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Full-Text Articles in Law
Biosocial Criminology Versus The Constitution, Karen E. Balter
Biosocial Criminology Versus The Constitution, Karen E. Balter
Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)
The continually emerging field of biosocial criminology provides a basis for productively merging biology with sociological reasonings for criminal behavior. Mainstream research in criminology focuses on environmental factors as the sole reason individuals exhibit antisocial behavior patterns and may ultimately commit crimes. Criminological research has travelled in this direction for decades. The current climate within this community subscribes heavily to the notion that biology has very little to do with why people behave the way they do, and if it did, government control would be the norm. The nature of biocriminology opens a door through which constitutional issues may enter. …
Genealogy Of The Concept Of "Hate Crime": The Cultural Implications Of Legal Innovation And Social Change, Roslyn Myers
Genealogy Of The Concept Of "Hate Crime": The Cultural Implications Of Legal Innovation And Social Change, Roslyn Myers
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
The term "hate crime" is new to legislative and public discourse, as well as legal and social science scholarship. A decade after the concept of a "hate crime" was introduced in Congress, the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA), to punish criminal actors who target victims because of their characteristics (race, color ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, gender, gender identity, or disability). Using relevant archival sources, this project uses genealogical qualitative methods to examine the interplay of cultural elements manifested in this provocative term, which reflect dominance and subjugation among social groups (In- and Out-Groups) …
The "New Civil Rights" : The Innocence Movement And American Criminal Justice, Robert Norris
The "New Civil Rights" : The Innocence Movement And American Criminal Justice, Robert Norris
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Few issues have captivated the criminal justice world in recent years like wrongful convictions. An advocacy network has developed around the United States, responsible for exonerating more than 1,500 individuals and successfully passing reforms at all levels of criminal justice policy and practice. This "innocence movement" has been described as a "revolution" and a "new civil rights movement," yet has rarely been examined in-depth by scholars. In this dissertation, I explore the history and theoretical underpinnings of the movement through interviews with 37 actors involved in innocence work, archival materials, and observational research. I draw on the rich body of …