Digital Commons Network^™

"I Call It Hunting": Centuries Of Violence Against Native American Women, Antonia Felix

Educational Leadership Department Publications

Native American and Pacific Islander women are missing and murdered at an alarming and relentless rate. The history of violence against this population starts with European contact in the fifteenth century and continues to this day with Native women suffering the highest rate of sexual assault per capita in the nation. This panel presentation held in observance of the International Day of Eliminating Violence Against Women concludes with a recognition of Native American resilience and actions all Americans can take to help reduce these crimes.

Critical Discourse Analysis: Sexual Violence In Maine Department Of Public Safety (Dps) "Crime In Maine" Reports, Emma V. Grous

Honors College

Sexual violence is incredibly prevalent in the state of Maine. These crimes, which disproportionately affect at-risk communities – women, children, people of color, and impoverished persons – are not accurately represented in legal discourses within Maine. Changes to how victims and survivors of sexual violence are represented and discussed in law enforcement reports and other materials are necessary in order to promote social change and justice for the survivors in our communities.

Critical Discourse Analysis has been used broadly since its conception and has even previously been used in understanding political and social implications of discourse in the United States. …

The Joker Controversy: An Origin Story, Brandon Bosch, Lisa Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The Joker has been in the Batman comics for over 80 years and appeared on small and large screen as Batman’s violent arch-nemesis. In the month prior to its theatrical release, commentary about the 2019 film Joker spurred a viral media reaction with concerns about the film inciting violence. To understand this phenomenon, we used Google Trends to trace a timeline of online media reactions mapped to events. Then, we analyzed over 200 news stories, commentary articles, and film reviews for explanatory narratives. We noted four key moments: the Venice Film Festival; an open letter by family members of victims …

The White House: No Drugs Allowed, Olivia A. Jones

Communication Studies

The War on Drugs is a long-term metaphorical war designed to reduce illegal drug distribution, trade, and use by maintaining significant punishment for drug dealers and users. This paper serves to examine how U.S. presidents throughout history have impacted this drug war through their targeted rhetoric and ensuing policies. I examine the research question, “How have presidents used their rhetorical power to perpetuate the War on Drugs while pushing a tough-on-crime narrative that portrays certain drug users and minorities as deviants responsible for crime?” Historical contexts, primary sources, and existing research are used to examine the issue. Using Ideographic Criticism, …

The Spatial Associations Between Crime And Economy In Chicago 2015-2020, Hongtao Huang

Honors Capstones

The severity of the crime is often the most intuitive reflection of whether a region is safe and the top factor for the public when evaluating a region. Economist's list of the safest cities in seven major North American cities, Chicago was ranked at six, just above Dallas. Chicago scored the lowest in personal security, which is closely tied to the crime. Against the backdrop of higher unemployment and prices, this study is interested in how property-based crimes are related to the economic decline in Chicago geographically. The study used the heterogeneity analysis tool Geodetector to investigate the correlation between …

The Ideology Of The Carceral State: Examining The Prison Through Film, Ryan Phillips

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Mass incarceration began almost fifty years ago and has proliferated to the point that the United States is the world leader in incarceration. Much work has been done that examines the history and nature of mass incarceration and the carceral state. However, an area that has received far less attention is how people think about prisons. To address this gap, I ground my analysis in the works of Louis Althusser, Slavoj Zizek, and Mark Fisher to formulate “Carceral Realism”, which I argue is the ideology of mass incarceration. To better understand the nature of this ideology, I employ a content …

“Let Him Be Tried Before An English Jury; Let Him Be Tried Properly”: Race, Blackness, And English Justice In Mid- To Late-Victorian England, Hugo F. Stack

Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Law Library Blog (February 2021): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Finding The Best Way For Everyone, Sooyeon Choi

Writing Waves

No abstract provided.

Framing Crime And Social Problems: How Students Perceive The Legality Of Digital Piracy, Jordan Henson

Online Theses and Dissertations

The current information age has seen a shift from analog product manufacturing to the production of intellectual property (e.g., software and digital media); property that is stolen at alarming rates. Much of the research concerning the modern phenomenon of digital piracy, as defined by Al-Rafee and Cronan (2006, p. 237) as “the illegal copying/downloading of copyrighted software and media files,” has stemmed from various fields, including business, ethics, marketing, and information systems. What is lacking in the literature is a notably criminal justice lens in which to view a controversial topic that is growing in popularity among the media and …

Comparing The Violent Crime Trends In Select States To The National Trends To Determine Differences Between Crimes, States, And Regions, Alexandra N. Kremer

The Downtown Review

Violent crimes include crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault. The FBI in the UCR breaks these down into Type I, crimes against the person, and Type II, property crimes, offenses. The FBI also divides the country into four regions: West, South, Northeast, and Midwest. Each of these regions are examined, through the use of two states from each, here. Their overall violent crime rates and trends, and their specific Type I offensive rates and trends, are examined against the national data and against each other. Several theories are used to explain the potential causes of the differences in …

Inequality In Crime And The Criminal Justice System, Kyleigh A. Dinnien

Student Publications

This piece is to reflect upon the current criminal justice system we currently live in. There are significant gaps in reform and punishment when looking at minorities. This paper reflects the corruptness that is the criminal justice system and the segregated world we continue to live in today.

The Epistemic And Psychological Mechanisms Perpetuating Racism Within The Criminal Justice System, Danielle Walker

Theses

Abstract

Many attempts have been made by philosophers, political activists, psychologists, historians, social advocates, and others to explain the mechanisms at play in the perpetuation and resulting manifestations of systemic and institutional racism. On one side of the debate there lies a theory that there is an epistemic failure at the root of racial bias towards Blacks, white ignorance, a collective amnesia regarding what has and does take place in society, as it pertains to their oppression and isolation, like the view of philosopher Charles W. Mills. According to Mills, this type of ignorance, or non-knowing, is a cognitive phenomenon …

The Influence Of Religion On The Criminal Behavior Of Emerging Adults, Christopher Salvatore, Gabriel Rubin

Gabriel Rubin

Recent generations of young adults are experiencing a new life course stage: emerging adulthood. During this ‘new’ stage of the life course, traditional social bonds and turning points may not be present, may be delayed, or may not operate in the same manner as they have for prior generations. One such bond, religion, is examined here. Focusing on the United States, emerging adulthood is investigated as a distinct stage of the life course. The criminality of emerging adults is presented, a theoretical examination of the relationship between religion and crime is provided, the role of religion in emerging adults’ lives …

How Crime Dramas Influence Perception Of Crime, Abby Hogan

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Television crime dramas are becoming more and more popular, introducing new shows and spin-offs every year. With their growing popularity, it is important to study the possible impacts that they could have on society, and people’s views of crime and criminality. This study looks at how much college students watch and enjoy these shows, and whether they affect their perception on the criminal justice system and procedures shown in the crime dramas. Questionnaires given to Butler University students inquire about their crime drama watching habits as well of their opinions and views on different aspects of the justice system, including …

Religion And Crime Studies: Assessing What Has Been Learned, Melvina Sumter, Frank Wood, Ingrid Whitaker, Dianne Berger-Hill

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This paper provides a review of the literature that assesses the relationship between religion and crime. Research on the relationship between religion and crime indicates that certain aspects of religion reduces participation in criminal activity. A review of the literature indicates religion reduces participation in criminal activity in two broad ways. First, religion seems to operate at a micro level. Studies have pointed to how religious beliefs are associated with self-control. Second, researches have examined the social control aspects of religion. In particular, how factors such as level of participation and social support from such participation reduces criminal activity. Likewise, …

The Influence Of Religion On The Criminal Behavior Of Emerging Adults, Christopher Salvatore, Gabriel Rubin

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Recent generations of young adults are experiencing a new life course stage: emerging adulthood. During this ‘new’ stage of the life course, traditional social bonds and turning points may not be present, may be delayed, or may not operate in the same manner as they have for prior generations. One such bond, religion, is examined here. Focusing on the United States, emerging adulthood is investigated as a distinct stage of the life course. The criminality of emerging adults is presented, a theoretical examination of the relationship between religion and crime is provided, the role of religion in emerging adults’ lives …

The Just Response To Crime: To Harm Or To Heal?, Matthew M. Silberstein

Philosophy Department Student Scholarship

In the realm of criminal justice, Western society has primarily relied on retributive justice system. A retributive system uses punishment as the standard response to crime. In recent years, some have formulated a different criminal justice system, that of restorative justice. Rather than punishment, restorative justice proponents argue that justice is achieved in the aftermath of crime by healing the trauma incurred by crime. The aim of this project is to articulate the value of restorative justice and evaluate its prospects.

"Canada Is My Home. It Is All I'Ve Ever Known": The Impact Of Bill C-43 On Permanent Resident In Canada, Erica Subramaniam

Social Justice and Community Engagement

This paper examines the impact of Bill C-43, “The Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act,” on permanent residents (PRs) who immigrated to Canada as a youth and have come to regard Canada as their “home” despite their precarious migration status. Through qualitative research methods, data on the experiences of PRs and their understandings of “home,” “place,” belonging and consciousness was collected through interviews. Jay and Trevor’s stories are presented through a case study research design, highlighting their complex identities and experiences while also examining how the risk of deportation under Bill C-43 can strip them from all they …

The Habitual Offenders, Beth Storr

All ETDs from UAB

The Habitual Offenders is a work of literary journalism, written as a piece of first-person creative nonfiction. The collection of chapters explores a specific class of prison inmates in Alabama, sentenced to life without parole under a three strikes law. Major themes include fairness and disparity in the criminal justice system, politics, race and the community fallout from mass incarceration. This work reflects writing traditions from both investigative/narrative journalism and personal memoir.

Pray Away The Criminal? Crime, Religiosity, Gender And Sexuality Over The Life Course, Meredith Conover-Williams, Joice Chang

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in the United States seem to be making strides in some social institutions, such as family, due to the recent ruling on marriage equality. Still, there remains a contentious relationship between sexual and gender minority youth, adults, and the institution of religion, for many faith systems. This study explores the relationship between religiosity, long theorized to act as a protective factor from offending, gender and sexuality. We use three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) (Wave I, N = 12,940; Wave III, N = 10,742; …

True Crime As A Literature Of Advocacy, Leslie Rowen

Undergraduate Theses

True crime is often dismissed as a genre of cheap paperbacks with little literary merit and highly sensational, pornographic content. By contrast, my paper proposes an alternative literary history of true crime which merits further investigation because of its focus on advocating for justice where the justice system failed. I begin with Catharine Williams’ 1833 piece Fall River: An Authentic Narrative, an early example from true crime literature. The text disputes the acquittal of a Methodist preacher for the murder of a female mill worker, arguing that the trial was unfairly slanted in the defendant’s favor. More than a century …

Pretrial Detention And Bail, Megan Stevenson, Sandra G. Mayson

All Faculty Scholarship

Our current pretrial system imposes high costs on both the people who are detained pretrial and the taxpayers who foot the bill. These costs have prompted a surge of bail reform around the country. Reformers seek to reduce pretrial detention rates, as well as racial and socioeconomic disparities in the pretrial system, while simultaneously improving appearance rates and reducing pretrial crime. The current state of pretrial practice suggests that there is ample room for improvement. Bail hearings are often cursory, with no defense counsel present. Money-bail practices lead to high rates of detention even among misdemeanor defendants and those who …

Crime Fiction In German: Der Krimi, Julia Karolle-Berg

2017 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

She Shot Him Dead: The Criminalization Of Women And The Struggle Over Social Order In Chicago, 1871-1919, Rachel A. Boyle

Dissertations

From 1871 to 1919, Chicago emerged as an epicenter of a struggle over social order as municipal officials and self-proclaimed reformers fought for the power to decide which people and what behavior should be designated as criminal. Studying the criminalization of women in Chicago reveals how contested categories of crime and gender changed over time and provides insight into broader battles over moral, political, and economic power in the United States. In the late nineteenth century, an intimate economy of public women fighting, drinking, and having sex for money profoundly shaped daily life in the streets, saloons, and brothels of …

Conflict And Cooperation: Western Economic Interests In Ottoman Iraq 1894-1914, Jameel N. Haque

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates underutilized U.S. archival sources in order to discuss certain aspects of late Ottoman history in Baghdad and Basra, between 1894 and 1914. Since these sources have been underutilized, their inclusion will widen the scope of possible historical investigation in the study of Late Ottoman Baghdad and Basra. This research will suggest that, in this period, there was an expanding role/presence for America and Americans that is not currently reflected in the historiography. This should, of course, be qualified since Americans and American interests in the region, although on the increase, were still significantly less than those of …

Baby Cribs In Prison Cells: Assessing Opinions About Prison Nursery Programs By Humanizing Incarcerated Mothers, Erin Ostheimer

Honors Theses

Through my research, I analyzed prison nursery programs in the United States. Prison nurseries are programs that exist in nine states that allow mothers who are pregnant when they are incarcerated to keep their infants with them in prison for a finite amount of time. Previous scholarship on the topic has shown that prison nurseries are effective in reducing rates of recidivism and fostering a bond between mother and infant. My research explored the question of why these programs are so rare given their success. I assessed Union College student and professor attitudes about maternal incarceration to better understand how …

Public Space, Public Policy, And Public Understanding Of Race And Ethnicity In America: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Teresa A. Booker

University of Akron Press Publications

This interdisciplinary anthology contains a collection of materials, including personal accounts, analyses of historical and/or current events, and legal rulings told through the lens of various racial or ethnic groups living in the United States. Included are discussions of housing and neighborhoods, recreation and work, crime, education, and politics.

"The Imagination And Construction Of The Black Criminal In American Literature, 1741-1910", Emahunn Campbell

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation examines the origins of the perception of black people as criminally predisposed by arguing that during eighteenth and nineteenth-century America, crime committed by black people was used as a major trope in legal, literary, and scientific discourses, deeming them inherently criminal. Furthermore, I contend that enslaved and free black people often used criminal acts, including murder, theft, and literacy, as avenues toward freedom. However, their resistance was used as a justification for slavery in the South and discrimination in the North. By examining a diverse set of materials such as confessional literature, plantation management literature, (social) scientific studies, …

Impact Of The “Nirbhaya” Rape Case: Isolated Phenomenon Or Social Change?, Tina P. Lapsia

Honors Scholar Theses

In December 2012, a twenty-three year old college student, who was given the pseudonym “Nirbhaya” (“fearless”), was fatally gang-raped on a private bus in Delhi, India, galvanizing the country to swiftly adopt new legislative measures and catapulting the issue of violence against women in India into the international spotlight. Although assault and rape cases have made India infamous for its high volume of crimes against women, the reaction to this particular incident was much different from before. This paper investigates whether the governmental and societal responses represent social change, as indicated by changing attitudes towards violence against women in India. …