Thompson v. Oklahoma Essay Example for Free

Thompson v. Oklahoma Essay The case Thompson v. Oklahoma took place in 1988. William Thompson (15 year-old boy) killed his brother-in-law, who had been abusing his sister. The murder was not committed in state of temporary insanity, so the court considered it as first-degree murder and sentenced William Thompson to death. As far as the 8th and 14th Amendments ban death sentence for a person, who is under 16 years old at the moment of committing crime, the Court considered execution of 15-year old boy as cruel and unusual. The case was reversed and remanded and the Supreme Court granted William Thompson certiorari. The crime was committed by four persons. William Thompson took part in murder. The killed had a lot of bruises, his leg was broken; his chest, abdomen and throat had been cut, and he had been shot two times. Then after they fettered him to a concrete block and threw him to the river. All four people, who took part in crime, were sentenced to death. As far as Thompson was under 16 at the moment of committing crime, he couldn’t be executed because of prohibition. The justices thoroughly examined circumstances of crime, and concluded that the child was quite aware of consequences at the moment of committing crime and as far as he had mental capacity to realize all the consequences of crime. They stated that there was no chance to rehabilitate William Thompson with help of juvenile system and that he should be treated as adult. At the first stage of trial, the prosecutor presented three photographs, showing the dead body after it was taken out from the river. The photos were introduced to convince guilt of William Thompson. Later the prosecutor asked to find two circumstances, which prove that crime was cruel and heinous. The Court complied with request. In such a way the Court of Criminal Appeals gave its approval to the fact of death sentence. They stated that as far as a person, who was under 16 years old at the moment of committing crime, is certified as an adult for trial procedures, he can be also punished as adult. At the same time, as far as the Supreme Court granted William Thompson certiorari, they had to consider, whether a death sentence was â€Å"cruel and unusual punishment† for a minor and violates his constitutional rights. First of all, there should be a certain degree of culpability, which allows accepting death sentence for a minor. The problem was that authors of the 8th Amendment introduced prohibition against â€Å"cruel and unusual punishments†, although they didn’t give any specifications for that. Judges, who were responsible for trial, should examine, whether the punishment could be considered as violating the â€Å"evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society† Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 101 (1958) (plurality opinion) (Warren, C. J.). Justice Powell compared rights of adults and children, and came to conclusion, that there are certain differences between them. For example, children are not eligible to vote, to purchase alcohol and cigarettes, to mention a few. Justice Powell stated that according to laws of Oklahoma, a person under 16 years old can be treated as a child only. Taking into considerations all prohibitions and limitations in rights for minors (as well as driving with parental consent, marrying with parental consent only, etc), the child cannot be treated as adult during the trial and to be fully responsible for his actions before attaining his maturity. Further the Supreme Court examined minimum age for death penalty. For example, there are 14 States in America, which don’t recognize death penalty at all; from the other side, there are 19 States, which authorize to impose death penalty, but don’t state minimum age of a person (this is an obstacle to find consensus). Although, the judges accepted supposition, that in those States, where death penalty is accepted, minimum age of criminal should be at least 16 years. The American Law Institute and the American Bar Association also are against the death sentence for minors. Judges also presented the fact, that there are plenty of countries, where death penalty is prohibited at all (such countries as Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, Spain, New Zealand, the Netherlands, etc) Further, the Supreme Court examined quantity of people, sentenced to death during the XX century, and came to conclusion that majority of cases were held in the first half of century. The average age of young people, committed crimes and sentenced to death, was approximately 18-20 years old. There were only five minors (under 16 years old), sentenced to death for participation in cruel murders. The Court also considered age as a mitigating circumstance, stating that young people at the age under 16 are not able to control their behavior to that extent, the adults can. Young people are more impulsive and cannot think in long-rank terms, as the adults can, so they shouldn’t be treated as adults during trials. So, taking into consideration all afore said, the Court Criminal Judgment’s decision was vacated and the case Thompson v. Oklahoma was remanded, getting instructions to prohibit death sentence for a youth under 16 years old.

Academic Progress: Will No Child Be Left Behind? Essay -- essays paper

Academic Progress: Will No Child Be Left Behind? â€Å"These reforms express my deep belief in our public schools and their mission to build the mind and character of every child, from every background, in every part of America.†Ã¢â‚¬â€President George W. Bush (Executive Summary, 2001). â€Å"We like the bill, but this is a resource issue.†Ã¢â‚¬â€Peter McWalters, commissioner of education in Rhode Island (Coeyman, 2002). â€Å"No Child Left Behind? Everyone hates it. It’s a joke. Not obtainable.†Ã¢â‚¬â€teacher. The No Child Left Behind Act provides incentives for school districts to bring up academic progress, but instead the pressure involved may lead to poor-performing schools falsifying data, teaching to the test, or promoting unprepared students instead of truly improving student performance. Schools which do not achieve their Academic Yearly Progress for two sequential years will suffer loss of funding, corrective action, and may be closed. However, the only way to gauge academic progress on a nation-wide level is through standardized testing, which has serious limitations as a diagnostic tool. The concept of Academic Yearly Progress can lead to bizarre and arbitrary classifications of successful and failing. In additional, some of the corrective measures prescribed by NCLB may be inadequate. Rather than merely reaffirming the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, President Bush oversaw a complete restructuring. This restructuring, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, decrees that every student will be at the academic level deemed proficient by the 2013-14 school year. To achieve this goal, it calls for strict academic accountability. States still have the responsibility of determining their own statewide assessment programs, but... ...same amount of time; the fallacy of the principal as sole instructional leader; the fallacy of setting standards on the basis of exceptions; and the fallacy of uniform standards for all children. The fallacy that all children can learn --at the same level and in the same amount of time.† (2002) And if they cannot learn, we can switch them around, from teacher to teacher, school to school. The Act is unfailingly optimistic. That optimism will destroy any effect that the reform could have. No Child Left Behind is an earnest attempt to fix a real problem- the academic achievement gap between the children of the haves and the children of the have-nots in this country. Unfortunately, the Act gives a rigid timetable and a list of penalties and punishments without giving beleaguered schools solid, concrete examples of how to implement these reforms.

Mercedes benz marketing plan Essay

Mercedes Benz is one of the most recognizable names in the world. If you mention car, luxury, dependable, performance and â€Å"The Best or Nothing†, the first name it comes on your mind is Mercedes Benz. History of Mercedes Benz is the greatest out there, but I am going to focus on the Mercedes Benz USA, also known as MBUSA. MBUSA is a division responsible for distribution and marketing of Mercedes Benz products in the U. S. The headquarters of MBUSA are in Montvale, New Jersey. There are two dealership locations of MBUSA in northeast Ohio, one in Willoughby and the other one in Bedford. Also included in their division are Maybach, Smart and Sprinter. Although founded in 1965, MBUSA started importing Mercedes Benz in 1952, and the iconic car that started it all was 300SL Gullwing. It was founded under Max Hoffman; the current CEO of MBUSA is Steve Cannon. Other key personnel at MBUSA are Harald Henn CFO and VP, Inigo Mazquiaran GM of Corporate Finance and Joachim Schmidt Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Mercedes-Benz. Over the following years, MBUSA grew into a nationwide organization, now employing over 1500 people. The company also has 356 associated dealerships that employ 21,500 people themselves. MBUSA operates in the Car Dealership industry, in the distribution and marketing division of car sales industry to be more specific. With 305,072 passenger vehicles sold in the U. S. in 2012. SWOT Analysis Strengths: 1. Mercedes Benz has a strong brand value and global leader in premium cars 2. Leader in innovation i. e. 1st to introduce diesel engines, fuel injection and anti-locking brakes Weaknesses: 1. High maintenance cost of Mercedes Benz car 2. High prices compared to competition Opportunities: 1. Developing hybrid cars and fuel efficient cars for the future 2. Fast growing luxury automobile market & increased income Threats: 1. Ever increasing fuel prices 2. Intense competition from global automobile brands The Competition: 1. BMW 1. Porsche 2. Audi 3. Volkswagen 4. Jaguar 5. Ferrari 6. Aston Martin 7. Volvo The Industry they compete in is Oligopoly. Their competitive goal is to be global top-of-the-mind premium automobile brand. By putting their slogan as â€Å"the best or nothing†, they are tending to put inside the people’s mind that there is not another competition for them. The main opportunity for MBUSA is that the economy should grow. And the economy is growing because they sold 15% more cars so far than last year. Their best strength is that they always have been innovators, and the leaders in this industry. The technology on these cars is highest ever possible. And they keep amazing people for what they offer; the good example is the all-new 2014 S-Class Mercedes Benz. All competitive advantages, or disadvantages, that Mercedes Benz as a car offers is reflected at their MBUSA sales division. The product they sell in my opinion is superior of what their competition offers.

Movie Analysis Mean Girls Kady - 1779 Words

Mean girls is a movie about a teenage girl going into public school as a junior in high school for the first time, after being homeschooled for her entire life up until. She is discovering herself and where she wants to fit in with her peers. She is pulled many times to the middle of ongoing rivalries and trying to make the decision as to what side she wants to take in the rivalry and what peer group she wants to be part of, the groups that interest her and the groups she is already knowledgeable about. It is hard for her being that public school in America is completely different than home schooling in Africa, she has to learn and adapt to new customs, new pressures, and new acceptance by others. I will be discussing the Influences on Identify Formation that is reflected in this movie. Cognitive Development Cognitive development is the development of the thought process including remembering, problem solving, and decision making. In the movie Mean Girls Kady, one of the main characters in the movie had fallen behind in some of her cognitive development with the lack of having to make decisions on her own and not having many problems that she has to work though as a child and then into early teenager. Being home schooled Kady did not have the social interaction with people that was her own age on a daily basis. Interacting with peers helps challenge decision making and problem solving. Most would use the term immature for someone who is delayed in these important