The case of Bradley Manning: state victimization,realpolitik and WikiLeaks

While the case of WikiLeaks release of classified documents and its founder, Julian Assange, has garnered much popular attention, the formal social control reactions to the alleged involvement of Private First Class Bradley Manning has remained, relatively glaringly absent from the media, public and political discussions. Moreover, while scant criminological attention has been given to the extradition of Assange on sexual charges and the situation of WikiLeaks, there has been no analysis of the control mechanisms that were placed on Manning in an effort to cease the release of US documents and his activity as a whistle-blower. This examination fills this void by adding to the literature on states’ responses to whistle-blowers by highlighting states’ mechanisms including retaliation and redirection to obscure its criminality as well the theoretical framework of realpolitik. While realpolitik has been used previously to explain motivations for state crime, it has not been applied as an explanation for the implementation of controls. Not only is the preservation of state legitimacy and practices of realpolitik central to the reactions of the government to this case of whistle-blowing, but that the responses denied a presumption of innocence and have violated basic human rights tenants, the Uniform Code of Justice, the US Constitution, thus making this a case of state victimization.     

Deciding mental retardation and mental illness in capital cases: The effects of procedure,evidence, and attitudes

Abstract

When finding unconstitutional the execution of defendants who were mentally retarded at the time of their crime in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the US Supreme Court left the States to decide on procedures for deciding a defendant's mental retardation. This has and will lead to substantial variation, and will include juries being responsible for these verdicts. Two studies are presented that test procedural, evidentiary, and attitudinal effects on mock juror verdicts as to a capital defendant's mental retardation. Both studies show significant effects of procedural variables. Making the retardation and death decision at the same trial phase changed jurors’ interpretation of evidence, including severity of mental problems. Jurors were insensitive to differences in the burden of proof on mental retardation verdicts, although demanding proof beyond a reasonable doubt may make jurors more sensitive to retardation evidence when deciding on a death sentence. Areas for future research are outlined.     

ASSESSING OFFENDER READINESS TO CHANGE PROBLEMS WITH ANGER

It is widely acknowledged that offender rehabilitation outcomes can be improved by attending to responsivity issues, including the readiness and motivation of offenders to undertake and engage in treatment. The measurement of responsivity, readiness and motivation in offenders, however, has received relatively little research attention. In this paper we focus on anger management programmes and evaluate the utility and psychometric properties of a measure of stages of change in relation to changing anger – the Anger Readiness to Change Questionnaire (ARCQ). Using data from a large sample of offenders undergoing anger management interventions, we investigated the construct validity, convergent validity and predictive validity of the ARCQ. We conclude the ARCQ may have utility as a measure for selecting offenders who are suitable for anger management interventions.     

Consulting to residential programmes for sexually aggressive delinquents

Abstract

Delinquent adolescent boys, especially those looked after in residential settings, often have a long history of coercive antisocial behaviour. Many have a history of aggression and violence, including serious sexual offences such as rape and indecent assault. In light of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 the residential care sector will come under more pressure to accommodate sexually aggressive recidivistic delinquents. However, few staff who work in residential settings with delinquents have received training in the management and treatment of sexually aggressive behaviour. Time spent in residential care settings may therefore do little to reduce the risk of sexual aggression. This paper proposes that the assessment and management of risk is central to the effective rehabilitation of this group of young people. Based on work carried out at Glenthorne Centre a risk assessment strategy is presented consisting of several different strands: an analysis of organisational decision-making; identification of sources and types of information to inform decisions; the development and implementation of a risk assessment protocol; and staff training. A case example is used to illustrate the use of the protocol at Glenthorne.     

An investigation into the enhancement of fingermarks in blood on paper with genipin and lawsone

The abilities of two natural products, genipin and lawsone, to enhance blood contaminated fingermarks on papers of various porosities and colour were investigated and compared to the routinely used amino acid reagents, ninhydrin and 1,8-diazafluoren-9-one (DFO).Fingermarks in blood were deposited as a split depletion series on various paper types and colours for ageing periods of 6 weeks, 4 weeks, 2 weeks and 1 week before enhancement. The developed marks were observed under different lighting conditions, recorded and graded by way of attributing quantitative data to each series.Results indicated that while genipin showed some potential as a reagent for the enhancement of latent fingermarks, it displayed no suitability for the enhancement of fingermarks in blood on paper. Lawsone also failed to successfully enhance either type of fingermark. Upon comparison of the results with those of ninhydrin and DFO it was found that ninhydrin displayed the highest success rate of development of these marks.     

Notes on contributors

This short article explores the introduction of directly elected mayors in England and identifies that the case for mayors, as made within New Labour's agenda of 'modernisation', has proceeded on the basis of inconsistent arguments. The article suggests the failure of the reforms either to deliver empowered 'big hitters' or to transform levels of interest in local electoral politics. It explores the diminishment of the public discourse of mayoralty, from one of high ambition and capacity to a more beleaguered discourse of enfeeblement and disenchantment. It argues that while it is easy to explain the project's lack of early impact as being the result of effective resistance by vested interests, critical attention must be paid to the problematic nature of the proposals themselves and that the experience of mayors is symptomatic of a broader incoherence within the 'modernisation' agenda.     

The Benefits of Experimental Methods for the Study of Campaign Effects

Researchers rely heavily on observational designs to study the effects of political campaigns. In doing so, scholars often overlook serious threats to causal inference that bedevil their research designs. The strategic nature of campaigns leads to serious selection biases in voter exposure to campaign stimuli and, ultimately, generates biased estimates of campaign effects. Standard approaches to establishing causal effects in observational research, such as the collection of panel data and the inclusion of covariates, are often inadequate. In contrast, experimental approaches offer researchers a more promising way to estimate accurately the causal effects of campaigns. In this essay, I discuss the recent renaissance of experimental research in the study of campaigns and illustrate how scholars can use lab, field, and survey experiments to good effect. When experimental methods are not feasible, studies of campaign effects would benefit from paying better attention to the causal identification strategy. In closing, I discuss how the logic of experimentation can be applied to some observational settings.