Making Sense out of Nonsense: The Deconstruction of State-Level Sex Offender Residence Restrictions

Releasing a sex offender from prison or placing the offender on community-based sanctions, only to have the offender commit a new sex crime, is a policy-maker’s worst nightmare. Fueled by misperceptions and public fear, sex offender laws have developed piecemeal and without rigorous empirical insight and testing. While policies and practices are well-intended, they are unlikely to resolve the very real social problem of sexual violence and may inadvertently increase victimization. Such is the possibility with residence restrictions. This type of law is among the newest in an ever-growing barrage of legislation designed specifically for sexual criminals yet what little research that exists suggests there is no correlation between residence and sexual recidivism. This article identifies 30 states with state-level residence restrictions and conducts a content analysis of each state’s legislation. Geographical and other assessments are also conducted.     

Fetal gunshot wound characteristics

Firearm injury in pregnant women is reported in the literature; however, no articles to date address the forensic analysis of the wounds sustained by the fetus. This is a report of a 40 weeks gestational age fetus who died following multiple perforating gunshot wounds, while his mother survived. The fetal wounds were atypical, consisting of irregular perforations with radiating linear lacerations and adjacent abrasions. The unusual wound pattern may have been due to the presence of interposed targets, the shoring of the fetus against itself and the uterine corpus, and the intrinsic character of fetal skin.     

Desquamative interstitial pneumonia in an infant. Mimicry of sudden infant death syndrome

A 15-week-old infant girl, without a prior history of overt illness, was found dead while sleeping between her two parents. The gross examination at autopsy showed only congested lungs, and the initial diagnosis was sudden infant death (SID). On microscopic examination, a desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP) was observed. The widespread, patchy intraalveolar histiocytic desquamation was associated with lymphocytic infiltration of bronchiolar and aveolar walls, which together provided convincing evidence that an interstitial pneumonitis was the cause of death. A viral etiology seems most likely in view of the accompanying chronic inflammation of bronchial submucosal glands.     

Building Houses on Rocks: The Role of the Ethical Infrastructure in Organizations

We present and discuss a theoretical model of an organization's ethical infrastructure, defined as the organizational elements that contribute to an organization's ethical effectiveness. We propose that the infrastructure is composed of both formal and informal elements—including communication, surveillance, and sanctioning systems—as well as organizational climates for ethics, respect, and justice. We discuss the nature of the relationship between these elements and ethical behavior, the relative strength of each of these elements, and their impact on each other. Theoretical and practical implications of this model are presented.     

Providing an Integrated Response to Family Violence: Governance Attributes of Local Networks in Victoria

The establishment of integrated responses to family violence represents a significant implementation challenge for locally‐based networks. This research reports on the experiences of integrated family violence committees in Victoria, and the features of their governance associated with perceived effectiveness in committee functioning. There were consistent regional differences in the perceived effectiveness of committees. The main challenge for effective service integration was establishing and maintaining effective partnerships. There were substantial differences in the capacities of the committees to meet the challenges of integration, and the research points to the need for a stronger guidance and support role by central agencies.     

“Even though we're married,I'm single”: The meaning of jail incarceration in romantic relationships

Jail incarceration substantially transforms romantic relationships, and incarceration may alter the commitment between partners, thereby undermining or strengthening relationships. In this article, we use in-depth interviews with 85 women connected to incarcerated men (as current or former romantic partners) to explore how women articulate relationship changes that stem from their partner's jail incarceration, a common but understudied form of contact with the criminal legal system. We identify three interrelated and mutually reinforcing processes, which are shaped by and shape a partner's commitment to the relationship. First, incarceration produces liminality in the status of the relationship. Second, incarceration fosters women's sense of independence from their incarcerated partners. Third, incarceration creates space for partners to reevaluate how they prioritize the relationship in their lives. Jail incarceration intervenes in romantic relationships at different points during each relationship, and accordingly, women experience heterogeneity in processes of liminality, independence, and reprioritization. These processes contribute to differential relationship experiences, with some relationships deteriorating during incarceration, others strengthening, and others neither deteriorating nor strengthening. By systematically uncovering these processes linking jail incarceration to romantic relationships, we advance an understanding of how the criminal legal system can shape relationship commitment processes and inequalities among families.     

Incumbency Effects under Proportional Representation: Leaders and Backbenchers in the Postwar Italian Chamber of Deputies

We study incumbency effects for individual legislators from two political parties (Christian Democracy and the Italian Socialist Party) in Italy's lower house of representatives over 10 legislatures (1948–92) elected using open‐list proportional representation. Our analysis finds no reelection advantage for the average incumbent legislator. Only a tiny elite in each party successfully creates an incumbency advantage. We find incumbents advantaged for reselection by their political party. We interpret reselection advantage as a party loyalty premium. Our study depicts a political environment monopolized by party leaders who reward party loyalty but hamper legislators in appealing directly to voters.     

Chains of Adversity: The Time-Varying Consequences of Paternal Incarceration for Adolescent Behavior

Journal of Quantitative Criminology - I draw on general strain theory, a framework often used to understand adolescent behavior, and augment it with aspects of the stress process perspective to...