Are We Civilized Essays - Democracy, Elections, Cherokee Nation

Are we civilized? We are starting to witness the beginning of a new era. It is full of information and technology, and it will decide how the future is going to be. But despite all our new inventions and ideas that show us how we're better off than the generations before us, have we grown in any other ways? Does being civilized only mean to become more advanced technologically, or does it apply to our moral foundation? It is very obvious that society has developed a lot in learning and technology. Today, we have inventions such as the stealth fighter, the home computer and nuclear powered power plants and naval vessels. Things that were imagined many years back have now become today's reality. Single machines now hold the jobs that used to take hundreds of men to accomplish by hand, so in this sense, we have become more civilized. On the other hand, not all of the inventions that have been developed from the technology world are used to do good deeds. Our great society has allowed the production of many weapons whose sole intention is to create mass destruction and to kill large amounts of life. Many people now live in constant fear of the use of these weapons, while others sit back and enjoy them for protection. We still have as many wars as we did in the past, but now the new technology used in them helps bring about more human casualties. An example of this would be Operation Desert Storm. I was a 23-year-old man, sent off to fight for the liberation of Kuwait and to kick the crap out of a bully named Saddam Hussein. I was the crewchief on an UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division from Ft. Hood, TX. From the time the air war started to the 100 hours of hell we threw at the Iraqi Army, it was never more evident the role that technology played in decimating an enemy and b! reaking his will to win and survive. The pictures that my young eyes saw will forever be burned into memory. Technology was a teacher of pain and suffering, but it was also a savior in helping bring home the lives of many young men who might of not come back in previous wars. Besides the wars, society really has yet to understand other people. Prejudice is alive and burning in the hearts of many throughout our society. Many hate groups are still around today, as they were hundreds of years ago, and many new groups are starting to form and become active. Oklahoma City felt the wrath of some very passionate people who were trying to avenge the loss of comrades to the Federal Government. Many innocent people were killed, and it all boils down to beliefs and ideas. Racism still has its hand around the throats of many in our society as well. It seems that some of the worst racists in our society are the ones who say they're not racist, but on the inside they really are. These are the people who say they're not racist, but they don't hire the East Indian employee who was the most qualified of the candidates. They coach the all white basketball team. They fight over the red and blue colors of bandannas worn around their heads. The worst part is, it d! oesn't even phase them when they are doing it. In the past when our country was just starting to be formed, there were many prejudices just because people were different. Now over a century later, people haven't changed much, which makes me wonder if we really have become civilized yet. Democracy is also something that has played a big part in our journey to become civilized. A democracy in my words is where the people who choose to live under it run the government. And to have a true democracy, everyone must vote! People vote to exercise their democratic rights. If only 70% vote, then 70% control 100% of the government. Voting without adequate understanding and choosing candidates for the wrong reasons are symptoms of voting for the sake of voting and not taking an active interest

Essay on Human Rights Essays

Essay on Human Rights Essays Essay on Human Rights Essay Essay on Human Rights Essay India INDIAN CRIMINAL DEFENSE MANUAL The Role And Responsibility of a Legal Aid Lawyer Rights of the Accused and Exceptional Circumstances Client Interview Other Pretrial Matters Theory of the Case Various Defense Strategies Questioning the Witness Plea Bargaining/Guilty Plea Evidence Arguments CODES The Code of Criminal Procedure The Constitution of India The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 The Indian Penal Code, 1860 LEGAL RESOURCES Lawyer-Client Relationship India Country Summary Card Rights of the Accused Around the World Important Case Law regarding Defendants Rights in India LEGAL TRAINING RESOURCE CENTER eLearning Courses for Indian lawyers Background India has one of the worlds largest populations of pre-trial detainees with 249,796 people in overcrowded and unsanitary prisons. While in police custody, these Indian citizens are often subjected to beatings, sleep deprivation, and shock treatments all in violation of their fundamental constitutional rights. Subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, they are an example of human rights abuses on a colossal scale. Four people die in police or judicial custody every day from these abuses. Many of these deaths could be avoided if cases were swiftly resolved. However, each year more cases are filed in Indian courts than can ever be disposed of, creating a huge bottleneck in the criminal justice system. There are currently 26,752,193 pending cases in Indian courts and in some jurisdictions case loads are so high that it would take a thousand years to clear court dockets. Because of this backlog, detainees who cannot make bail are sometimes kept in pretrial detention longer than the maximum sentence they would have received if convicted. In one case, a man was held in pretrial detention for 54 years even though the maximum sentence for his crime was only 10 years. During these periods of pre-trial detention, arrestees are at the greatest risk of human rights abuses as victims have reported that the longer the period of detention, the more intense the violence against them becomes. These abuses are made worse and worse by the continuing deterioration of the Indian Police, one of the most ill-equipped police departments in the world. For every 1,037 Indian residents there is only one police officer. Asian average: 558, global average: 333). Understaffed, under-skilled and under-resourced, the police in many Indian states work long hours under filthy labor conditions. Junior officers face intense pressure from supervisors to solve cases quickly and efficiently. As a result, bribery, brutal torture, murders, illegal arrests and other human rights abuses have become the norm, rather than the exception. Recently, India has demonstrated an increased commitment to rule of law and citizens’ legal rights. Because of police abuses during interrogation, Article 22 of the Indian Constitution was added to prevent police from detaining citizens for longer than 24 hours without a special order from a magistrate. Though domestic law grants this fundamental legal right, there remains a tremendous gulf between the actual law and its implementation. Police officers regularly detain suspects for several days, post-dating arrest documents 24-hours before producing the defendant before the magistrate. Similarly, pretrial detainees are routinely denied due process rights taken for granted in the western world: notice of charges and an opportunity to contact family or lawyers. In many cases these prisoners – poor and marginally literate – are completely unaware they have any legal rights at all, further emboldening police officers. NGOs have been successful in lobbying Indian authorities to criminalize torture, organizing public awareness campaigns on the issue of torture and aiding the rehabilitation of torture victims. However, systematic police denial, obstruction, an absence of records and a lack of accountability continues to plague the system. Despite the fact that India has a limited legal aid system, the vast majority of pre-trial detainees never receive any legal representation, making this right illusory at best. Indias current legal aid system operates primarily in urban areas, and due to caste segregation many Indians do not receive access to legal aid at all. Each of Indias 28 states operates its own Legal Services Authority, resulting in an uncoordinated approach to Indias legal aid problems. Type of System A former British colony, India has a criminal justice system heavily influenced by the English common law system. There are, however, significant differences. For instance, India banned the use of jury trials in 1960. Sources of Defendants Rights Defendants rights are protected by the Constitution of India, the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 which governs a suspects rights prior to trial. In addition, defendants rights are established by case law by regional and national courts. By law, Indian defendants retain a significant number of rights including the right to counsel[1], the right to silence [2], the right to a fair trial[3], the right to confront witnesses[4] and the right to a speedy trial[5] Defendants Rights Pre-Trial The arrest of a defendant must be made if a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information received or a reasonable suspicion exists that an individual committed a crime[6]. Police may conduct a search upon probable cause and the issuance of a search warrant. A defendant may be detained pending trial. For bailable offenses a Magistrate must notify the accused of his right to bail and prescribe the amount of bail. The defendant has the right to identify an individual to be informed of his or her arrest. [7]. An arrestee has the right to demand an Inspection Memo for documenting any injuries incurred during or after arrest and has the right to a medical examination every 48 hours. A defendant has the right to meet a lawyer during interrogation though not throughout the entire duration of the interrogation. Defendants in police custody must be produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours of arrest. [8] The right to counsel applies to all custodial interrogations as well as critical stages of the proceedings including post-indictment interrogations, arraignments, gulity pleas and trials. [9] Trial A defendant has the right to a fair trial in open court [10] as well as the right to confront witnesses [11]. Jury trials were abandoned in 1960 and all trials occur with the judge sitting as finder of both law and fact. Confessions to police are inadmissible as evidence. Confessions may be admissible if made to a Magistrate and only if the Magistrate examines the circumstances of the confession for possible police coercion or intimidation[12] Post-Conviction The Constitution of India prohibits an individual from being prosecuted and punished form the same offence more than once. [13] The Criminal Procedure Code states that every individual convicted in High Court may appeal to the Supreme Court. Any person convicted on a trial held by a Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge or a trial in any other court in which the sentence of imprisonment is more than seven years may appeal to the High Court. The defendant must show that a miscarriage of justice jeapardized the fundamental fairness of the trial in order to secure reversal. [14] The Indian Supreme Court may enforce Constitution rights by Habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari [15] See Criminal Justice Systems Around the World QUICK FACTS There are 26,752,193 pending cases in Indian courts. In some jurisdictions case loads are so high that it would take a thousand years to clear court dockets. References ^ Constitution of India, Art. 22(1) ^ Constitution of India, Art. 20(3) Constitution of India, Art. 14 ^ India Evidence Act, Section 138 ^ Hussainara Khatoon Ors. V. Home Secretary, Bihar, Patna, (1980) I SCC 98 ^ Criminal Procedure Code, Sect. 41 ^ Criminal Procedure Code, Section 50A ^ Constitution of India, Article 22(2) ^ State of M. P. v. Shobharam, AIR 1966 SC 1910: (1966) Cri LJ 1521 ^ Criminal Procedure Code Sec. 327 ^ Indian Evidence Act Sec. 138 ^ Criminal Procedure Code, Sect. 164. ^ C onstitution of India, Art. 20(2). ^ For a full list of appealable issues see Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, Sections 460-466. ^ Constitution of India, Art. 32(2

The decisions made by the Bush administration, for the first time in Essay

The decisions made by the Bush administration, for the first time in American history, approving extraordinary procedures of investigation, questioning, and punishment to use in the War on Terror - Essay Example A UN panel formed on November 2004, defined terrorism as any act aimed to cause bodily harm to civilians for compelling the government to do any act (Allen). Even though America declared war against terror after the September 11 attacks, it conducted anti terrorist operations since the early 1990’s. From this period the US Government was operating anti terror programmes. One such programme was forcible capturing or seizing suspected terrorists from foreign countries and transferring them to a 3rd country. This programme came to be known as Extraordinary rendition. It was expanded by the Bush administration after the 2001 attacks. Latest records reveal that up to 1245 flights have been operated for transporting terror suspects from undisclosed locations to detention centers operated by CIA also called as Black sites. This action by the US government has created tensions between its European allies, namely the Council of Europe, Congressional committees and Human rights organizations. They have questioned the legality of the programme even though forgetting the ill effects of terror attacks suffered by US and many other foreign countries. This programme of Extraordinary rendition was formed after the 1993 attacks on US. It was a way for the CIA for keeping the terror suspects out from the American court system because they feared that the intelligence system could be jeopardized. This programme got approval from the Presidential Decision Directive 39 issued by President Bill Clinton. This directive gave suggestions regarding procedures to be used for forcible abduction of terrorists without the permission of the host governments. Actually this act was a blatant encroachment against the sovereignty of other nations on the grounds of fight against terror. This programme was extensively used after the September 11 attacks by the US government. The programme of Extraordinary rendition was promoted first by Richard