DEAD MAN Walking- film review and analysis PDF

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its a film review about dead man walking the movie and why capital punishment exists...

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STAGE 1 LEGAL STUDIES FOLIO: ASSESSMENT 3 – FILM REVIEW

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Provide some information about the history of the topic of Executions - The first death penalty laws date back to the 18th century B.C. in the code of king Hammurabi of Babylon, which stated the death penalty for 25 different crimes. However, the leading cause of capital punishment being used all over the world was the British empire. The colonisers would enforce their own laws over conquered land, including capital punishment. This is how most of the world adopted capital punishment into their legal systems, especially the countries in the commonwealth. [10]

 Which countries/states still use this form of sanction and for what types of offences Some Countries that still use the death penalty are[7] [8]: Countries w/ Death Penalties India Ethiopia[4 ] USA[7] Saudi Arabia[9] China[1] South Korea[7]

Japan[7] [2]

Offences:

How it’s carried out

Murder, rape, being part of criminal conspiracy Murder, most crimes against the imperial family Treason, espionage, murder, large-scale drug trafficking

hanging

Apostasy, Treason, Homosexuality, Espionage, Murder, Rape, Terrorism & Drug smuggling Treason (Art. 102), Armed rebellion & Rioting (Art. 104) , Espionage (Art. 110), Rape (Art. 236) and about 30 more. Rebellion (Section 87), Conspiracy with foreign countries (Section 92), homicide (Section 250), robbery-homicide (Section 338) Multiple murders

hanging Hanging, electrocution, Lethal injection, gas chamber, firing squad Lethal injection, hanging, electrocution, firing squad , lethal gas Firing squad, lethal injection

Hanging, firing squad (military offence related)

Hanging

Other countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka also have capital punishment as part of their justice system. 

What execution methods have been used? - Death penalties during the Middle Ages were creative, being carried out by crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning alive and impalement. Other ancient methods were the ‘death by molten lava’ (ancient Israel), Flaying (skinning a person alive; used in ancient Rome, medieval England, and the ottoman empire). Modern day punishments have been made more “humane” with a quick and fairly painless death. We see an example of this in the movie when Matthew is being executed. He is given an anaesthetic that puts him to sleep and then two rounds of lethal injections. Other modern day execution methods include hanging, electrocution, lethal gas and firing squad (mostly used for military related offences in most countries. [6] [11]

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Provide a brief summary of the movie – what are the core issues?

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Dead Man walking is a movie about a hardened criminal, Matthew Poncelet who is on the death row waiting to be executed. He reaches out to sister Helen Prejean, maintaining his innocence towards the crime, convincing the sister to help him express his innocence to the legal system. The core issue of the movie was the ethical cost of executing inmates. The movie wanted it’s audience to ask themselves the question “is it really ethical to allow a country’s legal system to kill off their inmates in the name of punishment?” the character of Helen Prejean shows the audience that inmates are human too and are entitled to their basic right to life.

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Do you think that Matthew Poncelet deserved to die? Provide an explanation - What Matthew did was unlawful and wrong in every degree. He deserved to be punished for his crimes, but not to be put to death. Instead, the legal system, especially in America should push toward rehabilitating those that commit crimes, and if serious enough give those prisoners life sentences, with no chance of parole. Matthew definitely didn’t deserve to die, but he did deserve to be educated about his mistakes and have at least a chance at being better.

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Has your opinion about the use of the death penalty changed at all after viewing the movie? - My opinion has always been the same regarding the death penalty, that it should be abolished as it is inhumane to put a person to death, no matter how heinous the crime. It makes those who serve justice contradict their oaths. I think harsher punishments should definitely be inflicted on those that commit such crimes, but still have a chance to rehabilitate and take control of their lives.

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In conclusion provide a recommendation as to how the legal system should deal with this issue - As said in my last answer, harsher punishments should be inflicted (life imprisonment with no parole etc.) but with a chance to work from the prison or gain some sort of skills.

Bibliography: [1] Yuan, Y., 2021. How Many Crimes Are Punishable by Death in China？ - China Law in One Minute - China Justice Observer. [online] Chinajusticeobserver.com. Available at:

[Accessed 22 September 2021].

[2] Hays, J., 2021. DEATH PENALTY IN JAPAN: DETAILS OF EXECUTIONS, DEATH ROW AND EXECUTED PRISONERS | Facts and Details. [online] Factsanddetails.com. Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2021]. [3] Death Penalty Information Center. 2021. Early History of the Death Penalty. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2021].

[4 ] Metekia, T. S. (2019). Punishing Core Crimes in Ethiopia: Analysis of the Domestic Practice in Light of and in Comparison, with Sentencing Practices at the unicts and the icc, International Criminal Law Review, 19(1), 160-190. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718123-01901007 [5] Amnesty International. 2021. South Korea: Facts about the death penalty and calls for abolition | Amnesty International. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2021].

[6] Death Penalty Information Center. 2021. Methods of Execution. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2021].

[7] Smh.com.au. 2021. Which countries still have the death penalty?. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2021]. [8] Worldpopulationreview.com. 2021. Countries With Death Penalty 2021. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2021]. [9] En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia - Wikipedia. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2021]. [10] Death Penalty Information Center. 2021. Early History of the Death Penalty. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2021].

[11] Brigden, J., 2021. Ouch! 8 of the most brutal execution methods from the ancient world. [online] Sky HISTORY TV channel. Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2021]....