Truman Capote had a very good reputation, as he was an established actor, screenwriter, novelist, and various other titles. This reputation gave him the publicity and credibility needed to make a book that the general public would actually care about. “In Cold Blood” is based on the actual story of the Clutter family murders. Upon hearing about the murders, Capote decided to leave NYC and head to the crime scene. He went to the crime scene with his friend Harper Lee, who is the author of arguably one of the greatest books of all time, “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Another important thing to consider or keep in mind, is that “In Cold Blood,” is based on a true crime case. This case was obviously very intriguing to Capote, and he decided to write a non-fiction book about it. Because of the book’s realistic nature, it gives a good and truthful image as to how cases involving egregious crimes tend to play out.
The main idea of this book is that even the people who commit the most egregious of crime, may not always be evil people. Sometimes, they are the victims of their own minds.
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Truman Capote wrote “In Cold Blood,” because he wanted to experiment his theory that journalism and creative writing could be put together to make something bigger and better. He called the outcome of this mixture, and “non-fiction novel.” This was the birth of this very popular genre. The events in this book are worth writing about, because the events go to show how much ignorance there was in the justice system at this time. It is obvious that both Perry and Dick had some serious mental issues that needed to be seriously considered during the sentencing. Perry has schizophrenia, and Dick may have brain damage and character disorder. Perry has an extremely trouble past, filled with abuse and violence. Perry also admitted that he had trouble controlling his impulsive behaviours and that he felt that it was because of the car accident he got into. He is also a pedophile, so there are many underlying issues that the court should have examined more carefully before sentencing both Perry and Dick. There is no doubt that this book is unique and interesting, as it was a game changer and trendsetter in the world of novels, and all literature in general.
Perry and Dick eat steak for dinner, before pulling up to the Clutter household. Dick and Perry kill the Clutter family, by entering their homes, in search of the safe that Dick believed was there. They were hellbent on not leaving any witness, so that’s what they did. This event is important, because it’s the climax of the story, and it’s the main event that this book is centered around. Without this event, the story would not be complete. This event sets the tone for how the rest of the story will play out.
The KBI agents testify. They present the information that they gathered from the interrogations of Dick and Perry. Capote reveals Dr. Jones’s assessment of the Perry and Dick, which shows that Dr. Jones thinks that Perry has schizophrenia. He also thinks that Dick has a character disorder, and may have brain damage from the car accident he was in. The prosecution team is not able to back up their clients with solid evidence, as they are only able to get a character witness testimony from Floyd Wells, and make arguments as to why they shouldn’t get the death penalty. At this point, a life sentence was unavoidable, so the defense wanted to at least make sure that they did get put on death row. After considering the information given, the jury deliberated for 40 minutes, and made their decision. The judge sentenced Dick and Perry to death by hanging. This event showed that two men who may not have even had the mens rea to commit a crime, were going to lose their lives. This verdict shows the flaws in the Criminal Justice System.
Before their executions, Dick says he has no ill will towards the KBI agents. He then says he’s going to a better place. He then shakes their hands and gets dropped down the trap door. He hangs for 20 minutes, until the prison doctor says he is dead. Perry says he doesn’t believe in the death penalty. He apologies, then gets dropped down the trap door. This event is important to the structure of the book, because it puts an end to the story arcs of the main characters, Dick and Perry. It also goes to show a realistic example of what has happened to people in similar cases to this one.
“In Cold Blood” was very good. I found the book very captivating to read the first ever non-fiction novel. As for the informative aspect, I found the book very informative, because I didn’t know that courts were so ignorant towards mental health deficiencies back then. The events of this story only took place around 60 years ago. This is not a very long time, so was kind of cool to see how much the justice system has changed in the last six decades. I’m very happy that I took the time to read this book, and it was definitely worth the time it took to read it.
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