Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Murders in California - 633 Words

In the state of California, according to the CAL. PEN. CODE  § 187, there are three types of murders that involve having an intention to kill. They are as listed: premeditated murder, second-degree murder malice aforethought, and murder as a result of provocation. Murder as a result of provocation is one who states a mental incapacity for either the time being, such as; blacking out, or they had temporary loss of control of oneself and could not control it. This is only seen though through murder cases for it to end up being a lesser charge. Second-degree murder malice aforethought is a non-premeditated killing of a victim who cannot be fully proven there was the full reasoning of the death. This is also known as having some sort of intent or recklessness.(Cal. Penal Code  § 187 [West 1996]). Premeditated murder is someone who sat down and thought the murder through and went along with it, also known as first-degree murder. So with all that being said, in the scenario about a vi ctim of a DUI accident who had religious beliefs about blood transfusion died from bleeding out too much in California. The drunken driver was on probation for a previous DUI he has received, and because of him driving drunk, caused him to be impaired which caused him to crash into a parked car. Where then the victim was trapped and started to bleed out. When they approached the hospital, the victim made it clear that she is against blood transfusions due to her religious beliefs, so the doctors thanShow MoreRelatedThe Murder Doctrine Of The California Law Essay1584 Words   |  7 PagesThe provocative murder doctrine likely does not apply to Pim’s killing. Under the California law, â€Å"murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought.† Cal. Penal Code  §187. According to the provocative murder doctrine, the defendant is guilty of murder when he or she, or his or her accomplice â€Å"intentionally commits an act that is likely to cause death, and his [or her] victim or a police officer kills in reasonable response to such act.† People v. Gilbert, 63 CalRead MoreCalifornia And Washington Dc : The Highest Gun Murder Rate938 Words   |  4 PagesCalifornia in 2011 had the highest gun murder rate with 1,220 homicides, which accounted for 68 percent or 3.25 gun murders per every 100,000 people. Washington DC had the highest per 100,000 people gun murders with 12 per 100,000 and the highest gun used robberies with 242.56 out of every 100,000 people (Howerton, 2013). Seeing these statistics would probably get you thinking California and Washington DC must be pretty lax on their control, wrong, California was actually even the honors as theRead MoreThe Modern Law Of Murder1324 Words   |  6 Pages The modern law of murder developed over many centuries from the English common law of homicide. Homicide is simply defined as the killing of another person. Before the 1500’s, common law judges categorized homicide into two broad categories known as, criminal and noncriminal homicides (Samaha, 2013). Over the next five decades, a number of newly developed statutes were established and further divided criminal and noncriminal homicide. Criminal homicide included murder and manslaughter, whileRead MoreScott Peterson795 Words   |  4 PagesDecember 24, 2002. When the body of the California woman and her unborn child were found four months later, her husband, Scott, was charged with two counts of murder. Detective Craig Grogan gave a sworn statement that he had probable cause to believe Mr. Peterson committed two counts of the crime of 187 Penal Code, homicide, on or about December 23 or 24 of 2002, in the county of Stanislaus. April 17, 2003 the Judge of the Superior Court in Stanislaus County, California issued a warrant for the arrest ofRead MoreWhy New Mexico Adopted A Three Strikes Law, Who Influenced Them And How?921 Words   |  4 PagesWhat are some of the reasons why New Mexico adopted a three strikes law, who influenced them and how? Before we talk about why New Mexico enacted the three strikes law, I want to first talk about its origin in California which influenced New Mexico to pass the law in 1994. The three strikes law is a penalizing system that allows the court to add significant time to the prison judgements of certain repeat offenders who have been put away for serious or violent crimes. The three strikes law was adoptedRead More Californias Death Penalty Essay1570 Words   |  7 PagesThe Death Penalty has long been a problem in California from costs, deterrence, overcrowded prisons, execution of the innocent and so on. Then if were having all these problems why should we continue using this system? nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The death penalty is the sentence of execution for murder and other capital crimes. Which are punishable by death? The death penalty is used only in 38 states (www.deathpenalty.org). The state of California is home to the nation’s most clogged death rowRead MoreCalifornias Death Penalty1667 Words   |  7 PagesDeath Penalty. The Death Penalty has long been a problem in California from costs, deterrence, overcrowded prisons, execution of the innocent and so on. Then if were having all these problems why should we continue using this system? The death penalty is the sentence of execution for murder and other capital crimes. Which are punishable by death? The death penalty is used only in 38 states (www.deathpenalty.org). The state of California is home to the nations most clogged death row, housing 641Read MoreSecurity Threat Groups/Gangs in Prisons Essay1480 Words   |  6 Pages The Aryan Brotherhood was formed in 1967 in San Quentin State Prison in California. They were originally comprised of Irish decent and former members of the fifties biker tips such as the Diamond Tooth Gang and The Bluebird gang. The Aryan Brotherhood was founded by Dallas Scott to fight the Black Guerrilla Family and was originally a white supremacist group. By 1975, the Aryan Brotherhood was throughout the California Corrections system.(2006). As their notoriety increased and the membershipsRead MoreAfrican American Death Row Inmates1328 Words   |  6 PagesNearly 80 percent of murder victim in cases resulting in an execution have been white while 50 percent of murder victims are white 82 percent was found to influence the likelihood of being charged with capital murder or receiving the death penalty.Senator RussFeingold stated we simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal justice to all Americans when racial disparities plague the system by which our society impos es the ultimate punishment (senator RussFeingold 108th congress 2003)Read MoreEssay about The High Cost of Capital Punishment855 Words   |  4 Pages1978 the state of California alone has spent nearly four billion dollars in order to carry out the death penalty. (Marceau, 2013) The death penalty, also referred to as capital punishment, is too expensive and time consuming to carry out in order to effectively prevent people from committing murder and other violent acts. In order to carry out the death penalty, a state must have a substantial amount of money on hand. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the state of California has spent a total

Monday, December 16, 2019

A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-seven Free Essays

string(45) " chest and removed a light linen undertunic\." Eddard It’s the hand’s tourney that’s the cause of all the trouble, my lords,† the commander of the city watch complained to the king’s council. â€Å"The king’s tourney,† Ned corrected, wincing. â€Å"I assure you, the Hand wants no part of it. We will write a custom essay sample on A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-seven or any similar topic only for you Order Now † â€Å"Call it what you will, my lord. Knights have been arriving from all over the realm, and for every knight we get two freeriders, three craftsmen, six men-at-arms, a dozen merchants, two dozen whores, and more thieves than I dare guess. This cursed heat had half the city in a fever to start, and now with all these visitors . . . last night we had a drowning, a tavern riot, three knife fights, a rape, two fires, robberies beyond count, and a drunken horse race down the Street of the Sisters. The night before a woman’s head was found in the Great Sept, floating in the rainbow pool. No one seems to know how it got there or who it belongs to.† â€Å"How dreadful,† Varys said with a shudder. Lord Renly Baratheon was less sympathetic. â€Å"If you cannot keep the king’s peace, Janos, perhaps the City Watch should be commanded by someone who can.† Stout, jowly Janos Slynt puffed himself up like an angry frog, his bald pate reddening. â€Å"Aegon the Dragon himself could not keep the peace, Lord Renly. I need more men.† â€Å"How many?† Ned asked, leaning forward. As ever, Robert had not troubled himself to attend the council session, so it fell to his Hand to speak for him. â€Å"As many as can be gotten, Lord Hand.† â€Å"Hire fifty new men,† Ned told him. â€Å"Lord Baelish will see that you get the coin.† â€Å"I will?† Littlefinger said. â€Å"You will. You found forty thousand golden dragons for a champion’s purse, surely you can scrape together a few coppers to keep the king’s peace.† Ned turned back to Janos Slynt. â€Å"I will also give you twenty good swords from my own household guard, to serve with the Watch until the crowds have left.† â€Å"All thanks, Lord Hand,† Slynt said, bowing. â€Å"I promise you, they shall be put to good use.† When the Commander had taken his leave, Eddard Stark turned to the rest of the council. â€Å"The sooner this folly is done with, the better I shall like it.† As if the expense and trouble were not irksome enough, all and sundry insisted on salting Ned’s wound by calling it â€Å"the Hand’s tourney,† as if he were the cause of it. And Robert honestly seemed to think he should feel honored! â€Å"The realm prospers from such events, my lord,† Grand Maester Pycelle said. â€Å"They bring the great the chance of glory, and the lowly a respite from their woes.† â€Å"And put coins in many a pocket,† Littlefinger added. â€Å"Every inn in the city is full, and the whores are walking bowlegged and jingling with each step.† Lord Renly laughed. â€Å"We’re fortunate my brother Stannis is not with us. Remember the time he proposed to outlaw brothels? The king asked him if perhaps he’d like to outlaw eating, shitting, and breathing while he was at it. If truth be told, I ofttimes wonder how Stannis ever got that ugly daughter of his. He goes to his marriage bed like a man marching to a battlefield, with a grim look in his eyes and a determination to do his duty.† Ned had not joined the laughter. â€Å"I wonder about your brother Stannis as well. I wonder when he intends to end his visit to Dragonstone and resume his seat on this council.† â€Å"No doubt as soon as we’ve scourged all those whores into the sea,† Littlefinger replied, provoking more laughter. â€Å"I have heard quite enough about whores for one day,† Ned said, rising. â€Å"Until the morrow.† Harwin had the door when Ned returned to the Tower of the Hand. â€Å"Summon Jory to my chambers and tell your father to saddle my horse,† Ned told him, too brusquely. â€Å"As you say, my lord.† The Red Keep and the â€Å"Hand’s tourney† were chafing him raw, Ned reflected as he climbed. He yearned for the comfort of Catelyn’s arms, for the sounds of Robb and Jon crossing swords in the practice yard, for the cool days and cold nights of the north. In his chambers he stripped off his council silks and sat for a moment with the book while he waited for Jory to arrive. The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, With Descliptions of Many High Lords and Noble Ladies and Their Children, by Grand Maester Malleon. Pycelle had spoken truly; it made for ponderous reading. Yet Jon Arryn had asked for it, and Ned felt certain he had reasons. There was something here, some truth buried in these brittle yellow pages, if only he could see it. But what? The tome was over a century old. Scarcely a man now alive had yet been born when Malleon had compiled his dusty lists of weddings, births, and deaths. He opened to the section on House Lannister once more, and turned the pages slowly, hoping against hope that something would leap out at him. The Lannisters were an old family, tracing their descent back to Lann the Clever, a trickster from the Age of Heroes who was no doubt as legendary as Bran the Builder, though far more beloved of singers and taletellers. In the songs, Lann was the fellow who winkled the Casterlys out of Casterly Rock with no weapon but his wits, and stole gold from the sun to brighten his curly hair. Ned wished he were here now, to winkle the truth out of this damnable book. A sharp rap on the door heralded Jory Cassel. Ned closed Malleon’s tome and bid him enter. â€Å"I’ve promised the City Watch twenty of my guard until the tourney is done,† he told him. â€Å"I rely on you to make the choice. Give Alyn the command, and make certain the men understand that they are needed to stop fights, not start them.† Rising, Ned opened a cedar chest and removed a light linen undertunic. You read "A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-seven" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"Did you find the stableboy?† â€Å"The watchman, my lord,† Jory said. â€Å"He vows he’ll never touch another horse.† â€Å"What did he have to say?† â€Å"He claims he knew Lord Arryn well. Fast friends, they were.† Jory snorted. â€Å"The Hand always gave the lads a copper on their name days, he says. Had a way with horses. Never rode his mounts too hard, and brought them carrots and apples, so they were always pleased to see him.† â€Å"Carrots and apples,† Ned repeated. It sounded as if this boy would be even less use than the others. And he was the last of the four Littlefinger had turned up. Jory had spoken to each of them in turn. Ser Hugh had been brusque and uninformative, and arrogant as only a new-made knight can be. If the Hand wished to talk to him, he should be pleased to receive him, but he would not be questioned by a mere captain of guards . . . even if said captain was ten years older and a hundred times the swordsman. The serving girl had at least been pleasant. She said Lord Jon had been reading more than was good for him, that he was troubled and melancholy over his young son’s frailty, and gruff with his lady wife. The potboy, now cordwainer, had never exchanged so much as a word with Lord Jon, but he was full of oddments of kitchen gossip: the lord had been quarreling with the king, the lord only picked at his food, the lord was sending his boy to be fostered on Dragonstone, t he lord had taken a great interest in the breeding of hunting hounds, the lord had visited a master armorer to commission a new suit of plate, wrought all in pale silver with a blue jasper falcon and a mother-of-pearl moon on the breast. The king’s own brother had gone with him to help choose the design, the potboy said. No, not Lord Renly, the other one, Lord Stannis. â€Å"Did our watchman recall anything else of note?† â€Å"The lad swears Lord Jon was as strong as a man half his age. Often went riding with Lord Stannis, he says.† Stannis again, Ned thought. He found that curious. Jon Arryn and he had been cordial, but never friendly. And while Robert had been riding north to Winterfell, Stannis had removed himself to Dragonstone, the Targaryen island fastness he had conquered in his brother’s name. He had given no word as to when he might return. â€Å"Where did they go on these rides?† Ned asked. â€Å"The boy says that they visited a brothel.† â€Å"A brothel?† Ned said. â€Å"The Lord of the Eyrie and Hand of the King visited a brothel with Stannis Baratheon?† He shook his head, incredulous, wondering what Lord Renly would make of this tidbit. Robert’s lusts were the subject of ribald drinking songs throughout the realm, but Stannis was a different sort of man; a bare year younger than the king, yet utterly unlike him, stern, humorless, unforgiving, grim in his sense of duty. â€Å"The boy insists it’s true. The Hand took three guardsmen with him, and the boy says they were joking of it when he took their horses afterward.† â€Å"Which brothel?† Ned asked. â€Å"The boy did not know. The guards would.† â€Å"A pity Lysa carried them off to the Vale,† Ned said dryly. â€Å"The gods are doing their best to vex us. Lady Lysa, Maester Colemon, Lord Stannis . . . everyone who might actually know the truth of what happened to Jon Arryn is a thousand leagues away.† â€Å"Will you summon Lord Stannis back from Dragonstone?† â€Å"Not yet,† Ned said. â€Å"Not until I have a better notion of what this is all about and where he stands.† The matter nagged at him. Why did Stannis leave? Had he played some part in Jon Arryn’s murder? Or was he afraid? Ned found it hard to imagine what could frighten Stannis Baratheon, who had once held Storm’s End through a year of siege, surviving on rats and boot leather while the Lords Tyrell and Redwyne sat outside with their hosts, banqueting in sight of his walls. â€Å"Bring me my doublet, if you would. The grey, with the direwolf sigil. I want this armorer to know who I am. It might make him more forthcoming.† Jory went to the wardrobe. â€Å"Lord Renly is brother to Lord Stannis as well as the king.† â€Å"Yet it seems that he was not invited on these rides.† Ned was not sure what to make of Renly, with all his friendly ways and easy smiles. A few days past, he had taken Ned aside to show him an exquisite rose gold locklet. Inside was a miniature painted in the vivid Myrish style, of a lovely young girl with doe’s eyes and a cascade of soft brown hair. Renly had seemed anxious to know if the girl reminded him of anyone, and when Ned had no answer but a shrug, he had seemed disappointed. The maid was Loras Tyrell’s sister Margaery, he’d confessed, but there were those who said she looked like Lyanna. â€Å"No,† Ned had told him, bemused. Could it be that Lord Renly, who looked so like a young Robert, had conceived a passion for a girl he fancied to be a young Lyanna? That struck him as more than passing queer. Jory held out the doublet, and Ned slid his hands through the armholes. â€Å"Perhaps Lord Stannis will return for Robert’s tourney,† he said as Jory laced the garment up the back. â€Å"That would be a stroke of fortune, my lord,† Jory said. Ned buckled on a longsword. â€Å"In other words, not bloody likely.† His smile was grim. Jory draped Ned’s cloak across his shoulders and clasped it at the throat with the Hand’s badge of office. â€Å"The armorer lives above his shop, in a large house at the top of the Street of Steel. Alyn knows the way, my lord.† Ned nodded. â€Å"The gods help this potboy if he’s sent me off haring after shadows.† It was a slim enough staff to lean on, but the Jon Arryn that Ned Stark had known was not one to wear jeweled and silvered plate. Steel was steel; it was meant for protection, not ornament. He might have changed his views, to be sure. He would scarcely have been the first man who came to look on things differently after a few years at court . . . but the change was marked enough to make Ned wonder. â€Å"Is there any other service I might perform?† â€Å"I suppose you’d best begin visiting whorehouses.† â€Å"Hard duty, my lord.† Jory grinned. â€Å"The men will be glad to help. Porther has made a fair start already.† Ned’s favorite horse was saddled and waiting in the yard. Varly and Jacks fell in beside him as he rode through the yard. Their steel caps and shirts of mail must have been sweltering, yet they said no word of complaint. As Lord Eddard passed beneath the King’s Gate into the stink of the city, his grey and white cloak streaming from his shoulders, he saw eyes everywhere and kicked his mount into a trot. His guard followed. He looked behind him frequently as they made their way through the crowded city streets. Tomard and Desmond had left the castle early this morning to take up positions on the route they must take, and watch for anyone following them, but even so, Ned was uncertain. The shadow of the King’s Spider and his little birds had him fretting like a maiden on her wedding night. The Street of Steel began at the market square beside the River Gate, as it was named on maps, or the Mud Gate, as it was commonly called. A mummer on stilts was striding through the throngs like some great insect, with a horde of barefoot children trailing behind him, hooting. Elsewhere, two ragged boys no older than Bran were dueling with sticks, to the loud encouragement of some and the furious curses of others. An old woman ended the contest by leaning out of her window and emptying a bucket of slops on the heads of the combatants. In the shadow of the wall, farmers stood beside their wagons, bellowing out, â€Å"Apples, the best apples, cheap at twice the price,† and â€Å"Blood melons, sweet as honey,† and â€Å"Turnips, onions, roots, here you go here, here you go, turnips, onions, roots, here you go here.† The Mud Gate was open, and a squad of City Watchmen stood under the portcullis in their golden cloaks, leaning on spears. When a column of riders appeared from the west, the guardsmen sprang into action, shouting commands and moving the carts and foot traffic aside to let the knight enter with his escort. The first rider through the gate carried a long black banner. The silk rippled in the wind like a living thing; across the fabric was blazoned a night sky slashed with purple lightning. â€Å"Make way for Lord Beric!† the rider shouted. â€Å"Make way for Lord Beric!† And close behind came the young lord himself, a dashing figure on a black courser, with red-gold hair and a black satin cloak dusted with stars. â€Å"Here to fight in the Hand’s tourney, my lord?† a guardsman called out to him. â€Å"Here to win the Hand’s tourney,† Lord Beric shouted back as the crowd cheered. Ned turned off the square where the Street of Steel began and followed its winding path up a long hill, past blacksmiths working at open forges, freeriders haggling over mail shirts, and grizzled ironmongers selling old blades and razors from their wagons. The farther they climbed, the larger the buildings grew. The man they wanted was all the way at the top of the hill, in a huge house of timber and plaster whose upper stories loomed over the narrow street. The double doors showed a hunting scene carved in ebony and weirwood. A pair of stone knights stood sentry at the entrance, armored in fanciful suits of polished red steel that transformed them into griffin and unicorn. Ned left his horse with Jacks and shouldered his way inside. The slim young serving girl took quick note of Ned’s badge and the sigil on his doublet, and the master came hurrying out, all smiles and bows. â€Å"Wine for the King’s Hand,† he told the girl, gesturing Ned to a couch. â€Å"I am Tobho Mott, my lord, please, please, put yourself at ease.† He wore a black velvet coat with hammers embroidered on the sleeves in silver thread, Around his neck was a heavy silver chain and a sapphire as large as a pigeon’s egg. â€Å"If you are in need of new arms for the Hand’s tourney, you have come to the right shop.† Ned did not bother to correct him. â€Å"My work is costly, and I make no apologies for that, my lord,† he said as he filled two matching silver goblets. â€Å"You will not find craftsmanship equal to mine anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms, I promise you. Visit every forge in King’s Landing if you like, and compare for yourself. Any village smith can hammer out a shirt of mail; my work is art.† Ned sipped his wine and let the man go on. The Knight of Flowers bought all his armor here, Tobho boasted, and many high lords, the ones who knew fine steel, and even Lord Renly, the king’s own brother. Perhaps the Hand had seen Lord Renly’s new armor, the green plate with the golden antlers? No other armorer in the city could get that deep a green; he knew the secret of putting color in the steel itself, paint and enamel were the crutches of a journeyman. Or mayhaps the Hand wanted a blade? Tobho had learned to work Valyrian steel at the forges of Qohor as a boy. Only a man who knew the spells could take old weapons and forge them anew. â€Å"The direwolf is the sigil of House Stark, is it not? I could fashion a direwolf helm so real that children will run from you in the street,† he vowed. Ned smiled. â€Å"Did you make a falcon helm for Lord Arryn?† Tobho Mott paused a long moment and set aside his wine. â€Å"The Hand did call upon me, with Lord Stannis, the king’s brother. I regret to say, they did not honor me with their patronage.† Ned looked at the man evenly, saying nothing, waiting. He had found over the years that silence sometimes yielded more than questions. And so it was this time. â€Å"They asked to see the boy,† the armorer said, â€Å"so I took them back to the forge.† â€Å"The boy,† Ned echoed. He had no notion who the boy might be. â€Å"I should like to see the boy as well.† Tobho Mott gave him a cool, careful look. â€Å"As you wish, my lord,† he said with no trace of his former friendliness. He led Ned out a rear door and across a narrow yard, back to the cavernous stone barn where the work was done. When the armorer opened the door, the blast of hot air that came through made Ned feel as though he were walking into a dragon’s mouth. Inside, a forge blazed in each corner, and the air stank of smoke and sulfur. Journeymen armorers glanced up from their hammers and tongs just long enough to wipe the sweat from their brows, while bare-chested apprentice boys worked the bellows. The master called over a tall lad about Robb’s age, his arms and chest corded with muscle. â€Å"This is Lord Stark, the new Hand of the King,† he told him as the boy looked at Ned through sullen blue eyes and pushed back sweat-soaked hair with his fingers. Thick hair, shaggy and unkempt and black as ink. The shadow of a new beard darkened his jaw. â€Å"This is Gendry. Strong for his age, and he works hard. Show the Hand that helmet you made, lad.† Almost shyly, the boy led them to his bench, and a steel helm shaped like a bull’s head, with two great curving horns. Ned turned the helm over in his hands. It was raw steel, unpolished but expertly shaped. â€Å"This is fine work. I would be pleased if you would let me buy it.† The boy snatched it out of his hands. â€Å"It’s not for sale.† Tobho Mott looked horror-struck. â€Å"Boy, this is the King’s Hand. If his lordship wants this helm, make him a gift of it. He honors you by asking.† â€Å"I made it for me,† the boy said stubbornly. â€Å"A hundred pardons, my lord,† his master said hurriedly to Ned. â€Å"The boy is crude as new steel, and like new steel would profit from some beating. That helm is journeyman’s work at best. Forgive him and I promise I will craft you a helm like none you have ever seen.† â€Å"He’s done nothing that requires my forgiveness. Gendry, when Lord Arryn came to see you, what did you talk about?† â€Å"He asked me questions is all, m’lord.† â€Å"What sort of questions?† The boy shrugged. â€Å"How was I, and was I well treated, and if I liked the work, and stuff about my mother. Who she was and what she looked like and all.† â€Å"What did you tell him?† Ned asked. The boy shoved a fresh fall of black hair off his forehead. â€Å"She died when I was little. She had yellow hair, and sometimes she used to sing to me, I remember. She worked in an alehouse.† â€Å"Did Lord Stannis question you as well?† â€Å"The bald one? No, not him. He never said no word, just glared at me, like I was some raper who done for his daughter.† â€Å"Mind your filthy tongue,† the master said. â€Å"This is the King’s own Hand.† The boy lowered his eyes. â€Å"A smart boy, but stubborn. That helm . . . the others call him bullheaded, so he threw it in their teeth.† Ned touched the boy’s head, fingering the thick black hair. â€Å"Look at me, Gendry.† The apprentice lifted his face. Ned studied the shape of his jaw, the eyes like blue ice. Yes, he thought, I see it. â€Å"Go back to your work, lad. I’m sorry to have bothered you.† He walked back to the house with the master. â€Å"Who paid the boy’s apprentice fee?† he asked lightly. Mott looked fretful. â€Å"You saw the boy. Such a strong boy. Those hands of his, those hands were made for hammers. He had such promise, I took him on without a fee.† â€Å"The truth now,† Ned urged. â€Å"The streets are full of strong boys. The day you take on an apprentice without a fee will be the day the Wall comes down. Who paid for him?† â€Å"A lord,† the master said reluctantly. â€Å"He gave no name, and wore no sigil on his coat. He paid in gold, twice the customary sum, and said he was paying once for the boy, and once for my silence.† â€Å"Describe him.† â€Å"He was stout, round of shoulder, not so tall as you. Brown beard, but there was a bit of red in it, I’ll swear. He wore a rich cloak, that I do remember, heavy purple velvet worked with silver threads, but the hood shadowed his face and I never did see him clear.† He hesitated a moment. â€Å"My lord, I want no trouble.† â€Å"None of us wants trouble, but I fear these are troubled times, Master Mott,† Ned said. â€Å"You know who the boy is.† â€Å"I am only an armorer, my lord. I know what I’m told.† â€Å"You know who the boy is,† Ned repeated patiently. â€Å"That is not a question.† â€Å"The boy is my apprentice,† the master said. He looked Ned in the eye, stubborn as old iron. â€Å"Who he was before he came to me, that’s none of my concern.† Ned nodded. He decided that he liked Tobho Mott, master armorer. â€Å"If the day ever comes when Gendry would rather wield a sword than forge one, send him to me. He has the look of a warrior. Until then, you have my thanks, Master Mott, and my promise. Should I ever want a helm to frighten children, this will be the first place I visit.† His guard was waiting outside with the horses. â€Å"Did you find anything, my lord?† Jacks asked as Ned mounted up. â€Å"I did,† Ned told him, wondering. What had Jon Arryn wanted with a king’s bastard, and why was it worth his life? How to cite A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-seven, Essay examples

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Product Recalls at Jaguar Land Rover Case Study

Question: Discuss about theProduct Recalls at Jaguar Land Rover. Answer: Introduction Jaguar Land Rover Limited is a behemoth British multinational automotive company that is known for their luxury cars and off road vehicles. The company is owned by Tata Motors a subsidiary of the Tata Group, which manufactures automobiles for all economic groups including military vehicles, construction vehicles and buses. Jaguar Land Rover was initially a part of Ford Motors and was acquired by Tata Motors in 2008. The company has more than three hundred thousand cars sold under land rover and 60000 under Jaguar. The company is a billion dollar subsidiary and owing one of their luxury car is a pride implying the quality and reputation of each of the automobile produced by them. Source Problem The need to incur revenue has always been a pressure on luxury car producers as the number of customers are limited. The increasing and consistent competition given by several other brands such as Porsche, Bugatti, and Lamborghini is also a burden. This has led to a situation where several car manufacturers are using parts that are not completely safe or are defective in nature (Shende, 2014). Customer safety here is not being considered as the prime factor. The emphasis is being placed on luxury. Though customer safety is a major part of the features presented by the company, the same is not being prioritized in smaller parts of the car. Secondary Problem Jaguar Land Rover is the manufacturer of several luxury cars that are exported all around the world. However, in the past few years, the company has been recalling several of its models due to safety issues. Recalling of cars always has a negative impact on the company. The call is generally made to minimize the ruination of the corporate image before a bigger issue pops up (Bae, 2014). Every recall is costly. Short Term Problems The short term problems faced by the company would be locating and contacting the car owners, picking the cars, replacing the parts which would involve significant labor and product cost, delivering the car (Isidore, 2014). These are however, insignificant when compared to the long term issues caused. Long Term Problems Recalling a car creates distrust amongst customers. Safety standards are highly valued by customers and when one is investing huge amount into a luxury car it is often expected. The image of a corporate as a negligent company is branded into the market. The sales of models that are being recalled significantly drops (Liu, 2014). The cost for producing a product that is harmful for the customer is intangible and it leads to negative publicity. Also, the company would be lead responsible in case of issue post product replacement. Legal cases may be filed against the company as well tying up the company in judicial hassles that would often lead to monetary retribution (Venugopal, 2012). Analysis Recalls in todays world have become pretty common. It is not just Jaguar land rover that has been recalling. The recent case of the Japan based automobile manufacturer Toyota has recalled several cars and have publicly apologized for their testing setbacks. This would mean that the issue is not focused on a single company but is a much wider than an organization. In the first week of August, 2016, Jaguar Land Rover recalled Takata airbag equipped cars. The airbags has a degraded propellant in the airbags installed on the front passenger side. At least, 54000 cars have been effected due to the same (Biggs, Lasker, Webb, Stocksdale, 2016). There is a possibility for the airbags to rupture. Especially in places that are high in humidity and the chances of the car being exposed to high temperatures, faster degradation of the airbag would happen. In cases of an accidents, the rupture may cause the airbags to deploy abnormally causing greater damage due to the chance of exploding metal fragments. Airbags are the key safety measures taken for the safety of the customers. Several companies charge the car based on the number of airbags placed in the car. It is to note here, that not all the airbags in the cars are damaged, but rather the one on the passenger side. Since driver airbags are mandatory for several countries, several other countries do no t require the placement of a passenger airbag. In fact an extra amount is charged for the passenger air bag and the same is of low quality when compared to the driver air bag. In the last week on June, 2016, the company recalled 11,000 vehicles in China due to faulty sensors and gear box (PTI, 2016). This was reported by a local news channel and only then the company has recalled the cars. The faulty sensors may cause the engine to stall while driving. The Chinese industrial watchdog had confirmed these observations and have released the affected car numbers which was reported. The company was made alert by an external entity. The company itself has failed in identifying issues. The issues with the crankshaft sensors caused serious threat to the customers that drive especially on highways. In some cases, the car may not even start. This would be a serious issue with the off road vehicles. 6067, Land rover Discovery 4 vehicles and 5214 range rover models are a part of this recall. Note that the recall is not restricted to one particular division of the company. It is indeed an issue with both the land rover and the range rover models. Though the company ope rates as a single entity Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover are three separate business lines that has separate financial records and manufacturing areas. The testing for all three of them are done in separate conditions as Jaguar is more of a luxury car, while the range rovers are pure off road cars. Land Rover on the other hand is a combination of both. However the above recall is a proof of insufficient testing conditions and ignorant testing results. In mid-week of August, 2016 4500 cars in South Korea have been recalled due to possible fuel leak issues (bdk, 2013). Despite the advancement in technology the safety parameters are being either seriously ignored or are being traded for profits. The vehicle testing is either not being done in all possible conditions or is not being done in the correct way resulting in the errors being caused by the manufactures. Note that recall happens only when the company estimates that the damage done by recalling the calls is less that the damage that would be caused if the issue is found out. So the chances that there are several automobiles with minor safety issues which are not usually highlighted during accidents or are over shadowed by other issues still exist. This would again question how truthful the companies are actually being to the public and how many automobiles are customers driving that are not completely safe. It is highly unlikely that the company is unaware of the issues. Three incidents in a single year clearly shows the negligence of the company in ensuring customer safety. Merely putting up safety features in not sufficient especially in case of off-road cars as the cars are used in extreme climatic and road conditions. Also, the cars are pretty expensive and hence through testing and safety measures are expected. Apart from this, government authorization is required for the company to release a new model into the market. So the other big question is if its only the companys fault or the governments as well. Alternatives To ensure that the recall issues not occur and the short term and long term problems are handled the below strategies can be applied Short Term Ensure negative publicity is crumbed. Release press notes apologizing and acknowledging the faults. Find the source of the issue and let the customers know why the incidents occurred and how they are being rectified. Provide positive assurance on how the issues would not happen again Long Term Thoroughly analyse the cause of the issues. Change the current testing procedure Change the current testing parameters to suit extreme conditions Test vendor equipment before and after installing in the automobiles Recommended Strategy Short Term The current strategy of the company should be to overcome the negative publicity first by ensuring the customers and the media that necessary steps are being taken to create a better and appropriate testing conditions (Raub, 2014). Long Term Investments should be made to ensure that the testing conditions and parameters are revamped by the finance team. The revamp should be based on the suggestions of the R and D department and also the external test agencies. The analysis of the test results should be made much through. Testing should be done in all possible conditions that the automobile may face and any output that results in impacting the customer safety should be alternated with a suitable solution. Investment in customer safety should be made rather than on marketing (Arp, 2016). Criteria of Evaluation The testing criteria of the automobiles would have a separate segment named as customer safety. The quality of all the parts have to be thoroughly inspected. The assembled parts have to work in all possible condition, both temperature and terrain. Sensor calibrations should be emphasized on (Karabetsos, 2014). The testing parameters should be satisfied 98.5% of the time in testing conditions. Testing should also be done on actual terrain conditions where the customers are likely to use the vehicles. The vendors that supply the parts should also test their products. Jaguar Land Rover should set rules on the minimum testing criteria that the vendor has to pass through to supply the products to the company (Hakim, 2015). The company should ensure that recalls should not arise at least for the next five years. Justification of Recommendations The recommendations made are all based on the testing capabilities of the company. The criteria needs to be changed and the testing conditions as well. Under laboratory conditions, the vehicle may perform as required but under actual terrain conditions the same not be true as well. Also, the ethic of the company needs an intervention as they would have to be rigorous with themselves to ensure only the right product comes out. This strategy is adopted as it is resolves the crux of the problem rather than talking about the shoots (Vroman, 2012). Our strategy such as publicity and marketing like the current problem intact, and hence customer safety would still be an issue. The above solution directly impacts both short term issues of recall costs and long term issues of reputation. Conclusion A lot of budgetary constraints may occur for implementing the solution. Revamping the testing criteria, testing the vendor products while ensuring their current policies are intact is an expensive. However, the company is in the act of repairing its reputation and if changes are not made there is a chance they would lose their customers (Helm, 2013). Financial investments need to be earned either from the parent company or the group company and the issues need to be resolved. Though the impact may not be directly seen, ensuring customer safety will increase the reputation of the company (Saeidi, 2015). References Arp, D. (2016). Testing for protection of children in cars. Neuroscience journal of Shefaye Khatam, 3(4), e13-e13. Bae, Y. K., BENTEZ SILVA, H. U. G. O. (2013). The effects of automobile recalls on the severity of accidents. Economic Inquiry, 51(2), 1232-1250. bdk. (2013, May 9). Nearly 4, 500 Jaguar, land Rover cars to be recalled in S. Korea. Retrieved September 24, 2016, from https://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2016/08/18/0501000000AEN20160818007400320.html Biggs, J., Lasker, A., Webb, J., Stocksdale, J. (2016, August 4). 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