Meiwes, a German citizen, has freely admitted to dismembering another German man and eating his flesh. Indeed, Meiwes carefully preserved the killing on videotape and still had pieces of the body in his freezer when he was arrested. During much of the process of dismemberment, the victim reportedly remained conscious.
The obstacle to a murder charge is the fact that the evidence incontrovertibly shows that Meiwes's victim wanted to be eaten. Indeed, he had agreed to the arrangement over the Internet, answering an ad placed by Meiwes that specifically sought a person who wanted to be slaughtered and cannibalized.
In the U.S., the victim's consent is no defense to murder, and it would be easy to prosecute an American counterpart to
Meiwes. But in Germany, the victim's consent renders the crime a "killing on request" -- that is, an instance of illegal euthanasia. Unfortunately, this offense is punishable by a very modest sentence of from six months to five years of incarceration.
[Is it Always Torture to Dismember and Eat a Conscious Human Being?
Findlaw.com]
IN CLASS QUIZ #1:
In the reading for today, Feinberg discusses ‘the presumptive case for
liberty.’ Drawing from this section of the reading, your quiz will ask:
(1) what is the relationship between liberty and self-realization; and (2)
what are some of the ‘social benefits’ that are related to freedom? [4
points]
Two articles deal with differences between the U.S. and Canada on a variety of
issues involving paternalism and legal moralism - "Whoa! Canada!"
and "A Tolerance for IV Drug Users"
"the other
drug legalization movement" pharmaceutical companies make drugs
that have the same effect as illegal drugs; they make money, the rich
get access to the effect legally, while the poor are criminalized for
self-medicating.
The
Peace Drug: Rape-induced post-traumatic stress disorder had
destroyed Donna Kilgore's life. Then experimental therapy with MDMA, a
psychedelic drug better known as ecstasy, showed her a way out. Was it
a fluke -- or the future? (Washington Post, 25 Nov 2007)
Oct 1
Part 2, Prostitution (In re P; MacKinnon; Committee for
Prostitutes’ Rights)
"Dawson
Miller," one of the women who appears nude on her "own"
website does an interview: she did 10 shoots a day for a week
because she needed the money, but her Christian background gave her
regrets and she backed out of further involvement with her site (which
is still posting "new" content because of all the shoots
they did with her). (a few interesting comments if you have time to
scroll them)
PAPER #1: Use the class
webpage to find the link to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
on Feminist
Perspectives on Sex Markets. Read section 2.2 on harms to women. In a
2 page paper, summarize the arguments of multiple authors who are
reviewed. Specifically, a) for those authors who argue prostitution causes
harm to women, what are their arguments? And b) what is the critique of
these positions and what is the argument of those who claim prostitution
does not harm women? (You do not need to know the names of those making
the arguments, but you need to include the argument of more than one
author/theorist on each side of the debate.) [15 points]
Due:
I will be out of the country for the Oct 1 and Oct 6 classes, so this
assignment will be due Thurs Oct 8 at the beginning of class. You may also
turn it in to my mailbox in the dept anytime before class. DO NOT EMAIL IT
TO ME – hardcopy only. Late papers will be marked down.
WORKSHEET
#1: Use the class webpage to find the link for the Supreme
Court opinion in Wisconsin v Mitchell (This is the appeal from and
final decision in the case that is required reading for today; reading the
case in the book should help in answering the questions on the worksheet.)
Download a copy of the worksheet (word.doc) and answer the
questions as you read through the Supreme Court opinion online (do not
answer the worksheets questions based on the book). [8 points]
Due:
I will be out of the country for the Oct 6 class, so this assignment will
be due Thurs Oct 8 at the beginning of class. You may also turn it in to
my mailbox in the dept anytime before class. DO NOT EMAIL IT TO ME –
hardcopy only. Late worksheets will be marked down.
IN CLASS QUIZ #2: From
the class webpage, find the link to the law review article on Why
Driving While Black Matters. Examine Part III, where the author lists
six specific reasons. The quiz will ask you to review THREE of these
reasons as well as their definitionor explanation. This
material will also be on the test. [6 points]
WORKSHEET
#2: Use the class webpage to find the link for the PBS Frontline
program, The Plea (click “watch
online”). Download the worksheet from the class website and
complete it while watching the video. [8 points]
Due: I will be at the American Society of Criminology
conference on this day. The worksheet will be due Tues Nov 10 at the start
of class. You may also turn it in to my mailbox in the dept anytime before
class. DO NOT EMAIL IT TO ME – hardcopy only. Late worksheets will be
marked down.
TEST
2 remember
to be on time because no one will be admitted to take the final after the
first person has left
Nov 17
Part 5,
Treatment of Inmates - Gorman
Nov 19
Part 5,
Treatment of Inmates - Newman
The text for the first edition of Just
and Painfulis available online.
IN
CLASS QUIZ #4. The quiz will ask about spanking machines:
Briefly describe (1) what they are (2) what some people see as the problem
with whipping and (3) how the spanking machine could promote the
administration of justice. [4 points]
Nov 24
SPECIAL TOPICS IN DEATH
PENALTY: WRONGFUL CONVICTION
We will be watching a
talk given by Dr Ron Huff on wrongful conviction. This was part of a
distinguished lecture series that is available on Youtube. We will be
playing it in class or you can watch it on your own. The talk is broken
down into seven segments. Part
1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part
3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part
5 ~ Part 6 ~ Part
7. [Download
worksheet - due Dec 1]
As DNA testing frees increasing numbers of innocents from prison, Maryland and other states across the country are facing a politically sensitive and morally complex calculus: What is the value of a life unjustly spent behind bars?
"What's a prison rape worth?" asked Ronald Kuby, a New York lawyer who has worked on compensation cases. "What's missing your child's first day of school worth? Not being with your parents as they lay dying? Having your parents go to their graves with you branded a convict?"
("Putting A Price on Innocents' Lost Years"
Washington Post, 4 Oct 2004, p A1)
IN CLASS QUIZ #4
Use the class webpage to find the link for the Findlaw.com column, Did
the Supreme Court Recognize an Innocent Person’s Right Not to Be Executed?
Your quiz will ask: 1) What were the facts of the case, and what type of
evidence seemed important in finding Davis guilty? 2) What are the reasons
(please mention as many as possible) for doubt about the original verdict?
3) what did the Supreme Court order? and 3) What is the position of Justices
Scalia and Thomas? [6 pts]
Dec 3
Part 5: National Council of Churches on death penalty;
Nathanson, Reiman, van den Haag exchange; American Medical Association
IN
CLASS QUIZ #6: Read
the Findlaw.com column about RFID chip implants and employment. Your
quiz will ask: (1) what does RFID stand for and what does the chip do; (2)
what are the concerns about the chips, both general and as related to
employment; and (3) what are the author’s concerns about the California
law?
PLEASE NOTE: Professors
do not have regular office hours after the last class. Make sure to
get in touch before classes end if you have an important issues to
resolve. All back work should be turned in before the end of the last
class. The late penalty escalates sharply at this point; papers turned
in after the last day of class will be worth a maximum of 1 point.
Work turned in at the final exam will only be counted if you have made
prior arrangements with me.
Dec
15
Final Exam
- 11:30 - 1:00 (not regular class time)
remember
to be on time because no one will be admitted to take the final after the
first person has left
If you're graduating, congratulations.
Whether or not you are graduating, check
out the commencement address given by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple. He
discusses dropping out of college (he never graduated), getting fired from
Apple (a company he helped start) and dealing with cancer.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
