Comparative proportionality review: A nationwide examination of reversed death sentences

A required part of the appellate review of death sentences in many capital punishment jurisdictions is comparative proportionality review. This procedure requires the court to compare the death sentence under review with sentences in similar cases to determine whether it is excessive. This article examines those death sentences from across the country that have been reversed on comparative proportionality grounds. Relatively few death sentences have been reversed on these grounds, and the number of reversals is decreasing. The reviews that reverse sentences infrequently compare only to other death sentences, commonly use a method that requires more than a mere common aggravating factor for selecting comparison cases, and rarely use the frequency method of comparative proportionality review.     

异位方配合甲氨蝶呤治疗异位妊娠32例临床观察

目的:观察自拟异位方配合甲氨蝶呤(MTX)治疗异位妊娠的临床疗效.方法:采用随机方法将63例异位妊娠患者分为两组(治疗组32例,对照组31例),治疗组接受异位方加MTX治疗,对照组单用异位方治疗,观察两组保守治疗异位妊娠疗效.结果:治疗组治愈率(84.37%)高于对照组(64.51%)(P<0.05);治疗组β-HCG下降至正常及阴道流血停止时间短于对照组(P<0.01或P<0.05);治疗组治疗后包块缩小程度大于对照组,差异有显著性(P<0.01).结论:中西医结合治疗异位妊娠可加速β-HCG下降,减少阴道流血时间,促进包块吸收,降低保守治疗风险,缩短疗程,提高疗效,有利于输卵管功能的恢复.     

PATTERNS OF RELITIGATION

Two groups of parents were tracked for 2 years following their divorce: a group of 89 who attended a mandatory divorce education class and a comparison group of 23 who did not. The two groups did not differ in any assessed demographic or family characteristics. At the follow-up assessment, the parents who attended the class had relitigated (over all issues) less than half as often than those who had not attended the class (1.61 vs. 3.74). Moreover, rate of relitigation was related to mastery of skills learned in the class. The results are discussed in terms of the needs for outcome evaluation and design of education programs for divorcing parents.     

管制刑执行中存在的问题及对策探讨

管制刑是我国所独创的一种刑罚 ,在历史上曾经发挥了不可替代的重要作用 ,但今天 ,管制刑的执行面临诸多问题 ,难于实现刑罚的特殊预防与一般预防功能。因此 ,必须对管制刑作出必要的改革 ,完善立法 ,改革执行机构和执行方式 ,以适应时代和社会发展之要求 ,确保管制刑刑罚目的的实现。     

Authoritarianism,religiosity and reactions to deviance

A modified F-Scale and a deviance-control scale were administered to a sample of 116 police science students and a random representative sample of 91 state university students. No overall relationship was found between respondents' preference to control deviance and their authoritarianism, nor did the F-Scale discriminate between the two groups. However, the police sample favored the control of deviance significantly more. Evidence of response bias to the F-Scale was also found. It was concluded that the source of the criminal sanction usually typified as moral indignation, was more a cognitively based evaluation than an emotionally based reaction.     

THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION'S WELFARE RETRENCHMENT POLICY: TERMINATING SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FOR THE DISABLED

Large numbers of the permanently and totally disabled have had benefits terminated since 1980 as a result of a determined effort towards that end by the Reagan administration. This is an example of the process by which a major change in political ethos is translated into important changes in welfare benefit entitlement rules. It is also interesting since it seems to be the first instance of a large scale conscientious attempt of the executive branch to reach into and narrow the basic entitlement policy of the Social Security Administration. This normally would be done through joint executive, congressional and legislative action. This article presents the policy background of these events and reviews and analyzes the data about their consequences.