal morality.”

Initially he doesn’t realize that this is an underlying motive for his actions. The theory acts as a subconscious rationalization up till the point when Porfiry brings it up. When his writing on extraordinary men is brought into light, Raskolnikov takes it up as another reason to believe his committing murder was not actually a crime. If Raskolnikov is an extraordinary person, which, following his theory he should be, then he is permitted to commit a few breaches in morality. At one point he said he did not kill a human, he killed “a principle” The principle he attempts to kill would deny his own humanity and make him superior to others. He wishes to kill his conscience, but he cannot. Thus he is bound by normal human laws, and due to the ruling of his conscience, an inherently a good person. He did, however, manage to breach a law and thus proved his theory for a short time. Even before Raskolnikov commits the murder he is becoming progressively ill. One might argue that Raskolnikov’s illnesses arise from his guilt and remorse for the crimes, but that doesn’t appear possible. The illness was brought about by the excessive amount of time he spent contemplating the crime. He placed himself under severe mental stress attempting to outsmart the rest of the world. The illness could have many causes. Porfiry said that the main topic of Raskolnikov’s article is that “Perpetuation of a crime is always accompanied by illness” So by simply thinking about a crime all the time one can bring a serious mental and physical illness upon themselves. Raskolnikov dips into insanity shortly after the murder and stays in his apartment in a stupor for days on end. It is suddenly clear that he was not up to the consequences of committing murder, and that he was not well prepared at all for the various circumstances preceding and following the act. Raskolnikov’s inability to cope with the results of his actions makes him seem far from a criminal. Raskolnikov’s definition of crime was evil will in action. Raskolnikov knows that he possesses no evil will, and so he does not consider himself a criminal.

Seeing the intense suffering and anguish Raskolnikov goes through, the reader can not help but sympathize with him. Up until the very end of the book, Raskolnikov is hesitant to actually admit that the murder was a crime and wrong. “(After the crime, Raskolnikov’s) whole soul is changed and he is in constant disharmony with life. This is not remorse in the classic sense of the word. Dostoevsky takes care to show the difference. Raskolnikov will not know remorse with its benevolent and redemptive virtue until he accepts expiation.” Throughout the book one cannot fully accept that Raskolnikov is a good person, but his final resignation of his guilt lets us. In the end, Raskolnikov takes on a truly human aspect by finally coming to terms with his grief. When Raskolnikov finally denounces his theory in his mind and embraces Sonya, and religion, the reader can fully forgive the broken murderer. Through the length of the book, the reader begins to associate himself with Raskolnikov, and thus has an easier time of accepting him as a normal human. Raskolnikov’s rationalizations for his crime are generally selfless and noble. It is commonly accepted that he planned to “expiate his crime by good deeds.”  Most readers can sympathize with his desire to make the world a better place. The torture and illness that befall Raskolnikov are sure to gain the compassion of readers. Outwardly the murder of the pawn broker and her sister cause Raskolnikov to appear cold and evil, but as the readers peek into his life, he begins to take on some somewhat virtuous aspects.

Serial Killer Edmund Kemp Ill For this project I have chosen to go with a serial murder by the name of Edmund Emil Kemp Ill. A serial murder is a murder of separate victims with some time breaks between them (Lyman, 2011, p. 307). The main characteristics off serial murder can vary because each Individual murder had their own “calling card” so to speak. For example my serial killer became known as the Co-Deed killer because he chose to kill young college girls during his killing spree.

Also, another one of his characteristics loud be to dismember the victim’s bodies and bury them In different places. Edmund E. Kemp Ill was born on December 13, 1948 In Burbank, CA. He lived a dysfunctional life due to his parents divorcing and remarrying when he was ten years old. After his parents divorced, his mother took Edmund along with his sisters where they would live by her very high standards and abusive ways. His mother criticized Edmund mentally by having him sleep in the basement because she feared he would harm his sisters.

Because of this he hated his mother and he also started to have darted toward all women. Occasionally Edmund would break off the heads and hands of his sister’s dolls and play a game he called “The gas chamber” in which he would execute the victim (Fisher, 2003). Edmund began his killings with his grandmother because he felt that she treated him as his mother did. So he took a . 22 caliber rifle and shot her In the back of the head and stabbed her multiple times. Furthermore, when his grandfather came home he also shot him.

This would be Edmunds first time killing anyone. After he killed his grandparents, Edmund was intended to a juvenile maximum-security hospital where he would spend the remainder of his childhood. Edmund would be released to his mother at the age of 21 regardless of his doctor’s wishes (Ramadan, 2006). Once Edmund returned home he applied for some jobs to include applying at the local police department. However, the police department rejected him because of his awkward size. He was still infatuation with becoming a police officer which landed him into their atmosphere.

He would hang out at the local bars and courthouses that were adorned by police officers. Eventually, Edmund would become their friend and to many of them he was known as “Big Deed”. In his off time, he would cruise the highways picking up dozens of young female hitch-hikers so he could work on his approach to reach his goal of putting them at ease. Now that Kemp had reached his short -term goal of making killing spree went from 1972 to 1973 where he would murder six young female hitch- hikers: Mary Ann Peace, Anita Luckless, Kaki Kook, Cindy Shall, Roseland Thorpe, and Alice Line (Ramadan, 2006).

He would kill these women dismember them, have sex tit their corpses, and bury them in odd areas. One of his victim’s heads would wind up in his mother’s garden as a Joke. Kemp always knew how to keep from getting caught and unbeknownst to the officers he made friends with; he would soon be identified as the Co-Deed killer. When all was done Kemp took his anger back into his home toward his mother. While his mother was in bed asleep, he used a claw hammer and hit her with it, and then he would decapitated her, remove her larynx and Jammed it down the garbage disposal (Fisher, 2003).

After he finished with killing is mother he was still unsatisfied so he invited Sally Wallet (his mother’s best-friend) over for a dinner in honor of his mom. Once she entered the house Edmund, clubbed her over the head, strangled her, and decapitated her as well. When he was done with killing his mom and her friend Edmund Kemp decided to call the police department and turn himself in; as this would be the last life that Edmund Kemp would be responsible for. Officers thought it was a Joke when he called in and giving the police all of the grizzly details of his actions.

The Fall of the House of usher” is presented through the narrator’s lens as he helps out a friend whose whole life has been permeated with death. Lastly, “The Cask of Amontillado” is a story of death with a motive. The leading character commits the murder of a prideful man who is hooked to the pleasure of drinking wine. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a story that revolves around the terror and death of both Redbrick and his sister, Madeline Usher.

As Redbrick Usher becomes mentally unstable and falls into a state of depression, he sends a letter to his long lost friend, asking him to come for a stay. The mood of the story is full of unrelieved gloom as Redbrick Usher undergoes a struggle between the will to live and the will to die. Usher has no will to live and tells the narrator/his friend “l shall perish, I must perish in this deplorable folly” (Poe 5). This suggests his fixation on the horror of death, as Usher fears not death, Itself, or the end of life, but rather death while still oppressed by his “phantasmagoria” fears (Goodwin 174). Sheer “…. Dreads the events of the future, not in themselves, but in their results”; he continues to say, “l feel that he period will arrive when I must abandon life and reason together in some struggle with the grim phantasm, FEAR” (Poe 5). Usher is overwhelmed by the despair and darkness of death – he is convinced of the inevitability of his fast approaching death. He has such a morbid attitude, as things that would normally bring others happiness do not please him.

The narrator, says early on that usher’s mental condition “displayed Itself In a host of unnatural sensations”; he then goes on to add that “he suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses; the most insipid food was lone endurable; he could wear only garments of certain texture; the doors of all flowers were oppressive; his eyes were tortured by even a faint light; and there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with horror” (Poe 3).

Because Usher is surrounded by a characteristically gothic environment, Isolated and depressing, this contributes to his fascination and obsession with death. Throughout the story, usher’s friend tries to keep his distance from this dread and misery, but he cannot seem to break away since he is staying in the dull and gloomy house. Gradually, Usher’s troubled mental condition worsens and he becomes so hysterical that he is not accurately perceiving his surroundings. He seems almost ghost-like because he is removed so much from life and reality; he Is unstable and his mind Is warped by his morbid attitudes and disposition.

Redbrick Usher” shows readers a portrait of a man whose morbid fascinations ultimately prompt dangerous and self-destructive actions. As Usher’s sister decays, he realizes he will be the last Usher. While many might despair in facing this reality, Usher takes pride in being the last of his family and glossaries his death. Usher says that “her decease would leave him the last of the ancient race of the Ushers”- which explains the worsening of his mental condition because he will have no family left and will feel more lonely and isolated (Poe 5).

Because Usher tends to exacerbate things that are not as bad as they are, he becomes so wrapped up in death that he responds to a death that has not happened yet. The fact that Usher entombs his own sister alive and is not immediately aware of it, confirms his obsession with the gloom of death. Usher is either preparing for, worrying about, or becoming excited with death- his orbit fascinations are so disturbing. (Walker 586). Redbrick’s friend attempts to try to preserve himself from the doom of Usher, but finds it hard to not become trapped in this terror. The Fall of the House of Usher” concerns the total disintegration of Redbrick Usher as he willingly enters into a gloomy world by remaining in such a miserable environment. Usher experiences a mental disorder that oppresses him, leaves him deranged, and causes his frequent moods of ‘mad hilarity (Walker 590). Redbrick is not killed by his sister, but is literally terrified to death by his environment and his distorted imagination. He is beyond saving, as the narrator quickly discovers.

He collapses into the melancholy which ultimately causes his destruction. “William Wilson” is a challenging read. In this work Poe confronts death, but not in the literal sense, as in some of his other works. “William Wilson” is a story where a self-willed, intelligent, and bold man comes across another man who seems to embody the exact form of himself. Through this short story, the audience questions whether the other William Wilson is only a conscience and does not tangibly exist, or whether he is a real human that knows too much.

William Willow’s “follower” has a disposition dissimilar to Wilson- he is quiet, has no flaws, and only communicates through whispers, and unlike the other boys at the school he is not charmed by William Willow’s intelligence and wealth. Although Wilson is scared of and threatened by his follower (because of his omnipresence and unlimited knowledge), he is also awed and fascinated by him. Death in “William Wilson” is not necessarily literal; rather, it takes place throughout the entire story.

Willow’s doppelgänger is constantly trying to kill the side of William Wilson that has no concern for anyone else- the boastful and elfish side. William Wilson is, in a way, killing off his own goodness by refusing to listen to the wisdom of his doppelgänger; by the end of the story, Wilson is beyond salvation and has become dead to others around him. Many readers and critics question the true existence of the doppelgänger due to the fact that his mockery and sarcastic comments are only made in private through whispers. William Wilson is disgusted by these comments because he does not want his reputation to be tarnished.

Willow’s doppelgänger seems to be satisfied with the sting he inflicts, but William Wilson is hurting on the inside while trying not to question his own actions. He despises his doppelgänger because he knows he is doing something wrong but does not want to acknowledge it- he wants to pretend that everything he does is right and true. William Willow’s doppelgänger, through his insights, gradually makes him tells Wilson, his avowed antagonist, “… And in my death, see by this image, which is thing own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself” (Poe 10).

Here, Willow’s doppelgänger tells Wilson that he has left the better part of himself and that, essentially, he is now dead also. Willow’s doppelgänger is saying that if Wilson had listened to him, he might have been a better person. All along Wilson has been both threatened and fascinated by this doppelgänger because his wisdom is far keener and better than his own. His doppelgänger kills Willow’s name, schemes, and pride- he has made Wilson feel horrible because he is the first “person” to really expose his substantial character flaws.

In one of the last scenes, where Wilson is gambling with a very rich man and swindles him, his reputation is destroyed and his deceiving tricks are revealed. This scene is where Willow’s doppelgänger finally takes action instead of merely whispering. He makes it known that William is a “cheat. ” The doppelgängers exposure of Willow’s trickery is the pinnacle of what he has been trying to do all along. Willow’s doppelgänger represents the happier and better part of William Wilson, and in the end out of fear and paranoia, Wilson kills off this “side” of himself, or his conscience.

William Wilson, like all people, has to constantly choose between right and wrong. Even with the lingering specter of his doppelgänger urging him to do right, Wilson manages to triumph over the forces of good acting on him. When Wilson kills his doppelgänger, he dooms himself to a life of “turpitude” (Sullivan 254). The theme of death in “The Cask of Amontillado”, by contrast, is literal. The story is a confession of a man, Mentors, who has committed the horrible crime of murder. Mentors lures his “friend,” Fortunate, into his family vaults, where he then fetters him to the wall and bricks him in.

In this short story, the reader is perplexed by the seeming absence of a motive for this crime. It seems obvious that Mentors is insane, and his reasons for killing Fortunate are questionable. Mentors elaborates on his sophisticated philosophy of revenge: “l must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is undressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unrepressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong” (Poe 1).

While many would suspect Mentors feels guilty about his killing after he says “my heart grew sick”, he is actually stating his satisfaction over his monstrous deed: “…. On account of the dampness of the catacombs” (Poe 7). Mentors is fully capable of going through with all this violence and neither expressing nor experiencing any remorse. Not only does Mentors feel no guilt about his murder, but he perceives his murder of Fortunate as a successful and Justified act of vengeance and punishment rather than a crime (Barbara 49).

The death in “The Cask of Amontillado” is clearly murder, as Mentors expertly plans his devious actions of capturing Fortunate and killing him in his family vaults. Mentors presents himself as a person with the right to condemn Fortunate to death- he plans his murder as an act of retribution. Although Mentors claims Fortunate death is sought from revenge, the insults Fortunate causes are never revealed to the audience. Clearly, Mentor’s actions are irrational, extreme, and therefore he is mad.

He is an extremely violent and insane person who is looking forward to the murder of his “friend. ” Mentors is not an active participant in the life of local aristocracy- he seemed to be a recluse. The fact that was more powerful than Mentors (Poe 1). Fortunate death had to come from feelings of Jealously and inferiority. But Mentors felt, being a descendant of a powerful aristocratic family, he could not possibly let Fortunate insult him with impunity (Barbara 52). The murder of Fortunate is looked forward to and is deliberate and calculated, as Mentors wants to kill him.

He is able to easily face the toll, of committing the gruesome act that comes upon him. The death in “The Cask of Amontillado” is eagerly sought as Fortunate murder is premeditated and arranged and is later felt with no pity. The fact that Mentors feels no remorse after the death proves that he is an insane man and was fully capable of pursuing his plan. From losing his parents; becoming orphaned and adopted; and going through periods of fife where he struggled to both find and deal with losing love, it is obvious that Edgar Allan Poe experienced much suffering.

Death was a common reality for him. Pope’s three works, “William Wilson,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Cask of Amontillado” all express different aspects of death. The tale of Redbrick Usher is one of “dramatic intensity, psychological subtlety, and symbolic complexity’ (Kennedy 42). The deaths in the story are due to unrelieved gloom and morbid attitudes. In “William Wilson,” death is a mystery, as readers will never know whether William Wilson kills is actual self or a grim conscience who forces Wilson to question his immoral actions.

Lastly, death in “The Cask of Amontillado” is a plotted manslaughter where the murderer is violent and vengeful. Although the treatments of death are diverse among these short stories, they all share characters, including Redbrick Usher, William Wilson, and Mentors, that are mentally unstable. These three stories deal with mental instability, self-destruction, and murder which all lead to death, inevitably. In conclusion, we can stem these forms of death from Edgar Allan Pope’s life and experiences, as he lived through much loss.

Although the ex president George Bush said popular quote” No child left behind”, hat is happening in the Chicago Public schools is exactly the opposite. Even if every kid is given the opportunity to go to school some are being given a better education. This essay will argue that the kids that are not getting a good education are the ones that according to Jean Anyone, a professor of education policy at the university of New York, come from a ” blue collar family (Anyone 169).

The schools that are In wealthy communities are better than those that are In the poor communities because they are given a better education and they live in a safer learning environment. The schools that are in wealthy communities are better than those that are in the poor communities because they have better teaching methods and resources (Anyone 172). In the essay ” From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work, ” by Jean Anyone, he describes the deference between a ” working- class school” and an ” executive elite school”.

The working-class school consists of parents that have blue- collar Jobs such as, factory workers, pipe welders, and malignant workers (Anyone 170). These Jobs do not require much skill other than following orders given by their employers. Students that attend this type of school are taught to follow the steps of procedures without any decision making because they are being tracked to follow the footsteps of their parents (Anyone 169).

For example from the essay ” Class in America” by Gregory Manumits, the profile of Cheryl Mitchell shows that she went to a large public school that was patrolled by security guards in Brooklyn, New York (Mantis 309). She was taught basic skills and was conveyed the importance of doing everything under someone else’s orders. Her parents both worked blue collard Jobs ND she is currently working as a nurse’s aide, which puts her in that same category as them (Mantis 309). Her ambition as a little girl was to become a teacher and now her ambition at the age of 38 is ” to get out of the ghetto”.

On the opposing side an executive elite school Is one that primarily consists of parents that are top executives such as vice-presidents, governors, industrialist, and mayors (Anyone 172). These types of schools require the students to work on their analytical Intellectual powers and to always ask for reasoning through a problem. This Is because these students are eyeing prepared to live a successful life were they too will become apart of the 0. 1 annually (Mantis 303). In the profile of Harold S.

Browning, it shows that he went to an exclusive private school in Manhattan, New York. There he was given the finest educational preparation so he could become an owner of a business (Mantis 307). At age 38 he is the owner of his fathers company and living a luxurious life as a ” leader in business” (Mantis 307). The comparison between the education of a child with parents from a blue collard Job and those with white collard Jobs goes to show hat all children are not getting the same education because of their family background.

However many of the children that attend working class schools face many challenges that also affect their learning environment because of the neighborhoods that they live in. In the article ” His Kind of Town”, by Von Dredge, the mayor of Chicago, Ram Emmanuel spent much of his childhood in a ” prosperous” north shore suburb with his wife and three kids that are attending the finest private schools in Chicago. In the article ” Update: Chicago School War” by Rob Bartlett , children that got their schools loses down by him live on the west and south side of the city in neighborhoods with high poverty and crime rates.

The population of these areas of Chicago consists mainly of Hipics and Blacks with blue collard Jobs (Bartlett). Most of Chicago homicides took place in the west and south side areas in 2012, were there is a high poverty rate ( Dredge). Also the murder rate in Chicago was the highest of the three largest U. S. Cities ( Dredge). From murders per every 100,000 residents, Chicago stood at 18. 6 percent. This left Los Angels and New York City behind with below 8 percent. The offenders were from 1 5 to 24 years old, 77% were black, 20% were Hipic, and 3% were white (Dredge).

Out of the 506 murders that took place in Chicago, 82% were shootings did not occur on the north side ( Dredge). This goes to show how dangerous it is to live in these areas of Chicago, however these children have no choice because it is all that their parents can afford. With the Mayor closing down their schools around their homes, children are now being forced to transfer to other schools, which puts them in greater risk of violence because they have to pass gang mandarins (Bartlett). However, one would hope that these children are only being sent to these schools to better their education.

The reality of the matter is that they are being welcomed by schools that have similar teaching methods, testing scores, and with not enough resources (Bartlett). From the book Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kola, a child’s education that comes from a low-income family in the inner cities, like Chicago, is unequal to those that come from a richer family that is further out from Chicago. School funding in 988 to 1989 school year showed that the Niles Township High School was spending 9,371 dollars per student (Kola 236).

However in the Chicago inner cities, students are being funded 5,265 dollars and that’s on an average of all grade levels (Kola 236). The difference is more than four thousand dollars and it shows not only the lack of materials in the schools, but also the lack of proficient teachers. Textbooks that are needed in certain classes are not always used or are out of date because the school cannot afford to buy new ones (Kola 51). Since some of these schools can’t afford the road for the students to copy into their notebooks (Anyone 174).

Most of the teachers in the Chicago inner city schools are over the age of 60 ( Kola 51). This is because the salary that is offered to the young teachers is too low to keep them working there. Some of the older teachers don’t show up to teach because they lack excitement for the subjects that they are teaching and ultimately because they are not getting paid enough (Kola 52). When they are asked why, they simply reply, ” It makes no difference. Kids like these aren’t going anywhere. The city thinks it’s saving money on he substitutes.

I tell them, Pay now or pay later. “(Koala 52) So the city relies on low paid substitutes that represent more than 25% of the teaching force (Kola 51). A 15 year old student from Du Sable high school, that is located on the south side of Chicago, says that he has been in a class a whole semester and the school still has not found a teacher for them ( Kola 52). Some high schools in the south side of Chicago even have two or three ” study halls” where not much studying goes on (Kola 53). This is because the schools save the cost of teachers by doing this.

Many f the classroom sizes are 30 to 36 students per room and the question is, “how could a teacher accommodate all of these students (Bartlett)? ” Well they can’t, the teachers risk the chance of having a child fall behind if they don’t understand. The teachers also have little or no one on one time with the students. Even if these events in this book took place mostly from 1988 to 1990, it shows that Chicago public schools have been falling apart a long time ago and as Kola puts it, ” the rich get a richer quality of education while the poor get less real education (Koala 54).

However in the recent years a new type of school has been introduced that would give parents a third choice to decide from, these are called Charter Schools. There is no real solution to the problem that is going on in the Chicago public schools but there now exists another choice for parents that don’t want their children to attend a public school nor private if they can’t afford it. According to an article from the Chicago Tribune, ” Voice of the People,” charter schools are schools that operate similar to a private school however they operate with public money.

These schools et their own curriculum, teaching methods and selection of students that get into the school. It is said in the same article that ” The Thirst for Charter Schools” is growing every year more (Voice of the people). In 1996, the first charter school opened in Chicago and now there is 132 campuses operating under 58 charters (The thirst for charter schools). The president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, Andrew Brow, says that there are 19,000 students waiting for a charter school slot to open and currently. Million students are attending a charter school (The thirst for harder schools). However, Just because there is now a third choice to choose from for parents and there children, it does not erase the solid fact that America has to first fix their public schools and neighborhoods with high poverty rates in order to have victory with the charter schools. This is because if in the later future charter schools continue to grow and take over public schools, then slowly they too will start to fail, since it was a problem that was never truly resolved from the core of the problem.

The history of the battle over the Chicago public schools is a problem that has entry because of the numerous schools that were closed in the Chicago south and west areas (Bartlett). These footsteps however, are being followed by other states and the problem over who is getting a better education is occurring all over America. There will always be a producer and a consumer Just like their will always be rich and poor people (Anyone 169). Unfortunately, in America if a child’s parents have blue collard Jobs and live in an area with violence and high poverty rates than they have little chance of getting the best education they could receive.

When George Bush said” no child left behind”, he forgot to add, ” If you have the money to stay ahead”.

References

1. Anyone, Jean. ” From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” Rereading America: De. Gary Colombo, Robert Culled, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford of SST. Martin’s, 2010. 169-185.
2. Bartlett, Rob. ” Update: Chicago School War” Against the Current 28. 3(2013): 6 Academic Search complete. Web. 22 April.

Perhaps what he as most well known for is the fact that he performed many late-term abortions on these women. Late term abortions are heavily criticized and debated throughout the world today and thus, he received much scrutiny, eventually paving the road for his future (Masters, 2013). Late term abortions are those that take place late into the term of the woman’s pregnancy and can be done as late as 35 weeks into a pregnancy. The process for these types of abortions is very graphic: a lethal dose of Dioxin, a heart medicine, is injected into the heart of the baby in the amniotic fluid through the woman’s abdomen.

This causes the baby to have a earth attack and die. Labor is then induced and the woman gives birth too non-living child (Operation Rescue, 2013). Connell was performing what many people refer to as partial birth abortions. This is when the baby is born and then essentially killed. This raised a lot of issues, most notably whether he was performing abortions of committing murder. Most people believed that this type of abortion was occurring well past the, “gray area,” of whether the fetus is a living being or not.

There were also some issues on whether the clinic that he was running was legitimate. These started to take shape when an untrained and unlicensed clinic worker gave Ackermann Monger, a woman who came into Counsel’s clinic in 2009, an overdose of painkillers, which caused Monger to die (Who is Connell? , 2014). Abortion and the notions of Pro-Choice and Pro-Life are very’ important topics in the world today, both politically and religiously, thus Connell and his actions were highly criticized which in turn led to his rise in fame.

Connell has had many prior complaints starting in 1 989 and the FBI eventually brought his actions to light after a raid of his clinic in 2010. The raid was performed to investigate suspected illegal drug use at Counsel’s Lenin, which was called Women’s Medical Society. When the clinic was raided, they also discovered unsanitary conditions throughout the facility, use of untrained staff, and use of powerful drugs without proper medical supervision and control (Williams, 2013).

Connell was arrested in January Of 2011 and he was charged seven counts Of first degree murder, which was reduced to four at trial, one count of third degree murder, for the death of Monger, infanticide, which was dismissed at trial, five counts of abusing a corpse, also dismissed at trial, multiple counts of conspiracy, criminal solicitation and violation of state law that forbids abortions after the 24th week of a pregnancy (Sullivan, 2013).

Connell also received some non-murder charges ranging from 24 counts of violating Pennsylvania Abortion Act by performing illegal third-trimester abortions, 227 counts of violating a twenty-four hour waiting period requirement and failing to counsel patients (Sullivan, 2013). Connell violated many moral and ethical principles during his time as a doctor. First and foremost is personality. Connell had no remorse for human life and did not treat it as sacred or special when he murdered children post birth. Next is demonology and beneficence.

Connell failed to do what was best for his patients because if he would have done so he would have not only counseled the mothers, but would have never hurt those babies. Connell was also in violation of non-malfeasance because failed in his mission to do no harm to his patients. While he may not have harmed most of the mothers, the babies that these women were having were certainly harmed. He failed to realize the teleology Of the acts that he Was performing and did not realize the ultimate consequences of his actions. Perhaps his biggest ethical violation was the lack of respect that he showed towards all of is patients.

Connell performed these medical acts in unsanitary conditions and enlisted the help of unqualified people. His biggest lack of respect was that of human life. He allowed those mothers to give birth to their babies and then he proceeded to kill them by snipping their spinal cord through the neck. My opinion on abortion is simple. I do not support it and I am one hundred percent pro life. This may be because both of my parents share the same views as I do and I come from a traditionally republican family, but it is my belief that human life is sacred and is a special gift from God.

Thus, it is to be treated as such and an abortion is a violation of that belief. In my opinion, human life begins at the moment of conception so an abortion is a clear ending of that life. Another factor in my opinion of abortion could also branch from my Catholic background, I have gone to catholic schools since preschool and continue my catholic enrichment here at Gowned Mercy and it is also the catholic position on abortion to be pro life. In my opinion, what Connell did was horrible and a clear violation of human rights. He is right where he belongs, which is in prison serving a life sentence. Not even begin to think of a reason that he may have for doing what he did. His actions were morally and ethically wrong and luckily he is now paying the price for them. Connell is essentially a murderer and violated state abortion laws countless times in his medical career. In no way, shape, or form is what he did correct, he lost sight Of the importance of life a performed unforgivable actions. Whether it was out of greed, or whether he thought what he was doing was right, Connell deserves the punishment that has been given to him. Works Cited Masters, Teresa (March 19, 2013).

Euthanasia can be described as one of society’s more widely and hotly debated moral issues of our time. Active euthanasia, by definition, is “Doing something, such as administering a lethal drug, or using other means that cause a person’s death. ” Passive euthanasia, which seems to not be debated as heavily, is defined as “Stopping (or not starting) some treatment, which allows a person to die, the person’s condition causes his or her death. ” I have chosen to look more closely at the issue of active euthanasia, while applying Kant”s standards to the issue.

Those who support the practice of active euthanasia might argue that helping the terminally ill to bring about their own deaths, allowing them to determine the how and when, is not only humane, but also allows the person who is simply living to die to maintain dignity by orchestrating their own end, thus letting them die at peace, rather than suffer to the end, perceiving themselves to be a burden and/or disgrace, to those they love. According to recent polls, many people would agree, but the question is, have they taken a close look at the ethical debate?

Those who are against active euthanasia would say not, and would argue that by participating in the practice of active euthanasia, one is “playing God,” or perhaps, even worse, that they are not acting out of mercy, but rather out of selfishness, attempting to lessen their own burden. If this were the case, the act is nothing less than cold-blooded murder. Murder is defined as; “The unlawful, premeditated killing of one human being by another. ” Euthanasia remains unlawful as of today, and the act of euthanasia is premeditated, thus whether for the purpose of mercy or not, euthanasia is by definition, murder.

According to Kantian perspective and the Holy Bible, murder is both a sin and a crime, therefore we should not participate in the practice of euthanasia, because it is murder, and it is the wrong thing to do. The euthanasia debate raises many questions. Questions such as; For whose benefit is the murder actually taking place? Should we allow family members to make a life-or-death decision on behalf of a loved one who may never have expressed a desire to die, simply because they could not vocalize a will to live?

If a person should be suffering with an illness of which there seems no hope of recovery, yet they are unable to make a choice for themselves how do we know what that person would voluntarily choose? Is it our right to decide whether or not they have a desire to live? If we ourselves are not in the position of the individual whose life and/or death is being decided, we cant possibly know or understand what their will is, what they would opt for personally, or even whether or not they can comprehend what is happening.

Thus, the decisions we are making find us “playing God,” and assuming that our decisions are always in the best interests of another. Without knowing for sure what the individual would have chosen, we may well have gone against their will, and thus have committed murder. Some would argue that the practice of euthanasia is used as a last resort, when the individual can no longer manage the pain of their illness. However, that argument can be rebutted by an observation made by a proponent of a movement similar to Right to Die.

Dr Pieter Admiraal, a leader of a movement to legalize assisted suicide in the Netherlands, stated publicly that pain is never justification for euthanasia considering the advanced medical techniques currently available to manage pain in almost every circumstance. Thus the pain does not justify death, but rather it justifies the need for more money to educate health care professionals on better pain management techniques. Shouldn”t we look into a suicidal persons emotional and psychological background before we conclude that his or her suicide is acceptable because they are going to die anyway?

We ought to take into consideration, the statistics which tell us that fewer than one in four people with terminal illness have a desire to die, and that all of those who did wish to die had previously suffered with clinically diagnosable depression. 6 If we choose to overlook these statistics, and others that tell us that psychotherapeutic treatments are not only available, but equally successful among people with terminal illness, as among people without7 then we are indeed cutting that person’s life short, and thus one again, committing murder.

If a physically healthy person who suffered with depression were to approach us with thoughts of suicide, we would comfort them, seek treatment for them, and provide as much as we were able, to see that they got the reassurance and the psychological or emotional help that they needed. Certainly we would not tell them that the choice was theirs and hand them a gun. Why then do we not do the same for those suffering with a physical illness?

Further statistics tell us that the chances for living a happy life are often greater for a person who has attempted suicide, but are stopped, and provided with the help they need, than for individuals suffering with similar problems, who have never attempted suicide. It would serve us well to take notice of these statistics. We ought to be making every effort to find alternatives to euthanasia, and help people with their problems, instead of helping them to end what very well could be a happy life.

One must also ask why some doctors would fight so vigorously to legalize the practice of killing the terminally ill, while others maintain that there are many alternatives available that may offer a satisfactory and comfortable quality of life for those suffering from severe illness. Is it possible that some doctors are “selling death” for reasons other than compassion? If the possibility exists for this to be the case, than we ought to expect some doctors to abuse the system, as well as the rights and best interests of the patient, in order to better themselves financially, or otherwise.

I personally believe that it would be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, to legislate a point of illness or disability where euthanasia would be considered legally or ethically acceptable. To do so would be saying that all disabled or terminally ill patients have no chance for a happy and fulfilling life. I believe that we are taking quite a risk when we bring about another person’s death willfully, thus assuming that we have the ability to look into the future and deem their life unlivable.