The real story behind Mississippi Burning is in the news!
Sunday, 26 June 2011
1)For minor crimes, most states have a “statute of limitations” that prohibits bringing charges when a certain period of time has elapsed since the crime.When it comes to serious crimes, is it right for the justice system to pursue criminal charges several decades after the crime is said to have occurred?
I think that it is important to pursue criminal charges several decades after the crime is said to have occurred since the mistake has already been made and it is important that the person is held responsible. The state cannot be one that chooses to run away from the problem just because it has passed a long time ago and brings back bad memories, instead we should face up to the problem and make sure justice is done.
2)Reporting for The Times on the conviction of Edgar Ray Killen in 2005, Shaila Dewan wrote, “While some in Neshoba County [Mississippi] said it was too late and too painful to revisit the episode, others thought that in doing so, the county might find redemption.”
What do you think: was the state’s image “rehabilitated”?
I think the state’s image was “rehabilitated” because it shows that the state is willing to face up to its problems instead of running away from the situation at hand. It also shows that the fact that the state is willing to punish the criminals shows that the state is one that cares about the law, of which right and wrong are clear.
3)How much do you know about the civil rights era in general?
I do not really know anything much until after I saw the movie Mississippi burning whereby it was an insight to the life during the civil rights area. The book To Kill A Mockingbird also helped to further emphasise the racial inequality between the blacks and the whites. Furthermore, doing a comic earlier this year about Rosa Parks was all I knew about the civil rights era in general.