Analysis Of Perry Smith And Dick Hickock's Crime

This is where the characteristics of the Clutter family comes in. The Clutter family, on the surface, represented the ideal American family. Despite their familial issues, they seemed to have it all: a giant house, a loving family, and a prosperous life. Neither Dick nor Perry had the wealth or stable life that the Clutters had, and both craved to live so handsomely. This was true particularly for Perry. His abusive childhood and erratic relationship with his family made him an impressionable target. He was angry and wanted someone to pay for the misfortunes he’d faced. The Clutters represented everything Perry lacked, and in the end, the jealousy and need for revenge was enough for him to pull the trigger. Dick, on the other hand, did not face a horrible childhood nor did he have a bad relationship with his family. Dick’s main motive seemed to be his want for money, but that fails to explain the necessity of the Clutters' slaughter. His motives are so undefined and his character is so unexplored that it is hard to draw any conclusions in regards to his reasons for murdering the Clutters. Overall, the motive of the two murderers is really up to the reader to decide based on what they see as

Crime and glimpses into the heads of criminal masterminds has always been something that fascinates people. Although crime is a terrible thing, the complexity and intricacy of it is something that people love to hear about. One can turn on the news at any given time and almost certainly hear an account of some form of a crime within ten minutes. In the novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, an account to a perplexing crime is taken to a whole new level. The Clutter family was a charming family of four that lived in the little town of Holcomb, Kansas. They were brutally murdered with no apparent motive by Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, two men that had

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are gathered here today not to assess whether these men, Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, are guilty of their crimes; they have confessed and there is overwhelming evidence against them. No, today we are here to determine how they will pay for taking the lives of four innocent people, the Clutter family. My role here is to argue that these men should pay for their crimes with their lives. This is not merely a matter of opinion; this is what should be done according to the law of the great state of Kansas. Using evidence that the criminals themselves have provided, I shall prove to you that these men deserve to get the death penalty

In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, the author confronts the reader with the discussion of the need for the death penalty, by presenting the issue through the characters of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. He writes, “Our state provides that the punishment for murder in the first degree shall be imprisonment for life or death by hanging. That is the law. You, gentlemen, are here to enforce it. And if ever there was a case in which the maximum penalty was justified, this is it.” (27-31) The Prosecuting Attorney Logan Green uses the law as a justification of the death penalty. This statement clarifies the penalty and proves the necessity of its use. The Attorney views this to be the prominent solution, in which anything less would be too fair to the murderers. He then states, “So gentlemen, what are you going to do?

On November 14, 1959 the police were called early in the morning of a small town called Holcomb in Kansas, the Clutter family had been killed in cold blood. Herb Clutter, the loving husband of Bonnie Clutter the mother of two children Kyen and Nancy Clutter, were all murdered brutally by Dick Hancock and Perry Smith. Truman Capote wrote the book In Cold Blood to show all points of views of this trial and to show his own view on the case. As Capote writes he grows close to the two murderers, Dick hickock and Perry smith. Capote shows Perry 's character as many things such as a quick learner, a follower and he talks a lot about how his past life made him like this. This is not only how Capote portrays perry through the book but he also backs everything up with a story to show why he is like this. This is how Perry Smith was and the way he acted up will he was hung on April 14, 1965 at the age of 36 for the murders of the Clutter family.

We see two heartless, cold blooded killers that slain the innocent family of the Clutters with the intent to leave no witnesses and to rob them of their hard earned money but Capote deceives the reader's emotions throughout the entirety of the book to humanize straight killers and make them likable. We often see a murderer as a psychopath without any emotion but it is hard to label Smith and Hickock one because Capote brings the reader into their lives in a way that we would feel sorry and have pity for them. Capote makes the reader relate to Smith and Hickock by describing their families and showing insight into the killers’ dreams and aspirations so we could perceive them as people and forget that they ended the future of the Clutters. Perry was a lonely child growing up and had a drunkard mother that forced him into foster care where he was abused and bullied

Throughout part I of his alluring novel, Capote continually foreshadowed the events that are to come. Combined with the reader’s knowledge of what has happened, a unrest, suspenseful feeling consumes the reader. Capote hints at the timeline of the murders by alluding to the fact that you are reading the events of the Clutters’ last day. “Then, touching the brim of his cap, he headed for home and the day’s work, unaware that it would be his last.” (13) This foreshadowing is also the same for Dick and Perry. Every time Capote switched narratives from the murdered to the murderers, he gives the criminals location, showing advancement in their journey to commit their sin, further igniting the suspense within the reader as their imminent arrival and

Humans are conditioned to believe that murderers deserve punishments decreed by the justice system, with their days numbered, meaning to be spent in misery, as they wrongfully extinguished the lives of others. However, while murder is never acceptable, it is necessary to analyze the story, often rooted in trauma, of how a murderer came to be, which naturally can evoke compassion within the reader. Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood provides a look at a man who had a troubling childhood and adult life, ultimately arousing sympathy for Perry Smith. Perry lived through a hard childhood, and was deprived of many things every child should receive. Although Perry is portrayed as a cold hearted killer, readers can still find sympathy in their hearts for him.

This criminal code is one of the most sophisticated in the country and has become a model for other states to follow. But research studies conducted to compare effects of the death penalty nationwide have shown some conflicting results. Comparison studies done to show homicide rates of retentionist and abolitionist jurisdictions from 1999 to 2001 (Sorenson & Pilgrim) have shown that death penalty states tend to have a higher murder rate than abolitionist states. This result creates the argument of the overall deterrent effect of execution. Texas is still in the top 20 of states with the highest homicide rate even though it is the highest in death penalty executions. “If the death penalty were a deterrent, the argument goes, then Texas should be located among those states with the lowest homicide rates” (Sorenson & Pilgrim, P. 25).

It is fact that both Dick and Perry had served prison sentences for robbery in the past. Capote further illustrates the vices of Dick’s personality when he uses the statement, “I promise you, honey, we’ll blast hair all over them walls” (22) to portray Dick as a potential murderer. Capote also shows that Dick is a liar by revealing that he lied to his father about where he was going the night of the murders (23). It is fairly obvious that Capote is portraying Dick as a person who doesn’t often exhibit virtue in his actions. Capote presents a similar idea about Perry when he reveals Perry’s confession of murdering all four Clutter’s present at the house (255). Dick and Perry never attain financial stability and are, within Capote’s story, the embodiment of the “American nightmare.” It is possible that Capote is subtly equating this with their lack of virtue.

Perry admitted to killing the clutters, so why should anyone question that it wasn't his fault. People heard Perry’s story of his childhood and began to feel bad for him. the didn't think that he was a victim of his circumstances, they just wanted a happy ending to his messed up life. They were blinded by the fact that he brutally murdered a entire family with the help of Dick Hickock. Perry also admitted to thinking about killing Dick also, just because he didn't want any “witnesses”. If Smith was truly a victim of his circumstances, wouldn’t you think that he would want to keep the only person actually helped him do

Capote proves with an asyndeton that the death penalty does not heal the emotional wounds of the people hurt by violent crime, and for this reason, Dick and Perry should not have died. As Dewey watches the hangings, he reflects on the nothing he feels, saying, “[he] had imagined that with the deaths of Smith and Hickock, he would experience a sense of climax, release, of a design justly completed.” (Capote 341). With the lack of a conjunction, the emotions

One of the many reason victim’s right advocates are for truth in sentencing laws is because “with probation, indeterminate sentencing, parole, and good time, the average time spent in prison by someone who wrongfully takes a human life is 7 years”

Crime in America is something that has been around for many decades. While a large number of crimes are considered minor, many more result in the serious injury or death of another human being. “When we think about crimes, we … normally focus on inherently wrongful acts that harm or threaten to harm persons or property” (Bibas 22). The death penalty, also called capital punishment, has been used as a means of punishing the most violent of criminals in an attempt to prevent others from committing similar crimes. Over the centuries, the methods used to conduct these executions have evolved and changed due to effectiveness and public opinion.

Murder, a common occurrence in American society, is thought of as a horrible, reprehensible atrocity. Why then, is it thought of differently when the state government arranges and executes a human being, the very definition of premeditated murder? Capital punishment has been reviewed and studied for many years, exposing several inequities and weaknesses, showing the need for the death penalty to be abolished.