Plea-Bargains: Currency of the Courts An Examination of the Effectivene

â€Å"Rahim Jaffer case heads for plea-bargain†; former Alberta MP Rahim Jaffer was being charged on cocaine possession and drunk-driving charges; his case was likely to be resolved with a plea-bargain agreement (Makin, 2010). This is but one case of many that are settled though a plea-bargain agreement. Plea-bargaining can take the form of a sentence reduction, a withdrawal or stay of other charges, or, a promise not proceed on other charges, in exchange for a guilty plea by an accused. During discussion of a potential plea bargain agreement, the Crown Attorney and defence lawyer will look at 4 distinct sections of a plea negotiation: charge discussions, sentence discussions, procedural discussions, and agreements as to the facts of the offence and the narrowing of issues in order to expedite the trial ("Plea bargaining," 2011). According to the Department of Justice, approximately 90% of criminal cases are resolved each year by use of plea-bargaining (â€Å"Findlaw,† 2012). Despite what appears on its face to be rampant use of the plea agreement, plea negotiations are incredibly helpful to our court system. First, plea agreements serve to diminish the overload of cases and avoid lengthy trials, thus avoiding appeals of trial decisions and allowing greater access to the justice system. In turn, a less burdened court system can focus its efforts on the most serious of criminal offences thereby ensuring that such cases are handled in the manner with the greatest likelihood of securing a conviction. Overall, this judicial efficiency results in a cost savings and better allocation of resources. This paper will explore these two main benefits and also discuss potential criticisms of the plea bargain system. Plea-Bargaining has become... ..., 2012, from http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/icg-gci/pb4-rpc4.html Plea bargaining. (2011, February 28). Retrieved from http://www.victimsofviolence.on.ca/rev2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=378&Itemid=197 Plea bargaining in canada. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/rs/rep-rap/2002/rr02_5/p3.html Romaniuk, T. (n.d.). Centre for Constitutional Studies - R. v. Askov.Faculty of Law Home - University of Alberta. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://www.law.ualberta.ca/centres/ccs/rulings/Ask Tappscott. (2012). street directory. Retrieved from http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/14026/legal_matters/plea_bargaining_pros_and_cons.html Young, R. (2011, November 16). Cutbacks have some courts dismissing criminal cases. Here & Noe. Retrieved April 19, 2012, from http://www.hereandnow.wbur.org/2011/11/16/budget-cuts-court

Essay About Literature Essay

Literature is timeless, it endured all the changes of the past and is still is being appreciated till the present time and will still be as time goes by.  Literature exists in every country, in every language, and in every period but each has its own uniqueness that stands out for their styles. It exceeds time; literary works of famous people regardless of what period in time they came from is still being appreciated, if not more than when the period it is from. Literary works from the early periods had undergone different adaptations by the later periods to preserve the author’s great work, the ideas, and the creativity they instil in every words to make it live through time. There is a purpose for reading literary works – to entertain and educate its readers or audience. Reading, for example, a novel is just like watching a movie in a very slow pace; reading can make you cry, laugh, smile, get angry and whatnot just like watching a movie; reading lets us imagine the characters, the settings, and what happens in the story. As it entertains us, it also educates us and teaches us about life experiences that we might encounter, and the morals that we should possess. Other literary works inform us about happenings in daily life which also falls in educating the readers. There are different types of literary works, it doesn’t just end with reading materials, and it can also be in a form of a song and a play. It can be performed in front of people or just enjoyed by oneself; it has different genres to offer to different interests of people. Literature is everywhere and in any time and it knows no bounds.

Cesar’s Mourning Essay

The book subject of this paper is the classical literary work of Oscar Hijuelos titled: â€Å"Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love†. The book revolves around the lives of two musically inclined brothers who migrated to America from Cuba. The brothers were Nestor and Cesar. As found in the book’s title the central theme was â€Å"love†. The book has expressed different forms of love for different kinds of relationships. It expressed unconditional love for a brother, like what Cesar and Nestor had for each other. It expressed love for the woman you married, like how Nestor felt for Dolores. It expressed love for a woman you know you can never have, like how Cesar felt for Dolores or how Nestor felt for Maria. These interplay of emotions provided for the central theme of the book which also made way for the resolution of the question why Cesar can’t mourn for Nestor. This paper will seek to answer such question through the use of a structured argument. In order to be able to support its contention that Cesar cannot truly mourn for Nestor for two reasons: because unconsciously or consciously he knew he was better of without Nestor and because Cesar was responsible for making Nestor unhappy (Thesis Statement). The line of thinking pursued by this paper may be dark and offensive to some. Still an open mind will find that when they look closer this contention is in fact meritorious. Cesar cannot truly mourn for Nestor. One cannot truly mourn for someone else if he knows that he is better off without him. This is easy to see. Imagine the life of Cesar if Nestor had died. The woman he loved, Dolores, will be his for the taking. He would no longer have to deal with pulling the weight of a younger brother who had no ambition but to open a bar and come back to his Maria. True that the book never expressed that Cesar felt like this. However, a careful look and examination of the story itself will show us that this line of argument is very much tenable. The loss of someone when beneficial to us denies us from the emotion of mourning. It is true that when one experiences joy when another one passes away is devious and callous. However not mourning for someone is not necessarily devious and callous. Let us presuppose that Cesar was sad that Nestor passed away. He may indeed be sad that the brother he loved so much passed away. But can he mourn for him? No, because consciously or unconsciously he knew that the death of Cesar would benefit him. This is a sadistic and cruel interpretation of the emotions of Cesar. Sadistic and cruel it may be but tenable and meritorious it still is. One of the statements in the book that professed this fact was: â€Å"The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important to be great the rare individual who satisfies this angle will hold people in the palm of his hand. So even the undertaker will regret his death† (Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, Hijuelos) The second reason why Cesar cannot truly mourn for Nestor is the fact that Cesar was the reason why Nestor ended up that way. Cesar was very ambitious and for everything he wanted to do he needed Nestor to be there. On the other hand Nestor was more laid back and simple. Nestor only dreamt of a simple life a small bar in Cuba would have been enough for him. However Cesar’s ambition was insatiable. Cesar’s insatiable ambition caused Nestor’s unhappiness. In the book to quote Cesar said: â€Å"There’s no dream, it’s our life† (Mambo Kings Plays Songs of Love, Hijuelos). This is one of the reasons why Cesar cannot truly mourn for Nestor. Cesar cannot truly mourn for Nestor because he knew that Nestor was not happy. Cesar knew that when Nestor died his life was empty and incomplete. Considering this fact is it possible for Cesar to feel mourning for Nestor? No, because the emotion that lingered with Cesar on Nestor’s death could not have been mourning. The emotion that lingered with Cesar is guilt and not mourning. He felt guilty for driving his brother to unhappiness. He felt guilty for leading his brother to a life his brother never wanted. Carrying these kinds of emotions will not allow us to mourn for anyone. If anything this kind of guilt will drive us to anger for ourselves. However these kinds of emotions will not elicit mourning. Mourning is a word we often carelessly use to describe someone’s feeling when someone important to them passes. However, as argued and contended by this paper just because someone we love dies does not necessarily imply that the emotion we feel is mourning. There are a lot of other emotions one may possess when someone passes away. More often the emotion that we feel is not mourning. This argument however does not devoid or considers that one does not feel mourning when someone close to them dies. On the contrary it submits that mourning is indeed an emotion felt by anyone of us for the loss of someone but does not necessarily apply for all cases. The story of Cesar and Nestor is one example where a brother cannot truly mourn for another because of envy and guilt. The clearest expression of guilt instead of mourning was when Cesar said: â€Å"I would trade places with him right now, if I could.. † (Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, Hijuelos) Works Cited Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, Oscar Hijuelos

Monastic spirituality in the 21st Century Essay

In the 21st Century, it could be said that monastic spirituality in an outdated concept. In the contemporary world we live in today, it has become increasingly difficult to live obedient to the Churches teaching. Some people would argue that there should be no real set of moral codes, and that the Church should not have such high authority. This contrasts to the Celtic Monks belief that â€Å"Nothing must be refused in their obedience; to be Christ’s true disciple†¦it will not be pleasing to the Lord.† In society today, people don’t see a need for a moral code. They make their own subjective decisions about what is right and wrong from them, and don’t accept religious or government law. Grove argues â€Å"People do not see the Church as having a real relevance in their everyday lives, and therefore do not recognise its authority in everyday matters.† Some sociologists have said that it is this belief that has led to religious organizations â€Å"watering down† their beliefs to accommodate many beliefs, in the hope that this would make their religion more popular. However, in actual fact this can often lead to the religious organization becoming less popular, as they may lose the devoted members, who aren’t looking for a watered down religion. Pope Benedict said that â€Å"relativism†¦does not recognise anything as being certain†¦its highest goals are one’s own ego and desire.† Relativism is the belief that concepts such as right and wrong, goodness and badness, or truth and falsehood are not definite and that they alter in different cultures and situations. It could be described as the â€Å"cherry picking† for faith. An example of this would be ignoring the rule of no contraception, for promiscuous reasons. An other common example would be the issue of sex before marriage. The Celtic monks had a huge sense of Divine Will that had to be obeyed. Saint Columbanus reminded us of this by saying â€Å"by strict obedience shall the monk show his love of God.† Many of these traits, that the monks found so admirable, have been lost in today’s society. Monks believed that community was better than the individual, and that when we do something, it should be for the sake of the community, rather than for the sake of the individual themselves. The monks saw obedience as responding to God’s call. We can see a huge lack of obedience to God by looking at the large decline in vocations in recent years. In 2008, in Dublin, only three people were ordained into the priesthood. There are many reasons for this, a main possibility being the recent scandal the Church has been involved in in recent years. In 1968, 95% of Catholics went to mass. By 2004 this amount had dropped to a mere 50% (BBC Newsline). These figures support the view that as Christians, we no longer feel compelled to be obedient to God. This can relate back to what Pope Benedict described as â€Å"The Culture of Relativism.† Another debated issue is the importance of chastity and sexuality in our society today. Saint Columbanus said â€Å"a monk’s chastity is indeed judged by his thoughts.† He said that they were not only judged by sexual relations, but by the purity of the mind, and the sexual desires that they experienced. This view contrasts greatly to the view of society today. In our modern society, people are often sexually objectified. An estimated average of 75% of prime television shows include content of a sexual nature, and in soap operas it is estimated that extra-marital sex is referred to two out of three times every hour. This is because the television company’s know that in today’s society, sex sells. It is no longer thought of as a big deal, and there has been a massive increase in sexual promiscuity. This has led to a big increase in sexually transmitted diseases, which are becoming increasingly difficult to control. It also meant a big increase in the amount of unwanted pregnancies. Unlike monastic living which promoted the selfless giving of ones self to the community, we have adopted a hedonistic, narcissistic attitude. We have become our own lust. Michael Maher points out that the standards in Celtic monasteries are â€Å"severe, particularly in the area of sexual morality†. For many today, the idea of chastity is an outdated concept and is problematic for the future of the priesthood in the Catholic Church. This would lead me to believe that in regard to this aspect of monastic life, monastic spirituality could very easily be perceived as outdated in the 21st Century. Brigid of Kildare had a preferential option for the poor. She vowed to the king of Leinster, â€Å"If I had all your wealth, I would take it and give it away to the poor,† So Brigids monastery in Kildare, became known as the â€Å"City of the poor.† Aidan of Lindesfarm also expressed solidarity to the poor, when he gave away the kings’ gift of a horse to the first beggar he met saying â€Å"Surely this son of a mare is not more important to you than that son of man.† However, the Church didn’t always share the same view. Leondardo Boff argues that â€Å"the Church became an abstract speculation removed from the original spirit of the Gospel message, and out of touch with real life.† The Church has been criticised for siding with the vested interest, and in its history has even been involved in colonisation and the removal of land from the peasantry, in its commitment to obeying the laws of the land. Richard Woods reminds us that â€Å"justice and chastity were the main hinges of Celtic social action.† This is another way, in that it could be said that monastic spirituality is an outdated concept in the 21st Century. Views that should be had today have slowly died off, and have left places worse off. However, Bishop Casadaliga reminds us that â€Å"as long as there are poor people in the world, and as long as there is a God who cares for the poor, there will be a need for a theology of Liberation.† The spirit of Liberation Theology is very much evident in Celtic Monasticism in many ways, from the care of the poor and the sinner, to the welcoming of the stranger. Hospitality was always extremely generous in the monasteries, and any stranger who came was very well looked after. In 2004, 19% of asylum seekers were allowed to find refuge in Britain, while 78% were turned away. The Celtic monks in their openness to all, especially the weakest turned no one away. This shows another way that Monastic Spirituality could be considered an outdated concept in 21st Century life. In conclusion, it would appear that Monastic Spirituality is in fact an outdated concept in 21st Century living, with our lackadaisical views on chastity and sexuality, and our selfish views on poverty, it seems that Monastic Spirituality has been lost, and I believe it would be in the Catholic Churches interest to try and retrieve some of this monastic spirit.

Pro-Choice Persausive Essay

â€Å"One method of destroying a concept is by diluting its meaning. Observe that by ascribing rights to the unborn, i. e. , the nonliving, the anti-abortionists obliterate the rights of the living†(Rand). The meaning behind this statement is powerful and the speaker is trying to surface the need for concern of the living when regarding abortion. Although the nonliving should be considered when contemplating an abortion, the primary focus should be on the mother. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy and is becoming an increasingly volatile issue; a topic that almost everybody has a stance on.Abortion opponents or â€Å"Pro-lifers† believe that the fetus is a human being at the moment of conception, and abortion therefore is murder. Those against abortion also agree that the government should have control over a women’s body and forbid her to have abortion. On the flip side, â€Å"Pro-choicers† argue that the fetus is only a potential child, and not a human until the moment the child can survive on its own. So, the rights of the self-sustaining, living, mother overpower the rights of the dependent fetus. Abortion should be an available option to women throughout the United States.Especially since in some cases it’s an option that separates life and death. First of all, sometimes medical issues decrease the chance of a healthy, successful birth or life, and abortion should be available to prevent a disastrous outcome. In many instances, abortions are needed to save the life of the pregnant women. An example of this situation is an ectopic pregnancy, or a pregnancy that occurs outside the uterus- usually in the fallopian tubes. (Hurley) This causes certain death to the fetus, and if not aborted, also to the expecting mother.If abortion was not permitted under any circumstance, these women would lose their lives trying to give birth. Medical problems can also occur in the fetus, that make a healthy life seem near impossible. Patau syndrome, a rare and very severe chromosome disorder leads to mental retardation and physical defects-so severe that many babies die soon after birth. (Day) Because Patau syndrome is a chromosomal disease, it can be detected during the pregnancy, giving the women an option to end the pregnancy. This option is beneficial to both the fetus and mother.The trauma of having your newborn die soon after birth is unbearable. Also thinking of the child, the suffering of hospitalization only to pass away in the near future is horrible, and therefore abortion is the most humane solution to this horrific disease and others similar. Living in the 21st century, the prevalence of young girls becoming pregnant is high, and the sheer age of girls causes many concerns of health for both the fetus and the girl. â€Å"70,000 girls ages 15-19 die each year from pregnancy, and babies being carried by young mothers have a 60% higher chance of dying as well†(Roleff).By allowing very young gir ls to go through pregnancy, more deaths occur, then if the embryo was aborted. In cases with young girls, abortion is a well thought out alternative to taking the chance of a child giving birth to a child. Medical issues are a significant argument against getting rid of abortion, but having a child can also have a negative impact on the mental health of a mother. Secondly, the mental health and stability of the women should be taken into consideration before giving birth, and abortion should stay an option to those who are not suited to give birth.Many things can contribute to the instability of women such as being a victim of rape. The woman who has been raped has undergone a terrible trauma, and carrying around a baby for nine months-her rapist’s baby- could significantly impact the victim’s mental health. Common mental health disorders resulting from sexual assault include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and even substance abuse. All disorders that a newborn should not be brought up in, and abortion should be available to the victims of such injustice.The results from giving birth can also have a very large impact on the lives of teenage and young girl’s lives. These problems include the most extreme cases of fear, disappointment, regret and low self-esteem (â€Å"Why Women Choose Abortion – Reasons Behind the Abortion Decision. â€Å"). Being a very young mother, many obstacles are thrown your way, and having one of these symptoms or conditions can make having a baby truly difficult. Most of the times teen mothers are left to be a single parent, making raising a child seem near impossible.Likewise not being emotionally ready for a baby, causes many women to be remorseful and regret having the child, this isn’t the best situation to bring a baby up in. A child should be blessed to people who are willing to take care of him or her. Abortion is sometimes a moral choice when pregnancy is unwanted and will be uncared for. â€Å"There are approximately 210 million orphans in the world (Knapp)†. It’s obvious that there are not enough families for all these children. If a pregnancy will lead to giving the baby to an orphanage maybe abortion is an option for that mother.Since the numbers are so high, and spots so precious, women should be able to receive an abortion instead of allowing the child to end up on the streets somewhere. If the fetus is kept, the children are likely to be neglected and don’t receive the attention and support they need. â€Å"Children who are born out of wedlock to women who are not prepared to raise a child are more likely to be unable to function in society and to become violent or criminals†(Roleff). This fact proves that because originally the fetus was unwanted, the parents failed to use proper parental guidance.This aspect was overlooked and therefore these misfortunes end up the criminals in society. Every child should be a want ed child, and if not, abortion should remain an option to those who are unwilling to take responsibility for the fetus. Although sometimes an individual is willing to take care of the future child, but financial obligations don’t permit it. According to several small studies across the country 73 percent of women absolutely cannot afford to have a baby at the moment.As of 2009 the cost to initially have a baby was between 9,000 dollars and 25,000 dollars without insurance (Ford). Also, the cost of raising a baby to age 18 is between 125,000 dollars and 250,000 dollars and that's not including college tuition (â€Å"Baby Expenses†). For some women this kind of expense is too much to handle, and not a possibility where they are at in their lives. Women who cannot afford to have a baby, might need abortion as a last resort, so it should stay legal.If abortion does not stay legal, many poor choices will be made in a time of desperation. Lastly, the negative outcomes of mak ing abortion illegal outweigh the positive outcomes because many women now have to go to great lengths to get one. A negative effect of making abortion illegal would be that women will resort to â€Å"back alley clinics† in order to receive treatment. This type of clinic would obviously be illegal, so the people whom run these centers would have trouble keeping the environment sanitary, or just wouldn’t care.If the clinics no longer are sanitary, the women receiving the abortions would be exposed to disease in their fragile state. This type of center would result in a large number of deaths from ill performed abortions. If not being regulated these centers will become who knows what. In order to prevent the spread of disease and back alley clinics, abortion should continue to be legal. Abortions being legal allows sanitary offices for women to turn to for help. If abortions weren’t legal, mother would also try to kill the fetus themselves.Nicknamed â€Å"self-a bortions† many women try different tactics to try to kill their baby, such as causing trauma to themselves and the fetus in order to rid of the fetus. This also provides a greater chance of death to women just trying to get an abortion. As a result of making abortion illegal many flustered, women with nothing left to do, will turn to dangerous solutions. In the end, Abortion should be an option for desperate women across the nation. There are many supporting points on why this last resort should continue to be legal.Sometimes medical issues decrease the chance of a healthy, mother or child or the survival of either could be jeopardized as well. Secondly, the mental health of some women is just not a suitable environment to bring a baby into, but also the result of the pregnancy could just as well induce mental issues too. Abortion is sometimes a moral choice because the child will not be cared for properly. Lastly, there are drastic measure women will take to get one, so they should not be illegal. All in all, the option to keep abortion legal is the right one. For some women it’s the only one.

Stem cell research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stem cell - Research Paper Example It has been a debate that covers the treatment, creation, and destruction of human embryos. Stem cells play an intricate part in the development of organisms; hence individuals believe that the manipulation of these cells is wrong. This paper will review the controversy that surrounds stem cell research, and some of the answers given about this controversial subject. The controversy surrounding stem cell research is the taking of embryonic cells from foetuses in order to get material to study. The most opportune time is after conception, or during the 5th or 9th week. This is the time the foetus can start producing these cells. Biologists then use these cells to study their relation to an organism, or immediate environment. The controversy, therefore, borders on ethical boundaries (Robertson, 2010). People believe that it is unethical to manipulate cells to find out about their properties. Stem cells are unspecialised cells that can be manipulated into any specialised cells, for exam ple, the brain cells. With these cells, it is possible for scientists to restore, or regenerate cells that are otherwise, dead. It is through this research that this is made possible. Controversy has come up since during the harvesting of these cells there is the destruction of fertilised human eggs (Snow, 2003). This implies that the egg is killed, which further implies that the infant the egg would have grown into, is ultimately killed. Individuals, including some politicians, are campaigning to have stem cell research illegalised. This is through the belief that stem cell research is killing human life. An example of this is the removal of public funding for all embryonic stem cell research. This happened in the United States. The morality behind stem cell harvesting is still a monumental problem that scientists face. In the harvesting of adult stem cells, the subject is less controversial. This is since human life is not at stake (Snow, 2003). The versatility and availability of adult stem cells has made this possible for scientists and biologists. It raises a little concern to know about the legality of abortion in the Unites States. How can the removal of foetuses become legal, and yet the research carried out on fertilised eggs be branded illegal? It is like the pre-embryos get better treatment than the matured, fertilised egg, which has undergone more stages in the development. This is puzzling to most people who are against both abortion and stem cell research (Panno, 2005). If it is considered a moral thing to do in aborting a foetus, then it should be a moral, funded, and legal thing to carry about stem cell research. Some of the answers given, when it comes to stem cell research, are particularly convincing. It is believed that this manipulation may open a different field of opportunities. The replacement of damaged body organs through this research is one of them. Scientists suggest that the damage done to body organs through disease can be restor ed with the use of stem cells. This is through the manipulation of these cells to more specialised ones to perform the functions of the dead cells in the body (Panno, 2005). All this occurs during the research of these stem cells, and this should be a compelling reason to continue stem cell research. Aging is another answer that is often provided to the controversy surrounding stem cell research. The cells responsible for the aging in human beings can be altered, which leaves room for the introduction of

Fiber Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fiber - Research Paper Example (Whole Grains and Fiber, 2010, para. 1) What is the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber? Fiber can be â€Å"characterized by its solubility in the intestines. Soluble fibers have a high water holding capacity while insoluble fibers do not. â€Å"Despite the potential confounding of these classifications, both soluble and insoluble forms of fiber are important and appear to have different health properties in at least some settings† (Van Horn, 1997, para. 3 and 5). What are the fiber recommendations for children versus adults, according to the article? Van Horn (1997, para. 17) indicates that children should get the majority of calories from complex carbohydrates. However, because of concerns relating to growth and energy it has been suggested by Pediatricians that the â€Å"age plus 5† rule be observed. This means that if a child is five years old then he or she should consume 5 + 5 = 10g of fiber per day. Once the child’s intake of calories approache s that of an adult (1500 calories or more) then a total of no more than 25g is recommended (Van Horn, 1997 para. 18). A recent article suggests that children 1 – 3, 4 to 8, 9 to 13 and 14 to 18 should have 19g, 25g, 26 to 31g; and 29 to 38g respectively (Fiber & Children’s Diet (n.d). para. 2). The recommended intake of fiber for adults is 25 to 30g per day.