MGP #6 Q&A

Q: Why is a new drug being tested on each inmate?
A:  Europe banned selling the lethal injection drugs to prisons in the United States of America

Q: Why did Clayton Lockette die last Tuesday?
A: His vein exploded due to the drugs and he suffered a heart attack

Q: Who did they put a hold on and why was his execution put on hold?
A: Charles Warner and the Supreme Court didn't want the same thing to happen again and risk the chance of two lawsuits

Q: Why did Oklahoma court decide in the inmates favor?
A: Oklahoma's secrecy law did indeed violate the state Constitution's right of access to the courts.

Q: What will the people do about this?
A: There can only be more test done, but with more test comes more problems. This is no "win-win" situation. Time can only tell

Mccracken, Megan, and Jennifer Moreno. "Secret Drugs, Agonizing Deaths." New York Times 14 Apr. 2014: A23(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

MGP #5 (Part2)

This typed letter shows proof that the justice system isn't always justified! Here in this letter, Mr. Jasper describes the horrible treatment he received as an inmate and speaks on why the black community is always a target. Ray Jasper, who was accused of the murder of his business partner in 1998, wrote a tremendous amount of information about his prison life and how he felt about being on death row. Being on the outside looking in gives us no idea of what the prison life is like. The justice system needs to change and it needs t change soon. The letter itself tells all and the Protest being held Saturday will give you even more information. We the People can change the system along with the world. We have to stick together. Join us and support.

Green, Larissa D. "A Man Died Yesterday, & We Should All Be Talking About It." Refinery29. N.p., 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

MGP #4

Breaking News

Here on your local WRDJ Channel 7 News, we bring you the story of Troy Davis who was executed last night in Texas. Davis was convicted of killing off duty police officer, Mark MacPhail, on August 18, 1989. As we all know, the Davis Case has been the talk of the year. Troy Davis still, until his execution, claimed his innocence. Davis said to the family of MacPhail, “I did not kill your son, father, or brother and all I can ask id that you look deeper into this case so you really can finally see the truth,” before his death.

        

  Dozens of supporters of Davis, including the N.A.A.C.P., tried to get the Supreme court to reduce Davis’s sentence for the time being so the case could be reviewed. They also reached out to the prosecutor in the original case and asked him to persuade the original judge to rescind to the death order. One of the supporters even reached out to President Obama. The Innocent Project joined in on the act along with many others. Even with all those supporters, and a four hour delay, Davis was still executed.

        

  This execution rose about many different opinions and thoughts about if Troy Davis was really innocent. A record number of petitions were delivered to the board. To be exact, 630,000 were delivered. This case just may take a turn for different. Only time will tell. We will keep you updated on this story here on your very own WRDJ Channel 7 News.

Severson, Kim. "Davis Is Executed in Georgia." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

MGP #3

Personal Letter: Teresa Lewis Case

Henry K.

I honestly can’t believe what I seen with my own eyes today. The only thing that kept running through my head was “What about her illness?” I sat there as a tear rolled down her left eye. Teresa Lewis was being executed for the murder of her stepson and his father, her husband. Personally I think they should have reconsidered and just given her life in prison. Think about it: with her being mentally retarded she is easily manipulated. Her lover, Matthew Shallenberger, and his friend, Rodney Fuller, shot both the son and father while she sat in the kitchen. I believe that the young men found out that her husband was in the army and convinced her to go alone with the plan. She is mentally retarded for God’s sake! How can she come up with that plan by herself? I noticed I wasn’t the only person who thought the execution could have been a life sentence instead. The European Union asked to commute her sentence to life along with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while he was in New York. It sickened me to watch this woman get executed while the two who were most likely behind the entire crime only got life sentences. I hope this never happens again. I sympathize with the victims’ family, indeed, but we all know she didn’t deserve the death row.

Glod, Maria. "Teresa Lewis Execution." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 24 Sept. 2010. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

MGP #1 Rewrite

Play by Play : Execution Day 

8 A.M. The prisoner, Robert Parker, is awaken to eat breakfast and watch TV or listen to the radio

9:15 A.M. He is allowed to shower

10 A.M. - 11 P.M. Visitation & Meals (by choice)

11:27 A.M. A visit from the children of the prisoner is made. They talk, cry, and hug for 4 hours.

5:13 P.M. The victim of the prisoner, Ashley Hill, parents sit to her apologies and condolences from Parker.

6:30 P.M. Parker receives his last meal: Steak, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Fried Chicken, Coca Cola, & Pecan Pie

8:45 P.M. Parker's ex-wife, Lina Parker, visits. They talk for exactly 2 hours and 15 minutes

12 A.M. Final Request

12:15 A.M. Parker's childhood friend and now minister Jason Dowls has a talk and shares prayer time with Parker for 30 minutes.

For the next 15 minutes Robert Parker sits quiet in his cell staring at the ceiling until 1:00 A.M.

1:00 A.M. The Warden and two guards escort Robert Parker to the chamber where he will be executed.

1:15 A.M. Parker is strapped down to the bed and the three IV's are hooked to his body

1:30 A.M. The witnesses are allowed to enter the witness room

1:40 A.M. Robert Parker's Final Statement: "To my family; Ashley's family; and God, I am very sorry for the crime and sin I committed. I deserve this and I hope, in time, you all forgive me. Holding a grudge will not make it any better on you."

1:45 A.M. The guards, all together, push the button to release the drug.

1:58 A.M. Low sobs are heard throughout the witness room

2:08 A.M. Robert Parker Is Pronounced Dead

Nifter Media Group. "What Happens on Execution Day? A Death Penalty Documentary."YouTube. YouTube, 24 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.

MGP #2 Interview: Supreme Court Review Lethal Injections Teakell Interview

This interview goes back to my very first article. The "cocktail" lethal injection, as I expected, is being reviewed by the Supreme Court. In my first article, which was about Dennis McGuire, "would there be trouble behind this 'cocktail' injection?" was the main question that wandered in everyone's mind. Obviously, it roamed the Supreme Court's as well. In that article, it was said that the people witnessed McGuire gasping for air and that it looked as if he was in pain: BIG PROBLEM. Gasping and looking to be in pain causes worry that there is indeed pain. Testing the cocktail on an animal would be cruel too, so what now? It seems to me that either way, testing a new drug will cause controversy, whether the testing is on a human or on an animal. Why not continue using the old drug? Why not convert back to the electric chair? The electric chair is what some states have considered, and bring back the chair could cause even more controversy. I think this is the beginning of a LONG debate on how executions should be handled. How will this entire debate turn out, though? We can only wait and see.




Work Cited:   Townson, Sparta K. "Supreme Court Review Lethal Injections Teakell Interview."YouTube. YouTube, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.

Literary Devices

·         Analogy: compares two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one. While simile and analogy often overlap, the simile is generally a more artistic likening, done briefly for effect and emphasis, while analogy serves the more practical end of explaining a thought process or a line of reasoning or the abstract in terms of the concrete, and may therefore be more extended.

Example: Day is to month as minute is to hour. (Day:Month::Minute:Hour)

·         Anaphora: A rhetorical term for the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.                                                                           Example: “Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better”

·         Antanagoge: placing a good point or benefit next to a fault criticism, or problem in order to reduce the impact or significance of the negative point

Example: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

·         Antimetabole: reversing the order of repeated words or phrases (a loosely chiastic structure, AB-BA) to intensify the final formulation, to present alternatives, or to show contrast

Example: “Eat to live, not live to eat.”- Socrates

·         Antiphrasis: one word irony, established by context

Example: “The giant was 3 feet tall.”