Question

Current Event American Politics project:

For this assignment you must find an article from a credible newspaper (examples: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle, Washington Post, USA Today, The Atlantic, Texas Tribune, Austin American Statesmen, Express News) which discusses an issue, or topic that deals with a current event topic of your choice. If it is decided that your article does not come from a credible source, then you will not receive credit. If you have any questions about the credibility of your article, then you must ask prior to the due date. Complete the assignment by answering the required fields listed below. All three sections have to be completed in order to receive full credit for this assignment.

There are three sections that must be completed:

Section 1: Article summary (approx. 166 words)

For this section you must describe what the main issues of the article are. You must include specific details. If your answer lacks a sufficient amount of detail, you will not receive credit. Include information regarding the specific individuals involved, what happened, and what conclusions can be drawn from the article.

Section 2: What do you think about it? (approx. 166 words)

For this section you must analyze the article. Why did you find it interesting? Do you agree with the results? What do you think will be the effects? Why does it matter? Why should other people care about what happened? Be specific in your answer. If your answer lacks a sufficient amount of detail, you will not receive credit.

Section 2: Policy Recommendation (approx. 166 words)

For this section you must provide a policy recommendation for the problem/issue. What needs to be done? Why? What are some of the foreseeable obstacles to this solution?

Word Count: minimum 500

Also attach the link from where you got the article.

Answer 1

The article that I’ve chosen is- ‘Texas parole board recommends Gov. Greg Abbott delay Rodney Reed execution’

Link- https://www.texastribune.org/2019/11/15/rodney-reed-texas-execution-parole-board-recommend-stay/

Article summary

The article deals with the case of Rodeney Reed, who is on death row and scheduled to be executed on November 20^th. In 1996, Reed was convicted and sentenced to death in the murder of Stacey Stites. Reed has maintained his innocence since then and there have been enough doubts about his involvement in the murder and the authenticity of the verdict. Stite’s fiance, Jimmy Finnel is also suspected to be the actual murderer. Reed has maintained that he was in a consensual and casual relationship with Stacey and never violated her. Many common friends have corroborated this. Fennel himself has been accused of many crimes before and after 1996. More and more evidence, including a man who claims Fennel confessed having murdered Stacey has come out recently. The article concludes by highlighting the increasing demands to stop Reed’s execution.
We can draw the conclusion from the article that there seems a very strong chance that Reed didn’t actually commit the murder and the execution should be stopped, at least till the time assured justice is delivered.

What do you think about it?

To me personally this indeed seems a case which not only has legal issues, but also societal and moral ones. On one hand are the legal issues such as no DNA testing of the belt being provided to Reed even after multiple appeals and Reed being on death row despite continuous new evidence pointing towards his innocence coming out. On the other hand there are the equally bigger moral and societal issues. Despite Reed claiming and others corroborating that he was in a consensual relationship with Stacey, her family and many in society refuse to believe it- hinting at society’s unease at accepting a white woman’s and African American man’s relationship. The moral question of having an all white jury in Reed’s trial is also as relevant as ever.
It seems appropriate that the execution is stayed at the least, with a thorough investigation with unbiased participants should be done. DNA evidence and Fennel’s involvement should be reconsidered. On a broader note, legal system and society should introspect if they are more casual about convictions and executions when it comes to African Americans.

Policy Recommendation

There are two parts to my policy recommendations. One deals with the legal side and the other is a broad recommendation.
On the legal side, I would recommend that investigations- especially the ones where the evidence is even a little bit flimsy or where there are more than one suspects- be more thorough. There is no reason why DNA testing can’t be done in this day and age. There is no reason why a case can't be fast tracked or re-examined when new evidence comes in. There is also the issue where once the police and justice department come to a conclusion, they stick to it and keep trying to prove it even as evidence points to the contrary. This attitude must be rooted out- by training or better selection or better procedures.
The issue of jury selection is also important. The juries should not only be representative of the diverse demographics in general, but should also include people from the same racial background as the person on trial. The unique views and understanding of a particular group can’t be ignored in a trial.
Lastly, there is the issue of the society still being somewhat prejudiced towards certain ethnicities when it comes to crime. Better education, social mobility and integration can all help alleviate this.
Some obstacles in achieving the policy changes, especially on the legal side, would be from the set procedures and attitudes. Police departments often take any suggestions regarding changes in policy negatively. There is also the issue of a lot of procedures which are almost set in stone and get followed as such. These obstacles are tough, but by no means insurmountable.