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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

An Empirical Examination Of The Factors Associated With The Commutation Of State Death Row Prisoners’ Sentences Between 1986 And 2005, John D. Kraemer Jan 2009

An Empirical Examination Of The Factors Associated With The Commutation Of State Death Row Prisoners’ Sentences Between 1986 And 2005, John D. Kraemer

John D Kraemer

Commutation is usually a death row prisoner’s last hope of evading his or her capital sentence. However, unlike many other stages of the death penalty process, little research focuses on the factors that affect decisions to commute or allow a death sentence to go forward, and that which has been conducted utilizes data which is now nearly a decade old. This paper seeks to examine personal and demographic factors associated with commutation decisions and to resolve incon- sistent findings in the prior research. Using the statistical method of multiple logistic regression, this paper finds statistically significant disparities in the odds …


Screening Of Prisoners For Hiv: Public Health, Legal, And Ethical Implications, John D. Kraemer Jan 2009

Screening Of Prisoners For Hiv: Public Health, Legal, And Ethical Implications, John D. Kraemer

John D Kraemer

Inmates are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS in the United States. As a result, correctional health systems have often screened prisoners -- either at entry or while incarcerated -- for HIV. This paper assesses the likely public health impact of such programs and concludes that they can be beneficial so long as screening programs are linked with adequate prevention and treatment. It also assesses the conditions under which screening programs comply with or violate United States constitutional law and ethical norms.