Why a jail or prison sentence is increasingly like a death sentence

Because of current conditions inside American jails and prisons, a sentence to a correctional facility routinely compromises the health, safety, and life of inmates. Four environmental factors can make a jail and prison sentence appear like a death sentence: poor health care, unsanitary living conditions, high levels of violence, and an increased number of people with chronic diseases living in close proximity. Thus, a de facto death penalty, the most controversial sanction of the criminal justice system, is the result for some inmates, and a misapplication of the criminal law is thus achieved. In order to present this argument, the author reviews research which increases the likelihood that a person will die behind bars.     

服刑能力司法精神鉴定研究

为探索服刑能力鉴定的相关因素 ,对102例服刑能力评定的案例进行分析研究 ,以自制的“服刑环境适应调查表”进行调查比较。结果发现精神病性障碍及以往有精神异常史者无服刑能力比率较高 ,且服刑环境适应能力差     

An inconclusive digital audio authenticity examination: a unique case

This case report sets forth an authenticity examination of 35 encrypted, proprietary-format digital audio files containing recorded telephone conversations between two codefendants in a criminal matter. The codefendant who recorded the conversations did so on a recording system he developed; additionally, he was both a forensic audio authenticity examiner, who had published and presented in the field, and was the head of a professional audio society's writing group for authenticity standards. The authors conducted the examination of the recordings following nine laboratory steps of the peer-reviewed and published 11-step digital audio authenticity protocol. Based considerably on the codefendant's direct involvement with the development of the encrypted audio format, his experience in the field of forensic audio authenticity analysis, and the ease with which the audio files could be accessed, converted, edited in the gap areas, and reconstructed in such a way that the processes were undetected, the authors concluded that the recordings could not be scientifically authenticated through accepted forensic practices.     

An examination of adult onset offending

The onset of offending received much research attention in criminology; however, the majority of research focused on juvenile offenders. As a consequence, little was known about the prevalence of and causes associated with adult onset. Using data from the Philadelphia portion of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project followed through the mid- to late thirties, this study focused on the prevalence of adult onset and the factors related to adult onset. Three key findings emerged from this study. First, females were less likely than males to be adult onset offenders. Second, participants who had mothers that smoked cigarettes during pregnancy were more likely to be adult onset offenders. Third, participants who had higher scores on the total battery score of the California Achievement Test (CAT) were less likely to be adult onset offenders. Limitations and future research directions are outlined.     

An examination of drunken driving law reform

Most states have recently altered legislation in response to the problem of drunken driving. Reforms are generally aimed at enhancing criminal justice response to offenders. This research examines the outcomes corollary to new drunken-driving legislation in one Michigan jurisdiction. Pre- and post-reform data are analyzed with significant difference tests in order to assess whether or not the objectives of increasing arrests, convictions, and sanctions for drunken drivers materialized through implementation. Overall, results indicated the partial realization of reform goals. Concluding considerations offer interpretations, along with recommendations for continued progress in impacting upon the problem of drunken driving. Gratitude is expressed to the Faculty Research Creativity Support Fund at Western Michigan University for supporting this research.     

An aggregate-level examination of the caseload pressure hypothesis

The idea that guilty pleas may be encouraged by time-conscious attorneys to process court caseloads expediently implies that some defendants may be influenced to forego their constitutional right to trial. If true, these defendants may be denied an adequate determination of legal guilt. Building on previous research, this paper presents a more thorough aggregate level test of the caseload pressure hypothesis than has previously been offered. Controlling for variation in structural and procedural characteristics across 101 Illinois circuit courts, this study supports the idea that felony caseload pressures significantly covary with felony guilty plea rates. Also, this relationship was stable between 1973 and 1984.     

An initially unexplained death during prison sentence. Diagnostic verification by atomic absorption spectrometry

The authors report on the death of a 25-year-old man due to electric current in prison, which was not recognized at first. The fatal accident was caused by a self-made electric kettle. The only electrothermal skin lesions were some pinhead-sized electric marks on the left thumb. Careful external inspection of the body in combination with an analysis of the conductor material (aluminium) by means of atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) revealed the cause of death and the source of accidental electrocution.     

An examination of the New York mandatory seat belt law on a university campus

On January 1, 1985, the mandatory seat belt law went into effect in New York State; violators were now subject to a fine of $50.00. Police officers issued nonpenalty-based warnings during the month prior to the law's imposition. The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of the warning versus the fine and a fine-plus-prompt condition (the prompt delivered by the experimenters) on seat belt use on a university campus. Results indicated that significantly more drivers used their sear belts during the fine conditions as compared with the warning condition and that significantly more female drivers used their seat belt during all conditions. A significant difference was not found, however, between the fine and fine-plus-prompt conditions.We gratefully acknowledge the comments of Michael Leippe on an earlier draft of this manuseript.     

An examination of the psychological aspects of bite marks

The intent of this paper is to present some psychological threads which appear to be operative for the perpetrator of bite marks. In the catalogue of multiple motivations, there appears to be a current theme of power, control, potency, and the attempt to have a psychological symbolization of the perpetrator's omniscient capacity for absorbing life essences. In an examination of these highly complex needs, the modern perpetrator appears to act out consistently with cultural biases coupled with immediate psychological needs which have pressed for expression. Due to a pattern of psychologically expressed ritualism, the perpetrator will often inadvertently leave important psychological clues at the crime scene. The attack style, mode of death, characteristics of the victim, etc.--these components reveal the information on the type of psychological needs that the perpetrator is trying to satisfy. In the cases of bite marks associated with violent crime, it becomes crucial to an "investigator" what type of personality characteristics are welded together to form this kind of need complex. After reviewing cases reported in the literature and after conducting psychological interviews with perpetrators, three major groups of perpetrators seem to be apparent. The first group is motivated out of an anger track, the second group is motivated out of sadistic biting, and the third is out of the more traditional "cannibal complex" motif.     

精神病犯服刑能力评定量表研究

目的制订符合中国法律体系的精神病犯服刑能力评定量表。方法根据鉴定实践,结合中国法律,研究者首先创建了称为“精神病犯服刑能力评定量表”的评定工具,然后再回顾性运用该工具,通过诊断性实验,对该工具的信度、效度及实用性进行了检验。结果该量表同质性信度为0.8779,量表评定与专家评定一致性为0.909,除了阴性似然比为0.0683,其他诊断性指标均大于0.80。结论精神病犯服刑能力评定量表具有较好的实用性。     

服刑能力影响因素研究

目的探索精神病犯服刑能力的影响因素,为服刑能力量化评定奠定基础。方法以江苏省监狱管理局精神病院2003年11月1日～2003年12月31日期间住院及新入院病人为研究对象,采用RTHD和自编的服刑能力法律心理能力问卷和服刑相关情况调查表,从医学要件和法学要件两方面探索服刑能力影响因素。结果共纳入185例研究对象,分为有或无服刑能力两组,在一般状态、认知障碍、情感症状和行为异常等方面均存在显著差异,自知力对服刑能力具有显著影响,两组社会功能也存在显著差别;虽然研究对象入院时表现行为紊乱、言语紊乱、情绪低落甚至出现自杀、自伤、精神运动性迟滞,生活不能自理、易激惹、冲动伤人、劳动能力下降等明显异常,但对问卷的分析没有体现出这种异常。结论在精神症状的影响下,精神病犯表现出明显异常,辨认和控制能力明显受损,不能正常接受服刑改造。     

An examination of implicit theories among francophone child molesters

Abstract

According to Ward (2000), cognitive distortions emerge from “implicit theories” (ITs). Ward and Keenan (1999) established a typology of the ITs of child molesters in which they classified existing knowledge on their cognitive distortions into five categories: “entitlement”, “nature of harm”, “uncontrollability”, “child as sexual being” and “dangerous world”. The purpose of this research was to examine whether the cognitive distortions of child molesters are encapsulated fully by these five categories of ITs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 convicted francophone child molesters and their cognitive distortions were analysed. Results indicate that six ITs were present in this sample. “Entitlement”, “nature of harm” and “uncontrollability” were identical to those of Ward and Keenan. “Child as sexual being” and “dangerous world” were present, but varied from their original versions. A new IT emerged, which we called “child as partner”. We discuss these findings in comparison to their original versions.     

An exploratory examination of pre-employment psychological testing of police officer candidates with a hispanic surname

For many years, potential police recruits have had to undergo a variety of pre-employment tests. The testing process includes physical and psychological procedures. In more recent years the psychological testing has received more scrutiny with some states requiring the conducting of more than one procedure. Of particular popularity among psychological testing tools has been the Minnesota Multiple Personality Inventory (MMPI). While the discussions continue as to the veracity of this test for helping choose police candidates, little has been said about the racial or ethnic influence. This article examines a 15-year cohort of potential police recruits having a Hispanic surname as to the outcomes of their MMPI scores.     

Beyond parenting: An examination of the etiology of self-control

While prior research testing Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) theory of low self-control had demonstrated a significant relationship between parenting and self-control, it had also recognized significant effects of other social factors, suggesting the etiology of self-control may be more complex than the theory specifies. In an effort to better understand this process, the current study examined first whether social factors other than parenting predicted self-control using both contemporaneous and lagged effects models, and second, whether the effect of parenting on self-control varied according to these social factors. Findings offered partial support for self-control theory. In implicit support of the theory, this study found that the effect of parenting on self-control was not conditioned by the competing social factors examined. Contrary to the theory, however, was the finding that self-control was predicted by both peer pressure and school social factors contemporaneously, even after controlling for parental monitoring.     

An attributional examination of retributive versus utilitarian philosophies of punishment

Two basic goals of punishment—retribution and utility—and the means to those goals, including isolation, rehabilitation, and the creation of fear, were first examined. The objectives of punishment were then related to attributions regarding the cause of a transgression. It was documented that punishment goals are mediated by the expectancies and affects that are elicited by causal beliefs. It also was argued that the purposes of punishment are more state-like than trait-like, for they change as a function of the reason for a transgression. Data from three laboratory experiments, as well as a field study regarding reactions to O. J. Simpson for his alleged crimes, were presented in support of the above beliefs. In addition, the morality of retribution versus utilitarianism was discussed in the context of the caning of Michael Fay in Singapore. It is suggested that rehabilitation may be the most moral of the punishment means.     

领导干部"离岗退养"的利弊分析及对策

领导干部＂离岗退养＂在特定时期有一定的积极因素,但综合分析弊大于利。这种做法不但违反了《中华人民共和国公务员法》,也造成了人力资源和行政经费的浪费,不利于形成能上能下的用人机制。因此,应尽快废止这一＂土政策＂,严格按照我国相关的法律规定执行,担任领导职务的干部可以改任＂非领导职务＂,推出弹性退休制度,采取柔性分流措施,研究制定退出领导岗位人员管理办法,对已经离岗的干部要做好相应的工作。     

Intensive probation: An examination of recidivism and social adjustment

Intensive supervision was began as an extension of regular probation for those offenders who needed closer surveillance. However, in the last decade, Intensive Supervision has been used increasingly as an alternative to incarceration in order to help alleviate the problem of overcrowding in our prisons. In the eight-year period from 1977 to 1985, the prison population of this country has increased 68 percent. In view of this, many states are using intensive supervision as one alternative to reduce commitment rates. This study examines the effectiveness of one such program called the Intensive Treatment Supervision Program which operates out of the Montgomery County Adult Probation Department, Dayton, Ohio. The performances of probationers on intensive supervision are compared to a group of probationers on regular supervision to determine whether intensive supervision, through improved service delivery, can have an impact on high risk probationers and serve as a basis for a program to divert offenders from overcrowded facilities.