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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Merciless: Psychopathic Criminals And How The Criminal Justice System Can Protect Us From Them, Dilara Gingerich Apr 2019

Merciless: Psychopathic Criminals And How The Criminal Justice System Can Protect Us From Them, Dilara Gingerich

Student Symposium

For my presentation, I will discuss an independent study I did with Dr. Durst in the Fall of 2018, in which I wrote about psychopaths and ways the criminal justice system (CJS) can protect society from them. I will first briefly define psychopathy and explain the personality traits associated with it. I will dedicate the rest of my time to explaining ways I believe the CJS can use information about psychopathy to protect society from criminals with that condition. Psychopathy is a subtype of antisocial personality disorder (APD) that is characterized by a lack of empathy and remorse, manipulative and …


The Irrational Appeal Of The Punishment Paradigm: How "Tough On Crime" Subverts Reason And Empathy, Curry Carr Apr 2019

The Irrational Appeal Of The Punishment Paradigm: How "Tough On Crime" Subverts Reason And Empathy, Curry Carr

Student Symposium

This investigation will examine the ways of thinking that facilitated the enactment of harsh sentencing laws in the U.S., with a specific focus on truth in sentencing laws in Illinois. Truth in sentencing laws dictate that people convicted of violent crimes must serve 85%-100% of their sentences, basically eliminating their chances for parole for good behavior. In the 1980s and 1990s almost every state enacted truth in sentencing laws after federal funding was promised to those who do. The implementation of these laws, in some ways, seemed to follow reason, especially when states lowered the requisite time served during a …