Kathy O’Brien is Steve ’s defense attorney. O’Brien is fairly humorless, but Steve feels as if she is the only person involved in the trial who actually wants to understand who Steve is as a person. Although O’Brien feels that their chances of winning the case are slim, she makes a genuine effort to defend Steve and display his good character, telling him that their main goal is to make …
Despite the prosecutor Petrocelli ’s aggressive prosecution and active dehumanization of Steve, through the efforts of Steve’s defense attorney Kathy O’Brien, the jury finds Steve not guilty. However, when he tries to hug O’Brien, she turns stiffly away, suggesting that she does not truly believe in his innocence and leaving Steve feeling like a monster.
Sandra Petrocelli is the prosecutor during Steve's case. Throughout the trial, she contends that Steve was the lookout during the botched burglary, and thus culpable in the murder of Alguinaldo Nesbitt. She is the one who brands Steve—and all of the …
In the book Monster, Steve's lawyer, Kathy O'Brien, wanted the jury to see that Zinzi (Sal Zinzi) is not a credible witness. O'Brien brings many facts regarding his checkered past and the relevancy...
Kathy O'BrienKathy O'Brien, Steve's lawyer, informs him on what will happen during the trial.
Monster CharactersSteve Harmon is the protagonist of the novel. ... Kathy O'Brien is Steve's defense lawyer. ... Sandra Petrocelli is the prosecutor, who employs coercive tactics and labels Steve a "monster."Asa Briggs is James King's defense lawyer, who pushes back against Petrocelli's tactics.More items...•Feb 25, 2021
attorney Asa BriggsJames King is man in his mid-20s, charged with the same felony murder as Steve over the death of Mr. Nesbitt. King's attorney Asa Briggs knows that if King is allowed to testify in court, he will immediately incriminate himself, and thus King speaks very little throughout the story.
MonsterThe characters are judging Steve Harmon as a “Monster.” The prosecutor calls Steve a “Monster.” Steve Harmon is a 16 year old boy who is on trial for felony murder.
O'Brien's doubt about Steve's actual innocence is confirmed when, after they win the case and Steve is found not guilty, she stiffly refuses his attempt to hug her in gratitude and happiness, suggesting that even though she defended his innocence and genuinely did her best to understand him, she does not regard him ...
Is Steve Innocent Or Guilty In Monster? In Monster, Steve was found not guilty on all counts against him in a court of law. In this sense, he is most definitely innocent. However, some viewers might be tempted to believe that he was actually guilty because he chose to enter the store as William demanded.May 12, 2021
As for King, she says, he's guilty because he hangs out with the wrong kind of dudes and, as a result, Nesbitt is dead. Pettrocelli concludes by attacking Steve again, saying he's guilty no matter how innocent he may think he is. He was part of the job, and that's that.
Betty Trevino I believe the reason O'Brien looks away from him is because she is recognizing the difference between "innocence" and being found "not guilty." The former is about lacking culpability and the other is about the justice system not having enough evidence to convict.
Asa Briggs is James King's defense attorney. Briggs is an older man who often looks tired and seems to know that he is in a doomed position—King is obviously a criminal figure and nearly impossible to defend, especially since he is almost certainly guilty of Mr. Nesbitt's murder.
During a robbery of a drug store, the owner was shot and killed, and Harmon is under suspicion. However, he is innocent because the state's witnesses can't be trusted, there was no proof he was there, and he never completed his supposed task. All of this proves that Steve Harmon is innocent.
Why did Williams and Karyl say that Steve pulled the trigger when they questioned him about the death of Mr. Nesbitt? (verb) to carry the head and shoulders habitually bowed forward: to stoop from age. (noun) the act of offering or suggesting something to be considered, accepted, adopted, or done.
How does Steve represent his guilt? He keeps stating that he is not guilty and he also says that he feels that O'Brien thinks he is guilty. Do you think there is a difference between saying he isn't guilty and that he didn't do it?
We do not provide novel questions on this short-answer forum. Feel free, however, to peruse GradeSaver's Q&A section for this novel.
Chapter please?
James King is a 22-year-old African-American man who lives in Steve's neighborhood. Allegedly, King encourages Steve to become involved in the robb...
Steve’s probable guilt is reinforced by the fact that the state prosecutor labels him a “ monster ” in her opening remarks , and this becomes the way that Steve sees himself throughout the novel, dehumanizing himself.
Steve Harmon is the narrator and protagonist of the story . Steve is a 16-year-old black kid from Harlem charged with felony murder for his involvement in a botched robbery that ended in Mr. Nesbitt ’s death. Contrasting with the other three people implicated in the robbery, Steve has no criminal history and is a decent and sensitive kid. He describes his court case—in which his co-defendant is a man he knows from his neighborhood, James King —through personal notes and a screenplay he writes in his journal as the events happen. Although Steve’s actual guilt or innocence is never explicitly revealed, his inner narrative and framing of events suggests that he did participate in the robbery in a minimal way, simply walking into the drugstore and back out of it to check for cops, and leaving before King and Bobo Evans went in to commit the actual robbery. Steve’s probable guilt is reinforced by the fact that the state prosecutor labels him a “ monster ” in her opening remarks, and this becomes the way that Steve sees himself throughout the novel, dehumanizing himself. In spite of his potential guilt, Steve’s youth and minimal involvement (he was passively roped into it by King) suggest that a felony murder charge is legally sanctioned but entirely unjust. If anything, Steve seems a victim of Harlem’s violent environment and the story demonstrates the manner in which that endemic violence drags down well-meaning young men like himself, and then turns them into actually violent people through the horrible environment in prison. Despite the prosecutor Petrocelli ’s aggressive prosecution and active dehumanization of Steve, through the efforts of Steve’s defense attorney Kathy O’Brien, the jury finds Steve not guilty. However, when he tries to hug O’Brien, she turns stiffly away, suggesting that she does not truly believe in his innocence and leaving Steve feeling like a monster.
But there are also monsters in our communities—people who are willing to steal and to kill, people who disregard the rights of others. [Steve] is writing the word Monster over and over again. A white hand (O’BRIEN’s) takes the pencil from his hand and crosses out all the Monsters.
Contrasting with the other three people implicated in the robbery, Steve has no criminal history and is a decent and sensitive kid. He describes his court case—in which his co-defendant is a man he knows from his neighborhood, James King —through personal notes and a screenplay he writes in his journal as the events happen.
Particularly, Steve is bothered by his relationship with his defense attorney, Kathy O'Brien, who seems not to believe him. Steve struggles to reconcile his external versus internal lives. The conflict between exterior versus interior is a significant theme throughout the novel.
Sandra Petrocelli. Sandra Petrocelli is the prosecutor during Steve's case. Throughout the trial, she contends that Steve was the lookout during the botched burglary, and thus culpable in the murder of Alguinaldo Nesbitt. She is the one who brands Steve—and all of the other men involved in the crime—as monsters.
He has been arrested for breaking and entering, grand theft auto, and "one time taking a radio and fighting a guy that died.". Currently serving time for selling drugs, Bobo makes a deal with the prosecution to testify against James King and Steve Harmon in order to get a lighter sentence for his involvement.
She advises Steve Harmon to present himself in an approachable manner to the jury, and she even enlists a character witness to prove her defendant's innocence. Although she is cordial to Steve, O'Brien seems ambivalent about Steve's character.
Steve Harmon is the novel's main character. He is sixteen years old, lives in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, and he is a student at Stuyvesant High School in downtown Manhattan. In the opening pages, we learn that Steve is currently in prison awaiting trial for murder. As a means of coping with jail life, Steve draws upon his interests in film and storytelling and writes down his experiences in the format of a movie script. Whether Steve was actually involved in the crime or not remains ambiguous to the reader. There is no surveillance footage or concrete proof of his involvement. Thus, Steve's culpability is subject to audience interpretation. Throughout the story, Steve faces numerous emotional challenges. He is confronted with his parent's disappointment, and he also fears that authorities view him as a "monster." Particularly, Steve is bothered by his relationship with his defense attorney, Kathy O'Brien, who seems not to believe him. Steve struggles to reconcile his external versus internal lives. The conflict between exterior versus interior is a significant theme throughout the novel.
Although he is a minor character in the novel, Briggs asserts that the prosecution has failed to find any concrete evidence that ties King to the murder. Briggs points out that Bobo and Osvaldo's testimonies are clouded by their own desires to lessen their respective sentences.
During Steve's trial, Mr. Sawicki is called to the stand as a character witness. During his testimony, Mr. Sawicki testifies to Steve's respectful nature and sensitive filmmaking. Most notably, Mr. Sawicki says, " [Steve's] film footage shows me what he's seeing and, to a large extent, what he's thinking.