Essay On Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter to fellow clergy after he was arrested for civil disobedience in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King not only talks about his views on the reaction of people who are considered lower class but ones who also have a higher rank. Dr. King explains that he believes that there were many unjust reasons that he was placed in jail, but also understood his consequences of his actions. We as Americans not only African Americans but all races from then to this day and age now still commend and respect all of the sacrifices Dr. King made. Although today he would be disappointed as we witness everything he fought for arise again at this time. Dr. King described the difference between just and unjust laws …show more content…

A case that dates back to March 1944 is the execution case dealing with 14 year old George Stinnely who was accused of killing and raping two white girls in South Carolina. Stinnley became the youngest to ever be executed. As a criminal Justice major and ready the definition of what Dr. King believed was unjust, we can say this case was unjust. Stinnely because he was a minor did not and was not allowed to have his parents in the interrogation room with him. By law that is illegal, at some point while a minor is being questioned the parents are allowed to be in the room with the child. The US Supreme court case of Gideon v. Waignwright states that there is a right to a counsel which was decided in 1936. There were stated facts that there were no written records recorded stating a confession from George. There were no accurate witness, just hearsay and and back in those times blatant discrimination. When brought to trial, Stinnley was surrounded by an all-white jury, white judge, and after two and half hours with very little to no witnessed Stinnley was sentenced to execution and his attorney decided not to appeal and retry the case. Also in a political aspect how …show more content…

King believes that there is a difference between laws with is the legal term and just being morally right. Dr. King believed although there were many segregation laws that were unjust that dealt with discrimination, he believed as a man of God someone who spoke and taught the gospel that treating people differently because the color of their skin was morally unjust. A well-known fact that have been stated in many history books say that the well-known KKK (Klu Klux Klan) were Christians. Throughout history the KKK have committed more hate crimes and any other organization. It is said that many pastors were a part of the KKK and many meetings discussing their next hate crime were taken place in churches around the south. The KKK committed crimes such as cross burnings in yards and churches, bombings in African American homes and rioting in the environment of African Americans. While many people criticized Dr. Kings work and tenacity to make America a better place he believed he did nothing wrong and none of his action whether it be marches or protest were done untimely. Although through the eyes of others, many believed that because there were Jim Crow laws and many discriminatory rules have not yet seized he was maybe too bold to have done all of the political actions during that time knowing the consequences of his

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