Letter of transmittal

I would say my strongest essay in this class was my narrative because it was a story that
I experienced, and it kept me engaged and the feeling of wanting to write it. The story was
about my grandmother passing away and me going out of the country for the first time to
attend her funeral. The audience for my narrative are for those who take things for granted and
don’t know what they have until it is gone. For myself this experience was rough, and I came to
the conclusion that if I would have gone before to see her, I wouldn’t be in the position of
seeing her for the first time dead. I very much hope people realized what they have because it
can disappear just like that.

The rhetorical analysis was a difficult paper for me to write. I took this class the previous
semester and when I did the rhetorical analysis for that semester I found it a lot easier then the
one this semester. Perhaps the story I chose was much more interesting than the story I chose
this semester. After the first draft and getting feedback from it, it came to my attention that I
was functioning more as a reader then a writer. For the revised essay I believe I did much
better, although I feel like there is some doubt.

The Viewpoint synthesis was probably one of my favorite papers to write about but
because it was about a topic that I very much enjoyed which was juvenile being tried as adults
and it had me engaged every step of the way. Although it was very time consuming and it was a
lot of research, I believe it was one of my best work yet. Getting feedback from this article was
pretty good, although there were a few things I had to fix but I felt confident in the first draft,
so I found it easy to fix.

Throughout the entire English 1010 plus course I always feared that my essay would be
terrible. And yes, they were for the first draft and there would be times where I didn’t like the
feedback I got and there were times where I did. During the beginning of this course there was
a section about “Terrible First Drafts” and believe it or not but it made me feel comfortable
with the rest of the essays I did in the course. It gave me a peace of mind knowing that I am not
the only one struggling out there with drafting essays. I grew as a writer in the sense of
becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. To succeed and learn, I must fail. I am a
returning student from the previous semester and I believe I did so much better this semester. I
learned how to write a Rhetorical Analysis, Annotated Bibliography, and a Viewpoint Synthesis
paper. Although for the Bibliography I did struggle with citation. The rhetorical I struggled with
complete, I simply couldn’t click with it. and the Viewpoint synthesis I learned that there is so
much information and debate in any and every major topic.

One thing for sure is that this course will always remind me on how much writing we do
every day. Whether its by text, email, social media, or writing an essay. I very much appreciate
my instructor Clint because he was always there for all his students and trying to help them in
any way he possibly could.

First trip
Growing up in one country and learning the culture of another can be difficult and easy
at the same time. All cultures do things different from one another. This is something I realized
shortly after my grandmother passed away and I visited Mexico for the first time to attend her
funeral. Having the feeling of taking the position of my father at the funeral felt like it was
necessary.

February 5th, 2005 is a day I will remember forever. I was in 5th grade, not knowing I was
going to receive the horrible news once I arrived home from school. Shortly after arriving home,
I saw my father’s car and asked myself “Why is my dad home so early?” I went inside the house
and headed up the stairs where I saw my sister Maria on the couch in a ball crying and my
father sitting at the kitchen table in silence, not one word was said until I finally asked... “Who
died?” No one answered. Maria looked at me and said, “Grandma died.” “Your friend’s mom?” I
asked. “No, our actual grandma” she said. I turned, looked at my mother, leaned on her and
started crying. I was heartbroken.

At this point in time my parents were in the process of getting their residency, but my
dad was so upset that he was willing to throw away all that time and money spent just so he
can go and see his mother one last time. I overheard the conversation between my parents
about the situation and how my dad wanted to leave. My mother was upset but didn’t want to
stop him from leaving because he wanted to see his mother one last time. I remember my mom
telling him to leave if he absolutely wanted to but that if he did, everything that they had gone
through would go to waste. In the end, my father decided to stay not only for him and my mom
but for my oldest sister Alejandra who has been here her whole life.

Knowing Maria was leaving the country to attend the funeral I knew my parents were
going to send me as well. I honestly didn’t want to go because I was scared. I was going to a
place where I knew nothing about, and I never traveled without my parents. When my parents
asked me if I wanted to go I said no but my dad tried to convince me, and I just wouldn’t budge.
After a good twenty minutes of trying to convince me he finally stopped and went to his room.
About 30 mins later I entered his room and told him I’d go and the only reason I decided to go
was because I felt like I had to be there in his absence for my family. As if my sister and I were
there in place of my parents since unfortunately they couldn’t go.

When I arrived in Leon, Guanajuato I got off the plane and felt that the air was heavier,
a little foggy, and a bit colder. I couldn’t see very many houses, but I figured the airport was far
from where I was going. I imagined it be exactly like home, but I was wrong. After an hour of
driving, we arrived to a small town named Villagran where I started to realize it wasn’t like
home. The houses were literally right next to each other, no back yard or driveway, it was door
to door. The streets were one-way streets only wide enough for a car to drive by. I also noticed
people were riding bikes instead of driving cars. When I arrived at my grandparents’ house, I
went in not knowing anybody but saw a coffin in the middle of the living room. I stared at it
knowing someone I talked to over the phone for years but never really knew was laying right in
there. I walked up to it with my sister and saw my grandma for the very first time in this coffin
completely pale with a brown robe on. The feeling was surreal. In that moment, I felt so guilty
that I never came to see this lovely woman when I had the chance and all because I was scared.

Waking up the next day I got changed and went to the kitchen to eat and then went to
the living room and sat there in silence just staring at the coffin. it was the day of the funeral
and our family and loved ones arrived at the house and gave one last prayer before they took
her to the cemetery. Once it was over, six of my uncle carried the casket and walked out of the
house and proceeded their way to the cemetery. Walking down the street there was a band
playing right behind us. Everybody dressed in black and not one word was said. All I could hear
was the band playing in the background. I was confused on why there was a band playing but
it’s a sign of respect for the deceased to celebrate the life they lived. Arriving to the cemetery I
noticed boxes everywhere, which is something I’d never seen before, but later realized that’s
where they would put them in, seal it up, and let the decease rest in peace. The feeling I had
was unbearable. It was all too much for me and all I did was cry and breathed heavily and
couldn’t stop, especially when I saw my aunts yell and sob over their terrible loss. I’ll never
forget that day.

Months have passed and everyone is moving on with their lives but still visiting my
grandmothers grave. It’s true when people say, “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone”.
Along with “don’t take anything for granted.” One day you have someone with you and the
next day they’re gone. I am very glad I had this experience because now I try to visit Mexico as
often I as can to visit my grandpa and to see the family I have there. Remember always to make
time for your loved ones because one day you wake up and they might not be there anymore.
Rhetorical analysis

The article I selected is “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds” this article is written by
Elizabeth Kolbert and was published on February 27, 2017 in The New Yorker, The book section.
In this article it explains the why proven facts don’t change our minds. Overall the passage was
great and it gives out good examples, sources, and studies that our minds and beliefs we have
doesn’t change the way we think. I believe Kolbert’s article is effective because she had written
down and proven with multiple studies why peoples mind doesn’t change with given facts.

Kolbert started off the article with a group of undergraduates to take part in a study
where they had twenty-five pairs of suicide notes and the students had to distinguish the real
notes from the fake ones. At the end it turned out they had identified the real one twenty-four
times which made the students that were marked as average, were just as clever as the ones
who have been told they were mostly wrong. The real point of the experiment was for student
to determine their response to thinking whether they were right or wrong. Years later, there’s a
similar study were students once again had a scenario where there were two firefighters where
one of them was known for being the safest on his team while the other was always put “on
report”. Yet this was another fictitious story and half of the students thought the safe
firefighter would almost always go with the safest choice, while the others thought he would
embrace it. After the study was given it showed that people fail to make appropriate revisions
of their beliefs even though they know that their beliefs have been false.

Confirmation bias is tricky to avoid because it plays on core of emotions and deeply
engrained beliefs which reasons us to try and solve things that we don’t understand or data
that has not yet been exposed to us, rather it developed to solve other problems posed by
living in collaborative groups.

Kolbert gave some sources that are relevant to her article. The first one mentions is
“The Enigma if Reason” by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber. Kolbert provides one Mercier and
Sperber studies where they asked some participant who would have to answer some
reasonable questions in three steps. The first two step were to explain the response and modify
it after. About fifteen percent had changed their mind in step two and by step three they
started to realize they were reviewing their own responses which made them more critical
about it. After finding that out about sixty-two percent change their response they had given
earlier. The lopsidedness in the study reflects that reason evolved to perform, which prevented
them from getting screwed over by others in the group. The second source she mentions is
“The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone” by Steven Slowman and Philip Fernbarch.
These authors think the human mind functions has malfunctions, which they describe in a study
where they gather a group of students at Yale who were asked to rate their understanding of
everyday devices. Not only did they do that, they were also asked to write in specific detail how
toilets function. At first the students thought it was an easy thing to described but there was
much more to it than simply pressing down the handle of the toilet for it to flush. They wanted
details from what sewers they went through, what pipe was needed for it to flush, down to the
water and what kind of ceramic bowl. This here proves that people believe more then what
they do. The last source she mentions is “Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That
Will Save Us” by Jack Gordman and Sara Gordman. The Gordmans are concerned about the
beliefs we have aren’t necessarily false but can also be deadly and they provide the example of
the conviction of how vaccines are hazardous. And explain that vaccines were made to protect
people for hazardous diseases and is the triumphs of modern medicine. But the beliefs
someone has will not apply to them such as Donald Trump with his son. Trump and his wife
have not vaccinated him when he was born. For someone to not want to get vaccinated
because of their beliefs is like saying hand gun machines are safe and which in some cases they
are not but people apply their emotions to make long term decisions.

Throughout this article I wouldn’t see Kolbert mention much of pathos and it made it
seem where the article was more logos because it had multiple examples of logical reasoning.
Which makes it effectiveness because not only did Kolbert give our logical reason she also
showed credibility to support the effectiveness of the article of the fact that one’s beliefs and
logical thinking can be every powerful on everyday lives which enables us to think that we know
more then what we do but not matter what science proves and how many sources we can get
for us to believe something it will not change our minds.
Annotated Bibliography

Michigan, J.D, Kathleen. “When Juveniles Are Tried in Adult Criminal Court”. 2017 Nolo
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/juveniles-youth-adult-criminal-court-32226.html

In this article it talks about the process of a “waiver” which is when a judge waives protection
for juveniles that are involved of more serious crimes or minors who have been in trouble before. The
outline they have written down on the website starts out with Juvenile Cases Eligible for waiver which
explains that in most states the juvenile offender must be at least of the age 16 to be considered for a
waiver in adult court but there are a few states where it could be at the age of 13 and few other states
who allow it at any age. And it depends on what offense the offender committed. Waiver Petition
Procedures explains there are three ways of it the transfer proceedings can start and the first one is by
the prosecutor can request it. The second is by deciding on the minor’s chances of rehabilitation as a
juvenile and they determine that by the background, juvenile court record, and juvenile system. Lastly
the Automatic Transfer laws and Reverse Transfer Hearings which is when the offender is older (age 16)
and the charges have to do with violent offenses, such as rape or murder.

“National Juvenile Defender Center”. Washington D.C. October 2015

http://njdc.info/practice-policy-resources/state-profiles/utah/

This source is like the one I mentioned first. It gives out information on the policy and
procedures for juvenile offenders. It has a specific section of state profiles and under Utah it starts off
with mentioning how all juvenile has the right for counseling. They can either get one specifically for
their parents/guardians or the court system can provide it. Also has Court Rules, Determination of
Indigence, Detention Revision, Ages of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction, and Youth Court Rules. Under the last.
Although some cases aren’t as vital as others, in certain circumstances the court can keep the offender
in juvenile hall until 21 years of age if the crime was committed before the age of 18. If it is something
such as murder or he/she has already been in a secured facility from a felony in the past and the
offender is the age of 16 they will be transferred to adult court once the waiver for it passes through
their system.

Lisa Hornung. “Third defendant may be tried as an adult in Cherokee Triangle shooting”. 2018. Web. 15
Mar 2018.
https://insiderlouisville.com/metro/third-defendant-may-be-tried-as-an-adult-in-cherokee-triangle-
shooting-case/

the article gives out a story of a shooting that took place in Louisville, KY on November 3rd 2017.
Three people were involved two teens the age of 16 who are charged with robbery and murder of 30-
year-old Jason spencer. Also mentions where a defense attorney wants the judge Olu Stevens to unseal
the case for the defenders to have hearings.
 The author of the article has seemed to be involved in the case when it first came out to the
public. She had many detail of what happened throughout the case, even though it was all in summary.
Also mentioned about previous case with the same judge.
Using this article would be good to use for the perspective of “no. because they are not 18”
because the attorney is eager for the judge to make a decision for the two teenagers. But also stated
that there was a similar case, but the defendants were 13 and 14-year old and are in juvenile detention
center.

Guatam Bhardwaj. “Forensics Psychology in the ‘Juvenile Justice System”: Determining Competency of
Adolescents to stand trails as adults”. Crime Scene to Court Room. Web. 13 Feb 2017
https://jguforensics.wordpress.com/2017/02/13/forensic-psychology-in-the-juvenile-justice-system-
determining-competency-of-adolescents-to-stand-trial-as-adults/

Article is explaining how Forensics Psychology plays a huge role of determining how the juvenile
should be sentenced. It also gives out examples of some cases where juveniles have committed crimes.
But some have been tried as adults and others are in the Juvenile System.
The person who wrote it did a great job at not only explaining forensic psychology but gave
quotes and perspectives of psychologist and judges. Even why they should have rehabilitation or not.
Overall this article is great to use for the perspectives. I feel like it can relate the perspective of
“no. because they are not 18 and rehabilitation is possible” and for “yes, because of the crime
committed.” Because it talks about how in some cases the phycologist will see that it is possible for
rehabilitation as compared to those who knew what they did was wrong and did it anyway. And their
actions and responses for it can lead them to adult sentencing.

Wadhwani, Anita. “Cyntoia Brown case: Lawyers file appeal seeking to overturn life sentence”.
Tenessean. USA Today Network. Web. 09 Jan 2018
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/01/09/cyntoia-brown-case-lawyers-file-appeal-seeking-
overturn-life-sentence/1017124001/

This article gives out information on Cyntoia Browns case, where she murdered Johnny Allen,43.
After he forced her to have sex with her. The background of the story is she was taken from her home
when she was 14 by Allen and used her for prostitution and sex trafficking. And was convicted at 16 and
is serving a life sentence.
Wadhwani did a good job at putting detail in about her case. Its giving credibility to the attorney
Charles Bone where he argues how brown could not survive in solitude at the age of 69 for parole.
Where she can have the opportunity to demonstrate her ‘maturity and rehabilitation’.
I heard about this case back December and it caught my attention. After doing some research
about her case, I think this could be a strong point on my perspective of yes, Rehabilitation is possible
because It shows that her attorney is trying to argue the fact that she is innocent but is also mentally
impaired, subject to the fact of her immaturity. and for the no, because they are under 18 because she is
a child and went impulsiveness that all juveniles have.

Young, Malcom C. Gainsborough Jenni. “Prosecuting Juveniles in Adult Court” An Assessments of Trends
and Consequences. Web. 2000 Jan
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/sp/juvenile.pdf
 This article was written by Malcom C young and Jenni Gainsborough, and it provides a lot of
information of why judges choose to sentence them, what it can do to a juvenile being in adult prison,
and the rates of crimes being recommitted.
The credibility of this is the researchers have done to get all the information they have provided.
Gave details on what was the outcome of the juveniles being tried as adults was and how they are
considered.
I want to say there wasn’t much of a perspective, but I think it can help me with giving
information on each one of my perspectives because I can use it as a resource for what I am trying to
argue. And I believe that is a big part of this essay.

Gomes, Trimmel. “Lawmakers Push Bill to Limit Children Tried as Adults”. Web. 27 Feb 2018.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2018-02-27/juvenile-justice/lawmakers-push-bill-to-limit-children-
tried-in-adult-court/a61595-1

There isn’t much information on this page here, but it does give good reference on how many
juveniles are being tried as adults. In the state of Florida there has been more then 1,000 children who
are being transferred to adult prison. The states representatives are trying to pass the House Bill 509
which is helping prevent children from 10-17 years of age being convicted as an adult.

Apparently, many of these children are being convicted without a judge being involved.
Therefore, this giving credibility to this law trying to be passed because its stating the judge must be
more involved, weigh the circumstances, and evidence case by case to guide them to make the right
decision on how they want to convict them.

I think this can be included into my perspective of yes, they should be convicted because of
crime committed because it shows how the judge is going to be more involved and really pay attention
to all the details of the case.
Viewpoint synthesis

“Should a Judge Be Able to Try Juveniles as Adults?”

There is much debate over the issue of Juveniles being tried in the adult system because
stakeholders don’t agree on the evidence presented in the cases. Some say a teenager under
the age of 18 can’t be in solitude with adults because they are just a child and don’t know what
is right from wrong and can lead to rape. Although some studies show before a juvenile can be
considered as an adult they first have to meet with a forensics psychologist to help determine
whether the teen should be in juvenile or adult system. Others reject the evidence and research
provided and believe the teen was fully aware of what they did. Those stake holders believe the
judge should make the appropriate decision and have them punished for the crime committed.
Yet, others say rehabilitation is still possible for them and can further better themselves while
reaching maturity. Although “Should a judge be able to try a juvenile as an adult?

For a juvenile to be considered in adult prison they must go through a “waiver” which is
when a judge waives protection for juveniles that are involved of more serious crimes or minors
who have been in trouble before. Most juvenile offenders must be at least of the age 16 to be
considered for a waiver in adult court but, there are a few states where it could be at the age of
13 and other states who allow it at any age and depending on what offense the offender
committed. Waiver Petition Procedures explains three ways of the transfer proceedings can
start. First one is by the prosecutor requesting it, second is by deciding on the minor’s chances
of rehabilitation as a juvenile and they determine that by the background, juvenile court record,
and juvenile system. Lastly the Automatic Transfer laws and Reverse Transfer Hearings which is
when the offender is older (age 16) and the charges have to do with violent offenses, such as
rape or murder.

Stakeholders such as parents/ Guardians or attorneys don’t agree and believe

that a juvenile should not be in adult prison because they are just a child, how are they
supposed to know what is right from wrong? In each case there are Forensic Physiologist who
help determine the judges to make the decision on proceeding with the waiver for the adult
trial or keep them in Juvenile Justice System. These Psychologist preform “Threat Assessments”
to see the mental state of the perpetrator and see if they have suffered from post-traumatic
stress disorder. This brings me to a case that happened in West Valley City, Utah of a 15-year-
old boy who strangled and murdered 12-year-old Kayley Vijil in a field near by her home. The
teen was taken into custody later that night that it happened, and District Attonery Sim Gill
stated the teen would be kept in Juvenile Detention Center due to the mental state he was
going through. He would be charged with aggravated murder but not be transferred to adult
prison.

Others maybe also point out the fact of these teens are being rape and violently
attacked by other inmates in the Criminal Justice System. Inmates under 18 are five times more
likely to get attacked in adult prison rather than their peers in the juvenile Justice System.
Timothy Parsell is an ex-convict who was convicted in Michigan at 17 years old because he
robbed a photo mat with a toy gun. He states that in the first 24 hours of being incarcerated his
drink was spiked with Thorazine and was lured into an empty cell and was ganged raped which
followed multiple times after that. These facts are what supports theses stakeholders
perspective on why a juvenile should not be in adult prison before 18 years of age.

Stakeholders such as judges and juries believe whoever commits a crime should be
punished for it despite the age of the offender. When a juvenile commits a crime, it is fair for
them to be charge because of their actions. “Once and Adult, Always and Adult” is a rule in the
Criminal Justice System for any juvenile incarcerated as an adult. They may argue that they
were not fully knowledgeable of what they are doing, and in most cases, they are fully aware.
Forensic Phycologist state that most juveniles committing crimes are aware of their
surroundings and the consequence’s coming afterwards. For example, Cyntoia Brown was
convicted at the age of 16 for first degree murder of 39-year-old Jhonny Mitchell back in 2004.
She was kidnapped by him when she was 14 years old and used her for sex trafficking. Two
years have passed by where she was still living that life and one day she was taken into
Mitchell’s room who laid next to her naked to have sexual relations with her. Browns first
instinct was to protect herself, Mitchell was using force and brown saw the gun and shot
Mitchell. Brown was sentenced to life in prison in Tennessee and could be considered for parole
at age 67. The jury that was involved in this case highly believed she in fact did this out of
revenge for Mitchell has done too her. Jury believes she was fully aware of what she was doing,
she knew taking Mitchells life away could result to prison. In fact, this is supporting the
stakeholders, perspectives on yes, a juvenile should be convicted because of the crime
committed.

Some stakeholders believe that rehabilitation is possible for these juveniles despite
what they have done. They point out how many things can help them with the mental state and
help them become a better person. In Texas Juvenile Justice Department have found a solution
for incarcerated youths behavior problems. It’s a program which can help them find jobs and
take classes to get their high school diploma or GED. This is a form for them to gain
responsibility. There are also halfway houses that can help them with their physical and mental
issues. A former delinquent named Miriam, 18 who recently left the Juvenile Justice System,
found rehabilitation at her job in a local pet grooming business. “I thought I would go in there
and get out” Miriam said. Thinking she was going to get out of the system sooner. After going
through the programs, she feels better about herself and made her feel as if she was
responsible now “It’s like a second chance you’re getting.” Miriam states. This can give the
stakeholders such as parents and juries a peace of mind and seeing proof of these programs
having a impact on the a juvenile after what they have done.

In conclusion, this issue is something that can be argued serval times and there really
won’t be a right or wrong answer to this. There Is no way to where it can be narrowed down to
one solution. As noticed there are many beliefs, perspectives, and voices upon this issue and in
the end, it depends on the judge, jury, and forensics physiologist. As an audience of an article or
a perspective I heard/read. Its difficult on what to decide what is the correct way to handle the
situation. I may agree with all three perspective I have mention in a certain way, but after doing
all the research for this subject I do agree with the stakeholders who believe that a juvenile
should be charged for crime committed. In my eyes I see someone is taking actions like an adult
would. Making life determining decisions on the stop.