• Jury is asked if they had experienced crimes committed against them, or to someone they know
• Judge is getting rid of all types of biased mentality
• Adnan’s’ mom believes that their son is innocent
• His family believes that it was discrimination against him because they are Muslim “and minor in this country”
• Racism could have played a part
• Anti-Muslim
• Sarah doesn’t believe it
• Courtroom was filled with Muslim community that Adnan was from
• Complaints from prosecutor on allowing Adnan to be bailed out by his Muslim community members
• “Throwing stereotypes with facts”
• Prosecutors said that Adnan had killed Hae because of his cultural and traditional background
• He became angered, enraged
• “Honor Killings”
• Jay believes that he is not getting an benefit
• Defense witnesses for Adnan
• Character witnesses who had nice things to say about Adnan
• Cristina was a giant nationally and in Maryland
• Cristina has done other types of cases
• Cristina is getting sick during the Adnan case
• She wasn’t able to keep up with her cases

For episode ten, Sarah talks about the defense team of Adnan and how it played out in court and behind the scenes. Sarah starts off by talking about the Judge clearing out jurors that may have had some type of biased against Adnan and the specificities of the case.

When Sara had talked to Adnan’s mother about whether the police that investigated the case were discriminating against Adnan… she said yes. However, Sarah believed that that was not the case. I find it interesting that Sarah believed that they’re was no type of discrimination or racism playing out in the investigation and case. Its plausible that since this case happened before 9/11, there was not type of racist or discrimination happening. I still would throw out the possibility of it though. Especially when considering the racist history of the US.

Another aspect about this podcast that I found interesting was that Cristina’s health had started to decline while she had a load of cases to deal with. It seemed that Sarah was trying to get across to her listeners that the reason that the case basically fell apart… was because Cristina’s health was declining. Also her workload may have played a part. I believe that this information is important to consider when being critical of Adnan’s case because, all of these details play a part into this case.

Notes:

• Jay is seen as the friend you can turn to for help
• Seems that Jay might have killed Hae
• Boredom used in trial by Lawyer (Gutierrez)
• During trial you can hear Jay get annoyed with Lawyer
• Jay remains calm with lawyer
• Jay is coming off as the underdog during trial
• Didn’t warn Hae about being possibly killed by Adnan
• Jury believed that Adnan was guilt, Adnan is guilty
• Detectives didn’t want to talk to Sara about case
• Goes to Homicide detective
• Detective looks at false confessions, lies etc…
• Felt inconsistencies were unfortunate
• Look at consistencies
• “Investigative circle”, “Dream case”
• There’s no phone booth near BestBuy (information from Laura)
• The phone booth doesn’t exist outside, but one may be inside BB
• Summer says that it was impossible for Hae to be dead around 2:36pm
• Summer was a friend to Hae
• Hae told Summer that she was going to drive to game
• Other people saw Hae afterschool
• The time of the incident (murder), timing of the phone call don’t match up with Jay’s testimony
• Hae told Summer that she was also going to take the bus
• Iesha Pittman called Adnan to ask where is Hae
• She does remember talking to Adnan
• Adnan worried about the police finding weed on him
• Adnan was mute through two trials, for 5 weeks
• Adnan had cried with her friends after they found Hae’s body
• Adnan wasn’t nervous about proceeding but it was a step towards getting his conviction answer

Episode eight was a very interesting episode so far. Especially when it came to finding out if Jay lied or if he was given a deal by the police. I appreciated that Sarah went to a professional Detective that seeks out if there has been any lies or false confessions during the trial. The detective believes that this case was one of the best he’s seen so far but there are definitely inconsistencies and consistencies that may point to a bigger picture. Supposedly Jay is giving information to the police so that it fits a perfect case. Before I had listened to this podcast, I felt that Jay might have been given a plea deal or that he was helping the cops with half truths or lies. It was also interesting how Jay is portrayed as goofy and scary by others that know him.

In episode nine, Sarah talks about a little bit about the payphone that detectives stated Jay used. The payphone was supposed to be in front of Best Buy. However, when Sarah talked to Summer about where the payphone was located, Summer said there isn’t one in front of Best Buy at all. Iesha also talked to Sarah and told her that she had talked to Adnan. All of this information trumps the idea that the murder happened at around 2:30. I liked that this information was presented because it gives another possibility as to what may have happened to Hae. Throughout the rest of the podcast Adnan tells Sarah about his life in prison. Its apparent that Adnan is using his faith to sustain him throughout his sentence. I believe that that could explain why Adnan is not angry about being convicted of a crime that he claims to not have done.

For my narrative assignment, I plan on talking about a incident I experienced as a kid. Specifically, the experience is about how I lied to my mom and dad about something I had did. This story is important to hear because it showed me that my actions have consequences, and some of those consequences can effect the people that are close to me.

The rising action of the story is when I lie over and over repeatedly to my parents about writing a curse word on a windowsill in my room. The most important event that happens as a rising action is when I lie on the bible multiple times, and my parents decided that they were going to punish everyone(my siblings and I) as a result.

The climax was when I realized that my lie was going to get everyone in trouble, which caused me to tell the truth. The tone I want to take for this narrative is a mixed tones because I want to be able to reflect on this experience of punishment in any way I see fit. I believe that this is a good tone for my narrative essay is because it gives me a wide variety of emotions and feelings that I can convey to my audience.

I believe that the audience would want to read my story, because its most important theme is based on the fact that our actions can have consequences that can effect others. I believe that that is something many of us can relate to.

• Cell records were used to criminalized Adnan.
• Adnan told Sarah to look at a case focused on Justin Wolfe
• Both cases had similarities but Justin Wolfe wasn’t convicted for a crime he didn’t do
• Sarah talked to the lawyer that saw the flaws in Wolfe’s case
• Lawyer says that Adnan is not giving any useful information
• Least helpful client doesn’t have anything to give to prove their innocence
• If a jury will convict, that’s fine…. but because it can be done, doesn’t mean that it should
• Revisit the good and the bad with a “raised eyebrow”
• gave the case to lawyer and her team to help look at the case
• Lawyer and team look at the evidence
• Forensic evidence doesn’t make any sense
• Its inconsistent
• Sarah’s feelings towards Adnan is always changing
• Jay is confusing Sarah the most

I found that this episode has hit a new high, when investigating if Adnan is guilty or not and what was the motive if it wasn’t him. When Sarah decided to let Deidra and her students look at the case and read all the information related to it, I knew that the case was taking a turn. I like how Deidra starts with looking at the case from the perspective that Adnan is not guilty. Its nice to get a different perspective and a more critical look at Adnan’s case by the lawyers. The lawyers that looked at Adnan’s case claimed that Adnan was not guilty. They even questioned Jay’s testaments to the police and investigators and how it shifted over time. An even more interesting part of the episode is the fact that Deidra and her team looked at the forensic evidence and found too many inconsistencies and holes in the information that received. I also found it surprising that Sarah was unsure about how she felt about Adnan. She finds it slightly frustrating that Adnan wasn’t able to provide a lot of information to prove his innocence. The fact that Sarah is trying to figure out what is it with Jay and his confusing information is telling. I’m not really sure what she is trying to figure out about Jay, but I know that there is something off about Jay’s testimonies.

A time when I had to be brave was when I had to give a speech to my entire high school for an Black History Month. At that time I was in the twelfth grade and I was beginning to find my voice. In the past, I had done other things and participated in activities where I had to speak to a large crowd or audience but none came close to talking to my school. I remember when my history teacher gave me the speech that I was going to present to my school. As I looked it over the speech and I began to become nervous. My teacher saw my anxious look and encouraged me. I still felt anxious about it. I was so anxious about giving the speech that I waited till the day before to practice. I even waited till the day of to rehearse how I was going to read this long speech. My boyfriend and were together during this time and he saw that I was extremely nervous about giving the speech. He came up to me, as I was pacing around the perimeter of the school gym, and told me that I could give the speech. His encouragement did make me feel a little bit better but still… I was nervous. Soon, the Black history event started and I found myself having a slight panic attack. I watched as majority of the students and staff shuffled into the gym. Once everyone was seated in the stands, the event started. My black girlfriends were also giving a type of speech in front of the school and they were the first ones to do so. After my friend Mecca had given her speech, I was next. I started off by telling everyone that I was nervous and that I might mess up along the way. I told them to have patience with me. However, as I was giving the speech, I found that I articulated myself well and I never messed up once. My voice was strong and I began to feel confident in my abilities to speak. When I had finished the whole gym roared with applauses and praises. Teachers, staff, and even the principal had congratulated me on talking so well. Even though I had a lot of anxiety when preparing for the speech, I still decided to do and I did so, flawlessly.

This episode focuses on other prime suspects in regards to the killing of Hae. The narrator starts off by saying that a memo was released three days after finding Hae’s body. The memo ultimately says that the ex-boyfriend of Hae should be at the focus of their investigation. Unfortunately, the caller could not be found, despite being a possible key to the investigation. The evidence that the narrator focuses on is the memo from the anonymous caller, Adnan’s call records on his phone, the day that Hae went missing. Another key witness in this investigation is Jenifer, someone who has information about Hae’s murder and who she “knows” who killed her. Jenifer also seems to be a friend of “J”. “J” is the one person who admitted first that Adnan killed Hae, and buried her. I believe that Jenifer could only believe her friend “J” because she trusted him, even if it was a lie on “J’s” part. I find this information interesting because “J” had been taking a lot of precautions after witnessing Adnan bury Hae. Its even more interesting that Jenifer believed that Adnan and J were not really friends, but rather acquaintances. I’m also curious as to why Adnan didn’t know where Hae’s car was. After “J” had showed them Hae’s car, the police arrested Adnan. How could anyone be satisfied with the information presented in this case, to lead them to arrest Adnan and accuse him of killing his ex-girlfriend. He also didn’t know who J was as a friend. He mentioned that they weren’t close, despite being close to “J’s” girlfriend, Stephanie. I’m starting to believe that “J” became jealous of Adnan’s and Stephanie’s mutual relationship, and killed Hae and blamed the whole murder on Adnan to get back at him. I still believe that Adnan is not guilty, despite being irritated slightly with his lack of information of what happened. Nonetheless, “J” is at the center of this murder and I do not believe that it is by accident or innocence. His understanding of the situations are always changing or being dropped from the narrative of the story. Especially when “J” recounts when Adnan showed “J” the body of Hae. There was inconsistencies in where “J” had seen the body of Hae, saying that he saw it at a liquor store and then saying that he saw the body at BestBuy. In the end, I believe that “J” is hiding something. However, this doesn’t explain another key aspect about the investigation, why the investigators are letting go so much conflicting information surrounding “J’s” statement. Even when “J’s” information is constantly changing, the investigators continue to question whether he is lying or not. Someone is definitely lying between “J” and possibly the investigators.

The truth of the controversy of the situation between the Covington Catholic High School and the Native American elder, is not as clear as it seems… especially if you don’t do your research. So, to start off, I would like to express a few insights on the interaction that I have gained from researching all three parties. One, the Covington Catholic High School and its all male (and predominately white) students appear to be(and has pointed to, in various videos) grounded in a educational culture of racism, sexism, intolerance of difference, intimidation, bullying, and aggressive behavior. Second, the Native American elder was trying to diffuse the situation between the Black Hebrew-Israelite group and the Covington students. Third, the Black Hebrew-Israelite group did say hateful things to the students and also to indigenous people, but the way in which these groups reacted to each other is completely different. Lastly, Sandman was being completely disrespectful to the Native American elder. To start off the, black Hebrew-isarelites had been saying disrespectful things to the indigenous people present and to the high schoolers. And while the indigenous people di confront the black Hebrews, they only talked (and screamed) at each other. However, this does not excuse the behavior of these two groups. Moving forward, it is clear to me that the idea of whether Sandman had been racist/disrespectful or not is the question that most people want to be answer. I say that Sandman was being disrespectful and racist because his school has shown that they actively participate in racist and disrespectful behavior during school games (mocking and wearing blackface to intimidate black athletes from opposing team), to mocking the Native American elder with tomahawk hand expressions. Even before the encounter between the High school students (who happened to be present in Washington for the anti-abortion march) mocked and insulted a group of women as they were walking by, referring to the as “sluts” as well as yelling “build a wall”. The junior student Sandman displayed racism and disrespect because he stood in the way of the elder, attempting to keep him from escaping the loud and rambunctious students. He also displayed g some sort of authority over the elder while doing this. All together, when you look at the behavior of the students before the incident and after the incident, there is one thing that is clear. These students were present at the march to start conflict with others. They were craving a situation where they could unleash their inner anger, control the environment, and shut down others who they found opposing. Their chants and expressions of school pride are built on these ideas, to display their superiority and to mock others in the process. I value the evidence I have seen, that has led me to this conclusion because it shows that even before the student went to the march, they were racist and disrespectful towards others at their own school, in their own environment. What would make the this incident between elder and them any different?

Both of these episodes geared towards questioning whether Adnan killed Hae or not and what were his motives for doing so. I found this aspect of the episodes interesting because the story that had been painted of Hae’s murder, is being twisted and turned, but more importantly… looked at from a critical eye. I enjoyed the fact that the journalist questioned or tried to question other key witnesses or suspects that were related to the murder. It seems that every time that I listen to the podcast, the journalist/narrator is taking the case in a new direction. I did agree with the possibility that the streaker who had found the body was suspicious. Especially since it was incredibly hard to find the body for the detectives and police. How could he have possibly seen it? I believe that the podcast could have been improved by eliminating the pings that ring in the background at the beginning at the podcast. I found it hard to concentrate because I could barely hear what the narrator was saying. Besides that, I believe the podcast was wonderful and very entertaining. I slightly trust what Mr. S was saying but I think that he was covering up his true intentions for being in the area that day, when he found the body. It would make more sense if he had said that he was streaking but it could have been that he was telling the truth. I still believe that Adnan is innocent, but I find myself questioning how the other boyfriend was involved? Also, I wonder if the police and investigators went after Dom for Hae’s murder, like how they went after Adnan.

I wouldn’t say that a community has influenced my literacy development. I believe that my literacy has developed overtime thanks to my parents, specifically my mom. My mom is a preschool teacher/ daycare owner. She enjoys teaching little kids how to read and write, and unsurprisingly took this passion to her own home, and dedicated time to teaching her children how to develop literacy. The communities that I have been involved in that have affected the way I learned how to develop literacy has been the educational system and my immediate family. An example would have been when I was in high school. At the time, I lived in Beaumont, Texas (my birthplace) and I attended one of the most undereducated schools in the whole country. What made it worse was that the school district was independent of the state, and had been stealing money away from students for years. I remember watching SNL one night with my family, and the host stated that the most uneducated city in the US was Beaumont, Texas. I immediately felt embarrassed… but was left in shock. I felt that somehow, I was unintelligent because I lived in that city, and I went to school there, and I never felt academically challenged.

There is two social factors that have influenced and prohibited me from gaining certain types of literacy. My race, I believe has prohibited and influenced me from gaining certain types of literacy. From what my parents have told me, when I was in elementary school, my teacher at the time had told my parents that I would never learn how to read and I would never go to college. I believe that that statement was based on the fact that I am Black, and there’s a lot of stereotypes about young black students and their abilities (or perceived lack of ) to read, write, and learn in the education system. This caused my mother to teach me how to read herself, and I quickly met and passed the average point of literacy for my grade. Another factor that has influenced my literacy development is location. In my 21 years of living on this earth, I have moved more than I can count on my fingers. I have lived in three different states, for a variety of years. I have lived in more than 8 cities in the state of California and have been to too many different schools. I wouldn’t say that moving a lot prohibited me from developing literacy, (even though it was not easy) but it has given me plenty of experiences and challenges to develop in literacy.