Is the death of the death penalty near? The impact of Atkins and Roper on the future of capital punishment for mentally ill defendants

In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has created two categorical exemptions to the death penalty. In Atkins v. Virginia, the Court exempted mentally retarded offenders. Three years later, in Roper v. Simmons, the Court extended the protection to juveniles. Based on these cases, the practices of foreign countries, and the opinions of professional organizations with relevant expertise, legal scholars speculate that the Court may, in the future, categorically exclude severely mentally ill offenders from the death penalty. This Note examines the feasibility of such an exemption for the mentally ill and considers its possible repercussions.     

Central-Local Relations in an Era of Multi-Level Governance: The Case of Public Participation Policy in England, 1997-2001

The election of a 'New Labour' UK government in 1997 promised a new era of central-local relations facilitated by a programme of local government reform which recognised local government's 'community leadership' role. Other aspects of the agenda supported the development of multi-level governance, for example, the establishment of sub-national institutions such as the Scottish Parliament and the promotion of neighbourhoods as key sites for action. Despite these actions this paper will argue that in England the central state retains considerable influence over the key agents of local governance. Using the example of public participation policy, and drawing on the findings of a recent study in two English cities, the paper will explore how national policy aspirations were reflected locally. It concludes that while local action generally complemented national priorities, there were important points of contrast, and that localities' capacity to act in their own interests is supported by the opportunities presented in a multi-level governance environment.     

Working together: local and global imperatives for women in Mongolia

Mongolia is a country in transition. Domestic violence has just begun to reach the public and political agenda, due in large part to the activism and lobbying of women’s groups within Mongolia. State attention to domestic violence accords with Mongolia’s declared democratic and human rights agendas which are driven by political and economic shifts within society, the influence of trans-national feminism and the activities of two of the most influential non-governmental organisations (NGOs), each of which focus on violence against women. Local, feminist campaigning intersects with the global imperatives of treaty obligations and has resulted in the introduction of new legislation on domestic violence in 2004. Since then it has become apparent that there is a gap between the rhetoric of the law the reality of implementation. Women’s groups are battling this lack of political will to effectively implement changes.

Risk assessment in offenders with mental disorders: relative efficacy of personal demographic, criminal history, and clinical variables

Following the meta-analysis by Bonta, Law, and Hanson, (1998) this study examined the ability of personal demographic, criminal history, and clinical variables to predict reoffending in offenders in the United Kingdom who had mental disorders. The efficacy of each variable in predicting rate of general reoffending and violent reoffending was investigated. Age on admission, number of days hospitalized, and number of previous offenses were the most effective variables in predicting re-offending, with number of previous offenses being the strongest predictor. Clinical diagnosis was not predictive of reoffending when the variance attributable to these other predictors was controlled for. None of the variables were able to discriminate between general offenders and violent offenders indicating that the same variables predict both types of reoffending. The results showed that reconviction in offenders with mental disorders can be predicted using the same criminogenic variables that are predictive in offenders without mental disorders.     

Forensic informativity of domestic dog mtDNA control region sequences

We have analysed the genetic information to be obtained from analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in domestic dogs studying the exclusion capacity in different populations and the correlation between mtDNA types and breeds or types of dogs. The exclusion capacities for a 573 bp sequence of the mitochondrial control region was between 0.86 and 0.95 for dogs in Sweden, the UK, Germany, Japan and China. The direct correlation between mtDNA type and breed, type of dog, and geographical origin of breed was generally low, but in some cases certain mtDNA types were overrepresented in one breed, and for wider groupings such as morphologically similar breeds, some mtDNA types were in many cases found in a distinct group of breeds, often originating from the same geographic region. This type of information may be used as an indication of the breed and, with some degree of probability, to include or exclude certain breeds from being the source of evidence materials.     

Reforming the Human Tissue Acts

The Human Tissue Acts of the various States and Territories that were enacted following the 1977 Report of the Australian Law Reform Commission on Human Tissue Transplants are in need of an overhaul as a result of rapid advances in medical science and biotechnology, as well as growing public expectations regarding the ethical use of tissues and organs obtained from autopsies and other sources. The author argues that the time is ripe for a comprehensive review and revision of the Acts throughout the country in order to maintain a consistent approach.     

Strangled at birth: the One Nation ideology of Theresa May

ABSTRACT

Contemporary and retrospective evaluation of Theresa May’s premiership inevitably focuses on the division, drift and indecision which characterized it. However, this article argues that although such narratives have considerable validity, they miss an important aspect of the May ‘project’, namely, its attempt to shift the contemporary Conservative Party’s ideology in a ‘One Nation’ direction in rhetoric if not necessarily in deed. The article begins with a conceptual and historical analysis of One Nation Conservatism and then places May within this tradition, principally through consideration of key statements she made as Prime Minister. It, therefore, adds an original perspective both on May’s government and on the ideological analysis of One Nation Conservatism, building on the existing literature.