Harsh Punishment Research Articles

Архивные документы Российского государственного архива социально-политической истории как источник изучения экономической преступности в годы Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 гг.

The article determines the value and prospects of using historical sources stored in the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI) for disclosing problems of economic crime in 1941–45. Understanding modern dangers of corruption, illegal enrichment, and malfeasance requires studying the historical experience of the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45. It was a time to confront not only a strong external enemy, but also internal challenges, including, in particular, activation of criminal elements in the economic sphere. Despite an abundance of legal and historical publications devoted to economic crime and combating it, a whole layer of archival documents remains outside the field of research. The study has been carried out on the basis of institutional methodological approach using source heuristics, source analysis, historical-comparative method. The documents revealed in the RGASPI consist of previously unpublished materials of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Party Control Commission under the Central Committee of the CPSU, regional and city party committees (obkoms and gorkoms), and political departments of various agencies, through which transportation and distribution of food and industrial goods was conducted, as well as fragments of national leaders’ personal funds. The analyzed documents reflect criminal acts characteristic of the war period: speculation, embezzlement, bribery, malfeasance of high-ranking officials. The aforementioned delicts are reflected in the minutes of meetings, reports, certificates, and directives describing in detail the most common types of economic crime and measures taken by the authorities to curb it. The study concludes that the identified documents possess a high degree of objectivity and confirm the thesis of numerical growth and expansion in range of economic crimes in the context of a social wartime crisis. As main strategy for combating the growth of economic crimes throughout the war, the national leadership used a tough punitive policy, but these measures did not give tangible results. The effectiveness of domestic policy measures aimed at ensuring protection of state and personal property of citizens decreased due to deterioration in the quantitative and qualitative composition of the judiciary and political pressure from the party leadership, as well as selective nature of Soviet justice and use of unnecessarily harsh punishments, while deviance resulted from need and hunger.

Admitting Mistakes

This week, Joe Biden will raise his right hand to take the oath of office and become the 46th president of the United States. Two years ago, almost to the day, his hands gripped a podium while he made a confession. His earlier imposition of harsh penalties for crack cocaine possession, he lamented, “was a big mistake.” Some might have predicted this admission to be career-killing seppuku. Plenty of public officials, tagged as flip-floppers, have been condemned for a single offense. But as a presidential candidate, Biden instead made a habit of acknowledging the errors of his ways. How did he spin mistake-tainted straw into political gold?

Breaking the Cycle of Violent Crime and Punishment: The Promise of Neuronormalization

AbstractViolent crime elicits demand for punishment from the public, which can influence policy toward offenders. Paradoxically, harsh punishments such as incarceration often increase offending rather than deter it, which produces a cycle of violent crime and punishment. Violent offenders frequently possess risk factors that influence brain structure and function. These risk factors are genetic predisposition toward violence, adverse childhood experiences, alcohol use, and traumatic brain injury. The alteration in brain structure and function appears primarily in networks involved in threat detection (e.g., biased sensitivity to provocation), self‐regulation (e.g., control over anger and aggressive urges), and social cognition (e.g., thinking about others’ motives). If there is no treatment in people with these risk factors, brain responses to anger provocation will likely increase risk for reactive aggression. As a method to circumvent the cycle of violence and punishment, this review discusses the notion of normalizing brain responses to provocation such that they resemble responses of nonviolent people. A growing body of research suggests that brain normalization can occur by using biomedical instruments such as pharmaceuticals and brain stimulation to enhance moral behavior. Normalizing brain function via moral bioenhancement should inhibit reactive aggression. If such normalization occurs, there is no violent act to punish and hence the cycle of crime and punishment is broken. Policy makers may consider investing in trials of moral bioenhancement that could support existing treatments to reduce violence and recidivism and their associated costs.

Who Gets a Second Chance? Effectiveness and Equity in Supervision of Criminal Offenders

Abstract Most convicted offenders serve their sentences under “community supervision” at home instead of in prison. Under supervision, however, a technical rule violation, such as not paying fees, can result in incarceration. Rule violations account for 25% of prison admissions nationally and are significantly more common among black offenders. I test whether technical rules are effective tools for identifying likely reoffenders and deterring crime and examine their disparate racial impacts using administrative data from North Carolina. Analysis of a 2011 reform reducing prison punishments for technical violations on probation reveals that 40% of rule breakers would go on to commit crimes if spared harsh punishment. The same reform also closed a 33% black-white gap in incarceration rates without substantially increasing the black-white reoffending gap. These effects combined imply that technical rules target riskier probationers overall but disproportionately affect low-risk black offenders. To justify black probationers’ higher violation rate on efficiency grounds, their crimes must be roughly twice as socially costly as that of white probationers. Exploiting the repeat spell nature of the North Carolina data, I estimate a semiparametric competing risks model that allows me to distinguish the effects of particular types of technical rules from unobserved probationer heterogeneity. Rules related to the payment of fees and fines, which are common in many states, are ineffective in tagging likely reoffenders and drive differential effects by race. These findings illustrate the potentially large influence of ostensibly race-neutral policies on racial disparities in the justice system.

Characteristics of sexual violence: Study of 127 cases registered in the Court of Appeals of Cotonou

In republic of Benin, rape is a crime for which the law provides harsh penalties. The perpetrators of that form of crime are tried in the courts of appeal by special jurisdictions: the criminal courts. We conducted a case control study on 127 cases of rape investigated and judged by the court of appeal of Cotonou from 2005 to 2015. This research work points out that victims are exclusively women and girls and that 62.2% of them are children under 13 years of age. As regards offenders, all of them are male subjects and young adults in 63.8% of cases. They were acquaintances of the victims in 68.5% of the cases; and they all confessed to the criminal action with which they were charged. The victims were subject to medical examination 7 times out of 10 without police requisition. Those medical consultations confirmed the presence of injuries caused by extra-genital violence in .9 of victims. Defloration signs were noted in 79.7% of the girls less than 13 years old. The populations and health professionals should be sensitized about victims’ identification and sociocultural conditions that may facilitate the commission of those crimes; it is an important action to be carried so as to ensure an efficient fight against sexual violence. Keywords: Sexual assault, Rape, Genital injuries, Forensic-medicine, Benin republic.

Konsep Organisasi dan Manajemen dari Sudut Pandang Islam serta Implementasinya

The principles of the Qur'an and the Prophet's recipe provide guidance to Muslims. In the first six centuries, their commercial activities and family affairs led to the Islamic Golden Age, in which knowledge, commerce, industry, agriculture, and complex organizational construction flourished. . Work and creativity are respected in many forms. Industry and trade are regulated by companies or labor unions. Companies have enormous social benefits. They maintain work standards and prevent fraudulent competition, thereby ensure a friendly society based on religious and moral grounds, and provide members with professional knowledge and shared responsibility. Honesty and serenity are the hallmarks of Muslim commodities. These guiding principles derive from certain principles and guidelines governing worship and behavior, rather than the literal spiritual meaning of the principles and guidelines chosen. Islam has five pillars: the unity of God (Sahadat), fasting, prayer, zakat and zakat. These pillars and other standards also have an impact on business organizations. The purpose of this study was to study and describe the concept of organization and management in an Islamic perspective and its implementation in Riyadlul Jannah Mojokerto Islamic Boarding School. This research is a literature study using qualitative induction methods and descriptive analysis. Based on the results of the discussion, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) Humans are born with social abilities, need an "organization" to survive and develop in order to achieve the expected goals and adapt to their social relationships through cooperation. The principle of socialization is due to the social nature of which the Qur'an proclaims as well as possible. Several verses of the Koran emphasize the need for organization. 2) The pillars of Islam are certain principles and norms that govern worship and behavior. In this section, the principles and guidelines chosen and established have an organizational meaning, not a literal spiritual meaning. 3) The organizational design mostly adopts a dual contingency point of view, that is, the organizational design must be chosen according to the multi-dimensional characteristics of a particular environment or context. These characteristics include structural elements (such as goals, strategies, and structures) and personnel (such as work processes, personnel, coordination, and control). 4) At the initial stage, it faced several pressing social problems: prejudice and discrimination against non-Arabs; abuse of power by elites; poverty; discrimination against women; competition between tribes; and harsh collective punishment. Prophet Muhammad SAW showed confidence and creativity in eliminating or minimizing these problems through the concept of organization and management.

“Take Nothing but Photos and Leave Nothing but Footprints” (The Tale of a Rooftopper)

Urban exploration provides cultural studies researchers with a massive landscape of exploration site. Urban climbing or known as rooftopping is one of the worldwide phenomena performed by urban explorers and usually intended for social media fame. This extreme outdoor activity appeals to many young people although it is life-threatening. Previous research reveals that the number of new rooftoppers kept increasing and many rooftoppers cannot resist rooftopping despite the harsh punishments and heavy sanctions. This article examines the primary motives and principles of a professional Swiss rooftopper who has performed rooftopping for years in several countries. The data were collected through in-depth exclusive interview through WhatsApp text message, voice notes and audio call. Hermeneutics theory by Wilhelm Dilthey is employed to understand how he narrates his rooftopping experiences. Surprisingly, the study reveals that social media fame is not the primary goal but stunning cityscape photos and the ultimate freedom.

How the Indashyikirwa Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Programme in Rwanda Influenced Parenting and Violence against Children

There is increasing interest in working at the intersections of intimate partner violence (IPV) and violence against children (VAC), especially in the family, yet few programmatic strategies exist or have been evaluated to assess the combined impact of strategies on both types of violence. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the influence that Indashyikirwa—a programme designed to reduce IPV in Rwanda— had on VAC in the families of couples participating in the programme. Indashyikirwa included a 21-session couples’ curriculum, safe spaces for IPV survivors, and community activism against violence. In addition to reductions in IPV, a randomized control trial found significant reductions in parent’s reports of children witnessing IPV, parents’ attitudes condoning harsh physical punishment of children, and parents’ use of corporal punishment as discipline. This paper uses qualitative data to better understand how and why the couples’ curriculum influenced parenting and VAC. Twenty-eight participants (fourteen male-female couples) were individually interviewed at three time points, once before and twice after the couples’ curriculum implementation. Six men and six women who completed the curriculum and subsequently carried out activism were also interviewed at two time points. The data were analyzed thematically. Pathways motivating couples’ attitude and behavior changes towards children included reflecting on the consequences of IPV for children and appreciating the benefits for children of non-violent, gender equitable households. This analysis suggests that working with co-habiting couples presents a viable strategy for working to prevent IPV, VAC and promote more gender equitable family dynamics.

President Donald Trump's Photo Op in Front of St. John's Church

President Donald Trump's Photo Op in Front of St. John's Church

Islamic criminal procedure law: human rights issues

It has been established that harsh Islamic punishments are practically not applied due to the high burden of proof and the need to involve an exhaustive number of witnesses. It has been proven that the Islamic criminal justice system provides the accused with basic guarantees. It is noted that according to Sharia, Islamic crimes are divided into three categories: Hadd, Qisas and Tazir. It is noted that Islamic criminal law provides that the accused is not guilty if his guilt is not proven. It is noted that equality before the law is one of the main legal principles of the Islamic criminal model, as all persons are equal before the law and are condemned equally regardless of religious or economic status (lack of immunity). There are four main principles aimed at protecting human rights in Islamic criminal law: the principle of legality (irreversible action), the principle of presumption of innocence, the principle of equality and the principle of ultimate proof. In addition, the Islamic criminal justice system provides defendants with many safeguards, which are always followed during detention, investigation, trial and after trial. It is established that such rights are: 1) the right of every person to the protection of life, honor, freedom and property; 2) the right to due process of law; 3) the right to a fair and open trial before an impartial judge; 4) freedom from coercion to self-disclosure; 5) protection against arbitrary arrest and detention; 6) immediate court proceedings; 7) the right to appeal. It is noted that if a person is charged, he/she has many remedies It is noted that the trial must be fair, in which the qadi (judge) plays an important role. It has been established that, in addition to the procedural guarantees, the qualifications and character of the qadi, as well as the strict requirements of Islamic rules of proof, are intended to ensure a fair trial in the case of the accused. Adherence to these principles has been shown to indicate that the rights of the accused are fully guaranteed under Islamic criminal law.

COVID-19, health disparities and the US election.

COVID-19, health disparities and the US election.

The Trajectory of Federal Gun Crimes

Federal gun prosecutions have for decades been a growing part of the federal docket, reflecting not only the priority placed on reducing gun violence, but also a broad range of quite distinct federal priorities. In this Article, we explore for the first time the evolution of federal gun crimes. They cover conduct ranging from gun distribution, possession of particular weapons such as machine guns, use by drug traffickers, and individual possession of firearms by felons. Second, we describe how in practice, uses of enacted gun crimes have adapted to criminal law priorities of Congress and federal prosecutors over time. Most recently, they became prominent in immigration prosecutions, while in the 1980s, drug gangs were the priority. In so doing, gun cases provided vehicles for testing the reach of federal jurisdiction, use of federal crimes as sentencing enhancements, and boundaries between federal, state, and local enforcement. We argue federal gun crimes reflect a unique dynamic in which legislation is shaped by three forces: (1) aggressive interest group lobbying that ends in compromise on harsh punishment; (2) judges and lawmakers dichotomizing guns, as between “law-abiding citizens” and use by “thugs” and “gangsters”; and (3) prosecutorial power, magnified due to ubiquity of firearms, permitting broad federal jurisdiction, and then leveraging the discretion of federal prosecutors to utilize severe sentences to obtain plea bargains. Our overall goal is to illuminate the central, but inconsistent and complex, place of gun crimes in federal criminal law. We conclude by asking what principles could guide the development of this body of law through judicial interpretation, future legislation, and in enforcement, towards a new vision in which federal law is designed to reduce disparities in enforcement and to prevent gun violence.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Kleptomania: A Case Study

Kleptomania is a disabling impulse control disorder, that can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This was achieved through the results of a case study. The presenting case is 20-year-old college student. The complaint at the first interview was that she was stealing from others during childhood, with other symptoms matching DSM-5 for diagnosis of kleptomania.
 Study aims to use of CBT techniques to treat of kleptomania, with the application of psychological analysis theory techniques.
 Used of the clinical interview, thematic apperception test (TAT) and neuroticism trait from big five personality traits. With these measurements was determined causes and level of the disorder, in addition behavior motivated and neuroticism trait.
 Through the application of techniques and strategies of CBT and psychological analysis theory techniques the patient was treated for kleptomania symptoms and neuroticism trait (anxiety, anger, hostility, depression, consciousness-self, impulsiveness, stress and vulnerability). After treatment, the patient regained the ability to self-control, control of negative thoughts, and emotional stability.
 The study recommends for avoid harsh punishment, the Importance of using the right methods of education with children and adolescents, especially the child talented. In addition to the importance of dealing with the kleptomania as a disease and not a crime. With the possibility using of projective tests and some psychological analysis techniques with CBT.

The Regulation of “Sodomy” in the Latin East and West

The Regulation of “Sodomy” in the Latin East and West

Acceptability and Preliminary Outcomes of a Parenting Intervention for Syrian Refugees

Purpose: Forced displacement may increase the risk of child maltreatment and mental health problems among children and caregivers. This study assessed the acceptability and preliminary outcomes of a parenting intervention to prevent child maltreatment and improve parental and child mental health among Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Method: 292 parents and 88 children participated in a structured assessment before and after a group-based parenting intervention implemented by an international nongovernmental organization serving refugee and vulnerable Lebanese communities. Results: Paired sample t tests showed significant reductions in harsh punishment and rejecting parenting behavior and significant improvements in measures of parental and child mental health from pre- to postintervention. On average, parents completed 7.7 of 10 sessions. Discussion: Preliminary results suggest that the parenting intervention was acceptable to refugee parents and may show promise in reducing child maltreatment and improving parental and child mental health in a humanitarian setting.

Developments in China’s data protection and privacy regulatory regime

On 1st June, 2017, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Cybersecurity Law (CSL) came into force and became the first comprehensive privacy and security regulation for cyberspace and data protection. The CSL represents the gradual formation of China’s new legal framework for cyber security and data protection, despite the regime being split across various legislation and industry-specific regulations (including their draft versions). In light of the rapidly evolving regulatory environment, the broad and sometimes vaguely expressed obligations imposed by the CSL have added further complexity to the system and attracted significant attention and criticism from international companies due to its unclear application, lack of protection authority, harsh penalties, risk of stolen intellectual property, and strict compliance obligations. While new judicial developments seek to gradually provide clarification of the law — as seen in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic — continuous and thorough review of cybersecurity measures will place foreign entities, ‘network operators’, and ‘critical information infrastructure operators’ in a position to effectively manage unprecedented, paradigm-shifting compliance obligations and risks. This paper outlines China’s data protection and privacy regulatory framework, provides a thorough analysis on important provisions of the CSL, and comments on recent legislative changes. Further, this paper will engage in an in-depth discussion on compliance procedures for best practice, compare the CSL with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and analyse the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on PRC data privacy legislation.

Antigone versus Creon: A Game-theoretical Exercise

We take a fresh look at Sophocles’ Antigone by applying a game theoretic analysis – asking whether Antigone was trapped by Creon or whether Creon was trapped by Antigone. Creon, occupant of the throne of Thebes seeking to consolidate his rule decrees that Polynices, his defeated enemy, must remain unburied and un-mourned and that violators will be punished by death. Antigone, Polynices sister and Creon’s niece, with a strong claim to the throne herself, challenges the decree and administers the burial rituals for her brother. When found out, she commits suicide not knowing that Creon has previously repealed his decree. On the other hand, Creon retracted the harsh punishment before hearing of Antigone’s death. We rely on a number of translations of the play to construct and illustrate the interdependence between the decisions of Creon and Antigone and explore their dominant strategies and possible equilibria of the game. A discussion of Bertolt Brecht’s Antigone demonstrates the timelessness and universality of Sophocles’ Antigone.

Caregiver and family factors promoting child resilience in at-risk families living in Lima, Peru

BackgroundChild victimization is one of the most serious, preventable threats to child health and wellbeing around the world. Contemporary research has demonstrated that polyvictimization, or children’s experience of multiple types of victimization, is particularly detrimental. ObjectiveThe current study aims to evaluate relationships between child victimization and child resilience with a particular focus on caregiver and family promotive factors. Participants and settingParticipants included N = 385 caregiver-child dyads from a high-risk neighborhood in San Juan de Lurigancho district in Lima, Peru. MethodsData were collected in the context of a representative survey of houses in the neighborhood; an index child (ages 4-17) was randomly selected for each household and caregivers provided reports on core study constructs. ResultsChild victimization (β = .35, p < .001) and harsh punishment (β = .17, p < .001) were associated with higher levels of child adjustment problems. Caregiver depression was associated with both higher adjustment problems (β = .22, p < .001) and higher prosocial skills (β = .14, p = .003). Caregiver resilience was associated with lower adjustment problems (β = -.15, p = .01) and higher prosocial skills (β = .14, p = .04). Positive parenting was associated with lower adjustment problems (β = -.15, p < .001) and higher prosocial skills (β = .20, p < .001). Family cohesion (β = .23, p = .001) was positively associated only with children’s prosocial skills. ConclusionsFindings suggest that caregiver resilience and positive parenting are consistent promotive factors for child resilience across indicators, including both adjustment problems and prosocial skills. These promotive factors may therefore be promising potential targets address in the context of interventions aimed at promoting child resilience.

When the killing has been done: Exploring associations of personality with third-party judgment and punishment of homicides in moral dilemma scenarios.

Killing people is universally considered reprehensible and evokes in observers a need to punish perpetrators. Here, we explored how observers’ personality is associated with their cognitive, emotional, and punishing reactions towards perpetrators using data from 1,004 participants who responded to a set of fifteen third-party perspective moral dilemmas. Among those, four scenarios (architect, life boat, footbridge, smother for dollars) describing deliberate killings were compared to investigate the role of the content features “motive for killing” (selfish vs. utilitarian) and “evitability of victims’ death”. Participants’ moral appropriateness ratings, emotions towards perpetrators, and assigned punishments revealed complex scenario-personality interactions. Trait psychopathy was associated with harsher punishments in all scenarios but also with less concern about killing in general, an increased moral appreciation of utilitarian motives for killing, and a reduced concern about the killing of avoidable victims. Need for cognition was associated with considering a utilitarian motive for killing as a mitigating factor, while intuitive/authority-obedient thinking was linked to a strong focus on avoidability of harm as an aggravating factor when assigning punishments. Other-oriented empathy, trait anxiety, and justice sensitivity did not account for differences in third-party punishments. Our explorative findings highlight the importance of inter-individual differences for moral decision making and sense of justice.

O caso das Bruxas de Salem e a origem do plea bargaining norte-americano: contrapondo o entendimento dicotômico dos sistemas processuais penais

A questão que move o presente artigo é: pode o plea bargainingnorte-americano ter sido originado por meios considerados pela doutrina contemporânea como predominantemente "inquisitórios"? Em caso afirmativo, e considerando que 95% dos casos naquele país se resolvem pelo plea bargaining, faz sentido seguir dizendo que o sistema processual penal dos Estados Unidos da América seja "acusatório"? E mais: desconstruídos os rótulos que predominam na doutrina em torno desse tema, faz sentido insistir no emprego da dicotomia dos sistemas processuais penais, em acusatório versusinquisitório, notadamente na discussão da adoção de modelos processuais inspirados no plea bargainingnorte-americano? Essas perguntas pretendem ser respondidas a partir da reconstrução histórica do plea bargainingnos Estados Unidos, o que remonta à sua colonização puritana, seu apego a disputas econômicas e às práticas introduzidas no século XVII, cuja expressão primitiva se encontra no famoso julgamento das “bruxas de Salem”, em Massachussets. O artigo, então, explora como as coisas se deram nesse caso, identificando a semelhança entre os métodos utilizados no julgamento das bruxas de Salem e no moderno plea bargaining.A tortura física e psicológica, esta vinculada à possibilidade de duras penas, que atemorizavam os acusados de heresia nos processos da inquisição medieval, assim como a sua parca possibilidade de defesa, também foram encontradas nos julgamentos das bruxas de Salem. Assim, o que se percebe é que se perpetuou um modelo de justiça criminal tachado como "inquisitorial" pela transmissão cultural, como uma herança medieval em parcelas do processo penal norte-americano. Isso evidencia que não há rigidez conceitual acerca dos sistemas processuais penais contradizendo significativa parcela da doutrina contemporânea que segue se apegando à dicotomia inquisitório versusacusatório. E permite avançar para, desvinculando-se dessa amarração dicotômica doutrinária, que é própria das pretensões de organização científica do século XIX na Europa, e que de lá para cá vem promovendo uma visão dualista e que não aceita enxergar nada para além dos rótulos antagônicos de inquisitório ou acusatório, indagar se é conveniente, ou não e em que termos à luz da Constituição da República de 1988, adotar-se, no Brasil modelos inspirados no plea bargainingestadunidense.