Verified Document

Mississippi Burning Directed By Alan Term Paper

The efforts of the FBI to solve this case were certainly in the greater good, and they did solve the case, even though the trial was a mockery. It seems the FBI could have done more to have the case moved to a more neutral location to help ensure a fair trial, which certainly did not happen. Indeed, the FBI gave high priority to the case, and even opened an office in Mississippi during the investigation (Editors). It is difficult to see how they could have done more. Not all of their decisions were ethical, but neither was the decision to murder three young men simply because of their convictions.

Was every action ethical? No, they literally paid for confessions and the safety of those who confessed. However, they were dealing with terrorists, and to reach them, they had to think like them, act like them, and do whatever they could to catch them. They threaten the mayor with castration, state a mock execution, and use all kinds of terrorist tactics of their own to gain the truth. They must act...

Their efforts were certainly not ethical, or even fair, but neither were the murders. Their actions were justified, because ultimately, they did save lives and some clansmen were convicted and served jail terms (Editors). However, not all the people responsible were initially tried, and another defendant, Edgar Ray Killen, was recently convicted of the murder as well. Did the FBI do everything right? No, they did not, but they caught the people responsible for this terrible murder, and hopefully kept at least some of them from murdering others, and that justified their unethical behavior.
References

Editors. (2006). Famous American trials: U.S. Vs. Cecil Price, et al. Retrieved from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Web site: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/price&bowers/price&bowers.htm2 April 2007.

Mississippi Burning (1988). Dir. Alan Parker. Perf. Gene Hackman, William Dafoe. Hollywood: Orion Pictures.

Sources used in this document:
References

Editors. (2006). Famous American trials: U.S. Vs. Cecil Price, et al. Retrieved from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Web site: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/price&bowers/price&bowers.htm2 April 2007.

Mississippi Burning (1988). Dir. Alan Parker. Perf. Gene Hackman, William Dafoe. Hollywood: Orion Pictures.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Mississippi Burning -- Crime or
Words: 847 Length: 3 Document Type: Thesis

The fact that the local police authorities and local governing officials (like the mayor) were all of the same mindset as the perpetrators and that a deputy sheriff was involved first-hand in the murders virtually ensured that the crimes would remain unsolved unless the investigating authorities deviated from the normal guidelines for criminal investigations. Nevertheless, the specific tactics used by the FBI agents were themselves criminal actions that, in other

Mississippi Burning the 1988 Film Mississippi Burning
Words: 971 Length: 3 Document Type: Reaction Paper

Mississippi Burning The 1988 film Mississippi Burning depicts the total infestation of Mississippi government and civic society by racist rednecks. The Ku Klux Klan serves as a quasi-governmental and paramilitary authority that defies federal law. Their total infiltration into local governments makes the KKK an incredibly dangerous and powerful organization. Civil Rights legislation presents real threats to Klan authority. The KKK have no respect for the mandate of the federal government and

Mississippi Burning the 1988 Film
Words: 606 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Membership in the KKK implies a support for hate crime; membership in the KKK is equivalent to membership in a domestic terrorist group. No Klan member can plead ignorance about the motives and tactics used by the organization. The organization exists to perpetuate a culture of white supremacy, by whatever means possible. Using violence, intimidation, infiltration of law enforcement, and conspiracy all point to terrorist acts. The KKK is

Mississippi Burning the Movie
Words: 420 Length: 1 Document Type: Term Paper

Mississippi Burning is an evocative movie that arouses horror over racial hatred. In fact, Director Alan Parker, in an interview, stated that the film's objective was precisely to "...cause them to react...because of the racism that's around them now..." (King, 1988, para.7). Parker does this by questioning the origins of the hatred through the characters in the film. Ward, the by the book FBI agent, expresses it eloquently when he

Mississippi River Wars the South
Words: 2992 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

" The rebel army thought nothing of stealing food and good drinking water from the citizens of Vicksburg. The rebel army authorities put 100 men in charge of securing homes and lives, but "over seventy-five of the men selected" for the policing duty were Creoles who spoke little or no English, and the troops pretty much took what they wanted. Many people became refugees and moved into tent cities outside

Faulkner's "Barn Burning" Annotated Bibliography William Faulkner's...
Words: 815 Length: 2 Document Type: Annotated Bibliography

Faulkner's "Barn Burning" Annotated Bibliography William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" Ford discusses the narrative aging of the main character in "Barn Burning." Through the eyes of the brutalized child there is no real sense of his father's (Abner's) motivations and/or the son's characteristic numbness created by the self-preservation associated with the tragedy of abuse a cultural and personal phenomena. The work details by describing several passages in the work, and especially interactions

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now