Administration of Justice 421
Violent Crime
Philip Jenkins Class meets Tuesday/Thursday 1-2.15 pm
A
study of major issues surrounding violent crime in the contemporary United
States - its nature and frequency; different theories of causation; and the
problems caused for the justice system by extremely violent offenders. Special
attention will be paid to offenses like multiple homicide, rape and arson. Can
violent crime be reduced by deterrence, rehabilitation, or by social and
environmental intervention?
The
grade for the course will be based on two essay examinations (25 percent each)
and a research paper on the cultural and political dimensions of violent crime
(40 percent). There is no comprehensive exam, and therefore note that there
will not be a final examination, regardless of what the course schedule says.
The three exams make up 90% of the grade. The remaining 10% is based on class
attendance and participation.
See
below for details of the research paper. Note that I am expecting you to
consult with me at regular intervals on the paper, show me prelimiary drafts,
etc.
Deadlines
matter, and I intend to enforce them strictly. If you miss a deadline without
getting an extension in advance, you get a non-negotiable grade of F on that
particular exam, paper or project. Do not try getting in touch with me after
the fact to explain why you missed an exam, unless you produce a proper medical
note. Excuses must always be supported by documentation. Valid reasons include
medical problems and the like. I am aware that ROTC sometimes makes strange
demands on its members, and these reasons would be valid: but note that ROTC
also provides documentation for these absences, which must be produced if you
want to claim this as a reason for an extension.
The
following are not valid reasons for an extension, so please don't ask:
"I
have other exams that day" (so ask the other professors for the extension)
"I'm
leaving early for break" (not if you want the grade, you're not)
"I
overslept" (Always a danger in an early class. Buy an alarm clock)
Texts:
All are required; all are in paperback
editions
*Philip
Jenkins, Using Murder, Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter 1994.
ISBN: 0-202-30525-2
*Stephen
G Michaud, Lethal Shadow New York: Onyx 1994
ISBN: 0-451-40530-7
*Neil
A Weiner and Marvin Wolfgang, Pathways to Criminal Violence Sage 1989
ISBN: 08039-3344-4
1.
Jan 10. Introduction and definition. Some myths about violent criminality.
Rates and patterns of violent crime in America today.
READ:
Weiner and Wolfgang, Pathways to Criminal Violence
2.
Jan 12. A historical and
comparative perspective. Mass and political violence.
3.
Jan 17. Causation -
biological and biomedical
explanations.
4.
Jan 19. Psychiatric and
developmental factors. The cycle of family violence. Alcohol, drugs and crime.
Domestic battering. Case-study - Lesko and Travaglia.
5.
Jan 24. Social factors - violence in mainstream criminological theory. Control
and strain. Subcultures. The politics of debates over violent crime
6. Jan 26. Race and violence.
7.
Jan 31. Myth and reality about drugs and street-gangs. The impact of narcotics
trafficking on violent crime. The homicide rate in New York City.
8.
Feb 2. The violent hard core. Robbery, aggravated assault and the career
criminal. Debates over selective incapacitation
9.
Feb 7. Homicide - classifying American murders by motive and offender. Felony
and conflict murder.
Please
tell me the subject of your research paper
10.
Feb 9. Case-study of modern opinions
on violence - Interpreting assassins.
11.
Feb 14. Mass murder.
Read:
Jenkins, Using Murder
12-15.
Feb 16-Feb 28. Serial murder. Nature of the offense. Social and individual
causation. A typology of offenders - the lust killers. The victims of multiple
homicide - chance and choice; the role of unsafe environments.
VICAP
and the debates of 1983-1985 - the growing federal role.
16.
March 2. examination one
17.
March 14. Rape; the serial rapist.
18.
March 16. Film: Rapists
19.
March 21. Investigating violent crime. The controversial impact of new
technologies. Other forms of chronic violent behavior
Preliminary
bibliographies are due today
20.
March 23. Violence in popular culture
21.
March 28. Extreme violence and the mass media: myths, moral panics and crime
scares. Read: Michaud, Lethal
Shadow
22.
March 30. Preventing and reducing violent crime - social and environmental
intervention. "Target-hardening". Guns and gun control.
23.
April 4. The medical and psychiatric environment. The role of the mental health
system; civil commitment and the impact of decarceration; the insanity defense
and violent crime.
24.
April 6. The courtroom and the legal environment. Plea bargaining, prison
overcrowding, judicial intervention.
The collapse of the urban criminal justice system
Preliminary
drafts of your research papers due now: individual meetings with instructor
25-26.
April 11-13. The hillside strangler case; film of Mind of a Murderer.
27.
April 18. Rehabilitation and behavior modification.
28.
April 20. Sanctions, punishment and prediction. Film: Shakedown in Santa Fe.
29.
April 25. Capital punishment - the case of Richard Biegenwald. Conclusion,
summary of themes and ideas.
30.
April 27. Exam two
Final
Examination Period - Final
versions of research paper due
Take
any recent case involving serial murder, mass murder, serial rape or some other
form of extreme violence. Describe the course of the crimes and the
investigation from the point of view of the mass media. Then, and this is the
crucial point, analyze the cultural themes and images in the reporting, and the
political messages, either overt or covert. One important theme here will be a
discussion of the language and terminology.
Please
note some critical points:
1.
Do not choose a case on which there is already a book or major study, eg Ted
Bundy or the Hillside Stranglers. This is not a book report.
2.
It may be that there is a major article on the case in some magazine. You can
use this, but the bulk of the references must be from the contemporary
newspapers. This is primarily an exercise in newspaper research.
3.
The crimes must either have occurred or come to public attention since 1986.
Please
also note, you will find a huge amount in the resources in Pattee library,
including Newspaper Abstracts and Periodical Abstracts on LIAS, and PRO-QUEST,
the neat CD-ROM facility they have
to search newspapers and magazines. Ask for assistance with this, it's a
wonderful tool. Thereís one for newspapers in the Microfilm room,
another for magazines in the
Periodicals Room. Learn to use these materials early in the term, and be sure
to ask me if you need assistance.
You
want to find one case, which can either be one that is closed, by the
conviction or death of the suspect(s); or one that is pending. Use common sense
about finding a major source, and you only absolutely need one newspaper. The
Boston papers will obviously have the best coverage of a case like the New
Bedford murders, the LA Times will have LA and San Diego cases, Chicago papers
are usually good on Kansas City, etc. The Miami Herald will be strong on the
Florida campus killings. or the Miami prostitutes case. When you have
identified a case, let me know which one it is. Your paper will address these
types of issues, though every case will raise different issues, and so you do
not have to follow this outline. Obviously, no one case will involve all these
issues!
a.
Write a "history" of the case.
As
far as possible, give a chronology with the dates of the murders and of any
arrests. Describe at what stage the police and press first identified the
killings as linked. How widely did estimates differ on the number of victims?
Was there debate between agencies about the nature of the crimes? Did the case
become a political issue? If the case lasted a long time, how did different
groups explain the failure to find a suspect? Was there discussion of the role
of several offenders? How did police suggest that people might take precautions
to protect themselves? Were these suggestions realistic or helpful?
When
were suspects first apprehended? Were suspects arrested, then freed as more
evidence became available? Did the media appear to prejudge the guilt of an
accused person on the basis of police suspicions? What picture did the papers
give of the suspect and his background?
Is this account credible?
Describe the legal course of the
prosecution, trial and subsequent disposition. Was there any suspicion that the
wrong individual might have been caught, and that the murders might still be in
progress? Can the case be described as closed?
b.
The role of the media
How
big a story was the case? What decided how much coverage it got? Was it that
the killer turned to some types of victims rather than others? How fully did
the police describe the case and the ongoing investigation to the media? Were
there leaks? Is it possible to determine anything about the sources of the
leaks? How did the press react to police policies? Did the investigation lead
to discussion of the nature of the victim population at risk, eg the
inhabitants of the local red light district, or the solitary elderly? Do you
think the media were irresponsible? Were they trying to spread panic, or
responsibly trying to keep people informed? In your opinion, did they help or
hamper the investigation?
c.
Interpreting the events
Were
the papers aware of current research and ideas about serial murder? What kind
of analogies did they draw to the case under review? In other words, how did
they understand it? Was the interpretation of the crime psychiatric, or
moralistic/supernatural? What experts were quoted on the case?
d.
Political and Cultural Dimensions of the Case
Use
the relevant chapters in Jenkins, Using Murder for an example of this.
e.
Context and discussion
How
does the case fit into the issues raised in class and in the readings? How does
the killer fit into the various typologies suggested? Can we learn anything
from this case that might be useful for future serial murder investigations?
What can we learn about the role of the media in such an incident?
Your
paper should be at least 16-20 pages, typed, and fully referenced, with the
titles, dates and bylines of all the news stories consulted. It is due by the
final exam period in May