Justice: Is it Really Being Served ? Crime is a very serious issue in todays society that is talked about through many different methods, media, television Clarence Darrows speech, Address to thePrisoners in the Cook County Jail displays a very strong feelingon whether or not criminals in jail our really at fault fortheir crimes or if its the fault of those people on theoutside, those not in jail. Once being a lawyer himself anddefending criminals like Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, bothnotorious murders, Darrow has a strong insight on hard corecriminals and the legal system. He utilizes his experience andknowledge along with the appeals of pathos, logos and ethos, togain the respect and opinions of his audience.Darrows main purpose in this speech is to state hisfeelings of disregard for the justice system. He feels as thoughjails do not serve a true purpose and that people are not in jailbecause they deserve to be but rather because of unavoidablecircumstance. Those who obtain money hold the power and those whoare poverty stricken will be punished, no matter who was at faultor who did the crime. This piece was a speech to prisoners in a Chicago jail andtherefore, it seems as if his targeted audience must have beenthe criminals themselves. However, he must have also beentargeting the politicians and legal personnel for the tone ofhis sentences and the beliefs he stated would do no justice forthose already in prison and must have been intended to influencethose people on the outside.Darrow strikes the pathetic or the emotional appealinstantly in his first paragraph: I do not believe that peopleare in jail because they deserve to be. They are in jail simplybecause they cannot avoid it on account of circumstances whichare entirely beyond their control and for which they are in noway responsible (862). This statement alone could create anuproar in any prison. Darrow uses great diction in this quote,using it as, a persuasive tool, to ...
