Mass murders in Germany – classification of surviving offenders based on the examination of court files

Personality, psychopathology, and motives of 44 surviving offenders committing mass murder in Germany over 25 years (1984–2009) were analyzed using court files and psychiatric expertises. Initially, 123 mass murders in Germany were detected in the time period 1980–2010 (inclusive deceased offenders). Using a data entry form based on ViCLAS (Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System), we categorized the 44 surviving mass murderers into three prototypes using the ‘TwoStep Cluster’-method (separation of the offenders in different groups depending on their similarity of specific items): 1. Narcissistic or aggressive men suffering from addiction or affective disorder, committing mass murder out of rage/hate when being intoxicated by alcohol, 2. Psychotic offenders with schizophrenia and comorbid substance abuse. 3. Aggressive, narcissistic or anxious adolescents, half of them suffering from affective disorder or ADHD, committing mass murder out of rage/hate. Not included are such events where the offenders died and therefore no court files or psychiatric expertises were available. Classification and subtyping of the offenders’ personalities and psychopathological conditions might help to improve the chances for an early detection of persons at risk.     

Psychic investment in cruelty: three parables on race and imprisoning the mentally ill

Drawing on ethnographic and activist work in New York, I analyze three contemporary cases of mentally ill people charged violent crimes. State violence against them can be characterized as a differential and differentiated set of racial and gendered practices. The case studies offer something between a parable, a field report, and a cautionary tale of the dystopian tendencies already embedded within the criminal justice system in the United States. Based on these cases, I will argue that despite recent liberal reform, scant evidence suggests any deep shift in the web of agencies that pipe people, especially the mentally ill, into prison and jail, or a shift in the cruel and humiliating practices these agencies embody. For the society to achieve what Du Bois called an abolition democracy, the affective infrastructure and psychic investment in debasing subordinated others would have to be abolished.     

Perceived and Observed Maternal Relationship Quality Predict Sexual Debut by Age 15

Early sexual behaviors during adolescence have the potential to lead to unhealthy outcomes. This study explored the association between specific dimensions of maternal relationship quality and adolescent sexual debut by age 15. We hypothesized that adolescents who have poor maternal relationships are at greater risk of early sexual debut than those who have a more supportive relationship. These hypotheses were examined using both adolescents’ perception of their maternal relationship quality and observed relationship quality. A sample of 268 adolescents (142 girls; 90% European American) were followed longitudinally from age 13 to age 15. The results indicate that adolescents with sexual debut by age 15 report significantly worse relationships with their mothers compared with other adolescents. Furthermore, behavioral observations of lower maternal support and higher observed displays of externalizing affect towards the mother also were related to early sexual debut. The significance of maternal relationship quality remained after controlling for family structure, race, and socioeconomic status. These findings suggest that mothers have a significant role in the timing of their adolescents’ sexual debut.     

First-time DWI offenders are at risk of recidivating regardless of sanctions imposed

Objective

Research demonstrates that punitive approaches to DWI employed by the judiciary have failed to significantly reduce recidivism. However, little is known about the deterrent effects of administrative and diversion sanctions. We examine whether such sanctions deter first-time DWI offenders.

Methods

We grouped combinations of administrative, judicial, and diversion sanctions routinely employed in the state of Maryland for processing drivers arrested for DWI into one of eight mutually exclusive disposition sequences. We applied this classification to Maryland drivers who had been licensed in the state and had precisely one DWI on their record prior to January 1, 1999. We then used a proportional hazards model to estimate the probability of remaining free of a new DWI during a 6-year period (January 1, 1999 - December 31, 2004) as a function of the disposition of the index violation, and of selected factors that could affect that probability.

Results

Drivers with a prior DWI were at relatively high risk of recidivating regardless of how they were sanctioned. Those who received administrative and alternative sanctions had a risk of recidivating similar to that of drivers who were convicted.

Conclusion

All dispositions sequences, not just convictions, indicate that first-time DWI offenders are at high risk of recidivating.     

Transgender Family Law

Transgender people face unique issues in parentage, custody, and divorce cases. Many transgender people are raising children or wish to do so. This article examines the main legal issues facing transgender people who become parents by giving birth or impregnating a partner, through assisted reproduction, through marriage, by raising a child, or through adoption. In the past, some courts viewed a parent's gender transition as a sufficient reason to terminate parental rights. Today, the law has shifted to provide much more security for transgender parents, though significant bias still remains, particularly in divorce and child custody cases. In addition, many states have not yet fully addressed how to determine the legal parentage of children born through assisted reproduction. I analyze the legal landscape for transgender parents and spouses and offer critical suggestions to ensure that transgender people are able to protect their families and their parental rights.     

Total and Marginal Cost Analysis for a High School Based Bystander Intervention

Costs of providing the Green Dot bystander-based intervention, shown to be effective in the reduction of sexual violence among Kentucky high school students, were estimated based on data from a large cluster-randomized clinical trial. Rape Crisis Center Educators were trained to provide Green Dot curriculum to students. Implementing Green Dot in schools (N = 13) randomized to the intervention, over five years, cost $1.6 M and included start-up ($58 K) and ongoing implementation ($1.55 M). Costs for adding a school ($25,510) were calculated based on the final year, where no start-up costs were incurred. Knowing the $25,510 cost estimate for adding Green Dot may be particularly useful for high school administrators or school boards when they were making economic decisions based on strong evidence of program effectiveness to reduce violence.     

Regent developments in Anatolia and the Caucasus

Saudi Arabia. By H. St. John Philby. London : Ernest Benn. 1955. Pp. 393 + xix. Ill. 30s.

Representative Government in South‐East Asia. By Professor Rupert Emerson. Institute of Pacific Relations. 1955. Pp. 192. Index. $3.50.

Liang Ch'i Ch'ao and the Mind of Modern China. By Joseph R. Levenson. Harvard University Press. 1953. (Harvard Historical Monographs XXVI.)

Chinese Calligraphy. An Introduction to its Æsthetic and Technique. By Chiang Yee. 2nd edition, with a Preface by Sir Herbert Read. London : Methuen. 1954. Pp. xvi +230; 6 plates and 155 text illustrations. 30s.

Western Enterprise in Far Eastern Economic Development: China and Japan. By G. C. Allen and Audrey G. Donnithorne. George Allen and Unwin, Ltd. 1954. Pp. 253.

Shanghai: Key to Modern China. By Rhoads Murphey. Harvard university Press. 1953. Distributed in U.K. by Oxford University Press. Pp. 246, and maps. 36s.

The Prospects for Communist China. By W. W. Rostov and others at the Centre for International Studies, Mass. London : Chapman and Hall. 1954. Pp. 400; inside cover maps and index.

Government and Administration in Communist China. By S. B. Thomas. Institute of Pacific Relations, New York. Pp. 196.

The Wise Man from the West. By Vincent Cronin. Rupert Hart‐Davis. 1955. 300 pp. Ill. 18s.

Stalin's Russia and After. By Harrison Salisbury. London : Macmillan. 1955. Pp. 329. 21S.

The Red Carpet. By Marshall MacDuffie. Cassell and Co. Ltd. 1955. Pp. 330. Ill. Index. 18s.

Muhammad's People. A Tale by Anthology. By Eric Schroeder. The Bond Wheelwright Co., Portland, Me., U.S.A. pp. 838. $10.00.

The Economic Development of Japan. By Professor W. W. Lockwood. Princeton University Press. (London : Geoffrey Cumberledge.) Pp. 592 and Index. 63s.

The Art of Asia in the Francis Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts in Budapest. By Tibor Horváth. Budapest. 1954. 112 plates.

Treasures of Indian Miniatures in the Bikaner Palace Collection. By Basil Gray. Bruno Cassirer, Oxford. Distributed by Faber and Faber. 1955. 12s. 6d.

A Glossary of Chinese Art and Archaeology. By S. Howard Hansford. London : The China Society. 1954. Pp. 104. 15s.

Elizabethan and Yuan: A Brief Comparison of some Conventions in Poetic Drama. By James Liu. London : The China Society. 1955. Pp. 12. 3s.

Wild Flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain. By Violet Dickson, M.B.E., F.Z.S. London : George Allen and Unwin. 1955. Pp. 143; maps. Ill. 25s.

The Waterless Moon. By Elizabeth Balneaves. Lutterworth Press. 1955. Pp. 175, with 15 plates and a map. 15s.

Take These Men. By Cyril Joly. Constable. 1955. 8”×5½”. Pp. x +357 and maps. 15s. net.

This is Kashmir. By Pearce Gervis. Cassell. 1954. Pp. 330; 2 colour plates, 24 pp. of photographs, and a map. 25s.

Man of Everest. By James Ramsay Ullman. G. G. Harrap : London, Toronto, Sydney and Wellington. 1955. Pp. 320. 8½” × 6½”. 18s.

An Innocent on Everest. By Ralph Izzard. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1954. Pp. 256. 111. Bibl. 16s.

Kanchenjunà Challenge. By Paul Bauer. London : William Kimber. 1955. Pp. 202. 12 illustrations. 9½”×6½”. 18s.

The Savage Mountain. By Charles Houston and Robert Bates. Collins. 1955. Pp. 192; 23 illustrations; maps and line drawings. 8½” x 6”. 25s.

The Narrow Smile. By Peter Mayne. John Murray. 1955. Pp. 254. 111. 18s.

September Monkey. By Induk Pahk. Victor Gollancz. 1955. Pp. 283. 15s.

My Several Worlds. By Pearl S. Buck. Methuen. 1955. Pp. 467. 21s.

Mandarin Red. By James Cameron. Michael Joseph. 1955. Pp. 287 approx. Ill. 15s.

One Man in His Time. By N. M. Borodin. Constable, London. 1955. Pp. 343. 21s.     

Are jurors' perceptions of eyewitness credibility affected by the cognitive interview?

Abstract

Ninety-one college subjects listened to Cognitive Interviews (CI) and Standard police interviews of 7-year old children who were attempting to describe an earlier incident of playing a game of Simon Says. The subjects evaluated the witness's credibility and also the interviewer's manipulativeness. The perceived credibility of the witness was not affected by the type of interview, i.e., the CI did not render the witness unduly credible. In addition, the CI interviewer was judged to be less manipulative than the Standard police interviewer. These results were discussed in light of some potential legal concerns about using the CI.