Free Essays on Death

The DEATH Penalty Capital Punishment is an Unlawful and Ineffective Deterrent to Murder. The United States is one of the few countries left in the world to practice the savage and immoral punishment of death. Retentionists argue that the consequence of death prevents people from committing the crime of murder. It is proven that the death penalty does not deter persons from committing murder, nor does it serve as an example of the consequences of capital crimes to society. Furthermore, it is impossible to guarantee that the criminal justice system will not discriminate against or execute the innocent. Above all, the methods of execution are horrifying and barbaric, as well as the devaluing of a human life. We must realize that the life of a murderer is worth as much as the life of the victim. An indecent justice, one that takes human lives based on ideals of vengeance and violence, is an immoral system that is unacceptable. The most widely used argument in support of capital punishment is that the consequence of execution influences criminal behavior more effectively than imprisonment does (â€Å"Against the Death Penalty†). Although the argument may sound reasonable, in reality the death penalty fails as a deterrent. First, punishment can only be a useful deterrent if it is rational and immediately used. Capital punishment cannot meet those conditions. The number of first degree murderers who are sentenced to death is small, and of this group an even smaller number of people are eventually executed. Moreover, the possibility of increasing the number of convicted murderers sentenced to death and executed by requiring mandatory death sentences was declared unconstitutional in 1976 Jewett 2 (National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty). Murder and other crimes of violence are not always premeditated. For example; gang violence, drive by shootings and kidnapping for ransom are serious crimes that continue to be committed bec... Free Essays on Death Free Essays on Death The DEATH Penalty Capital Punishment is an Unlawful and Ineffective Deterrent to Murder. The United States is one of the few countries left in the world to practice the savage and immoral punishment of death. Retentionists argue that the consequence of death prevents people from committing the crime of murder. It is proven that the death penalty does not deter persons from committing murder, nor does it serve as an example of the consequences of capital crimes to society. Furthermore, it is impossible to guarantee that the criminal justice system will not discriminate against or execute the innocent. Above all, the methods of execution are horrifying and barbaric, as well as the devaluing of a human life. We must realize that the life of a murderer is worth as much as the life of the victim. An indecent justice, one that takes human lives based on ideals of vengeance and violence, is an immoral system that is unacceptable. The most widely used argument in support of capital punishment is that the consequence of execution influences criminal behavior more effectively than imprisonment does (â€Å"Against the Death Penalty†). Although the argument may sound reasonable, in reality the death penalty fails as a deterrent. First, punishment can only be a useful deterrent if it is rational and immediately used. Capital punishment cannot meet those conditions. The number of first degree murderers who are sentenced to death is small, and of this group an even smaller number of people are eventually executed. Moreover, the possibility of increasing the number of convicted murderers sentenced to death and executed by requiring mandatory death sentences was declared unconstitutional in 1976 Jewett 2 (National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty). Murder and other crimes of violence are not always premeditated. For example; gang violence, drive by shootings and kidnapping for ransom are serious crimes that continue to be committed bec... Free Essays on Death In Virginia Woolf’s essay â€Å" The Death of the Moth,† she is suggesting no matter how much energy one has now they will eventually die. I feel this essay works because of the reality of her words. Her point is well stated in the symbolism that she chooses to use. In explaining her essay she uses the moth as a symbol for life, she also uses the window as life and then death, next she uses energy to symbol the change from child to adult. Throughout the essay Woolf is explaining the moth standing for life. When she firsts sees the moth all she can think about is how life is so simple and energetic. Woolf wonders if while this moth is flying around the window trying to find a way to escape, it is in someway a little pathetic and lifeless. Woof states, â€Å" He was little or nothing but life† (Woolf 771). This explains why she is so intrigued by the acts the moth is doing at the moment. Woolf used the window the moth is trapped in as a symbol for life and then it turns to death. This is because while the moth is wondering how to get out of the window it looses all its energy and then dies right where just minutes earlier it was full of energy. After all the dancing Woolf sits and thinks about why things are happening the way they are. Why was the moth all the sudden dying? She could not explain what was going on except for that is seemed that â€Å"death was stronger then her† (Woolf 773). This expression only goes on to say that Woolf may have been more afraid of death after seeing the moth die in such a way that was not fair. Woolf then goes on to say that energy all together represents the change from childhood to adulthood. This means that when Woolf first sees the moth she thinks of it as a child full of energy and ready to dance all over the place. As the moth is dancing it is turning into an adult and loosing energy every minute. Woolf explains, that she almost tried to help the moth but then decided against it because t... Free Essays on Death The Debate over the merits of capital punishment has endured for years, and continues to be an extremely indecisive and complicated issue. Adversaries of capital punishment point to the Marshalls and the Millgards, while proponents point to the Dahmers and Gacys. Society must be kept safe from the monstrous barbaric acts of these individuals and other killers, by taking away their lives to function and perform in our society. At the same time, we must insure that innocent people such as Marshall and Millgard are never convicted or sentenced to death for a crime that they did not commit. Many contend that the use of capital punishment as a form of deterrence does not work, as there are no fewer murders on a per- capita basis in countries or states that do have it, then those that do not. In order for capital punishment to work as a deterrence, certain events must be present in the criminal's mind prior to committing the offence. The criminal must be aware that others have been punishe d in the past for the offence that he or she is planning, and that what happened to another individual who committed this offence, can also happen to me. But individuals who commit any types of crime ranging from auto theft to 1st-Degree Murder, never take into account the consequences of their actions. Deterrence to crime, is rooted in the individuals themselves. Every human has a personal set of conduct. How much they will and will not tolerate. How far they will and will not go. This personal set of conduct can be made or be broken by friends, influences, family, home, life, etc. An individual who is never taught some sort of restraint as a child, will probably never understand any limit as to what they can do, until they have learned it themselves. Therefore, capital punishment will never truly work as a deterrent, because of human nature to ignore practised advice and to self learn. There are those who claim that capital punishment is in itself a form o... Free Essays on Death Capital Punishment is an Unlawful and Ineffective Deterrent to Murder The United States is one of the few countries left in the world to practice the savage and immoral punishment of death. Retentionists argue that the consequence of death prevents people from committing the crime of murder. It is proven that the death penalty does not deter persons from committing murder, nor does it serve as an example of the consequences of capital crimes to society. Furthermore, it is impossible to guarantee that the criminal justice system will not discriminate against or execute the innocent. Above all, the methods of execution are horrifying and barbaric, as well as the devaluing of a human life. We must realize that the life of a murderer is worth as much as the life of the victim. An indecent justice, one that takes human lives based on ideals of vengeance and violence, is an immoral system that is unacceptable. The most widely used argument in support of capital punishment is that the conse quence of execution influences criminal behavior more effectively than imprisonment does (â€Å"Against the Death Penalty†). Although the argument may sound reasonable, in reality the death penalty fails as a deterrent. First, punishment can only be a useful deterrent if it is rational and immediately used. Capital punishment cannot meet those conditions. The number of first degree murderers who are sentenced to death is small, and of this group an even smaller number of people are eventually executed. Moreover, the possibility of increasing the number of convicted murderers sentenced to death and executed by requiring mandatory death sentences was declared unconstitutional in 1976 Jewett 2 (National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty). Murder and other crimes of violence are not always premeditated. For example; gang violence, drive by shootings and kidnaping for ransom are serious crimes that continue to be committed because the criminal thinks he is to... Free Essays on Death Two sisters are home alone when a robber enters the house. The younger sister (8) is shot and killed, while the other one hides in horror and witnesses the shooting. Though she manages to escape and save herself, she can never fully recover from what she had seen with her own eyes almost twenty years ago. This story is not unique for there are many witnesses of murder everyday. The idea of putting another human to death is hard to completely fathom. The physical act of putting someone to death is easy to execute, but the emotions involved in carrying it out, is beyond the understanding of someone who as not witnessed such a tragic event. I know it must be painful, dehumanizing, and sickening. However, this act is sometimes necessary and it is our responsibility as a society to see that it is done. Capital punishment debates can quickly turn heated and argumentative because of the very dramatic nature of the topic. Most people either completely support capital punishment or are comple tely against it. Unfortunately there is no middle road that you can take, you can’t half kill a person for a crime. I will argue that capital punishment for first degree murder is a necessary part of living in a civilized society. Upon arguing for the death penalty you must understand that the death penalty is morally correct, and it will bring a closure to the victims family. Capital punishment is not only justifiable but is morally correct and should be the mandatory sentence for such crimes once an individual is found guilty. It would be neither unjust nor immoral to execute such an individual. It is not logical to believe that a person raised in our society does not know that the crimes of murder or the rape of a child will not be tolerated. Regardless of an individual’s background or status, individual choices lead to results that carry personal responsibility. It is inappropriate to make excuses for these criminals simply because they were negle... Free Essays on Death Fall is Death The sky is the color of hard gray stone Death’s hand is stretching out Birds and animals awake with a shock Frost dances in the dawn In the high empty sky, the cold sun shines With fires that forget to warm But the chill wind burns with a stinging bite The trees blaze with cold flame The sun is buried in the high, dead hills She dies there in fire and smoke The heartbeat of the earth slows down and fades Life is swallowed up in the dusk The birds of the air have gone over the clouds The beasts of the forest sleep And the small creeping things that live in the earth Lie slain by the breath of the night Now white light and ice shine high in the sky Death’s hand is squeezing hard Birds and animals cower and hide And slowly, each leaf Falls And I Walked Onto the Battlefield And I walked onto the battlefield. I marched between the lines as bullets whipped by and shells exploded. I halted in the midst of fierce combat. There was a cool gentle breeze. And I opened my trench coat. Cradled there, within my right arm, the tiniest of forms barely eight months amongst our world. And I waited with her there. Guns, and machines, all paused in their barrage, as each in time spotted the child, fell silent until only the breeze spoke. And I lifted her aloft. Her voice came gentle, at once quiet but gaining volume, gaining strength, gaining light until the battlefield rang with song as my fingers caressed her.. For she laughed. As soldiers holding guns, from side to side, whipped their heads up. For she laughed louder. As soldiers in trenches, from side to side, looked up at her, eyes lit wide. For she laughed louder still And each men, at once heavy, but lighter lighter in futility, lighter in hope together the soldiers laughed too. For they remembered their childhood and had discovered the child within themselves. And then one by one, they tur... Free Essays on Death The Debate over the merits of capital punishment has endured for years, and continues to be an extremely indecisive and complicated issue. Adversaries of capital punishment point to the Marshalls and the Millgards, while proponents point to the Dahmers and Gacys. Society must be kept safe from the monstrous barbaric acts of these individuals and other killers, by taking away their lives to function and perform in our society. At the same time, we must insure that innocent people such as Marshall and Millgard are never convicted or sentenced to death for a crime that they did not commit. Many contend that the use of capital punishment as a form of deterrence does not work, as there are no fewer murders on a per- capita basis in countries or states that do have it, then those that do not. In order for capital punishment to work as a deterrence, certain events must be present in the criminal's mind prior to committing the offence. The criminal must be aware that others have been punishe d in the past for the offence that he or she is planning, and that what happened to another individual who committed this offence, can also happen to me. But individuals who commit any types of crime ranging from auto theft to 1st-Degree Murder, never take into account the consequences of their actions. Deterrence to crime, is rooted in the individuals themselves. Every human has a personal set of conduct. How much they will and will not tolerate. How far they will and will not go. This personal set of conduct can be made or be broken by friends, influences, family, home, life, etc. An individual who is never taught some sort of restraint as a child, will probably never understand any limit as to what they can do, until they have learned it themselves. Therefore, capital punishment will never truly work as a deterrent, because of human nature to ignore practised advice and to self learn. There are those who claim that capital punishment is in itself a form o...

The Bre-X Gold Scandal, History and Resources

The Bre-X Gold Scandal, History and Resources Start with the biggest deposit of gold ever reported, in the headwaters of the Busang River in the steaming jungle of Borneo. The Canadian company Bre-X Minerals Ltd. didnt know about that when it bought rights to the site in 1993. But after Bre-X hired a high-living geologist to map the ore body, the deposit, along with the fever dreams that accompany gold, grew to monster size- by March 1997 that geologist was talking about a 200-million-ounce resource. You do the math at, say US$500 per ounce in mid-1990s dollars. Bre-X prepared for big times ahead by building a gold-plated website, where you could generate your own Bre-X stock chart to follow its meteoric rise. It also had a chart showing the equally meteoric rise of the estimated gold resource: together, those two pages could infect anyone with gold fever. The Sharks Arrive Bigger mineral companies took notice. Some made takeover offers. So did the Indonesian government, in the person of president Suharto and his powerful family. Bre-X owned more of this lode than seemed prudent for such a small, inexperienced foreign firm. Suharto suggested that Bre-X share its fortunate surplus with the people of Indonesia and with Barrick, a firm tied to Suhartos ambitious daughter Siti Rukmana. (Barricks advisors, among them George H. W. Bush and ex-prime minister of Canada Brian Mulroney, also favored this scheme.) Bre-X responded by enlisting Suhartos son Sigit Hardjojudanto on its side. An impasse loomed. To end the contretemps, family friend Mohamad Bob Hasan stepped in to offer all sides a deal. The American firm Freeport-McMoRan Copper Gold, led by another old Suharto friend, would run the mine and Indonesian interests would share the wealth. Bre-X would keep 45 percent of the ownership and Hasan for his pains would accept a share possibly worth a billion or so. Asked what he was paying for this stake, Hasan said, There is no payment, no nothing. It is a very clean deal. Trouble Arises The deal was announced on 17 February 1997. Freeport went to Borneo to start its own due-diligence drilling. Suharto was ready to sign a contract after this step, locking in Bre-Xs land rights for 30 years and starting the flood of gold. But just four weeks later, Bre-Xs geologist at Busang, Michael de Guzman, exited his helicopter that was 250 meters in the air at the time- an evident suicide. On March 26 Freeport reported that its due-diligence cores, drilled only a meter and a half from Bre-Xs, showed insignificant amounts of gold. The next day Bre-X stock lost almost all of its value. Freeport brought more rock samples to its American headquarters under armed guard. Bre-X commissioned a review of Freeports drilling; the review recommended more drilling. Another review focusing on the chemical assays caused Bre-X to clam up completely on 1 April, and Suhartos signature was postponed. Bre-X, in a novel strategy for the time, blamed the Web. CEO David Walsh told a fawning Calgary Herald reporter that the meltdown began when scurrilous local rumors in Indonesia were picked up by one of the ghostwriters on the Internet on the chat page or whatever. Further reviews took the rest of April. Meanwhile, disquieting details began to arise. Industry journalists soon found evidence that the Busang ore samples had been salted with gold dust. Salting of the Earth On Friday 11 April, Northern Miner magazine put a news flash on its site laying out three lines of evidence that Bre-X had been duped. First, contrary to company statements, the Busang core samples had been prepared for assay in the jungle, not in the testing lab. A videotape made by a visitor to the field site showed the humble machines common in assay labs- hammer mills, crushers, and sample splitters. Well-labeled sample bags clearly had finely crushed ore in them. Security was lax enough that samples could easily have been spiked with gold.Second, the local inhabitants had begun panning for gold in the Busang River, but in two years they never found any. Yet Bre-X claimed that gold was visible, a sign of unusually rich ore. And de Guzmans technical report, confusingly, called the gold submicroscopic, which is typical of hard-rock gold ore.Third, the assayer that tested the samples said the gold was predominantly in visible-sized grains. Also, the grains showed signs consistent with being typical river-panned gold dust, such as rounded outlines and rims depleted in silver. The assayer dodged the 64-billion-dollar question, saying that there were indeed ways for hard-rock gold grains to acquire rounded edges- but that argument was a fig leaf. The Curtain Falls Meanwhile, a storm of securities lawsuits arose around Bre-X, which vigorously protested that this was just an unfortunate series of misunderstandings. But it was too late. The collapse of Bre-X cast a cloud over the gold mining industry that lasted into the next century. David Walsh decamped to the Bahamas, where he died of an aneurysm in 1998. Bre-Xs chief geologist, John Felderhof, eventually went on trial in Canada but was acquitted of securities fraud in July 2007. Apparently in selling part of his stock holdings for $84 million in the months before the scandal hit he had not been criminal, just too stupid to catch the fraud. And I have been told that Michael de Guzman has been seen in Canada, years after the scandal. The explanation would be that, as was rumored at the time, an anonymous corpse was thrown from the helicopter. You could say the very jungle had been salted as well as the ore bags.