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SOUTH KOREA - The case has all the intrigue and twists of a Hollywood movie. The charges brought by the prosecution included aggravated assault, criminal trespass and petty theft.
On trial were a brother and sister accused in the case of the State of Humphreys vs. Hansel and Gretel Schmidt.
The state contended that Hansel and Gretel were not victims of a hideous witch, as the defense insisted, but will-ng co-conspirators that took advantage of a kindly, old woman’s generosity.
Many people know Grimm’s fairytale of Hansel and Gretel. What many people don’t know is that this story can be an opportunity for students to learn about the American legal system.
A teacher at the Humphreys American School used the story to give them a better understanding of the judicial process. Caylen Dakin, the gifted education teacher, said the project started as a basic social studies lesson.
“We were learning about the court system, from the local level all the way up to the federal courts,” she said.
Not only did the students learn about the courts, they were given the opportunity to play roles as members of the court. Students worked as prosecutors, defense attorneys, defendants and witnesses.
Getting the class ready for the trial took a lot of work on Dakin’s part, as well as the students.
“None of this was scripted. They had affidavits and witness statements and had to decide on how they would proceed,” said Dakin.
The kids also had help from Capt. Patrick Sandys, the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade legal advisor, who lent his time and experience to the students who assumed prosecution and defense roles.
“I came into class three times and went over basic trial skills. The kids were very excited,” said Sandys. “This was a way of using my skills and education to get kids interested in the law, because what we do is really very exciting and fun.”
The kids were not the only ones playing a role to which they were not accustomed. Sandys played the role of the judge.
He said that being the judge wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be, but the kids made his job a lot easier.
“I couldn’t believe how well they integrated what I’d taught them in only a couple of hours and how realistic they made it,” said Sandys.
Learning about social studies and how trials work was an important part of the curriculum, but Dakin said it was much more than that.
“They had to critically think their way through it and problem-solve how they would handle the case. Just like any lawyer would do,” she said.
Various members of the Camp Humphreys community came out to show their support by being jurors. Col. Joseph Moore, the Camp Humphreys’ garrison commander, even took time out of his busy schedule to help with the trial.
After all the hard work from the students, Dakin and Sandys, the only thing remaining was the outcome of the trial.
Once the closing arguments from both sides were given Sandys escorted the jury into the deliberation room and gave them instructions. After a short deliberation the jury came back with the verdict.
Hansel and Gretel Schmidt were found guilty of only one count - petty theft.
| Date Taken: | 03.02.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.05.2012 01:45 |
| Story ID: | 86263 |
| Location: | BUSAN GWANG'YEOGSI [PUSAN-KWANGYOKSHI], KR |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Two convicted at Camp Humphreys, by Thomas Byrd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
