Linking self- and social control with deviance: Illuminating the structure underlying a general theory of crime and its relation to deviant activity

The present paper operationalizes and empirically tests the most recent theoretical speculations of Hirschi and Gottfredson regarding an individual level characteristic of self-control and its relation to earlier specifications of control theory as well as the literature on personality. Linkages are drawn between their broad delineation of self-control and personal disorders of hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention deficits, and minor conduct problems. Psychologists disagree about whether such disorders represent single or multiple traits and whether both behavioral and cognitive measures can appropriately depict personality characteristics. Employing structural equation techniques, support for several propositions derived from Gottfredson and Hirschi's thesis is found: Self-control subsumes several personality disorders and is significantly comprised by early behavioral indicators of aggression and fighting, is inversely related to other elements of the social bond, is moderately stable over a short period of time, and significantly predicts criminal convictions. However, questions remain regarding the ubiquity of self-control, the magnitude and meaning of stability, and the power of this perspective to explain all forms of self-reported delinquency.     

关于改善理想信念教育的思考

对大学生而言,理想信念教育是非常重要的。在分析目前大学生理想信念教育薄弱之原因的基础上,提出如下改善理想信念教育的方式:引导大学生通过自己的独立思考,自觉地树立正确的理想信念;引导大学生通过为人民服务和为社会做贡献,实现自己的理想和人生价值;在尊重大学生个性特征的基础上,引导他们自觉树立正确的理想信念;在理想信念教育中帮助大学生提高鉴别力,坚持真、善、美,拒绝假、恶、丑;引导大学生从现实出发,通过艰苦奋斗实现人生理想。与此同时,还要发挥哲学社会科学学科优势,进一步拓展理想信念教育的空间。     

Controversial Suicide Case Using a Submachine Gun with a Sound Suppressor—The Need of Team Work of Forensic Chemistry and Firearm Examiners

Evidence materials in a presumed suicide case were studied by a firearm examiner and a forensic chemist. The victim's body with double gunshot wounding in his forehead, a machine gun in the sustained fire mode with a silencer, and four cartridge cases were found. Examinations of the evidence, the case file studies, and experiments dedicated to the case were carried out. Relationships between the placement of cartridge cases and the gun were established using a fast camera. The distributions of gunshot residues on the evidence materials and within the comparative gunshot patterns were studied by means of optical and electron microscopy, X‐ray microanalysis, and infrared spectroscopy. The shooting distance was assessed to be 30 cm or more, whereas the greatest distance that could have been achieved by the victim himself was about 11–13 cm. The obtained results supported the version of homicide rather than suicide.     

A comparison of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases between China and the United States

In recent years, both China and the United States (US) have discovered numerous wrongful convictions, including several cases in which innocent people have been sentenced to death. These discoveries have led both countries to reform the death penalty but the extent and nature of the reforms in each country have been greatly different. This article explores the similarities and differences between the nature of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases in China and the US. It will also compare the reforms undertaken in each country. On the whole, the US has made greater progress in the prevention and correction of wrongful convictions involving the death penalty, especially in the areas of evidentiary rules and post-conviction review. In order for China to match America's success, it is necessary that China adopt more substantive reforms. China should learn from America's experience and should continue to adopt international standards of criminal justice, such as due process rights, the presumption of innocence and the exclusion of illegally obtained evidence. In the interim, China should immediately suspend all executions until adequate reforms can be carried out. Ultimately, China should surpass the US in criminal-justice reform and in the field of human rights protection by completely abolishing the death penalty and creating a more effective mechanism for criminal punishment.     

Public Support for Preventive/Corrective Remedies Against Miscarriages of Justice in Capital Cases

The present study examines public beliefs of Florida citizens about the prevalence of miscarriages of justice in their state and their level of support for various proposed remedies. The study also examines various correlates of punishment beliefs and death penalty opinions. Using a self-administered survey of venire persons called to jury duty, this study found that the public believes that the prevalence of miscarriages of justice in capital cases is quite high. The public is supportive of nearly all of the proposed remedies measured and they are willing to pay more taxes to support the implementation of such proposals. At the same time, respondents report feeling that the officials responsible for such miscarriages of justice should be severely punished. Importantly, the results show powerful evidence of broad societal consensus on each of these issues. Legal and criminal justice policy implications of these findings are offered.     

PARTICIPATION AND FREQUENCY DURING CRIMINAL CAREERS ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN*

Recent advances and debates surrounding general and developmental as well as static and dynamic theories of crime can be traced to the 1986 National Academy of Science's Report on criminal careers and the discussion it generated. A key point of contention has been regarding the interpretation of the age–crime curve. According to Gottfredson and Hirschi (1986), the decline in the age–crime curve in early adulthood reflects decreasing individual offending frequency (λ) after the peak. Blumstein et al. (1986) claimed that the decline in the aggregate age–crime curve also could be attributable to the termination of criminal careers, and the average value of l could stay constant (or increase with age) for those offenders who remain active after that peak. Using data from the Criminal Career and Life Course Study—including information on criminal convictions across 60 years of almost 5,000 persons convicted in the Netherlands—and applying a two-part growth model that explicitly distinguishes between participation and frequency, the study outlined in this article assessed the participation–frequency debate. Results suggest that the decline in the age–crime curve in early adulthood reflects both decreasing individual offending participation and frequency after the peak, that the probabilities of participation and frequency are significantly related at the individual level, and that sex and marriage influence both participation and frequency.     

国际人道法体系内创设恐怖犯罪罪名之提倡

自第一次世界大战结束至1977年两项日内瓦公约附加议定书的通过,武装冲突期间禁止恐怖活动的规则已由草案条款发展为了一项正式的国际人道法规则。不仅如此,《第一附加议定书》还将恐怖主义行为规定为第85(3)条中的"严重违反行为",从而暗含了战争罪之恐怖犯罪。但恐怖犯罪却没有被明示规定于任何普遍性的国际条约中,大多数部门反恐条约都排除适用于武装冲突期间。同时,恐怖犯罪向公众散布恐怖的特殊目的会造成长期恐惧的社会氛围,有着不同于一般犯罪的特别严重性。上述因素说明创设恐怖犯罪作为一项国际人道法的单独罪名具有国际法依据和现实紧迫性。恐怖犯罪与战争罪、危害人类罪之间的重合关系导致罪犯的同一行为可能同时构成其中的两项或三项犯罪,此时可根据"?elebi?i标准"判断这些犯罪之间是否互相存在具有实质性区别的要素,进而作出是否应累积定罪的决定。     

Study of the Behaviors of Gunshot Residues from Spent Cartridges by Headspace Solid‐Phase Microextraction–Gas Chromatographic Techniques

Gunshot residues, produced after shooting activity, have acquired their importance in analysis due to the notoriety of firearms‐related crimes. In this study, solid‐phase microextraction was performed to extract the headspace composition of spent cartridges using 85‐μm polyacrylate fiber at 66°C for 21 min. Organic compounds, that is, naphthalene, 2,6‐dinitrotoluene, 2,4‐dinitrotoluene, diphenylamine, and dibutyl phthalate were detected and analyzed by gas chromatography‐flame ionization detection technique. Evaluation of chromatograms for diphenylamine, dibutyl phthalate, and naphthalene indicates the period after a gunshot was discharged, whether it was 1 days, 2–4 days, <5 days, 10 days, 20 days, or more than 30 days ago. This study revealed the potential effects of environmental factors such as occasional wind blow and direct sunlight on the estimation of time after spent cartridges were discharged. In conclusion, we proposed reliable alternative in analyzing the headspace composition of spent cartridges in a simulated crime scene.     

A historian's view on the right to be forgotten

This essay explores the consequences for historians of the ‘right to be forgotten', a new concept proposed by the European Commission in 2012. I first explain that the right to be forgotten is a radical variant of the right to privacy and clarify the consequences of the concept for the historical study of public and private figures. I then treat the hard cases of spent and amnestied convictions and of internet archives. I further discuss the applicability of the right to be forgotten to dead persons as part of the problem of posthumous privacy, and finally point to the ambiguity of the impact of the passage of time. While I propose some compromise solutions, I also conclude that a generalized right to be forgotten would lead to the rewriting of history in ways that impoverish our insights not only into anecdotal lives but also into the larger trends of history.