Humane Housing for the Mentally Ill

Scrolling down the list of editorials on the New York Times website, an article about the conditions in which mentally ill people live caught my eye. Remembering that our school has several superb classes that help integrate the Special Ed students in with the general population, I was curious about the conditions of the mentally ill in other states and in different situations. What I read appalled me. The mentally ill were forced into nursing homes, whether or not the could care for themselves. They rarely ever went out, and were barred from the outside world in nearly every other aspect. The fact that people are treated like this, under any circumstances, surprises and saddens me.

The author's opinion about such treatment of human beings was clear from the first sentence. He called the conditions "shameful," "unneccesary," and "mistreatment." He goes on to say "It is long past time to move these people into more humane, intergrated settings." He uses negative diction, comparing the homes to prison, and detailing boring, lonely lives for the inhabitants. I think this author did a good job. He got his point of view across early, gave evidence (ethos) as to why he felt that way, and finished by revealing how the state of New York is planning on changing the situation. I agree with this author, and think the way he chose to write this article had the persuasion to make his readers see his perspective.

Humane Housing for the Mentally Ill
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/opinion/humane-housing-for-the-mentally-ill.html?scp=1&sq=humane%20&st=Search

Stay of Execution

This article caught my attention for several reasons. Firstly, it is addressing a topic that is very controversial at this moment, and because of this will be a topic whose discussion will be understandable and passionately fought for on both sides. Secondly, this article was interesting to me because the story it tells is proof that discrimination still exists, and that the justice system in America is not neccessarily a thing of perfection.

While reading this article I, as well as the author, was shocked at the injustice that went on during Mr. Buck's trial in 1997. The witness who testfied about the influence of the defendent's skin color on the likeliness that he would kill again was very far out of line and has no factual proof to back up his or her claims.

The author's point of view on the subject of Mr. Buck's sentence is let known after the first paragraph, when he states that " [Supreme Court] ...cannot allow a terrible injustice to stand."
The author's point of view on capital punishment, however, isn't as clear until the last paragraph, when he calls the death penalty "cruel...discriminitory... and barbaric..." and says that it "must be abolished." Throughout the article, the author uses derogatory terms like "refused" and "improperly" to put the government, namely the district attorney and the attorney general, in a bad light. His article is written in a way that almost makes Mr. Buck, the convicted murderer, seem like the victim. I think that this article would be able to sway some peoples opinions on capital punishment. It was written well, and it leaves the reader wondering how many others there are like Mr. Buck, and how many have been wrongly executed under such circumstances.


"Stay of Execution"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/17/opinion/stay-of-execution.html?scp=1&sq=stay%20of%20execution&st=Search