A baby, a virus, and a rat

The authors present a case initially thought to be a child abuse homicide that, after complete autopsy and thorough investigation, was determined to be caused by a viral infection and complicated by postmortem animal activity. Neonatal herpes simplex infection and postmortem skin defects are discussed.     

Suicidal Shotgun Wound Employing a Shotgun Barrel,a Shotgun Shell,and a BB*

Abstract: A vast majority of firearms‐related suicides involve the conventional use of a properly functioning, intact firearm. Occasionally, forensic investigators encounter a case wherein the firearm suicide victim employs some form of unconventional use of a weapon, or utilizes an unusual weapon type. In this case report, the authors present an unusual case in which a man committed suicide by using a shotgun shell, a shotgun barrel (separate from the rest of the gun), and a BB. Some confusion as to the cause and manner of death was present during the initial scene investigation. Examination at autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a shotgun wound of the chest and prompted further scene investigation. Therefore, this case serves as another example of the importance of cooperation between scene investigators and forensic pathologists when investigating a death. A review of suicidal firearm cases using unconventional means and/or firearms is presented.     

A Painting,a Crime,a Controversy

International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique - The exhibition by the Whitney Museum of American Art of a painting of the lynched Emmett Till by...     

Taxation,money, and credit,in a liberalizing socialist economy

Understanding the system of financial control in the pre-existing régime of ‘classical’ socialism is a key to understanding what might go wrong in the transition. Accordingly, this paper proceeds in four steps by examining:

1. how domestic fiscal and monetary processes complement central planning in the classical socialist economy;
2. why this mechanism for securing domestic financial control under classical socialism tends to break down naturally into inflation when decentralization begins and central planning though direct materials balancing is weakened;
3. how, in a more deliberate transition, domestic tax and monetary arrangements might be better managed to keep the price level stable as prices of individual goods and services are freed; and
4. how, in moving toward free foreign trade, explicit policies governing tariffs and foreign exchange convertibility could best parallel and complement the evolving restraints on money and credit in domestic commerce.

In effect, moves to dismantle the apparatus of central planning, decontrol prices, privatize property, and so on need to be supported by a proper sequence of fiscal, monetary and foreign exchange measures-as analyzed more fully in the author's new bookThe Order of Economic Liberalization. In this short essay, a summary outline of such a financial order is provided.     

Insanity,justification, and culpability toward a unifying schema

Insanity has long been viewed as an excuse rather than a justification: Insane people are acquitted not because they did nothing wrong, but because they are considered morally blameless for their wrongful conduct. A new substantive test based on justificatory rather than exculpatory principles—a quasisubjective justification (QSJ) test—is compared to Finkel's relative culpability test, and to two excuse oriented tests, ALI and IDRA, across seven cases. QSJ and Finkel's test both produced significant verdict differences, whereas ALI and IDRA verdicts were not significantly different. The QSJ effect, however, was observed only in cases judged low in justification, and thus did not play a determinative role across cases; other variables, such as perceived severity of the disorder and culpability for bringing about the disorder, to which only Finkel's test was sensitive, seem to have more explanatory power.     

Debt,Incarceration, and Re-entry: a Scoping Review

American Journal of Criminal Justice - People involved with the criminal justice system in the United States are disproportionately low-income and indebted. The experience of incarceration...     

Hazardous waste,distributional conflict,and a trilogy of failures

Environmentally dangerous but profitable hazardous waste disposal is an instance of market failure. Tort law has failed as a social mechanism to sanction powerful corporations for such crimes against the environment. The federal Superfund hazardous waste cleanup program, a regulatory system created to fill this void, is also marked by failure. This article makes the case that the inability to resolve Superfund-engendered distributional conflicts has precluded the efficient and equitable outcomes that characterize a socially beneficial market, tort, or regulatory response. A political economy of regulation that links conflict, conflict resolution, and Superfund failure is examined.     

Stalking,homicide, and catathymic process: a case study

Despite the proliferation of research on various aspects of stalking, there has been relatively little study of stalkers who commit homicide. In this article, a man who stalked and killed a casual acquaintance is reported. He developed an idea to kill her that, at first, seemed ego-alien and unreal but eventually became fixed and was accompanied by a mounting inner pressure to act. The concept of catathymic process--a change in thinking whereby the offender comes to believe that he can resolve his inner conflict by committing an act of extreme violence against someone to whom he feels emotionally bonded--is of particular help in understanding this case, as well as similar cases of stalking that culminate in homicide.     

Principle,Proceduralism, and Precaution in a Community of Rights

Abstract. This paper presents a sketch of the way in which an ideal‐typical community of rights, Gewirthia, responds to the so‐called “internal problem of authority.” Notwithstanding the deep moral consensus in Gewirthia, where citizens are fully committed to the Principle of Generic Consistency (requiring that agents respect one another’s freedom and basic well‐being), Gewirthians make no claim to “know all the answers.” In consequence, public governance in Gewirthia needs a strategy for dealing with the many kinds of disputes—disputes that relate to matters of both principle and practice—that require authoritative settlement. In this context, having outlined the nature of (and justification for) the procedural strategy that Gewirthia adopts in order to resolve such disputes, we discuss the range of regulatory questions that are potentially moot in Gewirthia, and focus on three hard cases in which the State might argue for a precautionary licence—namely, where there is a dispute about indirect and speculative harm to rights‐holders, about harm to arguable rights‐holders, and about the possible corrosion of the conditions that are essential for the sustainability of a moral community.     

Authoritarianism,creativity, and other aspects of a prison organization

Conclusion This analysis shows that no simple explanation will do when trying to understand a prison. The authoritarian aspects were very negative to me as a professional working there. I did not like being blamed for things I did not do, or being sent to numerous required training programs, almost all of which were worthless for me, telling me thing 1 already knew or could not use. However, there were positive sides to the prison, especially in the treatment aspect. In 1972 Messinger wrote “I must take the position that prisons and custodial mental hospitals should be abolished” (Messinger, 1972, P. 6). His position was that these institutions are so inhumane that society would be better served by their abolition. We probably need more analyses like the present one, and other studies which rely more heavily on more gathering of quantitative data in order to understand what prisons are really like. Only then can we make informed choices, without depending on stereotypes.     

Celebrity stalking, homicide, and suicide: a psychological autopsy

Despite the high-profile nature of many celebrity stalking cases, little is known about the offenders and even less is known about those who kill their celebrity victims. The case of an obsessed fan who attempted to kill a rock star and then committed suicide is presented. By analyzing his detailed diary, both insight into the motivational dynamics of this type of stalker and delineation of several warning signs, which help differentiate an enthusiastic fan from one who harbors a potentially dangerous obsession, is gained.     

Firearm suicide committed using an unusual combination of tandem missiles: a bullet, a nail, and a screw

An interesting case of firearm suicide carried out using an unusual type of handmade weapon and a peculiar combination of tandem missiles is presented. A nail and a screw were placed in the rifle barrel ahead of a bullet, and all 3 were simultaneously discharged. The inflicted injury began with 1 common channel, which later split in 2 separate channels, both directed backwards and upwards; one was caused by the screw, ending in the epistropheal body, and the other, caused by the bullet and the nail, penetrated into the cranial cavity, where it bifurcated in 2 branches, one from the bullet, ending in the cerebellar tissue, and the other from the nail, penetrated through the brain stem. The established site of the entrance suicidal wound, the appearance of the weapon, and the unusual missiles are discussed with regard to the available references dealing with different types of nail injuries to the head.     

One-in-a-million shot: a homicidal thoracic air rifle wound, a case report, and a review of the literature

A homicidal shooting with an air gun is reported. The history, mechanisms of action, and crime scene implications of air guns are discussed. The wounds produced by air guns are compared to those produced by powder firearms.     

Legal Aid in the Eye of a Storm: Rationing, Contracting, and a New Institutionalism

This article discusses possible rationales underlying a legal aid system through an articulation of theories of distribution in the legal services market, considers the idea of prioritization and planning or, in the political vernacular, rationing of public funding, and addresses the impact of economic and social theories of the professions on legal aid structures. Finally, the emerging concepts of 'new-institutionalism' and 'new public management' are introduced to indicate the organizational and sociological complexity of reforming the legal services market. Each of these threads illustrate competing values and institutional influence on publicly funded legal services. Bureaucratic rules mix with professional and economic incentives to articulate entitlement to public money in a predominantly private forum. Drawing on research in the field of rationing health care, sociological and economic work on legal services, and organizational theories, it will be demonstrated that conceptual, policy, and research tools need to play closer attention to this competition of values.     

Isolation and characterisation of a novel sildenafil analogue adulterant,desmethylpiperazinyl propoxysildenafil,in a dietary supplement

A new sildenafil analogue was detected during routine screening of dietary supplements suspected to be adulterated with an erectile dysfunction drug(s) using HPLC-DAD. The UV spectrum of this compound was highly similar to that of sildenafil and almost identical to that of desmethylpiperazinyl sildenafil. The analogue was purified by using semi-preparative HPLC and structurally elucidated by performing mass spectrometric and NMR spectroscopic experiments. The spectral data revealed that this sildenafil analogue bears an n-propoxy group instead of an ethoxy group and possesses no methylpiperazinyl moiety. The isolated compound, structure of which was further confirmed by spectral comparison with synthetic one, was thus named as desmethylpiperazinyl propoxysildenafil.     

Crime Prototypes,Objective Versus Subjective Culpability,and a Commonsense Balance

Crime prototypes, which have been linked to jurors' story constructions and verdicts, were elaborated through narratives, yielding 600 detailed stories, across seven different cases, in two experiments. These stories were manipulated under conditions that explored the prototypicality of the case, she verdict outcome, and whether it was a rightful or wrongful decision; the latter two manipulations, when combined, allowed for a comparison of actual outcomes versus true outcomes, and a measure of true culpability. Three or four prototypes, rather than one, emerged for all crimes, and though extraordinary rather than typical, they were far from simplistic. While the subjective element of motive dominated the culpability determination in Experiment I, objectivity prevailed in most cases in Experiment II. A commonsense and complex balancing of objective and subjective factors is the rule, while simplism was the rare exception.