The Assassination of President Kennedy

The assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

The day President Kennedy was assassinated I was in my technical college class room. The Principal was shocked to hear this news on the radio and informed us about it in the class. During those days there were no TVs. I happened to be an avid regular listener of Voice of America and BBC. I escaped from the class room and rushed straight away to the American Library to confirm the news. Unfortunately it was correct news.
I immediately rushed home and switched on my radio. After some disturbances the BBC came on but was broadcasting some other news. It really annoyed me very much. For me the most important news of the day was Assassination of the President. It was short of heavy on my heart. I was still not able to believe it.
Ironically the Boston Strangler was arrested on the same day.
Then a magazine, Illustrated weakly of India, serialized the book “Death of a President”. I collected the entire series and made a book of mine binding it properly. It is still in my collection of classics and other books.
I read as many books, magazines that American Library, British Council were able to present to the readers. Since then two movies also came presenting the episode from different angles.

Till this day I am unable to understand and come to a conclusion why the assassination took place of a person like Kennedy. I continue to ponder over the matter from 1) political, 2) revenge, 3) and conspiracy point of view. For some time it got into my head, as mentioned in this blog, that Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson was behind the conspiracy. But over time this aspect has got erased from my mind. However, I am unable to erase the entire matter from my mind and heart even now.

Crime, Criminals and Punishment

CRIMES, CRIMINALS AND PUNISHMENT

Some time ago I had received a research question “Do the tough laws prevent crimes”. I searched all the books on sociology, criminology, philosophy, criminal laws of various countries where tough laws are applied and other related books. I made huge amount of notes, jotted down innumerable points in my endeavor to find a suitable solution to this question. Frankly speaking I failed to help the researcher to my own satisfaction.

Capital punishment does not deter criminals from committing heinous crimes. Crimes committed in rage are different from one committed in a planned manner in cold blood. Here also if it is committed by a person trained in unarmed combat, use of armaments and done for someone else for money needs to be treated at another level than the other two.

There are some criminals who have leaning towards criminal activity since the juvenile age itself and may turn into a vicious one later in the age. This may be treated as mental aberration. Such people need psychological or psychiatric help. In their case it can be said confidently that they are not going to change. They will always be prone to crimes and dangerous to the society.

Then there are crimes against women of acid throwing, rape and disfiguring with blade. These three crimes must be treated at par with murder or intent to murder. It destroys the very existence of the victims and affects lifelong. If the victim can suffer throughout the life what is wrong in sending the perpetrators of such crimes to life imprisonment to repent for their crime rest of the life?

In the above cases of murder in rage and in cold blood the former may be awarded a life imprisonment but the latter deserves only the rare of rarest cases of death penalty.

If there is profusion in any particular type of crime say mercilessly snatching of handbags or earrings, necklaces from the helpless women. There is now increase in these types of crimes. Although they do not attract severe punishment but to check their profusion and completely obliterating, the punishment should be very harsh and well publicized in media.

During the World War – II, the German soldiers were scared of being posted in USSR. Death always stared at them starkly and could have taken place in the heart of desert as in the colder regions of USSR. The physical comfort during those days of thick of war was only momentary in a way and yet they preferred any place but USSR.

Same thing happened with the invading Army of Napoleon. Soldiers were scared of bitter cold of Russia and had already lost heart much before reaching there. The result was disastrous.

I have quoted these two examples to drive home one point that prisoners of heinous merciless crimes should be subjected to pass their days of incarceration in such harsher climatic regions and made to do more hard manual work to deter others committing similar crimes.