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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Johnny Cash: The Criminologist Within, Patrick Gerkin, Aaron Rider, John Hewitt
Johnny Cash: The Criminologist Within, Patrick Gerkin, Aaron Rider, John Hewitt
Patrick Gerkin
This paper examines the criminological underpinnings of song lyrics in the collection of Johnny Cash. We have examined the lyrics of 60 songs performed by Johnny Cash (although not necessarily written by Cash) that reflect on issues including crime, prison, chain gangs, the death penalty, and redemption. Using a content analysis of these lyrics, we examined Cash’s criminological view of crime and punishment. While not versed in criminological theory, Cash nonetheless sang eloquently of a rational choice model of crime in which offenders accepted responsibility for their acts, punishment was justified, and yet incarceration should be humane and rehabilitative.
Methamphetamine Use And Criminal Behavior, Michael Gizzi, Patrick Gerkin
Methamphetamine Use And Criminal Behavior, Michael Gizzi, Patrick Gerkin
Patrick Gerkin
This research seeks to broaden our understanding of methamphetamine’s (meth’s) place within the study of drugs and crime. Through extensive court records research and interviews with 200 offenders in local jails in western Colorado, this research contributes to the creation of a meth user profile and begins to identify the place of meth in the drug—crime nexus. The study compares the criminal behavior of meth users with other drug users, finding that meth users are more likely than other drug users to be drunk or high at the time of arrest and claim their crimes were related to drug use …