Criminal Law: Clarence Darrow's Echo

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Darrow’s Echo There is nothing truer than that there are two sides to every story, when members of society have turned their backs on the accused and abandoned them to the maximum sentence of the law, the defence speaks for criminal’s voice to be heard. In the eyes of society, criminals are nothing more than those who've failed to be humane, but defenders of the law strive to reveal the truth of both the victim and the criminal; the case is two sided and it takes the most skillful legalist to reveal both sides. The American lawyer, Clarence Darrow, was a renowned defender in the 1900s. His eloquence woven with artistic rhythm and sharp imagery resulted in freedom and life for his litigants. Darrow immersed his jury in sentiment with passionate speeches…show more content…
Clarence Darrow uses striking words to boost the defendant’s credibility and sway the jury’s perception in favor of them. The manipulation of words to his advantage changes the jury’s mood and establishes a rock solid base from which to build his case upon. In 1924, he defends two young murderers from the death penalty. During his trial, Darrow pleads for mercy as he declares: “here is a boy harassed by everything that harasses children, who takes this philosophy and believes it literally. It is a part of his life. It is his life….A boy with... as brilliant in intellect as any boy that you could find;.. and yet he goes out and commits this weird, strange, wild... act...? (“Leopold & Loeb” par 125). Darrow faces a hostile jury who supports the prosecution, for this reason, he uses the words “harassed, brilliant” and “intellect” to soften the jury’s hardened opinion of the boys. He heightens his ethos by portraying the boy as a victim. In his next line: he uses “weird,strange,wild” as a euphemism to describe the crime as something less than murder, for he also says “act” instead. His diction softens the weight of their bloodshed and changes

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