After reading the news articles and the accompanying websites that go along with the Hank Skinner case, I believe that injustice was averted by the issuance of a stay last November. In my opinion, it is up to the law enforcement who investigate the crime and the legal system that deals with the actual trial to fully analyze all evidence that can be provided, whether that evidence is believed to support the defense or not. In the readings, a lot of Skinner biased reports say that the police did not thoroughly complete their investigation and in some areas, did not even investigate at all. The DNA testing has been given a lot of criticism on both sides. I believe this to be the focal point of where injustice was averted. Had a stay not been issued, Skinner would have been executed without the legal system fully investigating all angles and evidence of the case. Skinner himself said that he wants the DNA tested so that if he is innocent he can be set free and if he is proven guilty, he can be put to death. This statement in itself is a whole other debate, but for this purpose it shows that all he wants is a fair and thorough trial. I do not necessarily agree with Skinner's version of what happened, but I do believe that all evidence should be looked at and everything should be done to defend what little innocence a man may have.
The two contrasting websites regarding the Hank Skinner case were very confusing at first because of their appearance. I think that the website arguing against Skinner wanted to make their looks like the other because it would show people how easy it is to make something look legitimate and that you must really pay attention to the kinds of things you are reading. The first website is pro-Skinner and most of it is "Skinner's opinion" or "Skinner's story" or "Skinner claims...". When I read through it, I felt like I was reading a very wordy and inconsistent story. There were facts, but they were almost just thrown into the telling of Skinner's side of the case. This differed greatly from the second website, which focused solely on the facts. It continues to refute the claims made by Skinner and uses evidence from the actual case and proceedings to support its defense. The videos work against Skinner showing him in a deceitful light. These two websites really show how much controversy is surrounding the case and how little twists in the story can effect how the case plays out.
The agenda of the media seems to be just like the legal system in this case: to figure out exactly what should be done from this point on. Some articles try to pick apart the story (or should i say, stories) that Skinner tells and others stay with the facts of the case. They lay out all the information that they have and still come to the same conclusion...what should be done? Is it right to postpone the execution to test the DNA? If so, what happens if the DNA helps prove that he is guilty? This would open up a way for other criminals to avoid or lengthen their time spent on death row. But if they do not test the DNA, they will never know with as much certainty as they can get whether or not he is innocent or not. The media tries to open up the case to the public in a way that they can make up their own minds about what happened. There are those who are biased on both sides, but they play a sort of tug-o-war game with each other. The media is not one-sided in this case.
No comments:
Post a Comment