GLASSBORO — Two Glassboro Intermediate School classes explored literature through a dramatic lens in November. Teacher Pat Schmus' eighth grade Honors Language Arts classes studied Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and then placed the story's fictitious narrator (and confessed perpetrator) on trial – a mock trial. Each class split into two, with half of the students taking the...
GLASSBORO -- Two Glassboro Intermediate School classes explored literature through a dramatic lens in November. Teacher Pat Schmus' eighth grade Honors Language Arts classes studied Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and then placed the story's fictitious narrator (and confessed perpetrator) on trial - a mock trial.
Each class split into two, with half of the students taking the role of the prosecution and half taking the role of the defense. Lead prosecutors included Jennifer Volz-Price in period 1 and Virginia Tamborello in period 2. Lead defense attorneys were Bethel Bechay for period 1 followed by Owen Anderson for period 2.
Students prepared for the mock trial by researching internet references, "The Tell-Tale Heart" and an article entitled "Portrait of a Pyschopath" as source material. The prosecution argued that the perpetrator was legally sane and "guilty." They cited his careful planning, concealment of the victim's body, feelings of guilt and eventual confession as proof.
The defense, on the other hand, sought to prove the perpetrator "not guilty by reason of insanity." They noted that the perpetrator had no professed motive against the victim but instead was irrationally bothered by the victim's filmy eye. Furthermore, the defense argued that auditory hallucinations (the imagined beating of the dead man's heart) prompted the confession rather than guilt. The defense argued that the perpetrator felt no guilt and didn't know right from wrong. They pointed out that the defendant actually invited the police to enter the house and sit in the same room in which the murder took place.
Jurors for the first mock trial included Assistant Principal LaVonyia Wilson-Mitchell, School Resource Officer Michael Bozarth and teachers Carol Ceglia, Suzanne Carson, Steven O'Rourke and Monique Stowman-Burke. Guidance counselor Dave Davenport, community affairs secretary Jody Rettig and teachers Susan Mallardi and Matthew Schwarz served as jurors for the second mock trial. With different case presentations and different juries, it is interesting to note that one mock trial ended with a not guilty verdict, while the other mock trial found the defendant guilty.
Anthony Tamburello, a trained forensic psychologist, observed the process and spoke to students after the trials. He pointed out to students that the presence of mental illness does not necessarily mean that a defendant will be found "not guilty." According to Tamburello, to find a defendant "not guilty by reason of insanity," jurists must decide that the defendant meets the standards of insanity dictated by the laws governing that location. New Jersey's standards are based on what is known as the M'Naghten Rule, a rule that assesses whether a mental illness or defect prevented the accused from knowing the nature or quality of his/her actions or from knowing that those actions were wrong. Some states, such as Idaho, do not recognize insanity as a means of defense.
The mock trials gave students a valuable opportunity to analyze literature, fine-tune writing skills, practice oral presentation skills, learn about the legal system, and work in teams.
