Racial Differences in Public Support for the Death Penalty: Can Racist sentiment and Core Values Explain the Racial Divide?

Prior research has established a strong and enduring “racial divide” in support for capital punishment, but little research has explored the processes that explain the racial divide. Following the lead of Unnever and Cullen (Social Forces 85:1281–1301, 2007a), this research explores whether racist sentiment and core values (individualism, egalitarianism, symbolic patriotism, and authoritarianism) can partially explain the racial divide in public support for capital punishment. The findings suggest that racist sentiment by Whites and belief in core values by Whites partially explains the racial divide in support for capital punishment.     

The problems of ‘pro‐state’ terrorism: Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland

The essay briefly outlines the careers of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), the two largest Protestant, unionist and loyalist paramilitary organizations in Northern Ireland. It argues that a range of apparently unconnected characteristics of the UDA and UVF can be explained by reference to the notion of ‘pro‐state terrorism’. When the state is perceived to be unable or unwilling to defend itself against its enemies, there is space for ‘prostate’ private initiatives in violence. If the state is not seen to be terminally weak or treacherous, the ‘pro‐state’ group is competing with the state itself. That competition explains many features of the history of the UDA and UVF.     

Sexual assault of older women by strangers

This study examines victim, offender, and offence characteristics associated with sexual assaults by strangers of older women compared to those against younger women. Cases are obtained from the Serious Crime Analysis Section of the United Kingdom National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA; formerly Centrex). All possible cases of rape, attempted rape, and lesser sexual assault involving a single female victim aged 60 or older are selected (n = 53). These are matched with a sample of sexual assaults against women aged between 20 to 45 years ( n = 53). Research findings reveal significant differences in relation to a number of variables, including ethnicity of the offender, number of previous convictions of the offender, and characteristics associated with the assault itself. The results of this research reveal new information about violent sexual assaults on older women by strangers and have implications for practitioners dealing with such cases.     

Psychological autopsy in the investigation of serial neonaticides

While the use of psychological autopsies has at least a 50-year history in the investigation of equivocal deaths and suicides, we report a case where, after the discovery of a woman who died of natural causes, a subsequent search of her home found three deceased newborn infants. The infants were born on three separate occasions; the most recent was delivered approximately 2 weeks before the death of the mother. Using her own diaries and interviews with family and friends along with the physical autopsy and scene investigation data, we built a psychological autopsy that addressed the mother's mental state over the period of time when the infants' deaths took place. While the use of the psychological autopsy was not employed to distinguish the manner of death of the mother, it did provide explanatory power over circumstances of the crime scene and the behavioral disturbance of the mother.