The Other Wes Moore Notes p. 124-183 PDF

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Notes on the book The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore from Professor Clark-Addison's class....

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The Other Wes Moore p. 124-183 ● OWM continues defending himself, claiming he wasn’t even there the day the armed robbery took place that landed him in prison ● WM questions why he visits OWM in the first place and asks if OWM thinks that we are products of our environments ○ OWM says that we are products of others’ expectations of us, which become our expectations of ourselves ● WM is becoming a paratrooper ○ Military life and academic life grew on him ○ He decided by looking at all of his role models in military school that he wanted to lead soldiers and attend their junior college ● OWM has four children now, by two different women, Alicia and Cheryl ○ He now lived with Cheryl, a heroin addict ○ His friend Levy had gotten out of the drug game, and now OWM wanted his help getting out too, but he told him it would be hard work ○ Levy was just finishing Job Corps, designed to help disadvantaged youth, and he convinced OWM to do the same ○ After nearly a year, he graduated, and for the following year he bounced around between jobs making only $9/hour ○ The mothers of his children were asking him for money, and his mother who helped take care of the kids was also asking for money so he decided to start selling again ● Four men robbed a jewelry store and one of the men shot and killed a police officer/security guard of the store on their way out ○ Mary (OWM’s mother) is watching the reports of the robbery on TV when Tony and OWM’s faces appear as suspects ○ OWM and Tony were wanted for 12 days before they were arrested in their home ○ Tony and two others were sentenced to life in prison without parole ■ Tony pled guilty to felony murder, avoiding a possible death sentence ○ OWM decided to go to trial, insisting that he wasn’t there on that day ■ His lawyer argued that he was questioned by the police before he became a suspect and he appeared calm, innocent ● His biggest mistake was going with Tony to Philadelphia that day ○ But a saleswoman testified that she saw OWM there that day and his DNA was found on a necklace at the store ○ After sitting in jail for a year to await the decision, he was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life in prison ● Wes finishes junior college at Valley Forge and gets accepted to Johns Hopkins University, deciding he wants to go to law school afterwards ○ He has developed a great bond with his mother over time ○ He is offered a scholarship in which he must spend a semester abroad in South Africa to learn the culture, language, and live with a host family ○ When he talks with his mother on the phone, she tells him that another man with his same name from his neighborhood was wanted by the police...