The Impact of Mediating Victim Offender Conflict: An Analysis of Programs in Three States

Abstract This article presents the findings of an analysis of victim offender mediation programs working with the juvenile courts in Albuquerque (NM), Minneapolis (MN) and Oakland (CA). The study is based upon 868 interviews with crime victims and offenders, including pre- and post-mediation interviews and two different comparison groups. The data that emerged from this study indicates that the vast majority of both victims and young offenders experience the mediation process and outcome (restitution agreement) as fair and are satisfied with the program. The mediation process used by the programs in Albuquerque, Minneapolis and Oakland results in greater satisfaction, greater perception of fairness and higher restitution completion rates than found in a matched sample of victims and offenders who were not referred to mediation.     

印度尼西亚经济展望

尽管国内政局动荡以及国外风云突变,印尼的通货膨胀问题仍得到遏制,利率正在下降,货币稳定.经济增长保持适中的速度,2004年上半年GDP增长了4.7%,主要是由于个人消费拉动GDP的增长,占增长总数的2/3.同时,由于竞选期延长,持续的不稳定因素使投资活动受到影响.虽然投资是GDP增长的第二大因素(占1/3左右),但印尼的投资形势仍不见有多大起色:投资额与GDP之比仍不够乐观,增长仅为18%,远远低于亚洲金融危机前的30%.     

A psychiatric study of persons charged with arson.

A total of 29 court-referred individuals charged with arson were psychiatrically studied. From this pre-trial cohort from a large heterogeneous urban population base, a higher rate of psychosis was found than in other recent studies. However, consistent with these studies was the rarity of the diagnosis of pyromania. An important finding of this study was the substantial number of fires set by individuals who are homeless mentally disordered or substance abusing, or both.     

Battered women who kill

This study assesses acquital rates using mock jurors in cases involving a battered woman charged with killing her husband. The simulated trial format was based on actual courtroom proceedings including witness cross-examination and jury deliberation proceedings. The type of plea entered was varied and reflected either self-defense, automatism, or a hypothetical plea of psychological self-defense. The severity of abuse incurred by the defendant was also varied along with expert testimony. Jurors more frequently found the defendant not guilty when a plea of automatism was entered compared to a plea of self-defense. The frequency of acquittals following a plea of psychological self-defense resulted in more acquittals than the self-defense plea but significantly fewer than the automatism plea. The likelihood of acquittal increased under conditions of severe abuse as opposed to moderate abuse. Expert witness testimony was observed to influence verdicts during juror deliberations.     

References for determining the time of death by potassium in vitreous humor

The different statements concerning the slope and intercept of the regression line and the 95% limits of confidence are the reason that potassium in vitreous humor is not used (at least in Germany) as an aid in estimating the time of death. The relationship between the concentration of potassium and the time of death is mainly influenced by antemortem electrolyte imbalances caused by disease and/or duration of terminal episode. The influence of terminal episode is best identified by its duration (Adelson et al., J. Forensic Sci., 8 (1963) 503–514). In order to have a method suitable for every case and to be as precise as possible we looked therefore for parameters in vitreous humor which were stable postmortem and indicating antemortem electrolyte imbalance. Urea is such a parameter, being stable postmortem (Coe, Am. J. Clin. Pathol., 51 (1969) 741–750) and useful as a marker of antemortem electrolyte imbalance. Our investigations on potassium in vitreous humor, including sudden and hospital deaths after chronic lingering disease, revealed 95% limits of confidence of ±34 h up to 120 h postmortem. Reviewing only cases with urea less than 100 mg/dl the 95% limits of confidence could be reduced to ±22 h. Considering the duration of terminal episode (<6 h) the precision was ±20 h. In this way our modified procedure is suitable for every case with the resulting precision of estimation being determined only by the duration of the terminal episode and urea concentration.