Anonymous

            The justice system in the United States is at work everyday in many situations. The justice system is charged with punishing and sentencing those who violate the laws set down by legislatures. These punishments rely on evidence of said crime that proves guilt. Sometimes however the justice system fails in its task. This can be seen in prisons and jails across the country where the innocent are punished for the failures of the system. Movies are often created to depict current events often with fictional twists to separate them from true situations. Double Jeopardy is such a movie. Double Jeopardy is the story of a woman tried and wrongly convicted for her husband’s death.

I’ve never thought of myself as poor. So naturally, I was very surprised when I called my mother to discuss what I had been researching for my PSY 385 class and I asked her how she would classify us in a socioeconomic category. “Borderline lower middle class, if not lower class” she said. I was puzzled. Hadn’t I always lived my life comfortably? I always had a roof over my head, we always had running water and cable TV, I went to an amazing public school in an upper middle class neighborhood. I knew what poor was. I grew up in an apartment complex, I’d seen ‘poor’ first hand, my dad couch surfed for a good portion of my life. I had to ask my mom why she would categorize us in such a manner. What brought us down to this status? Here, I have to admit that I thought less of myself than before, when the rest of my life I had spent thinking that I had a small leg up on society. I knew I wasn’t rich by any means, but not lower class. I’m ashamed to admit now that this disappointed me and after doing more research and hearing my mom explain things to me, I am much more open minded about this, and also thankful for the things I do have.

Awareness brings us to share in the caring of one another.

Domestic abuse, more commonly referred to as domestic violence, involves a pattern of violence and emotional abuse in any relationship as a means to maintain power and control over an intimate partner.  Domestic violence can include physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats that harm or influence another person.