Preview

On Punishment And Teen Killers By Jennifer Jenkins

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
162 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
On Punishment And Teen Killers By Jennifer Jenkins
In the article, “On Punishment and Teen Killers”, Jennifer Jenkins claims that people feel bad for the teens that are getting life sentences for murdering someone, but there is no regard for the victims’ families. This article has the weakest ethos out of all of them. The author first develops her credibility when she quotes an expert named James Q. Wilson, Harvard Professor, and Crime Expert. This technique builds her credibility because her research is now coming from an expert, and this makes the readers trust her claim. Jenkins strengthens her credibility when she says, “As a high school teacher, I have worked lovingly with teens all my life…”(4). This example makes the readers feel like the author knows how teens work since she is a high

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    On the other end of the spectrum in the article “ On Punishment and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins you can see a very weak use of the literary tool ethos. One example of this would be “ My youngest sister was the joy of our close family. When a teenager murdered her sister and her unborn child” this shows that she is obviously affected and uses strong Pathos in her writing. However it doesn't do anything to tell you on why we should believe her claim that kids who murder shouldn't be allowed any freedoms after they commit the horrible crime of taking someone's life. You can also see continously in her writing that she's citing facts that support her claim but, she shows no personal ethos which doesn't give the reader a good feel on if she…

    • 200 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Teens are not always aware of the consequences to their actions and they take risks. The general argument made by Richard A. Serrano in his work, Young killers serving life without parole may get chance at freedom, is that juveniles who commit heinous crimes are not fully aware of their actions. More specifically, Serrano argues that juveniles are not fully matured and juveniles should not be charged as adults. The author asserts, “Adolescents, because of their immaturity, should not be deemed as culpable as adults…”(Serrano). In this passage, Serrano is suggesting that immaturity leads teens to act inappropriate for their age because they have not yet become adults. Serrano also states, “But they also are not innocent children whose crimes…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Indeed, the PBS documentary titled, “The Untouchables” clearly validated the fact that the criminal justice system stance against large corporations seemed too lenient despite the reckless activities these institutions pioneered to destabilize the global economy. Furthermore, Lanny Breuer, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, during his interview with the PBS Frontline producer, remained all the time defensive even when presented with the facts implicating the powerful American banks about promoting wrongdoings. Paradoxically, Breuer in his defense kept arguing that his investigation could not find sufficient evidence to indict the financial institutions.…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the article “On Punishment and Teen Killers” ,written by Jennifer Jenkins is an article she wrote to inform people about what teenagers have done and to release her thoughts. Jennifer Jenkins is a high school teacher that has a devastating story for her own. Her sister, her brother in law, and her sister's unborn baby were killed by a teenager who just wanted to feel how it is to kill someone. As it seems this has changed her point of view for teenagers even though she was worked with teens all her life. The offender that she had to deal with was a serial killer in the making that also came from privilege. Every time that he got in trouble his parents fixed it and he did plan a lot worse crimes but after bragging to his friends he got caught.…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the article “ On punishment and Teen killers” By Jennifer Jenkins talks about how this teenager has killed a Woman, when she was pregnant which she begged for the life of her unborn child but the teen was eager to feel how it would be to shoot someone and he right there shot her to death. Which now the teenager has been sentenced to three life sentences in prison.He is not the only one dealing with teenage killer crimes but there are about 1,300 cases nationally that have sentenced teenagers as an adult to life in prison.Therefore many people wish to lower down the offender's culpability just because of their age. In canada rarely any teens committed any crimes until 1980 were television had been introduced which affected teens.Many kids…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Also she writes that the juvenile arrest rate for murder dropped greatly and the juvenile arrest rate for violent crimes also dropped. There are many cases where an adolescent commits a crime and don’t know whether they will be treated as an adult or not. Research suggests that adolescents treated as adults are more likely to turn out as violent career…

    • 236 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This week’s article addresses the uses of harsh Mandatory sentencing on the vulnerable juvenile population. In 2004, 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown was arrested for the murder of a middle-age man. Brown murdered the individual after being solicited for sexual activities. The courts viewed the case as an easy conviction. However, there was more to Cyntoia than her ill-thought actions. Cyntoia came from a background riddled with sexual violence. For instance, her grandmother was a victim of a violent rape which resulted in the birth of Cyntoia’s mother. At a young age, Cyntoia’s mother became a victim of prostitution, drugs, and alcohol use. Additionally, she became pregnant with Cyntoia at 16 years old. After Cyntoia ran away from home, she became…

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the article, “On Punishment and Teen Killers” (2011), Jenkins uses the weakest ethos when she argues, teens who commit heinous crimes should receive life without the possibility of parole, and that victims’ rights should be considered. Jenkins is a high school teacher who was a victim. In the light, she works with teenagers which gives her a small amount of credibility, but on the contrary, her sister and unborn child were murdered by an adolescent. Be as it may, this gives her a biased opinion, because she wants revenge for her family members’ death and does not care about the person who killed her family members. In addition to that bad ethos, she uses a lot of pathos in her article which, not to mention, lowers her credibility. Consequently,…

    • 178 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A large issue is based around how offenders who commit horrible crimes do not end up being punished the way the victims and victim’s families feel they should be. In one of the most controversial Canadian cases, Karla Homolka made a plea deal, where she was sentenced to twelve years after assisting in the killings of three young girls. This case was difficult for the public to understand. In the beginning they viewed Homolka as a woman who had been beaten by her husband. However, after more information came out about the case, it became apparent that Homolka had more involvement in the murders than originally thought. Kilty and Frigon (2007) found that, “once the videotapes of the sexual assaults were found, acceptance of Homolka’s discourse of forced participation seemed to dissipate, and the re-construction of Homolka as dangerous and narcissistic ensued” (p.45). Outrage from the public followed, as it was described that Homolka was smiling and enjoying herself in the videos of the sexual assaults against the women. Conversely, court officials were found as saying that, “if the videotapes had been available at the time, Karla Homolka would have found herself in the prisoner’s box beside Paul Bernardo” (Kilty and Frigon, 2007, p. 55). Unfortunately these positions made no difference as the plea deal was already decided. This case creates bias towards plea-bargaining because it shows how unfair the system can be. Serial murder is described as a person who commits three or more killings over a period of time. Such as Homolka, though she received a lenient sentence compared to her counterpart, Paul Bernardo. Leniency, as shown in the Homolka case makes society uncomfortable with plea bargains because the feeling is that a person who commits a crime should do the appropriate sentence. However, Smith (1986) found…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    If a child commits a serious crime like murder, robbery, or arson, should they go to jail? For some time now, supreme courts point out that some juveniles who commit crimes should not go to jail. Others would argue otherwise. Someone who views an act of crime as simply an act of crime would agree that a child who commits a crime would not be a child anymore. The Supreme Court defends the juveniles attempting to justify their actions as naïve like, and that sentencing them to a life sentence without parole is unconstitutional. I believe in the minority group that argues with Supreme Court justices on why they should be sentenced to prison for long periods of time.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    No Choirboy Sparknotes

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Teenagers sentenced to death all because of violence and murder. No Choirboy is all about teens that try to find the easy way out; and along the way their path went wrong causing them to murder and violence. This book change my point of view on life by that easy and fast is not always the best way. This book has inspired me to further my education, because even though it is not easy to always go past of high school the effort is still there its better than a life of crime. The teenagers in this book were described as “good” by their parents when in reality they were trouble.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The essay begins with two examples of 14 year olds convicted and charged with murder and their consequence of serving time in an adult prison. This article then includes evidence with scientific studies and research on the teenage brain and minor in the juvenile system to back up their argument. By using examples and evidence, they are able to support their argument and persuade the readers. The tone of this article is serious as it is about a serious issue in America. The writer keeps the tone serious by being concise on its points and arguments and not veering off the topic. Doing so keeps the readers focused on the topic. By using examples and a clear tone, the writers were able to effectively persuade the…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kids For Cash

    • 688 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In 2008 the truth as to why teens were sentenced to extreme punishments for the acts committed was revealed. I was living in Philly when I started seeing the news broadcasting about, Wilkes-Barre a small town in Pennsylvania where two Juvenile judges were being accused of receiving kickbacks to ensure the private juvenile detention center didn’t have empty beds.…

    • 688 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Describe Teen Murderers

    • 1360 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Describe teen murderers. Misunderstood, ignorant, hopeless? Juveniles who committed heinous crimes have faced life in prison without parole, even though some of them were as young as fourteen when they served this sentence. The issue of teens being able to spend life in adult prison had always been a perplexing reality that deeply affects a country’s society. Should teens even be allowed to face life in prison? Taking it a step further, should juvenile murderers automatically receive the same sentence as if they were an adult? There is an unfair aspect about automatically putting teens to life in prison, even though, yes they’ve committed a serious offense. Still, this means that even though a child was sexually and physically abused, lived…

    • 1360 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    For example, In 1998 my parents moved into an apartment complex that later became a crime scene for a murder committed by our neighbor’s teenage son. , one of the tenants had a son who was very fond of the horror film Scream. Seventeen-year-old Mario Padilla planned a mass murder along with his 16-year-old cousin, Samuel Ramirez, influenced by the horror film Scream. Mario fantasized about having the costume to reenact the movie, so he returned home to steal his mother’s money. When the 17 year old and his cousin walked into the house and saw his mother, they stabbed her numerous times until she bled to death. Mario received a life sentence without parole and Samuel was sentence to 25 years in…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays