briefly discuss the impact of the Edwards Rule pertaining to police interviewing and interrogation. In doing so, briefly provide an overview of the U.S. Supreme Court case, Edwards v. Arizona,

 

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

The Edwards Rule, stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court case Edwards v. Arizona (1981), significantly impacts police interviewing and interrogation practices by protecting a suspect’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Overview of Edwards v. Arizona

In Edwards v. Arizona, the defendant was arrested for several offenses and invoked his right to remain silent during questioning. Police ceased the interrogation. However, the next day, different officers approached him, and despite Edwards stating he didn’t want to talk, they proceeded with the interrogation, eventually obtaining a confession. The Supreme Court ruled that once a suspect invokes their Miranda rights (specifically the right to remain silent or the right to an attorney), interrogation must cease.

The Edwards Rule, stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court case Edwards v. Arizona (1981), significantly impacts police interviewing and interrogation practices by protecting a suspect’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Overview of Edwards v. Arizona

In Edwards v. Arizona, the defendant was arrested for several offenses and invoked his right to remain silent during questioning. Police ceased the interrogation. However, the next day, different officers approached him, and despite Edwards stating he didn’t want to talk, they proceeded with the interrogation, eventually obtaining a confession. The Supreme Court ruled that once a suspect invokes their Miranda rights (specifically the right to remain silent or the right to an attorney), interrogation must cease.

only do so if the suspect himself initiates the communication, knowingly and intelligently waiving their previously asserted rights.

Impact of the Edwards Rule

The Edwards Rule establishes a bright-line rule designed to prevent police from badgering suspects into waiving their Miranda rights. It creates a presumption against waiver once the right to silence or counsel is invoked. This has several key impacts:

  • Stronger Protection of Miranda Rights: It reinforces the Miranda warnings by providing a clear and enforceable rule against continued interrogation after an invocation.
  • Limits Police Interrogation Tactics: It restricts police from re-initiating questioning after a suspect has clearly expressed their desire to remain silent or consult with an attorney. This prevents coercive tactics aimed at wearing down a suspect’s will.
  • Focus on Suspect’s Voluntariness: It emphasizes the importance of ensuring that any waiver of Miranda rights is truly voluntary and not the product of police pressure.
  • Exclusion of Evidence: Confessions obtained in violation of the Edwards Rule are generally inadmissible in court, acting as a strong deterrent against police misconduct.

In essence, the Edwards Rule aims to safeguard the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination during custodial interrogations. It recognizes the inherent pressures of police questioning and seeks to balance effective law enforcement with the protection of individual rights. It’s a critical component of ensuring that confessions are truly voluntary and not coerced.

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