2004 Just and Unjust Laws The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines unjust as "characterized by injustice: Unfair." At the same time it defines a law as "a binding custom or practice of a community." With both definitions in mind an unjust law can be described as "a binding custom or practice of a community characterized by injustice and unfairness." Today one can see unjust laws across the globe‚ many of which are overlooked by much of the world. At the same time‚ just laws are often enforced
Premium
Just and Unjust Laws Dr.Martin Luther King’s Jr "Letter from Birmingham Jail‚(1963)" was his response to the public statement of concern and caution issued by eight religious leaders of the south. This concern addressed the controversial issues of segregation between black and white people living in Birmingham .Dr.King included numerous points with his response. One of the main points he explained was about the difference between just and unjust laws."A just law is a man-made code that squares with
Premium African American Black people Martin Luther King
Unjust Killing of African Americans by Police Officers Police officers are abusing their authority by brutalizing and even sometimes killing black people. These attacks have been video recorded and afterwards put on social media. Leading to police brutality being a trending topic on social media because of the rising cases involving police using excessive force and the recordings of these events. Many famous cases have spiraled from police brutality including Michael Brown‚ Rodney King‚ and Sandra
Premium Police brutality Police Race
Civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to obey certain laws or government demands for the sole purpose of influencing legislation or government policy‚ generally characterized by the use of nonviolent techniques such as boycotting‚ picketing‚ and nonpayment of taxes. The use of nonviolent disobedience has run throughout world history; however‚ a major question posed is: are we morally obligated to obey even the unjust laws? In order to properly discuss that of civil disobedience and whether
Premium Civil disobedience Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolence
fight an unjust law through persuasion and to do so in a peaceful way. He also claims “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive‚ negotiation‚ self-purification and direct action‚” and Socrates does participate in the several of these actions to further his point. They both agree that in cases of unjust law‚ they should fight it (despite that one was willing to go further than another) but still respect the laws in place
Premium Plato Political philosophy Ethics
Unjust Justice: Juveniles Serving Life Without Parole The 14th amendment of Constitution of the United States grants every American Citizen the right of due process of the law. This right is being denied juveniles sentenced to “life without parole”. Recent Supreme Court rulings have held that “life without parole” is cruel and unjust punishment for those juveniles sentenced for non-homicidal crimes‚ because of limited capacity. Life without parole is essentially cruel and unjust punishment
Free Crime Criminal law Prison
Is it considered okay to disobey some laws? Does committing civil disobedience actually do any good? Martin Luther King Jr. believed that it was moral to obey just laws and disobey unjust law. “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just law. Conversely‚ one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” (Jacobus 382). Henry David Thoreau also conveyed this same idea when he said “If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government‚ let it
Premium Civil disobedience Martin Luther King, Jr. Henry David Thoreau
his essay‚ “Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them‚ or shall we endeavor to amend them and obey them until we have succeeded‚ or shall we transgress them at once?” (184) The answer will depend on which side of the law or the laws you are on‚ minority or majority. When the laws are made by the majority the laws can’t all be just‚ expect for the majority that wanted it. Should the wise minority be able to disobey laws that were created by the majority? Obeying every law is hard but even
Premium Political philosophy Henry David Thoreau Law
3 Strikes Crime Law: Unjust and Preposterous Nichole Burton COM/155 November 15‚ 2012 Brenda Granderson 3 Strikes Crime Law: Unjust and Preposterous The 3 Strikes Crime Law is one of the nation’s harshest sentencing laws. Are you aware that even non-violent criminals are sentenced to life in prison under the 3 Strikes Crime Law? More than 4‚000 non-violent criminals are currently serving life in sentence in prison in California alone. (Vega & Galloway‚ 2012). If you take these outrageous
Premium Prison Criminal justice Crime
Looking at the death penalty system in action‚ it is fundamentally flawed in use and there is a serious risk of executing innocent people. Many unjust convictions have shown that serious flaws such as: Lack of eyewitness identification‚ False confessions‚ and the access to have DNA testing have caused our countries criminal justice system to convict many innocent individuals‚ who were sentenced to death. The most disturbing fact individuals are faced with today‚ is that innocent people have
Premium Capital punishment Crime Prison