A New Look at the Gender Gap in Offending

Studies of public support for capital punishment have consistently observed a strong and enduring gender gap in the level of death penalty support, with males consistently more inclined than females to support capital punishment. This unexplained relationship has endured over time and space as well as across a myriad of research designs. The present study uses attribution theory in a factorial survey design to account for this relationship. Analyses of data obtained from jurors provide mixed support for attribution theory yet fails to bridge the gender gap in death penalty support. The implications of these findings as they relate to gender, socialization, and attributions are discussed.     

Evidence for Connections Between Prosecutor-Reported Marijuana Case Dispositions and Community Youth Marijuana-Related Attitudes and Behaviors

This article examines relationships between local drug policy (as represented by prosecutor-reported case outcomes for first-offender juvenile marijuana possession cases) and youth self-reported marijuana use, perceived risk, and disapproval. Interviews with prosecutors and surveys of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students in the United States were conducted in 2000. Analyses include data from 97 prosecutors and students from 127 schools in 40 states. Results indicate significant relationships between local drug policy and youth marijuana use and attitudes. In general, more-severe dispositions are associated with less marijuana use, higher disapproval rates, and increased perceptions of great risk. Associations primarily appear to be specific to marijuana-related outcomes. Results are discussed within the framework of both deterrence and broader social norms regarding substance use.     

Distinguishing Between Damage to Clothing as a Result of Normal Wear and Tear or as a Result of Deliberate Damage: A Sexual Assault Case Study

Abstract:  This paper focuses on bra damage, specifically damage observed in hook and eye fasteners that are generally located at the backstraps of bras. We describe bra design including the method by which hook and eye fasteners are generally constructed. We assess bra damage in two situations where the damage observed was unexpected given the case scenarios. These were: (i) the complainant of an alleged rape attributed damage to her bra hooks to force during a struggle and (ii) the complainant had earlier manipulated her bra hooks in an incident not related to her complaint. Steriomicroscopy and reconstruction experimentation were necessarily used to assess the bra damage. A systematic approach to damage analysis was employed by the forensic practitioners to correctly identify damage as being a result of mechanical manipulation and therefore as falsified. This paper suggests that more examples of falsified damage should be documented.     

Recent life events and subjective well-being of personality disordered forensic outpatients

PurposeThe majority of patients treated at forensic psychiatric outpatient facilities suffer from personality disorders, especially Cluster B disorders. Life events have been shown to influence subjective well-being, severity of psychopathology and delinquent behaviour of patients with different personality disorders. However, the influence of life events on subjective well-being of patients suffering from Cluster B personality disorders has rarely been studied. Following General Strain Theory and the dynamic equilibrium model, we hypothesised that negative life events would negatively influence subjective well-being, and that subjective well-being would change when an instability of life events occurs.MethodsFifty-six adult male forensic psychiatric outpatients were interviewed on their subjective well-being and filled out a self-report life event questionnaire, at three time-points, with an interval of three months. Life events were categorized along two dimensions: positive / negative and controllable / uncontrollable.ResultsPatients had a stable pattern of positive, negative controllable and uncontrollable life events. Positive controllable events did not have a stable pattern. Results indicated that only negative controllable events correlated negatively with subjective well-being. Furthermore, positive and positive controllable events correlated with a positive change in subjective well-being and uncontrollable events correlated negatively with this change.ConclusionsForensic psychiatric outpatients seem to experience a relatively stable ‘load’ of stressful life events, that does not influence change in subjective well-being. We did not find unequivocal support for General Strain Theory. In line with the dynamic equilibrium model, forensic outpatients seemed less used to positive controllable life events, which influenced positive change in subjective well-being. In outpatient forensic treatment, attempts to limit negative life events together with enhancing behaviour which results in positive events should be targeted. This might result in better lives for patients and in reduced criminal behaviour.     

Interpersonal Aspects of Justice in Relationships Between Consumers and Service Providers: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis

There is a controversy in the justice literature as to whether interpersonal aspects of justice are best represented as one construct (interactional justice) or two (interpersonal justice and informational justice). Using confirmatory factor analysis, we tested competing models of these constructs on a sample of healthcare consumers (n = 1919) with respect to their justice judgments of primary care physicians. We found that the single factor model (interactional justice) represented a better fit to the data. Our results do not necessarily contradict those of prior studies that have found a better fit for a bi-dimensional model in organizational settings, however. Instead, we are suggesting a contingency approach: the results may be due in part to the halo effect, which may manifest itself where consumers are unfamiliar with the service provider and with the complexities of that person’s role.     

Detecting Specialization in Offending: Comparing Analytic Approaches

Offending specialization continues to be a subject of empirical inquiry for scholars interested in criminal careers. Early research consistently spoke to the generality of offending profiles, but more recent work has revealed somewhat mixed findings. These results have emerged alongside newly developed and applied methods that detect and describe offending specialization. To what extent these methods shape divergent conclusions and/or provide overlapping insight remains unclear, however. Therefore, the degree to which more recent inquiries are actually studying the same operational definition of specialization is unknown. In order to consider this issue further, this study utilizes four frequently applied approaches with a single data set. The study indicates when and where findings converge and also describes any unique insights provided by each method. The work concludes with a discussion surrounding the utility of applying multiple strategies in assessing specialization in criminal offending.     

Postmortem dismemberment/mutilation--medicolegal and criminalistic evaluation of the autopsies performed by the Institute of Legal Medicine at the Hanover Medical School

Among all the autopsies performed by the Institute of Legal Medicine at the Hanover Medical School between 1978 and 1998. 16 cases of postmortem dismemberment/mutilation were evaluable under criminalistic and medicolegal aspects. In the present study, particular attention was paid to the psychosocial circumstances of the perpetrator's and victim's lives and also to the classification of the different types of postmortem dismemberment/mutilation illustrated by case reports. Apart from an unfavourable personal life situation at the time of the offence, essential predisposing factors were: poor integration in society and family, occupational problems, drug abuse and mental diseases. As the interactions between these factors differ in every single case and may be combined with other factors, the analysis of such homicides should always be based on the assessment of the individual case.     

Identification of furosemide in hair in a post‐mortem case by UHPLC‐MS/MS with guidance on interpretation

Testing for drugs in hair raises several difficulties. Among them is the interpretation of the final concentration(s). In a post‐mortem case, analyses revealed the presence of furosemide (12 ng/mL) in femoral blood, although it was not part of the victim's treatment. The prosecutor requested our laboratory to undertake an additional analysis in hair to obtain information about the use of furosemide. A specific method was therefore developed and validated to identify and quantify furosemide in hair by UHPLC‐MS/MS. After decontamination of 30 mg of hair, incubation in acidic condition, extraction with ethyl acetate, the samples were analyzed by UHPLC‐MS/MS. Furosemide was found in the victim's hair at 225 pg/mg. However, it was not possible to interpret this concentration due to the absence of data in the literature. Therefore, the authors performed a controlled study in two parts. In order to establish the basis of interpretation, several volunteers were tested (four after a single 20 mg administration and twenty‐four under daily treatment). The first part indicated that a single dose is not detectable in hair using our method. The second part demonstrated concentrations ranging from 5 to 1110 pg/mg with no correlation between dosage and hair concentrations. The decedent's hair result was interpreted as repeated exposures. In the case of furosemide analysis, hair can provide information about its presence but cannot give information about dosage or frequency of use.