Sociology of Crime

This article from the L.A. Times describes a situation in which a hospital technician worker shot and killed his immediate boss as well as another individual on the job.  The motive for the crime is still unclear and many state that the killer was a stable and happy man who didn’t seem likely to commit this crime.  Speculation is made that he committed this crime as a responce to stress caused by the possibility of lay-offs at his job.

The article gives a strong example of occupational crime, as according to Coleman’s definition occupational crime is any crime committed during the normal course of ones business.  In this example the perpetrator was engaged in the normal, every day work that he had seemed to be happy doing and was very successful at.  His crime was motivated by personal interests, what exactly the purpose behind it was is still in question however.  The article makes it known that some of the affected parties felt he was suffering from increased stress as the possibility of lay-offs in the department began to be imminent.  However, it is also mentioned that the perpetrator had recently figured out a plan in which the company did not have to lay-off workers if they just opened later and closed earlier.

Crimes like this are very interesting, as they are not committed by the disadvantaged like most street crime.  Ramirez, the shooter, was feeling large amounts of stress at work and this led to the violent scene in the article.  Coleman’s book goes into great depth explaining why cases like this occur, though he does not put explicit emphasis on violent crimes such as these for the most part. 

Coleman also points out how the media is much more likely to point out cases such as this while other, more socially damaging crimes go unreported.  Reports of workplace violence such as this are close enough to regular street crime that they just barely meet Coleman’s definition of occupational crime.  This is a problem because crimes like this are consitently reported over potentially poor business techniques or dangerous working conditions that companies like this may be working under.  As the book points out, the damages caused by dangerous business practices, either by form of social, economic, or physical dangers, are drastically under represented in our crime reporting and this is a major reason why much of the country is ignorant to the problems they pose.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hospital-shooting18-2009apr18,0,5415482.story

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,516951,00.html?sPage=fnc/us/crime

This article is about a transgendered woman who was murdered in Colorado. Angie Zapata who was 18 years old, was killed by Allen Andrade when Andrade found out that Angie was biologically male. The prosecution claims that the crime was a sexual hate crime; the defense claims that the crime was a “result of deception”. It was reported that Zapata and Andrade had met to discuss rooming together (they were not in a relationship).    -It was shown in court exhibits that Andrade “joked” about the crime to his girlfriend during a jailhouse phone conversation.

This article is constructed as something like a dialogue between the defense and prosecution, and is not written like the “typical” crime story. There is no mention of the community or type of community where the offense took place. Geographic location can be a good indicator of type of crime, and in this case whether the general community is tolerent of gays, lesbians, and transgenders.

The theory of victimization that this crime falls under is the lifestyle theory. The victim was “targeted” due to the way she chose to live her life. After the offender found out that the victim was biologically a male he took a fire extinguisher (probably the closest weapon at hand) and struck the victim in the head; which is most likely a heat-of-the moment crime/crime of passion.

The offender (Andrade) was found to hold 5 previous felony convictions. Though these convictions are not mentioned, they indicate Andrade’s criminal career and his criminal accountability in previous and possibly future crimes.

This recent news article concerns a double homicide and 7 wounded at a Cincinnati bar. In this new report there is a strong emphasis placed on the urgency and moral panic that has erupted as a result of this shooting. One of the things that seem to be most striking about the offender and victim descriptions is the lack of detail surrounding them. Only age and race to a degree are the descriptors for these parties involved. This is most apparent not necessarily because they are all that is provided but rather in the manner which this information seems to be conveyed and for what effect. The presentation of the two victims of the homicide seems to fall into this narrative structure created by the news report that two individuals ingrained in the community have been uprooted by violence. In a way the victims seem to be aged more than what would be expected. Sacco better elaborates on this in saying, “While crime news tends to provide only sparse details about victims and offenders that which is provided is frequently at odds with the official picture. Both offenders and victims, for instance, appear less youthful in media reports than they do in statistical records. (Sacco 143)

Later into the article, there is a quotation from the mayor that is fascinating because of the level of culpability that it ascribes to those with some knowledge of the details of the crime, but who remain passive. The mayor stated, “It is unacceptable for anyone who has information about this shooting to not come forward and share that information with the police.” This touches a bit upon the role of the news in reinforcing police authority as mentioned in some of our earliest readings. In our readings Sacco states, “In addition, the public view of the police as apolitical crime experts imbues police-generated crime news with authority and objectivity” (Sacco 144).The nature of quoting the mayor is in effect affirming that is necessary to comply with the police in this matter in order to reinstate order to the situation and for justice to be administered. However, by having this statement come from the mayor of the city rather than an officer or a representative of the police force it can be seen how one might thus view the police as a separate entity from the political structure which works in conjunction but not subservient to the government.

What is of interest to follow in the coming reports is how the community continues to react and develop itself while framed around not just a fear of gun violence but also scrutiny of silent witnesses.

http://www.wlwt.com/cnn-news/19216648/detail.html

Article link: http://news.aol.com/article/mom-stabs/432827?icid=main|aim|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fmom-stabs%2F432827

This article is about a mother who stabbed her nine year old daughter to death, attempted to strangle her fourteen year old daughter and stabbed herself in the arms and abdomen in an attempt to kill herself and the fetus growing inside of her.

What I found most interesting about this article is the careful language the journalist used to write this news piece. Words and phrases such as “cops say” and “allegedly” make the article ambiguous. Does the author of the piece not believe the mother committed these acts, that the police do not believe she committed these act, or simply that they do not have all the evidence in yet. Ambiguous wording makes a reader unsure how to respond to an article. I found this interesting because in some of our first classes we talked about the media and the way the media tries to spin the stories, kind of controlling the audience’s emotional response. But the cautionary wording makes it hard to know where the journalist stands and what the journalist wants the reader to take away from the story.

Another interesting thing is the mention of evidence at the scene that lead the cops to thinking that the mother was poisoning at least one of her children. Further tests are being run to see if this is true or not. Poisoning, as we hear on CSI, is a very female method of murder, particularly when killing a family member. Which raises the question of: if this woman was poisoning her children why did she break now and change methods? Going from passive method to stabbing and strangling? There is no information about her home life, her job life or her husband that would allow us to create an idea for why this switch happened. The only information we are given is that the women was seldomly seen outside, she spoke Manderin when conversing with the neighbors (it is a Chinese and Vietnamese neighborhood) and that it might have been an argument with the husband that sparked this slaying. Nothing is known for sure at this point except for the deaths.

Another odd thing about this article is that there is no time line of events. A time line might help us understand how these events unfolded even if it does not help explain the why.

A quote from the article tells us that “there have been five domestic slayings in Norfolk county in the past month.” Why is this crime type spiking? Why in this area? There is nothing in the article that could give us answers.

This article discusses the arrest of two sets of car thieves, though what makes these 4 thieves unique is that the group that got arrested first are actually dating the two men who the article is mostly made about. The police found that the cars that were getting stolen were getting chopped up and the more expensive parts were sold so that the thieves could purchase drugs.

From Fleming’s article on auto theft, it would seem that all of the offenders involved in this article could be considered as “instrumental offenders.” Though in this way they were similar to the youth discussed in the article, their calculation and planning separate them from the “youthful offenders” that were not only taking the cars for the financial benefits but also for the “fun” or the thrill of it. The way in which the offenders in the article had a plan, involving another car besides the one stolen and at least two people in on the plan. If not more, though the fact that the two men’s girlfriends had already been caught means that for at least that instance the two were working without any outside assistance.

The connection of the 4 criminals as dating couples seems to have significance as Decker et al. presented information on “Females and Residential Burglary.” “79 percent of the males and all of the females reported that they had worked with others in the past.”(Decker et al., 149) Though there are many significant differences between burglary and auto theft, I am going to assume that since the crimes were done in such an organized manner (as opposed to that of the auto thefts by the offenders in the Fleming article). And that the fact that the two groups were divided by gender may have some basis in the way in which males and females approach crimes. That if females are more likely to want to work with someone else, that other person seems more likely to be a woman. Especially if the other option is a man who might not be as interested in that kind of matchup. Another aspect to consider is that it seems their next best option(then the other female) would be their boyfriend, which it seems one side wouldn’t want. Whether it is the boyfriend not wanting to be committing this crime with his girlfriend or the other way around.

article link

http://news.aol.com/article/mom-kills-daughter-and-fetus-cops-say/432827

This article is about a pregnant Massachusetts woman who killed one of her daughters, attempted to kill another daughter, and then stabbed herself in the abdomen killing her unborn fetus (7 ½  months old,; the medical examiner is looking into whether the ftus was “viable” outside the womb ).

Fang Chi-Xue, 38, stabbed and killed her 9 year old daughter, and attempted to strangle and kill her 14 year old daughter, and stabbed herself on her arms and abdomen. It is reported that the night before, Fang Chi-Xue had an argument with her husband which could have sparked the attacks.

The offender in this case can be categorized as either a pathologically violent offender, or a situationally violent offender. I think that the crime can be categorized in both, because the offender seemed to be suffering some sort of mental breakdown (inflicting pain upon herself, and intending to inflict death upon each of her children!), and, if the argument with her husband the night before stemmed the attacks then the crime could have been” temporary” or a crime of passion.

Fang Chi-Xue has been charged with murder and has been ordered to undergo a competency evaluation. The evaluation will likely deem whether the offender is competent to stand trial.

What I find unusual about this murder-suicide (attempt) is that the offender used two “types” of weapons: a knife and her hands. I wonder if the mental stability of the woman made the attempt “spur of the moment” and whether if it was unplanned she used any means lying around to perform the act.

http://news.aol.com/article/man-shoved-by-cops-died-of-hemorrhage/433705

This article is ultimately about the brute force of the police and the criminal neglect in the death of a London man. It is reported that the man was traveling home when he got caught up “in protests close to the Bank of England”. Ian Tomlinson died minutes after being shoved to the ground by a police officer, and was said to of died of a heart attack. It was later revealed that he died of internal bleeding.

Tomlinson is reported as the innocent victim- he was not involved in the protests, but was merely passing through the grounds. The officer (who is unnamed, most likely for protection) is reported as the offender, and that his violent assault led to Tomlinson’s untimely death. Neither the victim or offender/police officer’s race was mentioned. In many police related deaths (at least in the United States) the relationship is interracial.

Before this story broke, the police reported the death as unrelated to the assault. Even if the police did discover that the cause of death was related to the assault they may not have ever reported the findings to the press (or even family) to keep their “reputation” in check. As the story is reported by the Associated Press, it still seems as if the London police force is doing what it can to “cover its tracks”. And the London’s police commissioner has said that the “police acted proportionately to control the protests”. (An unlikely statement as an innocent man was killed).

A question to be asked is how many cases that involve police brutality go undiscovered or unreported? If not for a second autopsy, Ian Tomlinson’s true cause of death would likely not have been discovered. I would be interested to see the numbers or read a study on police cover-ups (though the actual results will never be known).

This article focuses on the rising violence against the homeless, as well as a recent senate bill which has been passed making it so that any attack on a homeless person is considered a hate crime. This would mean the penalty for attacking a homeless person would be 10 years, the article also notes that most of the people attacking homeless are groups of young people.

This article makes the observation that this senate bill has been a long time in coming. “Attacks on the homeless have been seen across the country, resulting in 28 murders in 2007 alone.”(Gordon) One reason that action has not been taken sooner most likely has to do with not only the size of the homeless as a group but their lack of participation/influence in politics.

As well as the general stereotype that the homeless are incredibly violent and crime ridden. Though Snow/Baker/Anderson disproved this in their findings, especially in their comparisons of crime rates per 1000 homeless and crime rates per 1000 non-homeless. The crimes which the homeless had higher rates of were those such as burglary, larceny and auto theft. Which are the kinds of crimes you would expect people to be involved in who do not have steady jobs/some kind of income.

The aspect of this article discussing the passage of the senate bill making it a hate crime to attack homeless points to the fact that even with such small influence, the government still takes action. Though this is undoubtedly less altruistic as you might think, and instead is probably in response to larger, more powerful voting groups who themselves are actually caring and interested in the well being of the homeless. Or these constituents may only be interested in lowering violence and trying to clear their town/city of homeless. What I find especially significant about this article and senate bill is that this bill doesn’t seem to anywhere along the lines of alleviating poverty or the hardships of the homeless. It instead appears to be a very small move which was made to keep a small block of constituents happy.

The fact that groups of young people are the ones who are harassing the homeless seems to have a certain amount of social significance. That while Snow/Baker/Anderson more or less prove that the homeless are definitely not as violent and dangerous as the general public sees them, that the youth of this country aren’t going out of their way to alter their image as being “dangerous vagrants.” One study/article that was based on studying the assumptions and stereotypes that people have for young black men “The Black Male in Public.”(Cahill, 287-297) Which shows a number of scenarios where these men are automatically treated as dangerous individuals who have violent tendencies, yet the men in the examples shown are going about their business not looking for trouble. With conflicting stories such as Cahill’s findings vs. that of this news article end up just increasing the infamy of young men as being dangerous.(Mostly due to the fact that most people will not get opportunities to read Cahill’s findings or other sociological studies similar to it and will hear about dangerous youth in the mainstream media)

Cahill, Spencer(Ed.). Inside Social Life: Readings in Sociological Psychology and Microsociology,Fifth Edition. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing Company, 2007.

link to article

Jessica Chané Waldron, a 21-year-old SMU was shot and killed by Alejandro Espinoza while standing outside a Commerce Street lounge. Just before Alejandro was involved in a minor accident and when he asked the driver of the other car to stop the driver took off. It was then that Alejandro took out his gun, fired at the fleeing car and instead shot Waldron.
As a result of the killing being an accident this article is very focused on the complete innocence of the victim Jessica Waldron. Waldron is the poster girl for the image of the innocent victim. The homicide Lt, was even quoted as saying “She was just standing there, minding her own business, it’s just a tragic loss of a life and so much potential.” Although because the murder was accidental I am quite interested to see how the trial plays out.
The article follows all the traditional news scripts but what I found most interesting was the way the Alejandro was caught. Someone phoned in an anonymous tip saying Alejandro replaced the rims on his truck in an attempt to conceal its identity. This tip was phoned in as a result of a 10,000 dollar reward offered by Schepps Dairy. The police say they wouldn’t have been able to solve this crime as quickly or at all if it weren’t for the tip. Once I really started to think about it I began to wonder where this tip came from. If the tip was about Alejandro’s tires the person had to either have seen Alejandro actually change the rims or know Alejandro and be somewhat aware of the situation. And if it is the case that this person knew Alejandro apparently 10,000 dollars was enough for them to turn on him. It is sad to think that had it not been for the reward this person probably would not have tipped the police off. It occurred to me that of the thousands of cases that go unsolved how many would have had an anonymous tipper had their been a hefty reward. I think it is a direct reflection of societies values; for most, money always comes first.
Lastly I was somewhat disgusted by Waldron’s godfathers reaction to the apprehension of the killer. He said; “We definitely want him to be brought to justice and to suffer the consequences of his actions. We know that he’s somebody’s son, and if he’s put behind bars, I know his family’s going to suffer.” To wish suffering upon the person that took your loved one’s life is an understandable emotion but to wish it upon their innocent family seems cruel. In a lot of ways I feel like the people in this story represent different aspects of human nature and it provides an enlightening look at society

A deaf man was pulled over for speeding in Fort Worth Dallas. After trying to show the officer his identification the officer threw him against the back of his car and slammed his head into the back windshield, which broke his nose. The officer claimed he thought the man was reaching for a gun. The City of Fort Worth settled with Christopher Ferrell for 50,000 dollars.
This is an interesting case because a police officer is the one accused of the wrongdoing. Because the police officer was doing his job Ferell’s case was with the state and not the individual police officer. I’m not sure what the laws are regarding protecting police but it seems a little unfair that the officer can make one claim about a gun and walk away with barely a slap on his wrist. His only punishment was a two-day suspension. I feel like I hear stories all the time about police wrongly believing someone has a gun and taking some sort of damaging action about it. I wonder if there is some way for the police to be more sure without putting themselves in harms way. Thankfully Ferrell only suffered a broken nose but I know there have been many cases where innocent people have been died because of an officers mistake.
The victim plays an extremely important part in this news story. Not only was he innocent, but he is also deaf which adds a whole other element of sympathy. Ferrell’s attorney really plays the sympathy card when he explains that all Ferrell was trying to do was show the officer his identification to show he was deaf. For this article the video that accompanies it is both enlightening and disturbing. The entire interaction is caught on tape and you can see Ferrell attempting to sign something as the officer viciously shoves his head into the windshield. In the video it is clear the there was not attempt of resistance by Ferrell which makes the officers actions truly questionable. They also show pictures of Ferrell after the incident in which his face is bloody and beaten. Then they say “the pictures of blood streaming down the windshield are too graphic for t.v.” I think it is interesting because the article and the video do show the office in a pretty negative light, which is unexpected because they media and police usually work in conjunction. Despite the portrayal of the officer the Fort Worth Police Department wants to make it clear that officer Miller’s actions are not at all reflective of the department. Perhaps that would be better shown with a harsher punishment?

Tommie Williams a sophomore at Chicago Vocational Career Academy was shot and killed near his Chicago home this past Thursday. The shooting is believed to be gang related and was committed by two boys who were not part of the group Williams was with at the time. Although no arrests have yet been made police are reviewing city surveillance tapes in the hopes of identifying the shooters.
Originally I was drawn to this article because of its title and relevance to our book and class discussions. The crime takes place in Chicago, which Hagedorn describes as a city with institutionalized gangs. It is still not confirmed if the crime was gang related but police claim Williams was a self professed member of the Black P Stones gang. Williams grandmother however, who has been his caretaker since he was three says that he only hung out with gang members because those are the people he grew up with but he was never a gang member himself. Either way it appears that the social learning theory plays a big role in Williams’ behaviors. The learning theory states that people learn attitudes and behaviors from their peers and then start acting like them. It appears that in this case whether Williams’ was officially part of a gang or not the fact that he grew up in a violent neighborhood surrounded by gang members took its toll on his behaviors. “Williams had arrests from unlawful use of a weapon to possessing cannabis, theft and trespassing, police said.” It is clear the Williams was involved in criminal activity before his death and I’m sure his group of friends and neighborhood were big contributors to his shooting. The grandmother recognized the violence in the neighborhood and wished to move them elsewhere but it seems she was too late, perhaps that move could have saved his life.
Another interesting note is the way this article is reported. Traditionally the media portrays the victim as innocent and like everyone else but in this article it is proven that Williams had a history of arrests making him not the most innocent character. Additionally there is very little mention of the police efforts to catch the killers and I can’t help but wonder if that is related to Williams character. Had Williams been an innocent thirty year old women I think this article would have a whole other spin on it. But at the time of Williams death it says he was just standing around, h wasn’t participating in any illegal activity. So if it is in fact the case that the police are treating this incident differently because of who Williams is, is it fair that someone’s history affects their rights to a proper investigation?

This crime was committed in August of 2007 but the accused was just recently sentenced. Deborah Matis-Engle was sentenced to six years in California prison for killing a woman as a result of crashing into her car while speeding and texting. The victim, Pettra Winn died when her car burst into flames directly after it was struck.
This article stuck out to me because of its title. “Woman Gets 6 Years for Texting Crash,” kind of says it all. My first reaction was that the punishment seemed kind of extreme. And I also thought about how common this problem is. I’m fairly sure most of my friends text while driving and this could just as easily have been them. I don’t drive but as an avid texter I imagine that I would at one time or another text while I was dirving just because it seems so simple and innocent. This is a clear example of the severe consequences that can follow this innocent activity.
As I read the article and saw that a woman died as a direct result of Engle’s disregard for driving precautions I really had to think about whether her sentence was fair or not. Is texting while driving the same as drunk driving? Should they be held with the same accountability? Both do involve knowingly disobeying the law concerning situations with driving but for some reason drunk driving just sounds worse. Why is that? The more I think about it the more similarities I draw between the two, which surprises myself.
Something that really bothered me was that the article didn’t say what she was sentenced with only that she got six years in prison. In terms of the facts given I must assume she was charged with vehicular manslaughter because it definitely wasn’t premeditated. I looked up what normal sentences were for vehicular manslaughter but they seem very varied by case and state. But one thing that seemed to be agreed upon was that the sentence is affected by prior offences, which makes me wonder if Engle has any because her sentence was not on the very low end of punishments.
In terms of the story following a traditional news script, it didn’t. It gave only the most necessary details and did not really sympathize with the victim or speak to people who knew her. I think that would have definitely made it more powerful. In general though because of the situation, this article gave me a lot of food for thought. I am still unsure how I feel about the sentence and how accountable one should be held for texting.

Atricle Link: http://news.aol.com/article/home-intruder-shot-during-911-call/432145?icid=main|aim|dl1|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fhome-intruder-shot-during-911-call%2F432145

            This article describes and event in which a drunken man comes to the glass door of a family’s home. His loud voice scares them in calling 911, the owner of a house gets a gun to try and scare the drunk away but he breaks the door with a chair. The home owner shoots the guy twice, killing him. The home owner will not be facing charges.

There are quite a few things interesting about this article. First is the nature of the home invader. He was drunk. A friend kicked him out of the truck because he was getting violent. The article does not say how he was being violent but it sets up the story so that the home owners, husband and wife, are faced with a situation for potential physical harm. This connects to some of the reading I have done for my research paper. Both the Liska and the Garofalo’s articles talk about the fear of physical harm being more potent then the fear of loss of property. This is present in the situation described in this news story. This fear is probably what led the husband to shooting the invader after he breaks through their glass door with an iron chair. The act of breaking the door, combined with it being night time, the sound of shattering glass and the acute fear of his life and that of his wife makes the husband defend him and her by shooting the drunken intruder.

            Another interesting thing about his story is that the invader is talk about Vietnam, but the article does not say if he was present in Vietnam at the time of the war. This would have been very interesting to know as it connects with our class discussion on this past Wednesday about the homeless. It was mentioned that a great percentage of the homeless were in fact war veterans which might be why society feels compelled to help the homeless. People are changed by experiences of war and have a hard time dealing with that. Drinking was perhaps this mans medicine of choice.

            The guy who kicked him out of the truck lived in the same neighborhood as the couple and the sister of the man says that it is most likely that he was simply confused as to where he was and was not trying to actually invade the couple’s home.

            This event brings up some interesting questions, such like: who is truly the victim and who is truly responsible? The man for being drunk, the home owner for shooting the invader twice, the driver who did not see his friend home, the sister, the war, the government for sending him to war? In case like these it is not easy to point the finger.

In this article, it appears that a solution has been found to prostitution that is more likely to work then constant arrests and traditional punishments such as jail time. Women who are at rock bottom instead talk to counselors from the sheriffs station, both former prostitutes who are helping bring about social change by trying to help prostitutes leave that life. By giving these women another option this type of crime is more likely resolved then it would have otherwise.

In Snow’s analysis of prostitution it is clear that this solution was the logical conclusion to her article. As she made it very clear throughout her analysis that the cycle of prostitutes getting arrested, punished and then going back on the streets was not working. In the article the prostitutes that are discussed have not only been arrested numerous times but they have also experienced beatings from both pimps and “johns.” In the article a tie was definitely made between prostitutes and drug use, as two of the prostitutes interviewed by the counselors were on cocaine/heroine during their interviews.

As a means of fighting the cycle of prostitution-jail-prostitution, having counselors talk to prostitutes seems to be much more logical and likely to work then continued imprisonment. Though it is definitely true that there will not be 100% success rates, especially as long as drug addictions are involved in a number of these cases. Though as noted in the news article, women that have hit rock bottom are much more willing to take help and to take those first steps towards leaving prostitution as a way of life behind. And it seems that women who have successfully gotten out of that lifestyle are much more likely to stay out of it, especially with assistance from these counselors who know exactly what they are going through and are able to make sure that they stay on track and don’t get pulled back into that world again. When in class we discussed the different options for dealing with homelessness, “social change” as a means of ending it seemed like such an unreachable goal. Yet after reading this article it appears that when change starts to occur on such a small level it is more likely to succeed. As opposed to if the government tried to create a similar program nationwide, not only would the government bureaucracy make it impossible to achieve but the way in which the counselors that would need to be working in this area would have to have more than a professional interest in its success but also feel the personal connection(that the counselors from this article have).

link to article

The Atricle Link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,515623,00.html?sPage=fnc/us/crime

The article describes an attack that happened a year ago and the perpetrator is currently going through the process of trail. The defendant beat a woman to death upon finding out the she was biologically a he, he claims that “all gay things must die” and refers to the woman as an “it” refusing her a gender and humanity.

The first thing that captivated me about this article is the nature of the crime. The victim was attacked for being a woman even if she had been born male, a bias-motivated crime. The article does not state if she had begun gender reassignment treatment or if she was still only dressing, acting and living as a woman. The reason this captivated me is the nature of intolerance. The ways people respond to things they do not understand and cannot accept. The perpetrator has an extremely male mind set, that men should be men and that it is abhorrent for a male to be as a woman. This gender biasness murder is echoed from the intolerance related crimes motivated by race and religion as well.

            This really struck me because we had just read the articles on homelessness and prostitution two ways of life that are distasteful to the average person. People that we try our best to avoid, to have no interactions with. Transgendered people receive the same reactions when they ‘come out.’ They are lucky to have family and friends who stand by them but have a hard time, as shown by the victim, finding someone with whom to maintain a long lasting relationship with.

            We cannot force people to be understanding or accepting. People who are so against gays, abortion, the death penalty and the transgendered will likely always be apposed to them.

            (An interesting thing, which has more to do with sociology then crime, is that the majority of those who are transgendered are people who were born men but believe themselves to be, and make the switch to physically being, women.)

The attack was done with a fire hydrant, the killer hit her twice and then a third time when she tried to get off the floor in order to make sure she was dead. This much hate fueling a murder only gets three years added to a perpetrator’s sentence. This seems grossly under sentenced even though the first degree murder charge will receive twenty-five to life if the jury convicts him. I wish they would go more into how the charges and the sentencing would be played out. What difference, if he does receive both the life sentence and the hate motivated sentence, would the three extra years make? If he gets a life sentence then the three extra years does nothing.  

http://www.northjersey.com/news/crimeandcourts/No_verdict_in_shooting_of_15-year-old.html

This article is about the trial of a Paterson, New Jersey man who was charged in the killing of a 15-year-old boy in a  gang-related shooting. Marquise McCoy was charged of the murder that took place in 2005, but after the first day of deliberations the jury was unable to reach a verdict.

(The boy was found shot on the back on a street corner. The article does not mention whether the shooting was execution style (up close) or whether it looked as if the boy was running away from the offender. )

It is mentioned that McCoy is a Bloods gang member, and that the victim  was a member of a rival gang (not mentioned). McCoy was captured and confessed to the crime after months of pursuit and and told the police he “shot [the victim] because he was one of four people who kidnapped him in a car and almost killed him over gang-related tensions…weeks before the murder”.

This article is similar to other crime-reporting news items in that it describes the crime and the events leading up to it. An unusual facet is that neither the offender nor the victim is described.The offender’s age and victim’s backgrounds are not mentioned. This could be because the offender was a juvenile at the the time of the shooting. Also, in cases involving innocent victims, the background (home life, etc) is usually described; whereas in this case the victim might not have been “innocent,” so the reporting tactic would be different. Another unmentioned item is the victims race and the offenders race. I’m not sure whether it is typical or atypical for the race to be mentioned, but one is to asume that the offender and possibly the victim were both black,  that since the crime was within Paterson, NJ (a predominately black city, which is known for its rate of criminal activity), and the one gang mentioned is the Bloods (a typically black gang).

If McCoy does get convicted he could face up to a life in prison. But just because (if) McCoy goes to prison, it does not mean that his gang-related activity will stop. It is likely that it will flourish in an environment filled with gang members of both the same and different gangs.

This article addresses the grave situation that is occurring in Mexico relating to the gang and drug problem.

This article touched upon many issues and concepts that we read from Hagedorn’s book.  It referred to the “Los Zetas” turf– the concept of “defensible spaces” is important to the establishment and maintenance of a gang over an extended period of time.  The article talks about Camargo as an unwelcoming place in which this particular gang utilizes as their “defensible space.”  Hagedorn states, “another reason why gangs in Chicago, Cape Town, and Rio de Janeiro institutionalized, and gangs in other cities did not, was their ability to sell drugs within defensible spaces” (14).  In other words, being able to have an area in which the gang claims as their territory is vital to their survival.  This can be directly applied to the gang in the article because they are able to sell drugs within Camargo with little trouble from the police.

Hagedorn continues to explain that gangs are formed because individuals face many injustices, inequalities, and oppression due to the system of society.  Therefore, the idea of joining a gang becomes more attractive to them.  This article somewhat shows this point by emphasizing that the gang members in Mexico profit off of selling drugs.  This could imply that there are certain inequalities preventing them from earning money legitimately.

Lastly, Hagedorn describes the existence of gangs as, “gangs are unmistakable signs that all is not well and that millions of people are being left out of the marvels of a globalized economy” (xxiv).  Although I am not familiar with the recent economic situation concerning Mexico, the world’s economy, itself, has been doing poorly.  Therefore, this could be a factor leading to “Los Zetas” involvement in the drug market.  According to Hagedorn, this could be the reason why the drug trade exists and also, why the gangs have such a large distrust for authority and outsiders (especially the media mentioned in the article)– because they believe that the government is unable to bring about effective change to alleviate the horrible conditions they face.

This article also addresses the misconceptions of prostitutes.  It states, “a couple of tired-looking prostitutes retreated to a far corner.  They may have been down on their luck but they knew talking to outsiders wasn’t worth the cost.”  From Phoenix’s article, we learned that women are kept in prostitution because of systems set up within society (such as ticketing and fining them causing them to stay in debt).  Therefore, this article ignores the fact that society perpetuates the cycle in which prostitutes are kept in– not simply that they are down on their luck.

First, there has been some interesting discussion lately over the murder of Sandra Cantu.  The perpetrator was apparently a woman (whom the media repeatedly points out was a mother and a Sunday school teacher).  This video in particular has a very pointed conversation about how hard it is for people to imagine that a woman could commit a sexual crime.

Also, here is the clip about the woman who caught burglars in her home by using a webcam.

This New York Times article describes state-run/protected death squads in the Philipines that have been deemed responcible for several murders in the cities.  These death squads have been protected by the authorities and in some instances even aided.  Human Rights Watch is currently conducting an investigation into the situation.

These death squads are very similar to those described by Hagedorn in our text.  The groups are probably comprised mainly of armed young men and they are working as the brutal strong-arm of the law in these Philipino cities.  Due to a lack of trust in a quick and properly functioning legal system the authorities in these cities are actually allowing, and sometimes requesting, as the article states, the murder of petty criminals.  These vigilante groups are probably very similar to those Hagedorn describes in places around the world, South America primarily. 

It would be interesting if the article noted on the history of the individuals working within the death-squads; whether they are members of already existing gangs or if these groups are being created for this sole purpose by the government.  The article points out that the killings have dramatically increased since 1998, pointing to the authority figures in the Philipines as supporting them.  Do the groups have prior political dealings with the current party in control of the area?  Furthermore did the groups have any direct impact on the party’s being elected to office?  Situations like these are described at length in the book, and it seems likely that if the government trusts these groups there has likely been collaboration between the groups in the past.

What exactly should Human Rights Watch do in this situation? More importantly what can they do?  If the groups are, in fact, gangs and not groups of military or police being protected by the government then how could Human Rights Watch affect their behavior?  It is easier to call for a government to stop actions being taken within its own system but when the actions are simply perpetuating the illegal behavior of vigilante groups it becomes difficult.  Even if something is affected by groups such as Human Rights Watch in the Philipines there are still cases of this going on all over the world.  Whether or not gangs are related these are certainly political killings, and therefore something that needs to be ended swiftly if a just and proper legal system is to work.  Allowing these killings to continue could potentially lead to a downward spiral where every person who commits a crime is murdered and that is just madness.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/world/asia/08phils.html?_r=1

This article is feature in the New York Times Crime and Criminal section on April 9th 2009. In the Philippines there has been a recent uproar about a vigilante death squad that has been excecuting known criminals. This death squad has executed increasing numbers of people since 1998 and just last year alone they executed 124 people, according to the article. Also this death squad has corrupted or just negotiated with the many police organizations to take their time when approaching a homicide. According to the article the police even waste time when the murder occurs within a mile of the police station. The thought of death squads to many sound like a thing of the past but in the Philippines this is everyday life.

As you know throughout the development of “Advanced” civilization, capital punishment has played a huge role in the early and middle stages. But now as truly “advanced” societies many countries and states no longer allow for crimes of passion or mercy killings as we learned in class. In this case the people of the Philippines feel that the courts and police are too slow and too often let criminals off without justice being served. So they decided to take justice into their own hands and by doing this they created imense levels of social control. In Black’s article “Crime as Social Control” he talks about how “Traditional Self Help” regulated many struggles of traditional societies. I feel that this death squad is a double edged sword. Although it does to some seem that this extension of the arm of justice is a good thing and provides quicker and less biased punishment there’s also three negative problems that this can cause. The first negative problem is that it totally takes all control out of the countries judicial system and law enforcement agencies. If power is taken away then the country could become a militant country run by outlaws and possibly gangs like Hagerdorn talks about. Another negative effect this could cause is the targetting of people wrongfully charged. Without a trial taking place a person that was wrongfully accused could be the victim of a vicious militia. Lastly the consequences for the killers may be temporarily absent but eventually it would seem that these murders would take a pyscological toll of the death squad members.

Social justice is a concept that seems to make sense when written on paper but it takes a large toll not only on the criminals who are punished but to those who are punishing and the rest of society.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/world/asia/08phils.html

This article is about three Navy snipers who killed pirates that were holding the Vermont captain of a cargo ship hostage on a lifeboat.  This operation was authorized by President Obama and occurred yesterday, Sunday April 12^th.  This article explores a part of crime (hostage) that is not generally spoken about in the media that much and right at the beginning of the article there is a video which shows the reporter announcing that the crime has occurred and showing pictures of the scene and where it took place, identifying the suspects and what the law enforcement told the Navy seals to do.  This particular video is exactly the kind of news script that Gilliam and Iyengar proposed in 2000 which provide an orderly, predictable set of scenarios (class notes, February 2^nd).  Although there is not much information on the pirates who held the Captain hostage we do have information on the victim; like other articles in the article the media makes sure to really show that he was an ideal victim, a respectable person who was engaged in an innocent activity, particularly a man who was there to defend his country and was known for performing good deeds.  It is also interesting to look at the victim characteristics because although the most common victim is a male (like in this case) most victims are under the age of twenty five where in this instance the article states that the Navy captain was 53 years old and one would assume that he is not poor and from a low socioeconomic status, like most victims (class notes, March 4^th).  This specific case is also not like the norm in that in 51 percent of cases men are likely to know their attacker while with regards to Captain Phillips he did not (class notes, March 4^th).  It is also interesting to look at how the perpetrators clearly had intent to harm as they kept Phillips hostage and that their actions were also premeditated and thought about since they had mastered a plan of what they would do once they captured him.  These specific details of the case should go into the sentencing process and influence the punishment that will be given to the offenders.  From the article we also see particular patterns of reporting regarding the police; we see that the police are the ones who report to the media, that they are avoiding stories which do not impact public welfare, they emphasize the unusualness of this taking place, and are promoting themselves in their actions (class notes, February 2^nd).

This article looks at Rochester Police Officer Anthony DiPonzio who was shot and seriously injured in late January after he was shot by 15 year old Tyquan Rivera.  Since I am from Rochester and being home this past weekend I have been able to watch the Rochester news quite frequently and have seen this story appear on every news station whenever possible and it made me start to think more critically about why the story appeared so frequently.  It was a terrible event which accounts for one reason, but I then began to think about the fact that this was such a horrifying story and made out to be by the media because of the victim, a police officer.  We know that the media focuses on violent crime 83% of the time, (class notes, February 2^nd) but this could not be the only reason for its overrepresentation in recent news stories.  From the class notes taken on that same day of February 2^nd I began to think about the patterns of reporting for victims; the idea that anyone can be a victim at any time and that the ideal victim people look for is a respectable person who is engaged in an innocent activity.  It became clear that due to the fact that this man was a kind, caring man who lived to help his community it would make the story more interesting and cause a more sentimental reaction from its audience.  Also, since I have witnessed many reports of this incident I began to think about the similarities between the patterns we have discussed in class and this particular case.  For example we discussed how weapons were used in twenty one percent of all violent crime, that strangers were more likely to use these weapons than were non-strangers, and that one third of all weapons that are used in these cases are firearms, mainly being handguns (class notes, March 4^th).  All three of these statements and patterns are present in the case with Anthony DiPonzio.  From the multiple news stories from both the television and the newspaper I have seen reoccurring patterns of news scripting, one that starts with announcements of the crime taking place and then showing pictures of the scene of the crime, and lastly identifying the suspect, discussing possible motives he may have had, and looking at the efforts of the law enforcement to punish the offender (February 2^nd).

http://www.13wham.com/mostpopular/story/Officer-DiPonzio-Released-from-Hospital-Escorted/74M0hpw14kiYmT4jyH-C3w.cspx

Afrika Bambaataa – Just get up and dance - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VNmlrudMwM&feature=related

OutKast – Git up git out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4vVL51V4q4&feature=channel

NWA – Fuck thepolice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ehjrOR2pY

Nas – Got yourself a gun - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_TeaNCkhgc&feature=related

Link to article here.

The article tells of a man, Johnson Aziga, 52, who was the first person to be convicted in Canada for spreading HIV to two women. According to the report, he was an immigrant from Uganda and had known about his illness since 1996. Canadian law states that he must disclose his carrier status to potential sexual partners, but he failed to do so many times. The prosecution claims he infected as many as 7 women with HIV, including 2 of which who have died of the virus.

This article is very clearly slanted. Despite most news outlets’ attempts at neutrality (*cough, cough*), the below line is damning: “Defense attorneys argued that Aziga was saddled with personal problems as well as a brain disorder in an <i>apparent attempt</i> to diminish their client’s intent with regard to personally harming many of the women with whom Aziga had engaged in sex prior to his arrest in 2003″ (emphasis added). This line seems to intentionally undermine the defendant’s claims to innocence, or at least unintentional wrongoing.

The layout of the article is straightforward. This is a man who committed a crime. He’s been convicted of the crime. There’s a picture to show you that he’s a person of color, and they clearly state his immigrant status to the country, as if to say, “One of <i>them</i> did this.” The facts of Aziga’s disease and sexual history are described, and the women are displayed to damn him further. Even if Aziga’s reasons are legitimate – that his personal troubles and/or health problems (because the man does have AIDS, which ravages a person’s health quite terribly) contributed to the transmission – the reader doesn’t look past that. Instead, s/he sees his/her children engaging in unprotected sex with some man of color who may have AIDS. Rather than sympathize, they demonize. They fear for their children, or themselves, and it’s easier to point a finger and say, “Look at what that man did!” instead of asking how he might’ve been better served within society (how was his health? did he have health insurance? was he being maintained at all?) and if we might have prevented this. There is also a general sense of menace and danger — see what happens when you have unprotected with strangers, outside of marriage? With a person of color? It seems a bit thin, but the underlying elements are there. And within moments of reading this article, no person is sympathetic to this man who may or may not have intentionally infected his sexual partners. This article certainly leaves no room for question in that regard.

Former child star, Skylar Deleon, who appeared in the “Mighty Morphin Power Ranger” TV series and also starred in commercials was convicted of murdering an Arizona couple by tying them to an anchor and throwing them overboard from their yacht. According to reports Orange County Superior Court Judge imposed the death penalty on Deleon for killing Tom and Jackie Hawks of Prescott, Arizona and was also convicted in the 2003 killing of Jon Jarvi, a man he met on a work furlough program. According to Fasel, the reason why he decided to impose the death penalty was due to the horrific nature of the event.

In the case of the Hawkses’, Deleon feigned interest in buying the couples nearly half-million-dollar yacht and threw them overboard during the test cruise. At the time of this murder, Jennifer Henderson, Deleon’s then-wife, helped craft the plan to kill the Hawkses to steal their boat and savings. After the killings, prosecutors reported that the two suspects scrubbed the boat clean to get rid of any evidence. Deleon also had other individuals helps him out who were also convicted of murder and murder for financial gain.

This case follows the news script of other cases like this by first establishing what took place, who was involved, a more in depth description of what happened, the penalties given to those involved and also messages from the loved ones of victims. I feel that the description used in this article to describe the case helps give a better picture of the murderer. By looking at the amount of thought that went into the murder really sculpt the cold blooded mindset of this individual. There is also a statement made at the end of the article from Tom Hawks’s son, Ryan, and he states that “he hopes Deleon’s two children would never know what their father did or that he used his young daughter to help win the trust of the Arizona couple”. That statement makes it clear to the reader just how low this man was willing to go to in order to financially better himself. I can relate this to our discussion in class on the type of violent offenders on March 25^th and can probably assume that this man was criminally violent offender because he committed more than on ruthless crime and I question whether this man had these problems due to the character he played in his acting roles. He may have thought of himself as being above the law and that mindset along with playing a violent role on television on a daily basis could have led to his cold-bloodedness.

http://news.aol.com/article/child-actor-yacht-killings/423179