Wrong People, Wrong Reasons

Artist Statement

Wrong People, Wrong Reasons

Grace

For my art piece I created a drawing using pencil, colored pencil, and a black sharpie. My drawing consist of two hands holding the bars of a prison cell, the hands are handcuffed showing someone who is imprisoned but put in for the wrong reasons. The cuts and bruises show how they fought to show their innocents.

I chose to research victim discrimination because I feel that when people are in trial, there is a criminal and a victim. The criminal did something wrong, and that’s that, there is no reason for them not to be punished, and the victim to be discriminated, and placed in a situation they do not belong in.

The message I want to get across is that sometimes the victims can be accused, and punished for something they didn't do. The victim will get blamed and the criminal is let off with less charges. A couple years back in 1979, a 19 year old black man was accused of raping a woman who pointed him out in a picture during the crime scene. Cornelius was put in prison for 31 years. Finally, a DNA test was issued and he was proven innocent.

What inspired me to make this piece is The Stanford Rape case where a intoxicated white man raped an unconscious woman, and was put in jail for six months. He was let out three months early due to “good behavior.” It was later found out that the rapist was intoxicated, saying that, “He didn’t know what he was doing at the time.” They have to go back in trial and the victim could be blamed. So now this woman, who was unconscious during the crime scene, could be blamed for this mess. I chose to research this case, and this human right because I feel that what is happening is not right, and my hope is that more people are aware of this problem.