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Reading
Group Guide Questions for
Reasonable Doubt
1. Snipes was very cunning and he was
also a good manipulator. With that in
mind do you think that his intentions
for Katrina from the outset were purely
selfish in nature or on some level did
Snipes genuinely care for and love Katrina?
2. Katrina had been pretty much sheltered
growing up in North Carolina, then she
was thrust into a big city like New York.
Do you think it was her lack of life experience
that ultimately made her miss many of
the warning signs as it related to Snipes
character and his criminal dealings?
3. Many women are attracted to “bad
boys.” Once Katrina realized
that Snipes was a “bad boy,” do
you think that caused her to become more
intrigued and infatuated by Snipes.
4. Snipes obviously used fear, abuse,
and pressure tactics to control Katrina.
His actions escalated from things like
date rape, physical fist fights, to him
locking her in the trunk of a car and
showing Katrina the body of his best friend
that he had murdered. With those things
in mind, was it only the fear and the
abuse that made Katrina stay with Snipes
and caused her to never try to flee from
his control or do you think there was
something else that compelled her to act
and behave the way she did when it came
to her “loyalty” to Snipes?
5. Many women are currently incarcerated
due to their love interests with men who
are involved in criminal activities. The
law basically says that from the time
that a person becomes aware of another
person’s criminal activity they
either must withdraw totally from being
in that person’s company or report
that person’s activities to law
enforcement officials. If they fail to
do either one of those things or both,
then they can be charged as a co-conspirator
from the time commencing when they became
aware of the person’s criminal activity.
Considering that a woman’s emotions
can get wrapped up into a man and she
can really love him, do you think laws
such as these are fair and practical?
And if not then what would be a healthier
and more just alternative.
6. To what extent if any should have “outsiders” such
as Katrina’s parents, and at the
time, Katrina’s roommate Candace,
gotten involved in order to protect Katrina
from Snipes and his predatory nature?
7. Katrina’s first lawyer obviously
did not advise her properly and in some
circles many would say that she got “railroaded” by
her first attorney. Although Katrina plead
guilty and entered into a plea agreement,
do you think that her attorney ultimately
should bear all of the blame for her agreeing
to go along with what he had advised her
and her parents to do? Or do you think
that Katrina and her family should have
merely just listened to the advice and
the counsel of her attorney but then she
should have ultimately been the one to
make the decision on how she moved forward
based on her “gut” feelings
and combined with the advice of her first
lawyer.
8. Do you think that all mandatory minimum
sentences should be abolished from the
law? If no, why not? If so, how
would individuals then be able to safe
guard against the biases of a judge who
sentences them, and how would society
be able to ensure that the punishments
for crimes are commensurate with the crimes
committed?
9. As she gets older and ultimately matures
into adulthood, how do you think Katrina’s
daughter Paris will be affected by the
actions of her father which led to him
being killed and to her mother being incarcerated
for her involvement in his crimes?
10. How do you think Katrina’s
life will ultimately turn out? Do you
think that all that she had to endure
happened for a reason? If so what do you
think that reason is and ultimately what
could Katrina do in order to turn all
of the negative things that she experienced,
into positive things.
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Donna Hill
Brenda Jackson
Francis Ray