Murdering as an Inescapable Burden in Flight: a Novel

Introduction

Be more lenient to him. It is a prevalent idea that people have when they witness a juvenile, or mentally unstable individual tried in a criminal case. However, regardless of his condition, the fact that he murdered a person does not change. Allowing these excuses to affect the magnitude of an individual's punishment will undermine our constitution and stability of the judicial system; the defense in Zits's case is utilizing the same method to alter the gravity of Zits's sentence. I am a police officer working at Considering his rationality and deliberation; I believe Zits should be tried as an adult and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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Coming from my personal experience with Zits, I can assure that Zits is an ordinary, sane individual who should get tried in a fair manner. The defense might argue that Zits's unstable mentality should get taken into consideration in the trial. However, I had numerous conversations with Zits before the incident, and these conversations have not shown a single clue for his insanity. Since Zits continually gets in trouble wherever he appears, I have "arrested him a few dozen times" (Alexie, 17). Interrogating Zits numerous times allowed me to distinguish his original disposition from his surface actions; Zits is a genuine, kind-hearted person who underwent a terrible experience with his abusive foster parents, which ultimately made him inclined to act more hostile towards others. During one of the interrogations, he carefully commented, "I can tell he [Officer Dave] gets scarred. And he knows I am scared, too. The wounded always recognize the wounded" (Alexie, 18). Surprised by his words, I further acknowledged Zits's ability to develop insights on others and create connections. Knowing that Zits can communicate frequently and also create more profound understandings of people by observing and listening to others, the court should treat Zits as a sane individual and punish accordingly.

Not only did I acknowledge Zits's rational actions and thoughts, but I also learned his malice aforethought of the bank incident. After interrogating Zits, I concluded that the murder at the bank was premeditated, and he should thus get strictly punished. Since I am the chief investigator of the killings at the bank, I examined Zits's actions and whereabouts before the incident; he testified that on a daily basis he had done "hours of talking and practice-shooting with the real gun" (Alexie, 33). Zits further claimed that "all the people in newspaper photos and articles have crosshairs painted over their faces," in which he rendered them as "targets" (Alexie, 167). After hearing Zits's testimonies, I started investigating a warehouse that Zits claimed to have lived in before the shooting. Inside the warehouse, I found multiple newspapers and magazines with holes, appearing to be the gunshots, in them. These responses and evidence found in the warehouse proved Zits's apparent planning and practicing of murder. Working in the police department for a long time, I am aware that premeditation of a murder leads to a heavier punishment. If the trial does not address Zits's deliberation of the bank incident, then this case will severely question the balance of our country's judicial system.

The opposition's stance must not get neglected; the defense might argue that Zits should be sentenced for only five years, considering the lack of rehabilitation systems he received. They will contend that the government failed to provide appropriate rehabilitation, an action of restoring someone to normal life through training and therapy after imprisonment, to Zits. However, this is not the case. During one of the many conversations I had with Zits, he complained, "I have lived in twenty different foster homes and attended twenty-two different schools" (Alexie, 7). Providing foster homes, indeed, is one of many rehabilitation systems that help an individual restore both mentally and physically. In addition to that, I also personally "talked the judge into sending you [Zits] to a halfway house" (Alexie, 28). A halfway house is a center for helping prisoners, patients, and others to adjust to life in general society. It proves that Zits has already received two types of rehabilitation system--foster home and halfway house--and yet he murdered harmless citizens.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, Zits is a criminal. He took away dozens of innocent lives at the bank, and this matter should not get resolved with a simple reason for his being a mere juvenile. It is vital to consider both his rationality and premeditation of the murder in the trial, for the opposition is attempting to alleviate Zits's sentence with negligible reasons such as his age and mental instability. In retrospect, taking his sanity and planning of the murder into account, it is imperative that Zits should get sentenced to life imprisonment.

Work Cited

Alexie, Sherman. Flight: a Novel. 1 edition ed., Black Cat, 2007.