We are going to work on the controversial issue of the Death penalty or Capital Punishment. In no way my intention is to gag your ideas thus you will be given photocopies and shown videos either in favour or against. However, I cannot deny I am against this brutal act, a physical and psychological form of torture that has not worked as a deterrent against heinous crimes and that infringes human rights and brutalizes the core of humanity, that is respecting the dignity of a human being. What you will be asked to do is to make a video (either a commercial against Death Penalty, or a video debating the reasons for or the reasons against Capital Punishment) individually or in pairs or in groups. Then I would like you to come up with a piece of creative writing which somehow recaps our “path of investigation”. You may write an acrostic poem, or a poem of your own choice (shape poem, for example, that is a poem written in the shape of an electric chair, or a shouting face, or a tear, or a hanging rope symbolizing the gallows), or the entry of the diary of a person on death row (s/he has just been announced that tomorrow it’s the FINAL day), or the letter of a victim written to the newspaper taking a stand against capital punishment.
Which of the following images do you find the most striking to represent the Death Penalty? Why? What would you draw if you were asked to depict Capital Punishment?
I would love to start with some quotations. Which one do you like most? (why?)
“Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders.” -Albert Camus, French philosopher
“To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice.” -Desmond Tutu
“What says the law? You will not kill. How does it say it? By killing!” -Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables
“It can be argued that rapists deserve to be raped, that mutilators deserve to be mutilated. Most societies, however, refrain from responding in this way because the punishment is not only degrading to those on whom it is imposed, but it is also degrading to the society that engages in the same behavior as the criminals.” -Stephen Bright, human rights attorney
In literature we read a passage from In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, next year we will analyze the wonderful ballad by O. Wilde “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” which throws into the reader’s face the hypocrisy of our society and questions the way human beings punish a crime. Killing a man with a sword is it worse than killing a man with words, with indifference, with negation?
Now watch the following videos. The first one is in favour of the Death Penalty. See the way it is “constructed”, it will help you with your own “creation”. What technique does the student use to make her point?
The one that follows, instead, is a video that harshly opposes Capital Punishment. How does the actor lead us into his train of thoughts? How does he make is point pass through? What is the true meaning of Capital Punishment? (a sort of play on words)
Here are some poems I selected. Read the first one. What makes you understand that the writer is truly against the Death Penalty?
A Poem About The Death Penalty
When a man performs a murderous act
Stealing the life of a man well-known
We wish to condemn him the same favor,
And break his neck bone.
Then we think it’s justified
That he had to die,
That the hearts ripped by the death of his victim,
Will somehow be satisfied.
That all that same loathing,
And all that same bitterness
Will make it all tranquil,
In spite of all carelessness
But I, I think this ridiculous,
I think that no man should die,
No matter his sins,
No matter the yearn to justify.
The next poem openly attacks…. Whom? Why? Who is the “speaking I”? Are there any points that make you understand that the poems are somehow autobiographical?
[Michael Perry: I’ve written all these poems while sitting on death row. Since I spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, poetry is one of the only ways I can express how I feel. I hope you like them. Sincerely, Michael Perry #999444]
A Few Lines
The state wants to prove crime doesn’t pay.
They won’t let injustice stand in their way.
The have to convict someone of the crime.
They really care not if it’s your life or mine.
They do not worry if there is no evidence.
They just ask the “judge” for the trial to commence.
They cannot afford to take any chances.
And around the court, the “D.A.” prances.
The trial is not fair, everything is rigged.
The whole “justice” system, truly is jigged.
The judge reads the verdict, in just one breath.
I am found guilty and sentenced to death.
The State of Texas is being frill.
They’ve found out they have the “right” to kill.
I now sit and wait, here on death row.
I know late some night, my life could go.
I don’t want the needle stuck in my arm.
I could never ever cause anyone harm.
Throughout the courts I put up a fight.
Cause I want to avoid that dreadful night.
Regardless of innocence,
I’m to be killed with vengeance.
So before I go
Down this dreadful road
I leave with you these few lines
For now, I have run out of time.
How does the writer of the following poem develops his argument against the death penalty?
The Death Penalty Is Murder
You go to your house of worship to your God to pray
But that your Government execute people with you is okay
When you tell me that all bad people deserve to die
Are you trying to say Moses Fifth Commandment is a lie?
You tell me you live in a democracy
But it does not seem too democratic to me
All murder is wrong that you do not deny
But in the laws of your Government a life for a life does apply
And since with so called lawful executions you wholeheartedly agree
You are guilty like many of hypocrisy,
The blessings of a God I do not ask to receive
But the death penalty is murder that’s what I believe
And those who believe every murderer should be made to die
Without saying so are saying Moses Fifth Commandment is a lie.
Francis Duggan
Reflect upon the following questions:
Does a person’s race affect the likelihood of him/her receiving the deathpenalty?
Does a person’s income level affect the likelihood of him/her receiving the death penalty?
Should a death penalty moratorium be implemented?
Should victims’ opinions matter when condiering the death penalty?
Should the death penalty be allowed?
1,188 people were executed in the US from 1977 through 2009, primarily by means of lethal injection. Most death penalty cases involve the execution of murderers although capital punishment can also be applied for treason, espionage, and other crimes.
Proponents of the death penalty say it is an important tool for preserving law and order, deters crime, and costs less than life imprisonment. They argue that retribution or “an eye for an eye” honors the victim, helps console grieving families, and ensures that the perpetrators of heinous crimes never have an opportunity to cause future tragedy.
Opponents of capital punishment say it has no deterrent effect on crime, wrongly gives governments the power to take human life, and perpetuates social injustices by disproportionately targeting people of color (racist) and people who cannot afford good attorneys (classist). They say lifetime jail sentences are a more severe and less expensive punishment than death.
Should the death penalty be allowed? I found this interesting webpage which we will be using for our debate in class. You will be divided in two groups, regardless of your personal beliefs, and you will be asked to fight PRO or AGAINST capital punishment. Look at the website. On the left-hand margin you find a menu. Please read “Top 10 pros and cons”. These are the ones you will be using in class. You will know whether you are in the PRO or AGAINST group the very day we perform the public debate. As you can see there are other tags that can be of interests to you, such us “did you know” or “should the death penalty be allowed” or “glossary”, etc. Browse the website at your own wish, but the “top 10 pros and cons” is mandatory for the class activity we are going to have. You can listen to the whole pages, there is the symbol of a loudspeaker. Mind you, however, that the voice does not follow the natural rhythm of a mother tongue speaker, so resort to it when you have doubts as to the pronunciation of some words. You just need to click on the word and then on the loudspeaker.
First they came…” is a famous statement attributed to pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.
Who is this poem addressed to? What does it fight? It would be nice if you could add a stanza of your own, a stanza that is contextualized in your own space and time. Have a go. This is mine: “When they came for women, I did not speak out; I was a man and my rights were safeguarded” (to me this is strongly linked to today’s news: the rate of women being killed by their male partners is not decreasing in our country).
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn’t a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
If you were asked to draw an image or write a slogan against the death penalty to be turned into badges to wear on your clothes or to pin on your rucksack/pencil case, what would it be like? Think of a slogan and of an image. Do you find the following ones effective? Why (not)?
Artists and intellectuals fought and fight against the death penalty. You listened to Jeremy Irons’ speech and you saw that some writers opposed it. What about singers? Do you know any song against capital punishment?
These are the ones I found with an anti-death penalty message, however, I am sure you can do better than me 😉
Dead Man Walkin’ by Bruce Springsteen
There’s a pale horse coming
And I’m gonna ride him
I’ll rise in the mornin’
My fate decided
I’m a dead man walkin’
I’m a dead man walkin’
In St James’ Parish I was born and christened
I’ve got my story Mister
Ain’t no need for you to listen
It’s just a dead man talkin’
Once I had a job I had a girl
Between our dreams and actions lies this world
In the deep forest their blood and tears rushed over me
All I could feel was the drugs and the shotgun
And my fear up inside of me
Like a dead man talkin’
‘Neath the summer sky my eyes went black
Sister I won’t ask for forgiveness
My sins are all I have
Tonight the clouds above my prison
They move slowly across the sky
There’s a new day
dawnin’ and my dreams are full to-night
This is the trailer of the film Dead Man Walking we will be watching in class.
Billy Moore got desperate for money and planned a robbery. He got the money, but killed a man and was sentenced to die. Thirteen execution dates later, his future changed dramatically. The video (click here: the video is divided into two parts, the second part will appear on the right-hand margin of Youtube) is broadcast by a Christian Channel and since I DO want to RESPECT believers and non-believers, I am not going to post the videos, but you can click above if you want to watch them. The videos are a personal account of Billy Moore experience, which shows how we could all fall into the trap of committing an irrevocable mistake if we were driven by desperation. The first-account witness reveals that poverty makes a difference and that black people in the USA are more likely to end up in the death row than white people. The video also shows the power of forgiveness (the victim’s family fights for Billy Moore’s lift of the death penalty).
Inside the Texas Death Row
Now read the lyrics of Johnny Cash’s song “25 minutes to go”, what do you expect its tune to be like? What does the song reveal? What criticism is raised towards the individual embodying justice (the mayor, the police officer)?
Well they’re building a gallows outside my cell I’ve got 25 minutes to go
And the whole town’s waitin’ just to hear me yell I’ve got 24 minutes to go
Well they gave me some beans for my last meal I’ve got 23 minutes to go
But nobody asked me how I feel I’ve got 22 minutes to go
Well I sent for the governor and the whole dern bunch with 21 minutes to go
And I sent for the mayor but he’s out to lunch I’ve got 20 more minutes to go
Then the sheriff said boy I gonna watch you die got 19 minutes to go
So I laughed in his face and I spit in his eye got 18 minutes to go
Now hear comes the preacher for to save my soul with 13 minutes to go
And he’s talking bout’ burnin’ but I’m so cold I’ve 12 more minutes to go
Now they’re testin’ the trap and it chills my spine 11 more minutes to go
And the trap and the rope aw they work just fine got 10 more minutes to go
Well I’m waitin’ on the pardon that’ll set me free with 9 more minutes to go
But this is for real so forget about me got 8 more minutes to go
With my feet on the trap and my head on the noose got 5 more minutes to go
Won’t somebody come and cut me loose with 4 more minutes to go
I can see the mountains I can see the skies with 3 more minutes to go
And it’s to dern pretty for a man that don’t wanna die 2 more minutes to go
I can see the buzzards I can hear the crows 1 more minute to go
And now I’m swingin’ and here I go-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!
Now listen to it. Is it what you expected? Why do you think the singer chose this tune/rhythm?
I am attaching the extraordinary “shape poem” that Elena Ghersetti created (4F).
Another expression of creativity is the one by Valerio Zaina (4F).
The following powerpoint presentations were made by my students of 4H and 4F. They were asked to watch some films dealing with the issue of the Death Penalty and select/analyse pivotal scenes. The results are just jaw-dropping. I am amazed at the capabilities that some young students have. Kudos!
What follows is the powerpoint presentation created by Anna Giulia Nadin (she did a super job, she will shortly become my personal tutor in creating effective power point presentations!). Del Pup Elisa, Marini Sara, Mullahi Xheni and Anna Giulia analysed the film “The Life of David Gale”.
Xheni, to make her point against the Death Penalty, found these interesting videos on youtube. Then she created her own video, amazing!
Bortolotto Laura, Fabbro Arianna, Lupascu Maria, Semenyuk Irina, Zongaro Silvia
Corsunov Julia, De Piero Lara, Pavan Sara, Pignat Marta
Nicastro Sara, Rossetti Elisabetta, Busato Lucrezia, Bertacco Giulia, Blasut Giada
Cozzarin Michele, Gerometta Mattias, Coletto Lisa
There are different reasons why we are against the Death Penalty. Some people are not persuaded by the inhumane treatment of the victimizers (= the ones found “guilty” of the crime): many people on the death row were found innocent; the average time convicts on a death row have to wait in the state of California is 30 years. Some of them die before their execution is enacted: they die of disease or they commit suicide. For some people the money factor is more persuasive a motivation to put an end to the Death Penalty. The expenses met for the killing of the convicts on the death row are massive. To our mind there are better ways of investing the money: PREVENTION. Preventing crimes, investing money in social programmes to help disadvantaged kids or people. This would still make people feel safe and protected by their government.
Pitton Elisa, Moisa Elena, Grande Sara, Girardi Giulia
Videos mounted by the students.
Balbinot Giulia, D’Angelo Antonino, Ghersetti Elena, Piol Silvia, Zaina Valerio, Ziyad Nicola
Poem written by Nicola
I’m in jail for no reason
Brought here cos somebody says I hit his son,raped her daughter..
Can I get a glass of water?
The story starts now
Take a seat cos at the end
Y’all gonna be like ” wow
is it really how it went?”
I’m a man who can’t suck up his pride
and I’d rather say a lie
than to remain vulnerable to the eyes
that want me dead;
But now I’m lying on this bed
thinking, is it right for me to
to be sent to death, while my
Fake bro is only gonna get
a beat up from the Lutenant?
I did nothing wrong, the only
mistake maybe was to put
my words into a song.
There she comes, a woman who’s white trying to get a confession out of spite, but I won’t fall.. Maybe.
She’s a damn nice person,
Ugh this makes no sense,
I feel it,she’s coming through.
Is it because she’s a nun?
Doubt it, she could be a bun
And make no difference to me;
But what I want to see is,
Can I trust her?
If I tell her the truth,
can she assure me Gods mercyness?
No one can. What I did was terrible
no one will ever forgive me.
I’m scared,terrified. But she’s here with me while I’m getting ready, all the guards are steady and they waiting to take my shit out the room. Soon they say. I feel redemption, I don’t wanna die as a liar, if so I should die due to fire.
None of this was never meant to be; I am one of God’s children and as so I’m gonna free my soul and fly wherever He wants me to go. Cos at the end, it ain’t no judge who puts me where I belong, but it’s God whom sits in the front row.
Listen to Nicola reading his own poem.
Sister Helen Prejean’s interview
“A Life Against Death: the Work of Sister Helen”
A short documentary by Michelle Bagoyo
This is an interview to Sister Helen Prejean, American Advocate for the abolition of Death Penalty.
Here there are a few extracts from the interview, in my opinion the most powerful and the ones that are linked to the movie (Silvia Piol)
Since 1930, over 4.500 people have been executed in the United States. Sister Helen Prejean has been a witness to six of them.
Referring to the young convict Patrick Sonnier,1949-1987, this is what she says: “When I came out of execution chamber, when Patrick Sonnier had been electrocuted to death, I watched this man being killed in front of my eyes and I threw up. I’ve never seen a killing in front of my eyes, in such a cold, calculated, protocol death.” Something deep inside her, made her say: “Let me write the book Dead Man Walking”. About the purpose of writing the book, she states: ”I got to tell this story to the American people, because they never gonna get close to this”.
LEARN TO SAY “I’M SORRY”
LEARN TO FORGIVE
Loving your enemy does not mean condoning him, it means saving you from committing a crime. When you kill a person, you do not free society of a criminal, you create a new one: the person who kills loses himself.
Literature can play an important role in changing people’s conscience for the better, this is what Helen Prejean promoted in the State Penitentiary in Oregon.
‘Inside Looking Out’ tells the story of the national Inside-Out prison exchange program by focusing on the University of Oregon Honors College course taught at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Through the study of classic literature, outside students, learn to understand life inside a prison while inside students learn what it is like to be a student. It is a story of personal transformation through confronting and changing misconceptions people inside and out have about the meaning of education, and incarceration. What can be learned from another human being?
Inside Looking Out from Tiffany Stubbert on Vimeo.
I am very proud to post the first video that four students of mine created. Girls, you did a superduper job! 🙂
I love the soundtrack you chose. I did not know this song by Tupac. This is what a person on the web wrote of the song:
Tupac began rapping about his own life after he was shot in Manhattan. Before that period, he rapped from the perspective of ghetto youth as a whole, and placed himself in the shoes of the people who faced the issues he rapped about. That said, 16 on Death Row (1992) is written from the perspective of a young cat faced with the realities of the inner city. The anger and passion in his songs are real, and that is how a lot of people in those situations feel. He was a mirror of this society, and was able to put it into words like no other.
“16 On Death Row”
Death Row
That’s where motherfuckers is endin up
Dear mama, I’m caught up in this sickness
I robbed my adversaries, but slipped and left a witness
Wonder if they’ll catch me, or will this nigga snitch
Should I shoot his bitch, or make the nigga rich?
Don’t wanna commit murder, but damn they got me trapped
Hawkin while I’m walkin, and talkin behind my back
I’m kind of schizophrenic, I’m in this shit to win it
Cause life’s a Wheel of, Fortune here’s my chance to spin it
Got no time for cops, who trip and try to catch me
Too fuckin trigger happy, to let them suckers snatch me
Niggaz gettin jealous (jealous) tryin to find my stash
Whip out the nine, now I’ma dive and pump your ass
Peter picked a pepper, but I can pick a punk
Snatched him like a bitch, and threw him in the trunk
The punk thought I was bluffin, but swear I’m nothin nice
Before I take your life, first wrestle with these, mics
I listen to him scream, Tray Deee went insane
I guess the little, mites had finally found his brain
New Rovers pull me over, I’m sentenced to the pen
Remember that little, bird, he snitched and told a, friend
It’s trouble on my mind, I’m with the old timers
And fuck five-oh, blaow blaow.. turn em into forty-niners
[Tupac sings]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can’t be positive, when the ghetto’s where you live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go…
Where they find me? 16 on Death Row
Dear mama, these cops don’t understand me
I turned to a life of crime, cause I came from a broken family
My uncle used to touch me, I never told you that
Scared what you might do, I couldn’t hold you back
I kept it deep inside, I done let it fuel my anger
I’m down for all my homies, no mercy for a stranger
The brother in my cell, is 16 as well
It’s hard to adapt, when you’re black and you’re trapped in a livin Hell
I shouldn’ta let him catch me
Instead of livin sad in jail I coulda died free and happy
And my cellmate’s raped on the norm
And passed around the dorm, you can hear his asshole gettin torn
They made me an animal
Can’t sleep, instead of countin sheep, niggaz countin cannibals
And that’s how it is in the pen
Turn old and cold, and your soul is your best friend
My mama prayed for me
Tell the Lord to make way for me, prepare any day for me (why?)
Cause when they come for me they find a struggler
To the death I take the breath from your jugular
The trick is to never lose hope
I found my buddy hangin dead from a rope, 16 on Death Row
[Tupac sings]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can’t be positive, when the ghetto’s where you live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go…
Where you find me? 16 on Death Row
Dear mama, they sentenced me to death
Today’s my final day, I’m countin every breath
I’m bitter cause I’m dyin, so much I haven’t seen
I know you never dreamed, your baby would be dead at 16
I got beef with a sick society that doesn’t give a shit
And they too quick to say goodbye to me
They tell me the preacher’s there for me
He’s a crook with a book, that motherfucker never cared for me
He’s only here to be sure
I don’t drop a dime to God bout the crimes he’s commitin
on the poor, and how can these people judge me?
They ain’t my peers and in all these years, they ain’t never love me
I never got to be a man, must be part of some big plan
to keep a nigga in the state pen
And to my homies out buryin motherfuckers
Steer clear of these Aryan motherfuckers
Cause once they got you locked up
They got you trapped, you’re better off gettin shot up
I’m convinced self-defense is the way
Please, stay strapped, pack a gat every day
I wish I woulda known while I was out there
Now I’m straight headin for the chair
[Tupac sings]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can’t be positive, when the ghetto’s where we live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go…
Where you find me? 16 on Death Row
16 on Death Row
It’s to all my partners in the penitentiaries
16 on Death Row
This is the video shot in the basement of our school, really worth watching!
The video was introduced to the class by means of an interview. Then all the “actors” explained some parts of the video. The following notes will cast light upon certain aspects of the video that otherwise would not be fully appreciated.
INTERVIEW
Good morning to everybody. My name is Emanuele Li Calzi.
Today we have with us here four famous actors. Recently they acted in a film against the capital punishment. Today we are going to ask them some questions and then watch the film trailer.
So, let’s see.. first of all
– Why did you shoot the film?
We chose to shoot this video, because we wanted to raise people’s awareness to the way the prisoners are treated and the choice to put an end to their life.
We protect lives, we fight for human rights that are not granted in all countries and then, we do not give the opportunity to change life to someone who had once made a mistake.
Punishment should be a chance for prisoners to understand they made mistakes and to start a new life just like a new person, it should not be a fatal punishment, because it is an irreversible process. This is the main reason we shot this trailer.
– What was the hardest thing about shooting the video?
Oh, it was not hard shooting the video because we had so many ideas! However it was hard to find the right location because re-creating the atmosphere of a jail is not so easy. The other difficulty that we had was behaving like convicts.
– Is this the first time you have acted together?
Yes, it is the first time and I am really satisfied with our job.
This theme really involved us; we played our roles with such enthusiasm, that we did not feel tired after hours of work
Last but not least
– Do you believe that your film can be persuasive?
We do not want to censor anybody’s opinions. This is the reason why in the video there are two people against the Death Penalty and two who are in favour (the ones wearing a mask). We just wanted to have our own say and young people against capital punishment, so we hope our classmates appreciate what we worked hard to make.
Thank you very much to all of you. And now we are going to watch the movie trailer!
II SCENE.
I’m going to speak about the treatment reserved to prisoners. As we saw in the trailer, during the period of detention too many times the guards abuse their authority, physically and mentally against convicts. Inmates may be beaten for no reason and locked in tiny cells that are similar to cages. Victims do not have the right to speak. They are often forced to live in dark places, where the only companionship they have is themselves.
Moreover, the day of their execution may be postponed day after day. It is clear that, in this way any man on Earth, would lose his mind. For these reasons, I strongly believe that, in these circumstances a man is killed before he is actually executed.
SCENE SHOWING THE TRHEE CONVICTS PLAYING A GAME
This was a real game played in the 1960s. These people could be three potential criminals or a guilty person and two liars who decide the man’s faith without even talking to him. In fact in most cases others decide a man’s fate without taking into consideration his “truth”. When we see that one of the three has got a picture, symbolizing his death, the other two realize that he is guilty. The system has found someone to blame, no matter if he is really guilty or innocent, the system did its work.
V SCENE.
In the scene of the execution, we decided not to kill the executed. In fact he raises his eyes and stares directly at the camera. In our opinion this is symbolic of life as more powerful than death: nobody can decide to “stop” somebody’s life. Another important detail is presented in the fifth scene. After the execution a cheerful mask appears on the wall. This choice has two different interpretations. The first reading describes the desire to make the viewer experience what the executed has. The second one discloses the unfeeling people who watch the execution without telling anything. It seems that some people present at the execution may smile at that horrible spectacle. Where do they find courage to be so uncouth? Is it the joy of revenge that gives them the strength to witness a “murder”? We’d better ponder for a while.
Part showing the convict as a “dead man walking”. His last walk. We decided to film this scene in a corridor because it is dark and it is a narrow corridor, all these features convey to the spectator a feeling of anxiety, which is what the convict feels.
(last part)
I speak about the last part of the video. In this last part there are four people: a girl, a nun and two people with masks. This part represents the different opinion about death penalty. The girl and the nun shake their heads to say that they are against it. On the other hand the two people with masks are in favor of capital punishment. We decided to represent the people that are in favor of death penalty with masks because sometimes people are afraid of saying their opinion or what they think and they do not want to show their faces. So the mask is a metaphor for their fear of assuming their responsibility for their decision. The nun is the symbol of the Church, whereas the girl is a metaphor for all of that people that fight against death penalty.
His hazel eyes
His dark hair
Her name on the shoulder.
His sorrow, terror on his face
His tears
His regret.
A papercut
Hanged on the filthy wall
A picture, A girl.
Her blue eyes
Her blonde hair
His knife stealing her life.
Her sorrow, terror on her face
Her tears
Her death.
That wall
That jail
That smell filling his nose
Those blue eyes
That murder
Now that his time is running out
Now that it is almost over
He knows that he cannot be saved
He knows that he maybe deserves it
He knows that he saw her final breath.
He wonders why he was drunk
That damn night…
The time is come finally.
He wonders who should judge him
Men or God?
Sara Pavan 4H
A breathtaking poem, not just in the way it is written, but in the way you end it. You leave it to the reader to decide whether it is up to us to kill a person or it should be God. So you leave room for a different opinion from yours. Well done Sara, this is a poem that touched me. Thank you.
Nobody
Am I dying? Maybe nobody cares.
Am I alone? Nobody cares.
I wish I had hope, but nobody cares.
I am condemned and nobody cares.
I walk the road that leads to death,
Who cares!?
Am I really guilty? Nobody cares.
Do I deserve this punishment? Nobody cares.
Does God want me to be killed? Just nobody cares.
I am sorry, but nobody cares!
It is too late… Nobody cares.
Now I am dead, does anyone care?
NO. Nobody. Nobody cares.
Sara Grande 4^H
By entitling the poem “Nobody” you emphasise two things: the fact that nobody cares and the fact that the victim is a NOBODY in the eyes of the public opinion and this is the reason they do not care whether he dies.
The repetition of NOBODY and CARES adds to the anxious tone of the poem, it creates a sense of powerless desperation seen through the eyes of the convict sentenced to death.
He deceived her.
He beat her.
He raped her.
He killed her.
Why should I feel compassion for him?
Why should I ignore what he did?
Wasn’t that girl as important as he is?
Why shouldn’t he be punished in the SAME way?
He stole her life.
He is a human being… Wasn’t she either?
You should be proud of the poem you wrote, regardless of expressing your being in favour of the Death Penalty. Never be afraid of expressing your ideas. I am against the Death Penalty, but that does not mean I do not appreciate you because you are in favour. If you express your ideas openly, then you are more willing to listen to other people’s ideas with an open heart.
LET ME BREATHE AGAIN
Someone decided my destiny,
the place, the exact time and how I will die.
They chose that I don’t deserve
another chance
that the world doesn’t need me.
A smile, a laugh,
a kiss, a family,
a child running free on the lawn.
They are simple images, aren’t they?
You know what all these things stand for?
Life.
I’m alone now.
There’s silence around me
but echoes in my head.
Time is running out,
but I don’t want to think about it
now. I wish for a last moment of peace
in my heart and in my mind
as if I were in my mother’s arms
and nobody could hurt me.
Then a voice: “Your turn has come”
I loved reading your poem.
WHAT IS DEATH
It’s the last time I see above the window
the first and the last I walk the death row.
I count the footsteps one by one
one each for the sins I’ve done.
And while I’m going along this mile
I think for them I’m only
a number in a file.
Where’s my right of a worth death
Before this rope stops my breath?
I’m not a number
I’m not a beast
I’m a prisioner, that’s right.
But I’m still a man
I’m a man who’s gonna die.
What sense is there in killing me now
if I’m gonna die on my own?
And in what sense you are better than me
if you kill me when God says to forgive?
I add the link to listen to the great song by Led Zeppelin “Gallows Pole”
http//:www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tza0zaJUW9w
Thanks for mentioning this song.
You did a good job, Mattias.
Will this be my last step?
Will this be my last breath?
Will this be my last word?
I am just here,
waiting for DEATH
for a WORD pronounced by a person,
a human like me,
who doesn’t understand
what life really means.
MY LAST… could be the title. Do you like it? I corrected a few mistakes, so see whether you agree with the corrections.
MUSINGS ON THE DEALTH PENALTY
People say:
“He is a murderer, he must die”;
“He raped a girl, he does not deserve to live”.
But what if an innocent is wrongly executed?
What if you kill him?
The victim will remain a victim.
How can you teach not to kill by killing?
It is a contradiction in terms,
It is what the Death Penalty is.
De Piero Lara 4^H
Powerful musings!
Consistency
A murderer, he killed many people,
but fortunately now
he is on the death row,
waiting for his turn…
We’re safe now,
Justice has been done…
And so? Are we satisfied now?
Killing a person
in the name of Justice?
Yeah, we’re the people setting things right.
He’s guilty!
He deserves to die!
What a bunch of hypocritical bastards.
Who do you think you are to judge?
What do you gain from his death? Pleasure?
You’re just insane, people.
You say that violence is wrong,
but you lust it, like a secret lover.
What a great world, legal murder, yeah,
Anyone could be a legal serial killer.
Kill him! Kill her! Kill ‘em all! IT’S THE LAW!
Your poem left me speechless. I was really touched by it. It continuously shifts from anger to resignation, to seeing things through the eyes of the ones in favour of the Death Penalty to yours and the likes like you, strongly expressing your being against the Death Penalty. Really an effective poem. Well done.
We say
We say we are against the war
But we fight.
We say we are not animals
But we have no heart, no feelings, no pity or regrets.
We say we have the strength and will to be superior
But we are driven by anger or revenge.
We say we don’t like death
But we kill.
We say our life is in God’s hands
But we decide for somebody else’s life.
We say we are innocent
But we condemn a person to death.
We say we want justice
But we don’t do it with this “solution”.
So … are we really who we say we are?
cl.IV H
Do you like the title “We say”? I find it effective because your poem is built around this refrain, which discloses your strong opposition to the Death Penalty. A powerful poem. I loved reading it. I corrected just a few mistakes. You did a good job!
ABOLISH A CRIMINAL LAW
Mistakes
Lots of mistakes
Maybe it is too late?
But remember: we are human
We all have the right to live
We cannot accept the death penalty
It is a murder…
We are fed up with this injustice.
Just one chance
We just have to give one chance
Mistakes are part of us
We have to ponder more
so
Iran, Japan, Uganda, Bulgaria, Iraq, Texas, China
Wake up!!
You must abolish this CRIMINAL law!
YOU must stop the death row!
WE must stop the death row!
Elena.G.M.
A thought-provoking poem. You accompany the reader in the development of your thoughts and feelings. Nice. Thank you.
Death
sorrounding everything
Man
full of fear
frightened by
himself
He did what
He shouldn’t
He’s now
almost dying
I’m now
almost dying
in a killer State..
The short lines are very effective because they mirror the fact that the “speaking I” life is coming to an end. They also express his paralizing fear. Yet, there are some lines that seem “hanging” and thus they leave too much room for interpretation (e.g. “He did what…. He shouldn’t…. WHAT?).
An ordinary life
He was robbing,
His sons were hungry
He killed a driver
His daughter was alone at home
He robbed a car
His wife was in coma
He was chased by the police
He had lost his job
He got arrested and processed
His house was foreclosed
He is waiting on the death row
The last survivor of the family
Your poem is really interesting in the way it is “built”. The last line comes as unexpected, so congratulations Michele, you really wrote something effective, puzzling.
I think that “The poem’s Award” goes to (rullo di tamburi) Antonino or Sara Nicastro! I think that Antonino’s poem is “overwhelming”, the reader can understand his point of view, I found very effective the use of irony. I enjoy the way he managed to highlight the fact that sometimes people and their decisions are contradictory. I also like very much Sara’s poem due to its originality. That is a poem that you read in one breath, it is a “cold” and detached poem that seems to reflect the attitude of people that seems not to be touched by death penalty. Finally I want to add that I like Sara’s poem because I like the way she managed to show the feeling of anxiety felt by the convict.
Sara Marini
Look at him
Look inside his eyes
Does he seems kind, gentle?
Do you feel pity for him?
He killed me.
He raped me and killed me.
I was seventeen
I had a family who loved me
I was happy and I had lots of dreams
I wanted to became a doctor
I wanted to save people’s lives.
And then, one night he killed me
He broke my wings.
Didn’t I have the right to fly?
To get married, have children and live a long life?
He decided for my life
Others should decide for their own destiny
‘Cause he is still alive.
Why is he alive and giulty
If i’m dead and innocent?
It is highly touching and effective the choice to have the victim be the “speaking I” of your poem. The contrast between a broken life and the victimizer that usurped it is painfully rendered. You give voice to the anger of the victim, to the anguish of a stilted existence whose potentials could not bloom. I could see the murderer through the eyes of the victim, yet, though I can sympathize with the ordeal of the family, though I can see the point of the victim, I cannot see the point of wanting somebody’s death when you are already dead and your wanting your murderer’s life won’t bring you back and will taint you with the same crime that he committed.
I appreciate all of the poems, in all of them the author’s point of view is clean out perfectly.
The poem that captured my attention is the one made by Silvia Piol, because it seems that she speaks with the reader,she shares her point of view and makes the reader think exactly what Death Penalty means, which is very powerfull.
But, talking about contents, I like the poem made by Giulia Girardi because we have the same point of view.
Sara Marini
For me the best poem is that of Sara Pavan.
In my opinion the best Poem is the one written by Sara Nicastro. I liked it because the words she uses are very simple, but at the same time very impressive. In a few lines she is able to describe the life of an human being marking its end with an impressive “Game Over”, that marks also the end of the overlapping events briefly described, that involve and shake us.
I also liked the poems of Arianna Fabbro and Sara Pavan.
I really like the poem of Silvia Piol because of the feel and the power of her lines.
When you read it you could think about your life and the things that you have to do in your last day.
A Tulip
A Tulip lies on a field,
Its petals fiery red,
Its scent “sniffable” anywhere.
A gentle breeze is blowing,
Its surrounding sound,
Its uninspired Execution.
A Tulip lies on a field,
Its stalk broken by the window.
Its petals taken away by a Life’s Breath.
This is Nature,
That’s the way it went.
That’s how it ended.
But Nature, Mother of all things,
Judges not the Wind, nor she stops its course.
The wind is experiencing its life.
Another new Wind will blow;
The same that waved before,
But under a different form.
A new kind of fragrance
Everywhere is tastable,
The right parfume
It has changed everything.
Emanuele Li Calzi IV F
Really a nice poem Emanuele, you did a good job. I had to change some passages because they were not clear, especially the closing stanza. So please look at your poem again and make sure I have not altered your creative piece in a way you do not approve of. The metaphor of a flower whose stalk is broken is really powerful, a flower who is broken by a strong wind. The tulip could be the victim of a crime or the victimizer who becomes a victim himself. You do not seem to want to reveal what the tulip really stands for and perhaps this ambiguity is wanted. Do not know. Would love you to tell me. 😉
The poems I like the most are the ones of Antonino and Mattia.
The power of LIFE
I do not know
what death is
I have never
thought at it before,
but
in my short life
I learned
the importance and the sancity
of life
like the cruelty and the silence
of death
It can be injust,
but
we cannot change
the course of events
and of life too
At the same way
it is unfair to decide
on somebody’s death
it is not up to us.
For believers
the end of life
is obviousely God’s “decision”
for the other
I do not know,
but
the human being
has always a dignity
and some rights…
we must remember
which
the most important is:
the LIFE
I liked very much Valentina Porro’s poem. I liked it because the images she used are very vivid. It begins ad a short story and you ho in reading because you want to know how it ends. In some ways i would say it sounds romantic.
I personally really like Mattia’s poem. I think he wrote truly powerful lines too and I love even the title of the poem: I totally agree with what he says.
Which millennium are we living in?
It is not the first one anymore:
There was no freedom then,
Powerful institutions still conditioned thought
It is not the second one, either:
Yet, there were people who believed
In everyone’s rationality
And life
Was the most important of human rights
Just before freedom of action and possession.
It is the third millennium
We have proudly come to,
Hoping it would be a new era
Of peace and respect.
But are we still questioning
About Death Penalty?
Is this what we expected to do
In this developed world?
Talking about punishing anyone
By killing him
Does not have anything to do
With our dreams’ “third millennium”.
Should we not be an advanced society,
Who is strong and rational enough
To think of more elevated problems?
Killing people
To educate others
Should not be allowed
In our third millennium
There is no slavery anymore
As our Constitutions say,
But old convictions still rule our mind
Bible says that if one makes you blind,
Then you can do the same to him.
But it is not the Middle Ages anymore,
Many people have already told that.
Why do we keep on obeying
Passively, harmlessly?
Are we not
That great, proud people
Of this third millennium?