Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Crime and Criminology - Brossura

Unit 1 Definitions and Explanations of Crime

YES: Emile Durkheim, from The Rules of Sociological Method (The Free Press, 1938)

NO: Daniel Patrick Moynihan, from “Defining Deviancy Down,” The American Scholar (Winter 1993)

Classic sociologist Emile Durkheim (1858–1917) theorizes that crime exists in all societies because it reaffirms moral boundaries and at times assists needed social changes. Former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) worries that Durkheim’s thinking omits the possibility of “too much crime,” especially violent crime, so that deviancy as a serious societal problem is not addressed.

YES: Adrian Raine, from “The Biological Basis of Crime,” in James Q. Wilson and John Petersilia, eds., Crime: Public Policies for Crime Control (ICS Press, 2002)

NO: Jeffrey H. Reiman, from The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison: Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice (Allyn & Bacon, 1998)

Adrian Raine argues that one of the principal reasons why we have been so unsuccessful in preventing adult crime is because crime control policies have systematically ignored the biological side of human behavior. Jeffrey Reiman asserts that social conditions, including poverty, are the essential sources of crime and that early childhood intervention and drug treatment programs can exert a major impact on crime rates.

YES: Sean Maddan, Jeffrey T. Walker, and J. Mitchell Miller, from “Physiques, Somatotypes and Crime.” An essay. (2009)

NO: Chris L. Gibson and Kevin M. Beaver, from “Does Body Type Really Have an Effect on Criminal Behavior?” An essay. (2009)

Professors Maddan, Walker, and Miller argue that body type is related to criminal behavior because more criminals have muscular body builds. In other words, there is a strong correlation between a person’s body build and criminal behavior. Professors Gibson and Beaver argue, in contrast, that both biological and social factors lead to criminal behavior and that no single variable, such as body build, can explain crime. Moreover, they assert that while body type may be a predisposing factor for crime, that predisposition will surface only under certain environmental conditions.

Unit 2 Justice Issues and Contemporary Public Policy

YES: Vincent Bugliosi, from “Opening Up One’s Eyes,” The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder (Vanguard Press, 2008)

NO: John Barry, from “The Politics of Vengeance,” Newsweek.com (January 19, 2009)

Former Charles Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi believes that George W. Bush should be prosecuted for the deaths of American soldiers and innocent civilians as a result of the War in Iraq. Newsweek writer John Barry argues that because the U.S. Congress was negligent in overseeing the Bush Administration, we should seek ways to prevent a repetition of these events, not vengeance for war crimes.

YES: Andrew A. Moher, from “The Lesser of Two Evils? An Argument for Judicially Sanctioned Torture in a Post–9/11 World,” Thomas Jefferson Law Review (Spring 2004)

NO: Elisa Massimino, from “Leading by Example? U.S. Interrogation of Prisoners in the War on Terror,” Criminal Justice Ethics (Winter 2004)

Attorney Andrew A. Moher argues that judicially sanctioned torture of terrorists is appropriate for the purpose of preventing a greater evil. He further contends a judicially monitored system in the United States would be far superior to the current policy of practicing torture “under the radar screen” in other countries. Elisa Massimino believes that the use of torture is immoral and counterproductive for the United States. She asserts that if the United States wishes to rely on the protections of the Geneva Conventions, then it must comply with its provisions prohibiting the torture of prisoners.

YES: Jared Taylor and Glayde Whitney, from “Racial Profiling: Is There an Empirical Basis?” Mankind Quarterly (Spring 2002)

NO: Michael J. Lynch, from “Misleading ‘Evidence’and the Misguided Attempt to Generate Racial Profiles of Criminals; Correcting Fallacies and Calculations Concerning Race and Crime in Taylor and Whitney’s Analysis of Racial Profiling,” Mankind Quarterly (Spring 2002)

Jared Taylor, president of the New Century Foundation, and Glayde Whitney argue that the disparity in crimes committed by members of different races justifies racial profiling by the police. Professor Michael J. Lynch, however, argues that a proper analysis of the crime data does not support Taylor and Whitney’s conclusions. He finds racial profiling to be objectionable from a legal and moral perspective as well.

YES: Lawrence Wright, from “The Case for Castration,” Texas Monthly (May 1992)

NO: Kari A. Vanderzyl, from “Castration as an Alternative to Incarceration: An Impotent Approach to the Punishment of Sex Offenders,” Northern Illinois University Law Review (Fall 1994)

Attorney Lawrence Wright argues that while castration may not be an ideal solution, if we treat it as therapy rather than punishment, as help instead of revenge, and if we view offenders as troubled victims, not monsters, then perhaps castration will become an accepted and humane option for sex offender treatment. Attorney Kari A. Vanderzyl asserts that castration should be rejected as an unacceptable, ineffective, and unconstitutional alternative to imprisonment for sex offenders.

YES: Barry C. Feld, from Bad Kids: Race and the Transformation of the Juvenile Court (Oxford University Press, 1999)

NO: Vincent Schiraldi and Jason Ziedenberg, from The Florida Experiment: An Analysis of the Impact of Granting Prosecutors Discretion to Try Juveniles As Adults (July 1999)

Law professor Barry C. Feld contends that the entire concept of a separate juvenile court system was wrong from the start. The results have been unanticipated negative consequences for America’s children and for justice, including denial of due process, confusing of court functions, and terrible punishments purporting to be treatment. Vincent Schiraldi, director of the Justice Policy Institute, and researcher Jason Ziedenberg bemoan the increasing trend to transfer juveniles to adult courts. They feel that states in which prosecutors decide if children are to be tried as adults are especially pernicious in harming youngsters. Moving thousands of kids into adult courts, they argue, is unnecessary, harmful, and racist.

YES: Diana E. H. Russell, from Dangerous Relationships: Pornography, Misogyny, and Rape (Sage, 1998)

NO: Anthony D’Amato, from “Porn Up, Rape Down,” Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 913013 (2006)

Diana E. H. Russell argues that the evidence is overwhelming that exposure to pornography is a major causal factor of rape. She utilizes the concept of “multiple causation” to explain the relationship between pornography and rape. Anthony D’Amato contends that the incidence of rape has declined 85% in the last 25 years while access to pornography via the internet has become more widely available to teenagers and adults.

Unit 3 Prison Programs and Alternatives

YES: Penny A. Robinette, from “Is the Segregation of HIV-Positive Inmates Ethical? Yes,” The Prison Journal (M arch 1999)

NO: Billy Long, from “Is the Segregation of HIV-Positive Inmates Ethical? No,” The Prison Journal (March 1999)

Penny A. Robinette, an administrat...