Ethics Acounting and Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics Acounting and Finance - Essay Example As the report declares in concrete terms accounting measures profit and resources, telling how much is the assets, liabilities and capital of a business organization, which are a combination of the interest of the owners and creditors. An income statement tells the results of operation of a business for a given period say a month, or a year, while a balance sheet show the financial condition of a business organization as of a given time say year 1995 or 2000. This paper stresses that from their definitions, we can easily discern that there is a difference between the two. A finance manager who heads a department where accounting is a division would exert an influence to have accounting division help finance department in the attainment of the objective of the latter that is the maximization of stockholders wealth. What do you think is the result? Finance will have a biased report because, the Finance manager will just say to the accounting head, â€Å"you must practice creative accounting for us to look good to our stockholders.† The head of the accounting office will respond in submission to the head of the finance department, his boss. In an organization ideals, are ideals but human nature would rear its ugly head if one function could abuse another functional area. Accounting is better combined with a management information system because they both serve the same purpose that is to provide accurate and reliable information for d ecision-making and in addition, there must be ethics as to practice of the two functional areas.

Play Macbeth by WIlliam Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

Play Macbeth by WIlliam Shakespeare Essay The play Macbeth was written by WIlliam Shakespeare in the 1600s. The whole play revolves around the theme of power. The theme of power is shown through ambition, betrayal and revenge using the symbolisms of sleep and blood. William Shakespeare used the issue of ambition to portray power in Macbeth. Macbeth was driven by his ambition of gaining power. Macbeths hunger for power made him blond to the atrocities and iniquitous deeds he was performing. In Act 1 Scene 7 Macbeth is stating that ambition was his only motivation to kill Duncan. I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent,but only Vaulting ambition which oerleaps itself And falls on thother. Shakespeare used a horse metaphor to show the conflict of emotions in Macbeths mind.Macbeth thinks of his purpose to kill Duncan as a cavalry horse:but he has no motive to urge it into action so it stands still. Macbeths ambition is pictured as a rider springing into his saddle who overleaps himself and falls on the other side of his steed.Macbeth means that his ambition to be king would inevitably lead him too far. The quote is effective in defining Macbeths drive to ambition. Ambition is used by Macbeth to take the power from Duncan. William Shakespeare used the issue of betrayal to portray power in Macbeth. The issue of betrayal is shown throughout the play from the start when the Thane of Cawdor betrayed Duncan. Macbeth betrayed Duncan,his guest,king and relative by killing him to take the crown of Scotland. Macbeth betrayed his friend and colleague Banquo who stayed by his side when they were fighting against the Norwegians. Macbeth also betrayed Lady Macbeth his wife by dismissing her from formal duties. In Act 1 Scene 7 Macbeth is telling lady macbeth to hide their knowings of duncans murder under an innocent face. Away,and mock the time with the fairest show, False face must hide what the false heart doth know. Shakespeare used an iambic Pentameter to lend dignity and presence to Macbeth after his devious plans to kill Duncan. The quote is effective in showing that Macbeth would betray his king and guest and act innocent with the devious plan in his mind and stoop low just to gain what he wanted. Betrayal i s the weapon that Macbeth used to gain power. The issue of revenge was used by William Shakespeare to show power in Macbeth. Revenge was shown from the start of the play when the witches got revenge on the sailors wife who didnt give the witches any chestnuts. Banquo got his revenge on Macbeth when he came back as a ghost and frightened Macbeth as well as embarrassing him in front of other thanes. Macduff got his revenge by killing Macbeth who slaughtered his family. In act 4 scene 3 malcolm comforts macduff who heard that his family was slaughtered by Macbeth by telling him to make revenge his medicine to cure his grief. lets make us medcines of our great revenge To cure this deadly grief Malcolm is telling Macduff to make the revenge on Macbeth, a medicine that would cure his grief. Malcolm is implying that revenge is sweet. The quote is effective in showing that macduffs revenge on Macbeth was to cure his own grief caused by Macbeth. Revenge was the issue which made one person to rise up or fall down. Blood was a symbolism which helped to symbolize the issues that shows power in Macbeth. The word blood occurs frequently throughout the play. In act 1 scene 2, the wounded captain told a report which described the bloody war. Blood was also related to guilt after after macbeth had murdered Duncan. Once Macbeth and lady Macbeth embark upon their murderous journey, blood comes to symbolize their guilt, and they begin to feel like their crimes have stained them in a way that cannot be washed clean. Blood symbolizes the guilt that sits like a permanent stain on the consciences of both Macbeth and lady Macbeth, one that hounds them to their graves. The enormity of Macbeths crime has awakened in him a powerful sense of guilt that will hound him throughout the play.

Civil Rights and African American Baseball Players

Civil Rights and African American Baseball Players How African Americans in Baseball Affected the Civil Rights Movement. 8th hour Segregation was the main core of what prevented African Americans from pursuing their dreams of being baseball players, up until a few very recognizable players influenced others to step in and help win freedom for playing baseball. All American baseball teams were consisting of mainly whites but some teams allowed African Americans into their teams up until 1890 when the National Association of Baseball rejected blacks from playing. This caused an uproar in the black community and lead to the creations of all black teams that would travel and play other all black teams and sometimes an all white team, like in 1888 when the Cuban Giants defeated the all white New Yorks 4 games of of a five game series. After many years of overwhelming segregation in the south many blacks moved up into the North where they sought the opportunity of creating their own league. In 1920, Rube Foster the owner of the Chicago American Giants brought other midwest teams together and created the first all bla ck league called the Negro Leagues.( Feature African-American Baseball. PBS. PBS, 2003. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.) The Negro Leagues had a very significant impact in the the entrance of blacks into the majors. After the first all black team was organized and the league was set up this opened up an opportunity for players to really show what they got. Before teams knew it they were winning championships. The first all African American league was starting to piece together. And with all this going on, one player had a goal set and that was to be the first black player in a white league. And that player is Jackie Robinson. In 1945 Jackie was the first black player to sign a formal contract with a white team. He took a big step into what led to the allowance of any black player to be in the majors. With the civil rights movement going on he endured hardships that no person could imagine, according to Duke Snider, He (Jackie Robinson) knew that the future of blacks in baseball depended on it. The pressure was enormous, overwhelming, and unbearable at times. I dont know how he held up. I know I never c ould have. By the end of his rookie career as a Dodger he was named rookie of the year, and as time went on all of his success of breaking the color barrier and becoming the first African American to get into the majors and accomplish many records. Even though Jackie is not around to see how the hardships he faced have made life on people today more easy, he is still remembered as the player who paved a path for our nation. The impact of not only Robinson but also Doby and Campy gave inspiration to Martin Luther King Jr. About a week before King died he stated, Youll never know how easy you and Jackie and Doby and Campy made it for me to do my job by what you did on the baseball field. Baseball was integrated before the army, before schools, and before many other things. It all happened without Jackie but someone had to be the first to step up and take a chance, and that was just what he did. (Bio.com. AE Networks Television, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.†) A few years before World War II, Max Manning had been pitching for the Newark Eagles as a phenomenal side armer. He never thought there would be a chance for him to go and become a pitcher on a white team. His thoughts change for a while when he was approached by an unfamiliar face, the coach of the Detroit Tigers. They were offering a tryout spot for pitching, but that changed when the rest of the team found out he was black. His Negro leagues career was interrupted as he was called into service during World War II. He then returned to pitch the final Negro Leagues World series where his team won. With all this going on Max never gave up and never really cared about what people cared about his color, he only cared about playing ball. After his baseball life was over he went back to school and decided to become a sixth grade teacher up until his death in in June of 2003. Feature African-American Baseball. PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.) Before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, ball players in Oklahoma had been playing in sandlot leagues and excelling in the sport. Willie Wells played in the sandlot â€Å"blackball† leagues all the way through his teen years in highschool as a shortstop. When he finally came up to the Negro leagues he became the best shortstop in the league. In 1997 he joined the Baseball hall of Fame. Along with Willie there were many other black players that had showed they were worthy of being in Baseballs Hall of Fame. In all there are about 18 players from the Negro Leagues in the Hall of Fame, and most had not been recognized till the 80s, all the way up to about 2002. The reason it took so long is because nobody really cared about blacks in baseball because they â€Å"never compared† to whites. After many years of segregation many white people started to gain respect for him, As Mickey Mantle said after one of the games BASEBALL, AFRICAN AMERICAN. BASEBALL, AFRICAN AMERICAN. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014 : After the game, Jackie Robinson came into our clubhouse and shook my hand. He said, Youre a helluva ballplayer and youve got a great future. I thought that was a classy gesture, one I wasnt then capable of making. I was a bad loser. What meant even more was what Jackie told the press, Mantle beat us. He was the difference between the two teams. They didnt miss DiMaggio . I have to admit, I became a Jackie Robinson fan on the spot. And when I think of that world Series, his gesture is what comes to mind. Here was a player who had without doubt suffered more abuse and more taunts and more hatred than any player in the history of the game. And he had made a special effort to compliment and encourage a young white kid from Oklahoma.(Jackie Robinson Quotes. Jackie Robinson Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.) As time progressed more and more people started to show respect for Jackie and others that helped integrate baseball and this gave a boost too other players, according to a statement by Hank Aaron In baseball, there is something electrifying about the big leagues. I had read so much about (Stan) Musial,(Ted) Williams and (Jackie) Robinson. I had put those guys on a pedestal. They were something special. I really thought they put their pants on different, rather than one leg at a time.(Hank Aaron Quotes. Hank Aaron Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.) Near the end of World War II the attendance at Negro leagues took a major decline as the best players were called up into interleague which is the step right below major. With that happening the Negro leagues took a dip and fell apart. This lead to integration of blacks into baseball. What caused this greater decline was the focus of the fans only on the major players like Robinson and Doby. To gain more support teams called female players to stand at the gates just to attract more fans but in the end the players just kept on going to white teams. (Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.) When people think about integration of baseball, they think Jackie Robinson, but thats not all of it. It took a whole community, a whole league just to earn a chance on an all white team. This was a team effort, the biggest step in baseball history started with one big contract to Jackie and the rest took off. Baseball was never the same, and today it isnt a struggle. Without this happening, today baseball probably wouldnt be what it is.

Essay --

Less than 1% of the water supply on earth can be used as drinking water. By the time a person feels thirsty, his or her body has lost over 1 percent of its total water amount. About 25,700 litres (6,800 gallons) of water is required to grow a day's food for a family of four. A child dies every 8 seconds from water-related disease. Groundwater can take a human lifetime just to traverse a mile. A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water. If a human does not absorb enough water dehydration is the result. Most of the earth's surface water is permanently frozen or salty. If all the world's water were fit into a gallon jug, the fresh water available for us to use would equal only about one tablespoon When water contains a lot of calcium and magnesium, it is called hard water. Hard water is not suited for all purposes water is normally used for. An acre of corn will give off 15,000 litres (4,000 gallons) of water per day in evaporation. A small drip from a faucet can waste as much as 75 litres of water a day. Of all the water on earth, o...

Animal Euthanasia

To Kill or Not To Kill In the past few decades, there has been a big uproar regarding the topic of euthanasia in dogs. Euthanasia used to be a term used to end the suffering of a life by putting them in a painless and permanent state of sleep. I believe that today, the term ‘euthanasia’ when referred to dogs has transformed to a word used to justify the mass murder of dogs across the world. Most people will agree that the only time a dog should be put down is when it is sick or suffering from pain. I believe that if a dog is euthanized for any other reason, the person in control is guilty of committing an abominable act.They do not call dogs â€Å"mans’ best friend† for nothing. With proper training, every single dog has the potential of making a good house pet and becoming an important part of an owner’s life. Most dogs that are being euthanized each year are not even suffering from any illnesses and are not aggressive either. They are just unlucky. The reasoning that is given by these shelters committing these vile acts is that there is an overpopulation of dogs in their shelters and not enough homes for all of them so they have no choice.The problem with this picture is the fact that many of these shelters breed dogs for the sole purpose of having them sold. Many of these dogs are being sold for sums well over a thousand dollars. The dogs that they are not able to sell are sent to shelters. These shelters fill up quickly because of these breeders who can’t sell their dogs and can only take what they have room for and can manage which leads to these breeders euthanizing their extra dogs, many times in the convenience of their own backyards.They figure that it costs them a lot less to murder their unsold dogs then the expenses they pay to take care of them while they wait for them to be sold. In the United States, an estimated 4 to 6 million dogs are euthanized in shelters each year. Pete Wedderburn, editor of Small Ani mal, says â€Å"It’s very disappointing that after all the noise that is made about how appalling it is, nothing changes. † Unfortunately, not everyone will agree with the fact that euthanasia amongst dogs should only take place when the dog is suffering from pain or terminally ill.Joy Leney and Jenny Remfy mention in their book Dogs, zoonoses, and public health why dog population management is necessary and very important. In their book they say â€Å"Some people love dogs. Some people hate them. Some dogs are man’s best friends. Others, or sometimes the same ones, are sources of injury, accident, disease and pollution. † (299) Dogs can breed and multiply their numbers very quickly but the breeding is not their fault. It is the fault of the breeder for breeding them in order to sell them.Once they are not sold, they either become stray dogs and usually end up being killed in the future or are sent to be killed right away. I believe that this is very inhu mane. Leney and Remfy continue to speak about the methods used to kill these dogs are beginning to be too costly because of transportation and drugs needed so kill shelters and breeders have come out with cheaper ways to get rid of their extra dogs. These new methods include ovens and gas chambers where they throw in large amounts of dogs at a time to be killed in order to save time and money.It makes me shiver how anyone who is responsible for these mass murders can live with their despicable acts. A simple solution to lower these rates of dogs being euthanized and to take control of the overpopulation of dogs is to alter the majority of dogs. Most shelters and animal organizations neuter dogs for no charge as well as give vaccines needed to prevent diseases from being transmitted. By altering dogs, the rate of dogs reproduced each day will drastically decrease. Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U. S. – and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born.As long as these b irth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. Early age altering of dogs (6-14 weeks) has been practiced for over 25 years in North America. The perceived high cost of altering is not the problem since many shelters will happily do it for free. The problem is the lack of education dog owners have about altering their dogs. If the benefits were understood, more people would be altering their dogs. Euthanasia should be thought upon and observed very carefully before being put to use.It used to be a treatment but is now mostly used as a weapon to kill. . In the Irish Veterinary Journal, Pete Wedderburn believes â€Å"†¦the government ought to proceed with compulsory micro chipping, a license for life and a discounted license fee for neutered pets† (Wedderburn 530). This is one way to really help lower the number of dogs being euthanized. Furthermore, it will be thought upon twice before euthanizing a dog since the dog is now neutered and will not b e able to produce more dogs. Not allowing a dog to reproduce may be a bit cruel but a big step towards lowering the kill rate.Having the dog micro chipped and placed inside a database will also help influence the decision of a shelter or breeder of whether or not to put down a dog. There are numerous pet owners surrendering their dog due to personal reasons and inadequacy in taking responsibility for their dogs. This also adds to the overpopulation of dogs. According to a survey conducted by the American Humane Association, out of the 1000 shelters who responded to the survey, 2. 7 million of 4. 3 million animals (64 percent) are being euthanized. Out of this euthanized number, 56 percent are dogs.Majority of the animals in shelters were being euthanized since there is a standard period of time, ranging from several days to weeks, for unclaimed stray animals. However, there are â€Å"no kill† shelters run by private and animal welfare organizations. This alone is part of the solution to end the overpopulation of dogs. These â€Å"no kill† shelters make it an official policy never to euthanize animals unless it’s for medical reasons. If overcrowding is really an issue, then it may be necessary to send dogs to other shelters instead of murdering them.I am sure there are many animal cruelty prevention organizations that will be willing to take these dogs in and finding them a foster home until they are adopted into a permanent household. This will lower the rate of dogs being killed, give the dog a better life, and be a much more humane thing to do. In the book Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America, the author Nathan J. Winograd writes â€Å"The decision to end an animal’s life is an extremely serious one, and should always be treated as such.No matter how many animals a shelter kills, each and every animal is an individual, and each deserves individual consideration. And finally, to meet the challenge that No Kill entails, shelter leadership needs to get the community excited, to energize people for the task at hand. By working with people, implementing lifesaving programs, and treating each life as precious, a shelter can transform a community. † (Winograd 22-31, 229) The programs Winograd is referring to include free spay/neuter, rescue groups, foster cares, pet retention, medical and behavioral programs, ommunity involvement, volunteers and a compassionate director to control the friendly shelter. Winograd calls this the No Kill Equation. I don’t quite agree with Winograd that this equation is the key solution to lower the rate of dogs euthanized each year. I think that there are much easier and more efficient ways to lower the rates. It will take too long for all community shelters across the country to set up these programs in their communities. The right way to do this is to hire lobbyists to fight for the no kill shelters and animal welfare organiza tions and push the passing of a law against euthanasia on healthy dogs.All dog owners should be taught the benefits of neutering their dogs. The usage of microchips should be implemented by all shelters in order to manage the population of dogs. For every single animal euthanized in a shelter, there is a person outside of that shelter responsible for it. The responsibility to keep shelters from euthanizing animals lies with each of us as pet owners. If we adopt through rescue, choose a good match, spay and neuter, and keep our animals for their lifetimes, the shelters will be near empty, not overfull, and euthanasia can become a tragedy of the past.

The Trial of Steven Truscott

The Trial of Steven Truscott Free Online Research Papers The time and place: 1959; Clinton, Ontario, Canada. The crime: the rape and murder of a 12 year old girl. The Suspect: a 14 year old boy, one of the victim’s classmates. The story of Steven Truscott and the crime he was convicted of committing was shocking when it happened nearly 50 years ago, but even as recent of February 2007, this case has been making headlines in Canadian news. This case could have been a contributing factor to the shaping of the Canadian criminal code, specifically the juvenile system and the death penalty. The details of the case must be explored to better understand the impact it made in Canada, and how it has continued to affect the life of Steven Truscott. On the evening of June 9, 1959, 14-year-old Steven Truscott gave one of his classmates, Lynn Harper, 12, a ride near the Air Base in Clinton, Ontario. According to Truscott, after he dropped her off, he rode away, but â€Å"saw as car stop where Harper was standing. She got in the car and the car drove off (McClish).† Two days later, Harper’s body was found in some bushes by the base. She had been raped, and then strangled. Thought to be the last person to see her alive, Truscott immediately became the prime suspect in her murder investigation. By the 12th of June, the day after her body was found; Truscott was arrested and taken into custody. On the 13th, he was charged with her murder (CBC News). No other suspects were ever seriously considered. As far as suspects go, there were a few others that were overlooked. There were several thousand service men living on the airbase, many were young and single. There was one 18 year old man that was questioned by the police. He â€Å"claimed to have seen the girl the night she disappeared around 6:30 pm in the town of Clinton (CBC News).† This statement was inconsistent with the fact that Harper never left the base, but he was also able to recall the fact that she was wearing blue shorts.† He was cleared from suspicion by his girlfriend who said that he was with her for most of the evening. According to police notes, there is no indication that any further investigation was done. Another possible suspect was Sgt. Alexander Kalichuk. He was a convicted sexual predator. He was a â€Å"heavy drinker with a history of sexual offenses (CBC News).† He worked as a supply technician at the Clinton base, where Lynn Harper’s father was the senior supply officer. He transferred to a base in Aylmer, about a one hour drive away, but still made frequent trips back to Clinton. Three weeks before Harper’s body was found, Kalichuk attempted to lure a 10-year old girl to his car, but stopped when her father approached. He was arrested by the OPP and charged. A judge dismissed the charge due to lack of evidence, but the judge did give Kalichuk a warning that he, and the police, knew what he was â€Å"up to.† On the day of Harper’s murder, he was reportedly involved in an incident of indecent exposure just a few miles away from the Clinton base. It is also believed that the car Truscott claimed to have seen Harper get in to may have be longed to Kalichuk. Sgt. Kalichuk â€Å"drank himself to death in 1975 (CBC News).† The police refuse to say whether or not an investigation was ever conducted to link him to Harper’s murder. There were 2 other witnesses that claim to have seen evidence indicating that a car may have been present at the site where Harper’s body was found. George Edens was the man that found Harper’s body. He claimed that â€Å"going up you could see skid marks. Just up to the pavement, it was only maybe three or four feet long (CBC News).† Another man, Bob Lawson, had property near that site. He was suspicious because he had never seen a car parked there in the past. He reported it to the authorities after Harper’s body had been found, but the police already had Truscott in custody. In his statement to The Fifth Estate, Lawson said â€Å"They didn’t take it very serious. He said I think they’ve, I think they’ve already picked somebody up. They didn’t want to hear anything else.† From this statement, it seems to me like the police didn’t care to even consider anyone other than Truscott as the person who committed this crime. Other than Truscott’s statement that he gave Harper a ride that night, there was another piece of evidence that placed Truscott at the scene. There were bicycle tracks similar to that of Steven’s bicycle. According to Bob Lawson, they were experiencing dry weather at the time, so there really was no way the tracks could have been made that month. This did not stop police from drawing the conclusion that Truscott had to be the one that raped and murdered young Harper. During the investigation, many young children had been questing regarding Truscott’s alibi. Police wanted to know how many of them had seen Truscott and Harper together. Among these interviews were: Phillip Burns, a 10 year old boy that was concluded to be at the scene too early, and couldn’t have seen them there; Jocelyn Gaudet, who was supposed to meet Truscott (in the same bush where Harper was found) for a secret date; and Gord Logan, Truscott’s friend who was said to have made up his testimony to protect Truscott’s alibi. These testimonies may have been crucial evidence in convicting Truscott. After all the evidence was gathered, Truscott was taken to trial. Other than the old bicycle track, there was one critical piece of evidence that possibly pointed to Truscott as the killer. From what I would assume, there were probably not as many scientific tools available in 1959 as there is today, but the medical examiner was said to have been able to pinpoint the murder with remarkable precision. Relying mainly on the analysis of Lynn’s stomach contents he placed the time of death precisely in the half-hour window between 7:15 pm and 7:45 pm an astonishing precision even with the forensic tools available today (CBC News). This was a crucial piece of evidence due to the fact that Truscott admitted in a statement that he and Harper were riding on his bicycle at that same time. â€Å"I got on the seat and she mounted the crossbar and we took off. The time? Probably between 7:30 and 7:45. I took her to the highway, turned around and rode slowly back toward the school (McClish).† According to the jury, this must have been enough evidence. On December 8, 1959, a jury found Truscott guilty of the murder, and was sentenced to death. The trial only lasted 15 days. Truscott was the youngest Canadian ever to be sentenced to death. Due to the building controversy of his harsh sentencing, the conservative Prime Minister, John Diefenbaker, commuted Truscott’s sentence to life in prison. After Truscott’s sentencing, there were a lot of citizens that spoke out about the incident. An extremely powerful poem was written by Pierre Berton. It questions the decision for capital punishment of a minor child and why there is a need for it in general. It is on the following page. ? In Goderich town The Sun abates December is coming And everyone waits: In a small, dark room On a small, hard bed Lies a small, pale boy Who is not quite dead. The cell is lonely The cell is cold October is young But the boy is old; Too old to cringe And too old to cry Though young But never too young to die. Its true enough That we cannot brag Of a national anthem Or a national flag And though our Vision Is still in doubt At last weve something to boast about: Weve a national law In the name of the Queen To hang a child Who is just fourteen. The law is clear: It says we must And in this country The law is just Sing heigh! Sing ho! For justice blind Makes no distinction Of any kind; Makes no allowances for sex or years, A judges feelings, a mothers tears; Makes no allowances for age or youth Just eye for eye and tooth for tooth Tooth for tooth and eye for eye: A child does murder A child must die. Dont fret dont worry No need to cry Well only pretend hes going to die; Were going to reprieve him Bye and bye. Were going to reprieve him (We always do), But it wouldnt be fair If we told him, too So well keep the secret As long as we can And hope that hell take it Like a man. And when weve told him Its just pretend And he wont be strung At a nooses end, Well send him away And, like as not Put him in prison And let him rot. The jury said mercy And we agree O, merciful jury: You and me. Oh death can come And death can go Some deaths are sudden And some are slow; In a small cold cell In October mild Death comes each day To a frightened child. So muffle the drums and beat them slow, Mute the strings and play them low, Sing a lament and sing it well, But not for the boy in the cold, dark cell, Not for the parents, trembling-lipped, Not for the judge who followed the script; Save your prayers for the righteous ghouls In that Higher Court who write the rules For judge and jury and hangman too: The Court composed of me and you. In Goderich town The trees turn red The limbs go bare As their leave are bled And the days tick by As the sky turns lead For the small, scared boy On the small, stark bed A fourteen-year-old Who is not quite dead. Could this have been something that caused the Canadian government to review the need for capital punishment? Probably not, but I am sure his voice was heard and that he still made an impact. I believe, in order to better understand the conviction and sentencing of Truscott, one must first have some understanding of the history of the Canadian juvenile justice system, as well as information on the use of capital punishment in Canada. The following information came from the Canada Department of Justice website. Throughout the 1800s, there really was no separate justice system in Canada for juvenile offenders. They were sentenced to prisons and served the same sentences as adults. Small changes were starting to take place at the end of the 19th Century. In some of the provinces, industrial, or remedial, schools were being developed. One of the first major proposals for a separate juvenile system was in 1890 by the Prisoner’s Aid Association of Canada. The following ideas were included in the proposal: The organization supported a program that included special courts for young offenders, limited use of detention for those under 14, qualified staff for reformatories and industrial schools and the use of indefinite sentences. Another attempt for reform came from Ontario in 1891. Although it only applied specifically to Ontario, it did have national impact and heightened awareness for the juvenile reform campaign. The Ontario Commission recommended the following: every city and large town should have one or more industrial school children under 14 should not be publicly arrested and detained children under 14, when it is necessary to hold them, should not be detained in a common jail but in a place entirely away from the police station all children under 14 should be tried in special courts convicted children under 14 should never be incarcerated in a common jail, and should be sent to a reformatory or refuge only as a last resort more use should be made of suspended sentences a probation system should be introduced earned remission for good conduct should be offered a parole system should be adopted, as well as apprenticeship programs and boarding out an association should be formed in every region of the province for the after-care of released juveniles changes in the law should give more power to provincial officials over such things as pardon, parole and the general supervision of delinquent children These kinds of policies would allow for earlier intervention and a chance to keep children away from adult offenders, where they could possibly be exposed to more criminal behavior. Although many acts were passed to keep children in separate prisons from adults, the Juvenile Delinquents Act of 1908 still allowed for children over the age of 14 that were accused of murder or treason to be transferred to ordinary courts. This act set the tone in the Canadian Justice system about the next 75 years. While I don’t believe that Truscott’s trial was the only reason the Department of Justice decided to re-evaluate this Act, I do believe that it had a major impact on their decision. Truscott’s conviction and sentence was decided in 1959. It was just one year later, in 1960, that the Department of Justice assembled a committee to study the details of the Act. The final report, issued in 1965, focused on the need for additional action, including equal application of the Act throughout all of Canada, and better training for judges and court officials in handling juvenile offenders. Quebec was the first province to take action after this report was issued. It took steps to be sure all juvenile offenders had access to lawyers. Many of the standards in the juvenile system were not put in to place until after Truscott was released from prison in 1969, but his case, combined with many other young offenders, paved the road, and caused the Canadian Justice department to examine the way these young people were being punished. The policies began to standardize in the 1980s by enforcing the right to counsel throughout the country, and also allowing the right to appeal a conviction. The minimum age for prosecution was raised to 12 years old. Other changes were made to standardize convictions and sentencing. Detention could not exceed two years, except when the crime would normally be punishable by a life sentence, in which case, the maximum was three years. In the late 1980s, there was an amendment made to increase the penalty for murder. The penalty for first-degree murder was raised to a maximum of 10 years, and second-degree to 7 years. Except for a few other suggestions for special treatment of offenders under the age of 12, these Canada-wide standards have continued to stay in place. Along with the many changes in the juvenile system, Canada has also seen changes in the Criminal Justice system regarding capital punishment. I believe that Truscott’s case may have also had a small influence on the abolition of the death penalty. There were no major changes with capital punishment from 1869 until 1961, just one year after Truscott’s death sentence was commuted. Legislation was passed in 1961 that reclassified murder into capital and non-capital offenses. This allowed for only capital murder to be punishable by death. In 1967 a bill was passed that placed a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, except in cases involving the murder of a police officer, and in 1976, capital punishment was abolished completely by Canadian Parliament. One of the main reasons was due to the possibility of wrongful convictions, including possibly Truscott’s. There was also an uncertainty as to the effectiveness of the death penalty. The death penalty was replaced with life imprisonment. With no eligibility for parole for 25 years in the case of first-degree murder, and 10-25 years for second degree murder. Even though it was almost 20 years after Truscott’s case, I feel that it still may have been one of the considering factors in lifting capital punishment in Canada. Steven Truscott was in prison for 7 years when a journalist, Isabel LeBourdais, published a book that questioned his conviction. Her book, â€Å"The Story of Steven Truscott,† prompted the Canadian supreme court to examine the case a second time. After â€Å"deliberating and reviewing the case, the justices voted 8-1 against giving the young man a new trial (City News).† The one justice that voted for a new trial pointed out many of the original holes that the case had in the first place, stating they should be re-examined, one of which was the time of death. In 1966, years after the trial, the coroner that initially placed time of death between 7:15 and 7:45, corrected himself and said that â€Å"All findings are compatible with death within 2 hours of Lynn’s last meal (CBC News).† This opened up the possibility that someone else could have been with Harper in the same timeframe as Truscott. Despite being denied a new trial, and his life sentence, T ruscott was still released from prison in 1969. He assumed a new identity, married, and had three children. Truscott insisted, as he does still to this day, that he did not commit the crime, and he remained haunted by the fact he was convicted of the crime even as he was given a chance for a new life. Truscott remained in hiding for nearly 20 years. I believe one of the main reasons he came out of hiding was because he was consumed with the need to prove himself innocent. In September 1997, Truscott agreed to DNA testing that would possibly exonerate him, but because of the time space, some of the crucial evidence had been destroyed. A few years later, March of 2000, Truscott breaks his silence once again. He decided to go on the CBC News and proclaim his innocence, vowing to do whatever it would take to clear his name. This is what began his crusade, which would last to the present day. Truscott was paired with the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted (AIDWYC), and in November 2001, they filed an application for a retrial to the Minister of Justice-the person that decides if a new trial should be ordered. The following January, the minister of Justice ruled that an outside agent also needed to review the request. Justice Fred Kaufman was the man appointed fo r that review. He had been appointed in the past to review wrongful murder conviction cases. It took a little over two years, but in April 2004, Kaufman presented a 700 page report that confirmed â€Å"sufficient new evidence had been found† and â€Å"that the Minister of Justice order the Ontario Court of Appeal to hear the case as if it were an appeal of the original conviction (CBC News).† One of his reasons falls back again to the evidence that probably convicted Truscott in the first place†¦Harper’s time of death. Kaufman stated â€Å"modern science has removed the time of death as a piece of circumstantial evidence favouring Truscott’s guilt (CBC News).† In October, the new Minister of Justice, Irwin Cotler, referred the case to the Ontario Court of Appeal for review. Cotler believed that a new trial was necessary. I have determined that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice occurred in this case†¦we have a legal – and I believe moral – obligation to see if the new evidence would have affected the verdict. A few more years go went by before any more major progress was made in the case. In the meantime, Truscott had his 60th birthday, and was still trying to prove his innocence. In April 2006, two years after Kaufman ordered the appeal, Lynn Harper’s body was exhumed to attempt DNA testing. Because so much time had go by, there was no evidence in her remains salvageable for testing. Finally, in June of 2006, Truscott’s case is heard by the Ontario Court of Appeals. As of January 2007 (yes, that’s this year) the case was still being heard, with three possible outcomes dismiss appeal order a new trial acquittal The appeal ended on Wednesday February 14th, but the decision lies with the five member panel of judges that heard the case. There were arguments of missing and distorted evidence, the fact that most of the eyewitness testimonies were from young children, whose stories changed from their initial statements to the days of the initial trial (City News). One of Truscott’s lawyers, Hersch Wolch, reminded the panel â€Å"behind me sits a 60-year old man who for 80 percent of his life has been branded as a murderer, He can be viewed also as an innocent 14-year old boy sentenced to hang. This court is the only venue for justice now and forever (City News).† This may have been a desperate pull of the heartstrings, but I think he was doing it to stress the fact that this wrong conviction (possibly) has consumed the majority of Truscott’s life, but that it has also affected the lives of Lynn Harper’s family, and the Ontarian public as a whole. As of April, I ha ve not found any word as to the final outcome of Truscott’s crusade to prove his innocence. The end of the article by The City News states â€Å"It could take anywhere from several weeks to several months for the judges to render their decision. I believe this case truly has been an impact in Canadian society. People have been focused on the story of Steven Truscott and Lynn Harper since that day in June of 1959. I believe his case helped spawn the review for a development of a criminal system for Canadian youth. It also may have been one of the factors that lead to the deletion of capital punishment in the Canadian Code. I am going to make a bold statement and say based on the evidence that was originally presented, even with the original time of death proven to be so close to when Truscott said to have left Harper, I would not have been able to make the decision to convict a child of that crime, or sentence him to death. I believe him to be not guilty of the crime he was convicted of, and has spent his entire life trying to prove so. He is still young (as in he probably is not going to die soon), but I still hope that Steven Truscott gets his results back while he still able to enjoy some of his life as an innocent m an. References CBC News: The Fifth Estate. â€Å"The Steven Truscott Story: Moment of Truth.† cbc.ca/fifth/truscott/index.html. City News. â€Å"Steven Truscott Appeal Wraps Up With Lawyers Pleading Convicted Man’s Innocence.† citynews.ca/news/news_7848.aspx. February 14, 2007. Department of Justice Canada. â€Å"The Evolution of the Juvenile Justice System in Canada.† justice.gc.ca/en/ps/inter/juv_jus_min/sec01a.html. McClish, Mark. â€Å"Statement Analysis: Steven Truscott.† statementanalysis.com/truscott. Research Papers on The Trial of Steven TruscottCapital PunishmentThe Fifth HorsemanUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresQuebec and CanadaPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsEffects of Television Violence on Children

Asteroid Collision essays

Asteroid Collision essays Throughout the long history of the Earth, the planet has been struck a number of times by rogue asteroids. I will briefly discuss the effect that such an event could have on the Earths climate, atmosphere and temperature. A number of problems could arise from such an event, many of which could extend far beyond the immediate strike. The Earths biosphere could also be significantly impacted by the long-term effects of a meteorite strike. Finally, we will briefly look at the likelihood of future impact, plus some past near misses. The effects that an asteroid striking the Earth would have are many and varied and mostly depend on the size of the object impacting the ground. The smallest classification of asteroids, ranging in sizes between 10 to 100 meters in diameter would have little long term affect outside the strike zone. A meteorite of this size could cause damage equal to that of a nuclear explosion and cause massive damage and loss of life if it struck a major population center. An object between 100 meters and 1 kilometer is a greater danger. Even at the smaller end of the scale a strike on land could create a crater 3 kilometers wide as well as eject debris 10 kilometers away. Get close to an object of 1 kilometer wide and the zone of destruction could conceivably cover a small country as well as cause minor damage on a global scale. A strike in the ocean would create large tidal waves which would devastate coastal areas many miles inland. If the same meteorite struck land, the vast amounts o f dust thrown into the atmosphere could cool down temperatures on Earth and kill up to tens of millions of people. Finally, the largest scale of asteroids range from 1 to 10 kilometers. The impact from an object of this size could create a crate up to 15 times the diameter of the object itself and cause massive damage even to continental landmasses. Ocean impacts would cause tidal waves never seen before that coul...