Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

What Are The Causes And Remedies Of Wrongful Convictions?, Audree Alick

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Wrongful convictions, also known as miscarriages of justice, are very common in the criminal justice system today. With the first known wrongful conviction in 1872, to the most recent in 2023, researchers have similarly identified three causes of wrongful convictions: false confessions, eyewitness errors, and investigative misconduct. Wrongful convictions can cause many physical and mental effects on post-exonerees and currently incarcerated individuals, including but not limited to, clinical anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Analyses of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) have proven instrumental in cases of wrongful convictions. Each exoneree should have access to the DNA database to test against the DNA evidence …

Samuel Little: A Brief Summary And Analysis Of America’S Most Prolific Serial Killer, Hannah M. Stephens

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Serial murderers have long been a topic of fascination for both the public and law enforcement. In recent years, more analyses of serial murders have proven valuable to the development of criminal profiles used to apprehend these offenders. Though these analyses involving large samples are extremely valuable to law enforcement, it can be become easy to discount the value of case studies. Many times, case analyses can provide a practical application of developed profiles. In this essay, a case study of Samuel Little, one of the most prominent—yet surprisingly unknown—serial killers, will be discussed in brief. First, this essay will …

Welcome From The Editors, Cassandra B. Whyte Dr., Stephen Young

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

No abstract provided.

Moving In The Shadows: The Reasons Why Men Purchase Commercial Sexual Services And The Connection To Strain Theory, Kelley Barry

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Prostitution has been a feature of human civilization since its establishment. Yet, existing research typically encompasses the perspective of the seller, leaving the context of an entire faction somewhat undiscovered. In working to better understand this population, this paper emphasizes the perspective of male buyers and their reasons for purchasing sexual services. To further examine the role that men assume in this type of exchange, their input is compared against the central tenets of Agnew’s (1992) strain theory.

A Scrutiny Of Mental Illness In Criminality And The Assessment Of Viable Alternatives, Kelley Barry

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Because of the compelling role it plays as an enigma, mental illness has been featured in innumerable theaters of human history and our present-day society. There is perhaps no greater place for this dynamic than our criminal justice system. This analysis provides a thorough examination of how our modern approach to the management of mental illness evolved in accordance to the ways in which it began. The controversy over incarceration rates of the mentally ill are astronomical, in that nearly half of inmates in the United States are suffering with a mental illness of sorts (National Alliance for the Mentally …

Reviewing Aspects Of The Criminal Legal System: A Focus On Rural Health, Substance Use, And Systemic Bias, Cassandra B. Whyte Dr., Stephen Young

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

This volume of the Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice offers articles that the reader may find informative and interesting. The topics are timely, and the content may spur thoughtful insights and ideas about useful applications and models of counseling, education, and mental health programming as well as further important conversations about the intersections of race, gender, class, and the legal system. The articles in this volume present two relevant themes with regards to needed reforms. First, the articles encourage readers to identify the need for further reform to both criminal legal and social programming to assist persons with mental and …

Substance Use In Rural Areas: A Narrative Concerning The Care, Treatment, And Stigma Of Rural Substance Users, Katie J. Nutter

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Fatal drug overdoses have affected both urban and rural communities in recent years but is more pronounced in rural areas. In this narrative, a commentary regarding the increased maternal morbidity and mortality rates for rural women, the lack of access to appropriate medical and substance abuse treatment, and societal and intragroup stigma will be addressed, as these issues are plaguing rural substance users and their recovery. The narrative will include an in-depth discussion regarding the practices and policies being implemented in reducing rural fatal overdoses, including the implementation and underutilization of medication assisted treatment and harm reduction techniques, as well …

The War On Drugs, Moral Panics, And The Groundhog Day Effect: Confronting The Stereotypes That Perpetuate The Cycle Of Disparity, Tasha Withrow

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

There has been a specter haunting America for over 400 years. That specter is an insidious and destructive beast that has found its way into every crevice and layer of all American institutions. Racism, racial stereotypes, racial stigma, biases, and White supremacy has infiltrated every power structure since the foundation of America and has created a system of social control that has perpetually oppressed, marginalized, and disenfranchised generations of people of color. One of the most catastrophic by-products generated from America’s historic racist ideology has been that of the over-criminalization of people of color for drug crimes justified by discriminatory …

Victims Of Crime, Kellie A. Parkin

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

An exploratory analysis of victims of crime, their rights in the criminal justice system, and the shortcomings of resources. The first section will highlight important milestones throughout the victim rights movement in history. After analyzing the research, it is clear the United States was behind in offering these rights to victims. The paper goes on to identify the lack of uniformity and lack of resources victims must endure. Lastly, the paper will offer a common counterargument to one very important right victim’s frequently practice, that is the right to be heard.

Improving Policing: Criticisms And Supports, Hannah M. Stephens

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

In today's society, there are many critical factors surrounding the profession of law enforcement. In the midst of allegations such as corruption, racism, and use of force, policing has lost its favor in the eyes of the public. By taking a closer look at these issues and the various ways of correcting their problems, perhaps true policing can once again be a source of effectiveness and pride in our criminal justice system. Traditional policing holds many values that have been lost. If our justice system and the public's trust in it is to be restored, education, various approaches to crime, …

Diversity In Criminal Justice Education, Cody Salvatore

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

The absence of a proper understanding of diversity feeds into an already poor relationship between the criminal justice system and marginalized communities who often harbor fear and resentment towards the criminal justice system. This can be linked to the overall lack of diversity courses within criminal justice curriculums, as the absence of these courses leads to a lessened quality of education for criminal justice professionals and distrust from marginalized communities. The LGBT community exemplifies this, and its history and current relationship with the criminal justice system are presented in this study. While criminal justice education is successful in its endeavors …

Nigeria's Plight: The Causes, Crimes, And Casualties Of Boko Haram, Brandi Dunfee

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

This paper provides a brief history of Boko Haram including one of the group’s infamous attacks, the Nigerian government’s response to the insurgency, and whether the group has succeeded in promoting their ideals. The group has a long history of condemning Western education and encouraging an Islamic state. Since Boko Haram has been active, they have displaced thousands of Nigerians from their homes, in some cases even kidnapping them. A large kidnapping of schoolgirls from a university is one of their most notorious terrorist acts. Their motives for the kidnappings were to enforce Islam nationwide and to free their members …

Examining The Quality Of Representation By Public Defenders Compared To Private Attorneys, Brianna M. Ovalle

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

The overwhelming majority of federal and state defendants are indigent, meaning counsel must be obtained on behalf of them. If public defenders were not made available for these types of defendants, the defendants could not afford representation on their own. Because limited options are available for indigent defendants, public defenders are often appointed to represent them. Due to the nature of public defenders, critics question public defender credibility and the quality of representation they offer. Studies have attempted to examine this very topic, and while the majority have found no differences between public defenders and private attorneys in terms of …

Examining Cyberstalking Victimization Using Routine Activities And Lifestyle-Routine Activities Theories: A Critical Literature Review, Katie J. Nutter

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Lifestyle and routine activities models are often used in criminological research to examine crime victimization. Routine activities and lifestyle-routine activities theories both propose crime occurs when there is a physical convergence of time and space between a motivated offender and a suitable target, with the absence of a capable guardian. However, crimes committed in cyberspace are without the proposed physical interaction. Due to the emergence of the Internet, stalking victimization has been rapidly occurring in the realm of cyberspace, which is a disorganized environment for crime to occur. In this critical literature review, a review of pertinent research will be …

Editors' Welcome, Cassandra B. Whyte Dr., Stephen Young

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

No abstract provided.

Editor's Welcome, Cassandra B. Whyte Dr., Stephen Young

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

No abstract provided.

Rural Prison Siting: Problems And Promises, Matthew D. Vanden Bosch

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Abstract

Building prisons in rural areas is not a new phenomenon, though it has been increasing significantly in recent decades. During a massive boom to prison building in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, many of those new prisons were built in rural areas. While rural areas had once generally been staunchly against prisons being built in their areas, their general economic collapse following the exit of manufacturing and other industries left them vulnerable. This, combined with the promises made to them about the economic benefits to be gained from welcoming prisons into their areas, made rural regions much more receptive …

The "D" In Violence. An Analysis Of Domestic Violence In West Virginia., Haley Legg

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Domestic violence in West Virginia, and all the United States is a major societal problem, that has multiple repercussions for the victims. Intimate partner violence and family violence are both types of domestic violence, and the perpetrator in both have the same goal, which is to control the victim, however possible. The law enforcement agencies have multiple training opportunities and have a guide that they can use to help assess the offender’s dangerousness and lethality. West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence offers training and technical assistance to victim’s advocates that focus on victims of domestic violence.

An Overview Of The Bail System In The United States And Its Discriminatory Components, Eleanor A. Coggins

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

Currently, in the United States, the bail system is not being utilized the way that it was originally intended to be used. Research shows that it unfairly provides wealthier individuals more opportunities for success and those who are minorities and/or of low socioeconomic status are more likely to be convicted and face harsher sentences. Many factors influence a judge’s decision to grant bail; however, some of these factors are based on unfair stereotypes and are inherently discriminatory. While minority groups face discrimination within the bail system, Hispanic/Latino individuals face the most challenges in regard to the bail system in America. …

An Analysis Of The Opioid Epidemic In Rural Areas, Anthony L. Jaime

The Mid-Southern Journal of Criminal Justice

The opioid epidemic is an issue that has affected the United States as a whole. However, it has disproportionately affected rural areas the most, with some rural areas having the highest overdose rates, overdose mortality rates, and opioid usage rates in the entire country. This paper analyzes the opioid epidemic in rural areas in order to determine how the opioid epidemic started in the United States, how it transferred to rural areas, and ultimately its current status within the rural space. In addition, factors relating to the purporting of the opioid epidemic are presented in relation to rural areas as …