Female juvenile murderers: Biological and psychological dynamics leading to homicide

The increasing involvement of girls under 18 in violent crime has been a matter of growing concern in the United States in recent years. This article reviews the arrests of female juveniles for violent crime and then focuses specifically on their involvement in homicide. Arrests of girls for murder, unlike arrests for assault, have not risen over the last 30 years, suggesting that the dynamics that propel female juveniles to engage in lethal violence differ from those contributing to assaultive behavior by this same group. A review of the literature indicates that theories as to why female adolescents kill do not take into account recent scientific findings on brain development and the biological effects of early trauma in explaining serious violent behavior by girls. Three cases, evaluated by the authors, involving female adolescents charged with murder or attempted murder, are presented. The authors focus on the biological and psychological dynamics that help explain their violent behavior. They discuss the effects of insecure attachment and child maltreatment, and trace a critical pathway between these early experiences and future risk of violent behavior. The dynamics of child maltreatment in fostering rage and violence are discussed thereafter in terms of offender accountability. The article concludes with a discussion of treatment and recommendations for future research.     

Psychopathy and instrumental aggression: Evolutionary, neurobiological, and legal perspectives

In the study of aggression, psychopathy represents a disorder that is of particular interest because it often involves aggression which is premeditated, emotionless, and instrumental in nature; this is especially true for more serious types of offenses. Such instrumental aggression is aimed at achieving a goal (e.g., to obtain resources such as money, or to gain status). Unlike the primarily reactive aggression observed in other disorders, psychopaths appear to engage in aggressive acts for the purpose of benefiting themselves. This is especially interesting in light of arguments that psychopathy may represent an alternative life-history strategy that is evolutionarily adaptive; behaviors such as aggression, risk-taking, manipulation, and promiscuous sexual behavior observed in psychopathy may be means by which psychopaths gain advantage over others. Recent neurobiological research supports the idea that abnormalities in brain regions key to emotion and morality may allow psychopaths to pursue such a strategy—psychopaths may not experience the social emotions such as empathy, guilt, and remorse that typically discourage instrumentally aggressive acts, and may even experience pleasure when committing these acts. Findings from brain imaging studies of psychopaths may have important implications for the law.     

新《律师法》与《刑事诉讼法》的立法性冲突及化解路径——兼论我国法律适用规则的完善

新<律师法>与<刑事诉讼法>存在立法性冲突,导致新<律师法>施行后的执法性报复.学术界和实务界对新<律师法>的法律效力见解不一.根据<宪法>、<立法法>等规定,全国人大与其常委会的关系不能成为确定新<律师法>与<刑事诉讼法>法律位阶关系之根据.全国人大与其常委会不属于<立法法>中的同一机关,但"视为"同一机关具有现实合理性.全国人大常委会法制工作委员会对新<律师法>法律效力的答复存在形式上的不妥当性与内容上的不合法性.应通过个案解决的立法技术以及法律适用规则的完善,为新<律师法>与<刑事诉讼法>的立法性冲突提供解决对策,也为国内法律冲突提供制度化化解路径.     

大陆、台湾地区的犯罪心理测试比较研究

对比两岸犯罪心理测试技术,大陆司法界仍然抱着怀疑态度,而台湾地区则持有谨慎相信的态度。在仪器引进研发上,大陆以仿制和自主研发为主,台湾地区以进口为主;在法律效力上,大陆是辅助侦查手段,台湾地区是辅助证据;在测试主体标准及培养方式上,大陆参差不齐,台湾严谨慎重;其他如测试技术客体标准,测试的实施条件、测试环境等方面,大陆和台湾地区基本相同,略有差异。海峡两岸均应更严格地对犯罪心理测试技术实施资质管理,提高准确率,以期为法制昌明而出力。     

中国特色社会主义理论体系的传承、发展和创新

党的十七大首次提出中国特色社会主义理论体系。中国特色社会主义理论是马克思主义中国化的最新成果。中国特色社会主义理论是具有历史传承性的,同时,又是一个开放、发展的理论体系,需要不断地发展与创新。     

刑事和解的适用分析与对策研究

近年来,刑事和解在我国越来越受到重视和运用。分析目前刑事和解的适用状况,我们可以针对刑事和解在司法实践中存在的问题,采取相应的对策,及时立法来对其进行规制,使刑事和解在我国的社会主义法制建设中更好地发挥其应有的作用,这也符合构建和谐社会的需要。     

摸底排队侦查措施的发展和完善

随着犯罪形势的变化,传统的摸底排队侦查措施表现出一定的局限性。现代的摸底排队侦查措施应当从“点”的时空定位排查法扩展到“面”的时空定位排查法;从有形痕迹物证摸排法扩展到无形电子痕迹摸排法;从关注事前的因果关系摸排法扩展到关注事后的赃物控制摸排法;从社会面的普遍摸排法发展到高危群体的重点摸排法;从依靠群众摸排法发展到依靠技术设施的摸排法;从手工摸排法发展到计算机网上摸排法。摸底排队的方法将越来越先进,摸底排队的依据将越来越丰富,摸底排队的效率将越来越高,摸底排队的过程将越来越隐蔽。     

试论宪法权利的刑法保障——原理、功能和经验

我国对宪法权利的保障主要采用了间接保障的模式。在这一以民事法、刑事法和行政法三大部门法为主要构架的模式中,刑法作为法律保障的最后一道屏障,无疑具有举足轻重的作用。然而,当今学界对这一问题的关注却极为有限。事实上,可以从原理、功能和经验三个方面着手,对宪法权利的刑法保障问题进行全面并深刻的理论剖析,进而与客观实践相互为用,促成我国宪法权利的间接保障模式(尤其是宪法权利的刑法保障)的进一步发展和完善。     

论刑法的修改及其原则

刑法需要根据社会的发展变化或者刑事政策予以修改,以保持与社会的同一性。但刑法的修改不能随意,必须科学合理,遵循一定的原则。刑法修改除了要遵循刑法的创制原则外,还应遵循慎重性、合法性与协调性等基本原则。     

论我国刑法修正案（七）中的网络犯罪立法

目前网络犯罪集中发生于经济领域并呈现出网络化的特征,原有网络犯罪相关刑法规定不能满足有效遏制犯罪的需要,2009年通过的刑法修正案（七）增设了非法获取计算机数据罪,非法控制计算机信息系统罪和为非法侵入、控制计算机信息系统提供程序、工具罪,对我国网络犯罪立法体系有着重要的补充完善作用,但仍然存在明显的不足,需要进一步完善。