Instead of doing the typical medium post, I want to write my own analysis inspired by the readings themselves. For class purposes, I consider this to be a blend of type 3 and type 4 medium posts. Mercy is a complex topic within the realm of criminal justice. On one…

Instead of simply describing to you the readings, I would much rather paint a picture of the need for mens rea and analyze what can occur without it by using the knowledge I have learned from the readings. It’s important to note that mens rea directly translates from Latin into…

Both of the assigned readings question and analyze the idea of making and/or retaining laws which are typically unnecessary and asking why they could be. For example, in Edward’s Laws that are Made to be Broken he argues that laws should never be created without the true need of them…

In Beyond The Harm Principle, our author Ripstein takes a new approach to the harm principle. A bit of a flavor blast, if you will. He tends to take a more lenient approach, rejecting the harm principle. Instead, he introduces his own idea, the sovereignty principle, which argues that each…

In Offense to Others, I believe a more radical stance is taken than in On Liberty. What’s difficult here is that although on paper it sounds like banning these “fighting words” is a great idea, whenever speech is taken from a society, that society changes on a fundamental level. Hate…

On Liberty is a fascinating essay in that it elegantly describes, without hateful disposition, the true good and evil of society and how that may be harnessed willfully by a society. It relates to our module specifically by introducing the harm principle. This essentially states that as long as an…

Hello, my name is Canaan Stuart. I’m a senior at the university of South Carolina and I am a criminal justice major. My goal is to become a homicide detective. Ever since I was a child I have loved mystery and who-dun-its so much that I could never stop thinking…