Murder of the child Dorsey Corcoran

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

Razola

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13
59
50
Pocking, Germany
Dorsey Corcoran, a little child was murdered by his stepfather around 1957 with a hammer. But this stepfather was convicted and punished to jail between 2 and 10 years. He was on 9th year put in freedom.
Well, is it this not too soft!!!!?
Was it like this in the USA in 1957? I interpret that the judge meant it was half and accident half a murder or something like that. Maybe the justice thought it is normal to beat children and that case had something of unfortunate.
Or, was this too low punishment due to the evil reigning in Derry?
I think this does not match with the specially hard approach of the American justice. There has always been the electric chair and the gas chamber and today there is the lethal injection. So I don't find that story realistic for the United States.
 

Srbo

Uber Member
Mar 23, 2008
15,209
7,617
Canada
Dorsey Corcoran, a little child was murdered by his stepfather around 1957 with a hammer. But this stepfather was convicted and punished to jail between 2 and 10 years. He was on 9th year put in freedom.
Well, is it this not too soft!!!!?
Was it like this in the USA in 1957? I interpret that the judge meant it was half and accident half a murder or something like that. Maybe the justice thought it is normal to beat children and that case had something of unfortunate.
Or, was this too low punishment due to the evil reigning in Derry?
I think this does not match with the specially hard approach of the American justice. There has always been the electric chair and the gas chamber and today there is the lethal injection. So I don't find that story realistic for the United States.

Good one, never thought about it.
Also don`t know too much about it, gotta wait for our American friends to see what they have to say...
 

Razola

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13
59
50
Pocking, Germany
It's a fictitious story but I was wondering if the extremely soft justice means something. The murder of the gay Adrian, the friend of Don Hagarty is the same. The three gangsters throw Adrian over a bridge. The police doesn't know the real killer is Pennywise. So the justice should act as the three (two of them are adults) are convicted of crime in first degree. But the punishment is ridiculous for a horrible demonstrated murder.
The justice in Derry is too soft!! It is not the normal justice of the USA. Is this fact part of the story on purpose? Is it because the evil? Most of the characters of "It" are very bad people! I think the justice is evil as well. The justice allows the evil in Derry. I don't think in 1957 there was a soft justice in the USA. Probably the opposite. In the Far West people were hanged just for stealing horses. The American Justice is not a joke :)
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
It does seem a bit skewed now that I read your post. Seems that the father that killed his girl should have been put to death as this happened in the 1950's and we didn't coddle our criminals then like we do now. As for the killing of the gay man- this is based on a true event that happened in Bangor and I think Steve wrote about it to show what the prevailing homophobia was like at this time. I do not know what punishments the men received in real life for what they did to the gay man. I hope it was more than a slap on their wrists!
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
...Hey Razola, glad you've joined us!.....I agree that it was more than likely a way to move the story along....and to answer your query, justice was more well-defined, swift and violent than now....I work in a prison, so I have little sympathy for criminals-but the prevailing attitude in American justice, now seems to be rehabilitation and giving the criminals more rights than those of us on the outside....I do not agree, at all......
 

mjs9153

Peripherally known member..
Nov 21, 2014
3,494
22,165
I think it was all about that Derry was a weird place,with the influence of the monster helping to smooth things along..remember Bev running from her father,and a neighbor just turning and going back into his house? And one of my favorites,the lumberjack that was crazy and killed like four guys at a table around the turn of the century or so,in a bar,and people just went on talking and tending to business as if nothing was happening.Derry is a special spot for violence,and it may be because of the creature,or it may just be one of those black holes in the universe where bad things will happen..
 

Razola

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13
59
50
Pocking, Germany
Thank you guys for welcome me and discuss with me. As I read now more of the novel (40% now), I have found more obvious unrealistic injustice. The father of Mike Hanlon is a Black American. The father of Henry Bowers comes and kills all the chickens of the farm of the Black American family and writes a Hitler's cross. There is a trial but the Black American victim makes a kind of forgiven if the aggressor just reimburses the cost of the chickens. Well, that is also totally unrealistic and it is not the way the American Justice works. If I go to the USA and I do that then the police would arrest me and would bring me to a trial. But in the trial it will not be the victim against me who charges me to a tribunal, no! It will be the government of the USA that charges me to the justice and the opinion of the victim doesn't matter. So I couldn't escape to justice whatever it is the opinion of the victim.
 

Razola

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13
59
50
Pocking, Germany
I think it was all about that Derry was a weird place,with the influence of the monster helping to smooth things along..remember Bev running from her father,and a neighbor just turning and going back into his house? And one of my favorites,the lumberjack that was crazy and killed like four guys at a table around the turn of the century or so,in a bar,and people just went on talking and tending to business as if nothing was happening.Derry is a special spot for violence,and it may be because of the creature,or it may just be one of those black holes in the universe where bad things will happen..
Yes! You have said now it.
 

Razola

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13
59
50
Pocking, Germany
I like this novel because there is a lot of subtle injustice and bad people. At some point the narrative voice introduces Bev as an adult living not in Derry (New York State??) And the narrative voice describes Bev as "she had b1tch hair". And the point is, what does it means b1tch hear? When one think.... how imagine a b1tch hair? I believe the b1tches have two kind of hair type: 1. Very nice hair dressed to look more attractive or 2. Disgusting because she is drugs addicted. But I imagine the Author makes that on purpose. The narrative voice just describes a lot of things in a natural way as it was normal.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

FlakeNoir

Original Kiwi© SKMB®
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
44,082
175,641
New Zealand
I like this novel because there is a lot of subtle injustice and bad people. At some point the narrative voice introduces Bev as an adult living not in Derry (New York State??) And the narrative voice describes Bev as "she had b1tch hair". And the point is, what does it means bitch hear? When one think.... how imagine a b1tch hair? I believe the b1tches have two kind of hair type: 1. Very nice hair dressed to look more attractive or 2. Disgusting because she is drugs addicted. But I imagine the Author makes that on purpose. The narrative voice just describes a lot of things in a natural way as it was normal.
Was it "b1tch" hair, or "b1tching"hair? (The second option usually means that it was really great.) I don't remember the reference in the story, but somebody else might.
 

Razola

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13
59
50
Pocking, Germany
I am reading a translation into Spanish. But the idea is clear. It is to make angry to a reader in 2017. Tell me what the hell a bitch's hair looks like? Excuse me, we don't know what is a bitch's hair because there is no bitch hair. It is a statement just to abuse woman dignity. And I think Donald Trump is like that currently.
 

mal

content
Jun 23, 2007
4,714
27,243
61
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I don't know about American law but in the case of Mike's dad and the chickens, if he refuses to press charges then the cops may, or may not, still proceed. The choice is up to them. I'm no lawyer though, but I have watched a lot of American procedural crime dramas throughout the years and that makes me an expert. Welcome Razola, have you ever tried Nozzola Cola?
 

Razola

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13
59
50
Pocking, Germany
No, no, no. In case of a crime it is not like a divorce in which each part has a lawyer and present things to the justice. The government of the United States doesn't let alone a victime of crimes to push charges. Instead of that it is the government itself who pushes charges up to the end. There is no possibility of fogiving by the victim or whatever mean of manipulation to avoid justice.