Law

As defined by James (2003) capital punishment is the execution (killing) of an individual by the state because of a crime that he/she has committed.It is also referred to as the death penalty. Capital punishment denies the person moral reforms. Punishment of any kind should hold the offender responsible, that is, demanding that he/she respond as only moral agents can by re-evaluating their behavior.

Death terminates the possibility of moral reforms. Capital punishment can be applicable to some religions that believe in life after death, whereby the offender will be judged by God. Conscious life is terminated by death and cannot elicit the moral response from the offender. This shows that capital punishment is immorally incorrect and unjust. Dead criminals make their response to God rather than the community that punished them, punishment should make a moral response possible.

A biblical stance on capital punishment is that, those who take life must also have their life taken. That is why God is demanding Noah to keep reproducing (give life) rather than taking life by murder. That is murder is not the same as reproduction. Secondly man alone was created in the image of God, so murder alters/affects the image of God. (James, 2003) This means that taking away life is like taking away one who is created by God. Life is sacred because we are created in the image of God. Arguments against capital punishment is that offenders are not really punished rather they escape from the punishment since they do not get to pay back to the society. The death penalty is just an easy way out for the criminals. But this is not the case, imagine the prisoner counting down his days until he/she is executed, his/her last meal, prayers and the feeling of knowing that he/she will die because of an action that he/she committed and cannot take back, hoping that he/she can get a second chance. It is not easy.

The second argument against capital punishment is that Jesus is against it. Jesus does imply that retaliation is a sin. Jesus wants us to forgive but not to excuse someone. We should forgive but justice must also be done. Justice means that wrong should be made right. Executing someone for a wrong done makes us more of a wrongdoer than the victim. We should forgive but not excuse sin and crime.

The Buddhist perspective on capital punishment can be clearly traced from the religious literature. These have been used to give a perspective about the death penalty. The first and most important is the panca-sila, which is abstaining from taking of life. Abstaining from taking life encourages compassion (karuna) for beings. Life is to be treasured no matter how small that life may appear to be. Treasuring lives of those who have not valued the lives of others is considered to be an act of spiritual courage. The second is dhammapada, chapter 10 (the initial verses) speak about how every one fears death and therefore one should not kill or cause to kill. The third, janasandha-jataka is a story told by a Buddha about a king who destroyed all execution places. The fourth, rajaparikatha-ratnamala states that punishment or exile is preferred than the death penalty, criminals should be banished without torturing or tormenting them. The fifth avanatamsaka-sutra the passage encourages people to give up evil. Compassion is emphasized in the passage. These passages are all against capital punishment. Compassion is highly preferred in the Buddhist perspective. Compassion deepens the respect of all form of life. Society should give the criminals a chance to acquire their inherent good by rehabilitating them. One cannot rehabilitate a dead criminal.

There is evidence that a good number of individuals are convicted and undoubtedly executed. Errors in the criminal justice department make it possible for an innocent person to be executed. This is due to legal technicalities. For instance since 1973, 88 inmates on death row were released after evidence showed that they were innocent. This also helps to show that the criminal judicial systems checks and balances works. (Robert and Stuart, 1995)

It is also noted that a small number of convicts who are on death row are executed, and those who are executed either do not have the necessary resources or poor representation. These are mainly the minorities. For instance African Americans made up only 13 percent of the total population of the United States in 1999, while they made up 43 percent of the number of inmates on capital punishment and more than a third were executed that year.(Ted, 2005) Race is mainly the cause of these differences.

References

Cesare, B. On Crimes and Punishments. New York: PrenticeHall, 1986.

Hugo Adam B. The Death Penalty in America: An Anthology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985.

Hugo A. and Paul, G. Cassell. Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? New York: Vintage Books, 2005

Hugo, A. Bedau.The Death Penalty in America. New York: University of Illinois Press, 1997.

James, A. Capital Punishment. New York: Lieber-Atherton, 2003.

Michael, K. Capital Punishment: A Reference Handbook. New York: Knopf, 1993.

Robert, M. and Stuart, E. Punishment and the Death Penalty, New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc, 1995.

Stuart, B. The Death Penalty: An American History. London: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Ted, G. Capital Punishment: The Death Penalty Debate. New York: Macmillan, 2005.

William, S. The Abolition of the Death Penalty in International Law. Newcastle: Bloodaxe Books, 1997.

Rising levels of violence in the media, be it in movies, computer games, or the Internet, have been a topic of concern for the last several decades. With technological advancements in the television and gaming industry, violent entertainment is becoming more and more realistic. The appearance of computers, game stations, and other gadgets opened the door to a completely new level of interactive violence. Concerned parents, teachers, and psychologists are well-aware of how addictive computer games can become. The government responds to this tendency by implementing Media Violence laws in an attempt to curb or control the flow of violence released on the population from the screens. These practices can hardly be called innovative. One of the first and most well-known censorship practices in America was the Motion Picture Production Code, also known as Hays Code, adopted in 1934 and abolished in 1968. This code was meant to guard the moral integrity of the viewers and put severe limitations on scenes of murder, sex, and violence.

Nowadays, media violence in the USA is regulated by the Computer Decency Act and Telecommunications act of 1996. The Computer Decency Act, however, was deemed unconstitutional by Congress due to its advocacy of censoring cyberspace. In addition, any previous attempts to censor the Internet have failed, as it requires a massive amount of resources and facilities. The only country that managed to successfully censor the internet, if partially, was China. The system was dubbed “The Great Firewall of China” and was made possible only due to the totalitarian government system the country has in place, thus making the method unusable for the rest of the world.

The topic of media violence and media violence laws was always a controversial one. On one side of the barricade, there are psychologists and concerned parents who fear for their children. On the other side are children and other concerned citizens who do not want the government to regulate what they can and cannot watch. They are joined by several researchers, who claim that violence in video games and movies has no effect on the collective psyche of the nation.

Newspaper outlets tend to associate video game violence with the latest school shootings. On the Internet, there are plenty of articles that analyze and compare school shootings and their perpetrators. They often have one thing in common – an addiction to violent shooters and videogames. However, it could be argued that the addiction to violent videogames was simply an outlet to release repressed emotions – an effect rather than a cause of violent behavior. Accusers of videogames tend to focus their attention on that factor alone rather than other factors that may have a much greater impact on a person’s overall psyche – such as school bullying, hounding and prosecuting from their fellow peers, lack of psychological support at schools, and other factors. To this, the accusers tend to answer that media violence cultivates an atmosphere of acceptable violence, which in turn becomes real violence. The argument becomes cyclical.

The purpose of this paper is to study the available research materials in order to understand the overall effect of media violence on the increase of criminally violent behavior in the USA and other countries. In addition, the paper will analyze the effectiveness of media violence laws in reducing potential violence.

Introduction

Even though ACA has accumulated several accomplishments, some of its approaches appeared to be ineffective. In reforming ACA, the US can learn from health care policies implemented by other countries to improve its current health care system. Analyzing relevant experiences from abroad, especially existing policies that work, may help policymakers examine current health policy and gain insights into why some approaches are counterproductive and how to modify them.

If successfully transferred and adapted to local circumstances, foreign ideas and techniques may significantly contribute to reforming ACA. The purpose of the given memo is to evaluate the differences between health systems used in other countries and identify which lessons from abroad would be most relevant in implementing ACA.

Differences between NHS and NHI

It is important to differentiate between health system models in which countries operate when reflecting on their experiences. National Health System (NHS) refers to the government-funded medical and health care services. In NHS systems, such as those in the UK, Norway, Finland, Spain, and Portugal, 76% of funding comes directly from taxation and approximately 20% comes from payroll tax (Gusmano & Rodwin, 2015, p. 54).

National Health Insurance (NHI) systems, such as those in France and Canada, are characterized by payroll-tax based financing and private providers handling most of the care. Currently, in comparison to NHI, the NHS system is considered to be more impressive in terms of safe care, efficiency, and patient-oriented care (“About the NHS,” 2016). The US has neither an NHI nor an NHS system, and exhibits pluralism in its means of financing, as they include revenue through the fiscal tax system, social security system, private insurance, and out-of-pocket payments.

China’s Problems and Aspirations in Health Policy

At first glance, China does not seem to offer a useful health care lesson to the US and other countries. This may be explained by the country’s geopolitical position, especially its large population and huge and diverse territory, as well as the authoritarian rule. Over the last decades, China has become a more powerful country as it has shifted from a third-world to a first-world economy; and it now demands access to state-of-the-art medical care (Lwin, Xu, & Zhang, 2015).

However, despite its flourishing economy, Chinese government investments in health care are smaller than those of OECD nations, and the bulk of funding is represented by out-of-pocket payments (Gusmano & Rodwin, 2015). It is thus important to understand issues that diminish China’s preparedness to care for one of the largest world’s populations.

Even though China achieved universal health insurance and the majority of Chinese residents have at least basic insurance coverage, it does not cover half of the medical costs (Sun, Gregersen, & Yuan, 2017). Not all Chinese people have equal access to health care, and there are economic disparities between those who live in wealthier coastal areas and those living in poorer rural provinces. The Chinese government’s reduction of its share in health care spending and transition to the market mechanism in health care only contributed to income-based inequities in the health care system of the country. Despite an effort made by the central administration to increase the affordability of health services by expanding health insurance coverage, out-of-pocket payments still account for a great part of revenue for Chinese health care providers.

To reduce urban-rural disparities, the central government and local governments aim to create incentives for medical graduates to work in rural-based hospitals (Lwin et al., 2015). This is because currently, people living in rural areas of China do not have adequate access to health care. Another aspiration in the health policy of China relates to development support of Routine Health Statistics Information System (RHSIS).

This is particularly important for western areas of the country, which have poor infrastructure. One more goal is associated with an improvement of the overall level of quality of care in China by creating a trusted and professionalized physician workforce.

Lessons from Abroad That Would Be Relevant in Reforming ACA

Reflecting on the experience of NHI and NHS systems, it is crucial to consider the following lessons in reforming ACA. Firstly, making affordable health insurance available to more people is impossible without legislation making the coverage compulsory. Secondly, it is important to rely not on estimated risk when setting insurance premiums but on ability-to-pay criteria. Such an approach has been incorporated by England’s NHS, which resulted in healthier and wealthier people paying for the care of economically disadvantaged individuals. When applying this experience to the US, it would be feasible to consider cutting benefits for high-income beneficiaries of Medicare and Social Security (Elmendorf, 2016).

Thirdly, it can be stated that price regulation and budget targets should be viewed as tools for reducing health care costs. Drawing on China’s health system experimentation, it should be noticed that pure reliance on market forces may put a financial burden on people and lead to social disparities. Finally, health care is inequitable in the US, contrary to OECD countries, where people are not restricted to obtaining health care within certain provider networks.

Should you need more information about the recommendations discussed above, do not hesitate to contact me.

References

About the NHS. (2016). Web.

Elmendorf, D. (2016). Recommendations for federal fiscal policy. Harvard Kennedy School. Web.

Gusmano, M. K., & Rodwin, V. G. (2015). Comparative health systems. In J. R. Knickman & A. R. Kovner (Eds.), Jonas and Kovner’s health care delivery in the United States (11th ed., pp. 52-73). New York, NY: Springer.

Lwin, M. K., Xu, M., & Zhang, X. (2015). Comparative study on health care system between Myanmar and China according to World Health Organization (WHO)’s basic health blocks. Science Journal of Public Health, 3(1), 44-49. Web.

Sun, Y., Gregersen, H., & Yuan, W. (2017). Chinese health care system and clinical epidemiology. Clinical Epidemiology, 9, 167-178. Web.

Introduction

The United States of America has by far the highest firearm ownership rate in the world. This tendency is due to the relatively non-restrictive gun control laws of the country, as the right to bear arms is codified in the Constitution. However, gun ownership comes with risks, and the legislation is the topic of ongoing debate between supporters of strict control and freedom to own and carry firearms. This essay outlines the law, its consequences, and my position on the topic.

Gun Control Laws in the United States

The United States strongly supports gun ownership, as most types of weapons may be owned and carried by the majority of the population. However, according to Masters, specific categories of weaponry that are considered malicious or too dangerous are banned, and minors, convicts, dishonorably discharged former military members, mentally ill, and some other categories of people may not own arms. Furthermore, unlicensed persons have to undergo a background check before purchasing firearms.

The legislation is significantly laxer than in almost every other country in the world. According to Masters, Canada, Australia, and other countries apply restrictions on most varieties of guns, including handguns. They often require the prospective buyer to undergo licensing or present a genuine cause for the purchase of the weapon. The legislation in those countries was laxer in the past, but shooting incidents made the governments introduce restrictions and prohibitions on firearms.

Consequences of the Laws

The United States has the highest citizen gun ownership rate among the world’s wealthy democracies. According to Masters, there are 88.8 firearms per 100 people in the country, and the country’s residents possess 35 to 50% of the world’s civilian-owned guns. The closest competitors are Canada and Norway, which average approximately 30 firearms per 100 people, slightly more than a third of the U.S. rate.

Proponents of the gun control laws cite the gun violence rates in the country, which are also the greatest among the world’s wealthy, peaceful states. Masters provides a statistic of 3.54 gun homicides per 100000 people, which is several times greater than the 1.04 figure displayed by Israel, which in turn dwarfs the 0.38 and below numbers for Canada and other countries. Gun law opposition claims that the two statistics may not be related and that the rates of gun crimes have dropped since the 1990s despite the lack of any significant firearm restrictions in that period.

My Position on the Laws

I do not believe that current firearm control laws are insufficiently strict. The right to bear firearms is a part of the Constitution and an integral part of an American citizen’s life. The current restrictions and prohibitions restrict civilian ownership of weapons that are unsuitable for recreation or militia functioning, which is appropriate, as American citizens should only exercise their privilege to productive and moral ends. However, further prohibitions would limit the ability of the people to defend themselves and infringe on their rights and therefore should not be allowed.

Conclusion

The United States firearm laws are considerably more lax than those of most other developed economies. As a consequence, American citizens own significantly more guns than people in most other countries. The gun homicide rate is also considerably higher than in other wealthy democracies, but the phenomenon may not be associated with the numbers of firearms owned by the population. Overall, I believe that citizens of the United States should retain their privilege to own, carry, and lawfully use most types of firearms.

Work Cited

Masters, Jonathan. “US Gun Policy: Global Comparisons.” Council on Foreign Relations. 2017. Web.

Abstract

Although the attempts to eradicate any forms of discrimination from every domain of modern life have been taken a countless number of times, the phenomenon persists in contemporary society due to its flaws. Particularly, the imperfections of the present-day justice system create loopholes for discrimination to enter its domain, as recent cases show. Particularly, the case of Foster v. Chapman points to the necessity of introducing more equality into the identified realm.

The details of the case reveal that the prosecutor was allowed to strike all of the African American judges out before the case of an African American defendant was presented. The peremptory changes were against the decision made during the Batson v. Kentucky case. As a result, the environment created by the people involved in the trial served as the breeding ground for racial biases and the following discrimination. Furthermore, the very fact that four African American judges were stricken out without adequate reasoning can be viewed as an act of discrimination.

The case in point shows quite clearly that the discrimination problem remains an integral part of American society, in general, and the U.S. justice system, in particular. Correspondingly, an impetus for improving the current situation must be created and received by the state authorities. Specifically, the case in point calls for taking immediate action as far as the supervision of the court procedures is concerned. It can be suggested that the introduction of a set of more rigid regulations as far as compliance with the legal standards should be provided to avoid similar instances of a mistrial in the future.

Introduction: The Most Controversial Case of 2016

At first glance, it might seem that the American society is mature enough to identify and address the emergent instances of racism in the contemporary environment, let alone the justice system (Reskin, 2012). Indeed, the United States has gone a long way from learning to accept the rights of Black people to create an environment, in which equality may become a possibility. However, the contemporary environment incorporates a wide array of factors that impede the promotion of equity as the foundation for building relationships between the members of society. This is quite upsetting, discrimination trickles even in the areas that affect people’s lives tremendously, such as the U.S. legal system.

A recent court case has shown that America still needs to address the discrimination problem on a statewide level. The Foster v. Chatman case that occurred in 2016 has shown that the present-day justice system remains corrupted and that racial profiling still is a part of it. According to the case details, an African American defendant was tried for murder and faced the death penalty. Four African American judges were appointed for the case; however, under the pretext of the peremptory challenges, the judges were subsequently dismissed despite the Batson claim that Foster made in the process.

In other words, the Batson challenge was considered as the factor that could not be precluded by res judicata, i.e., a case that can no longer be appealed for. The Batson case in its turn stated that “a defendant may establish a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination in selection of the petit jury solely on evidence concerning the prosecutor’s exercise of peremptory challenges at the defendant’s trial” (Batson v. Kentucky 476 U.S. 79)

Even though the instance of striking four Black judges out of the case can be viewed as purposeful discrimination, the issue has not been raised. Therefore, further analysis of the issue is required. To be more exact, the fact of discrimination needs to be stated, and the measures that will permit reducing the threat thereof in the contemporary justice system in the future will have to be determined.

Source of Data Analysis: A Legal Case (Google Scholar)

The issue of discrimination in the modern justice system of the United States, in general, and one of its agents, in particular (i.e., the U.S. Supreme Court) was addressed by considering a case that has been closed lately. Specifically, a 2016 issue regarding the court discrimination problems (Foster v. Chatman) was viewed as the primary source of information.

The case records were retrieved online. To obtain the required information, the Google Scholar database was included in the list of search areas. The reasons for using Google Scholar as the primary source of information are quite basic; despite its availability to the general audience, the identified resource contains an array of materials that are determined as credible and trustworthy (e.g., academic journals, court proceedings, etc.). In the identified scenario, a court case was retrieved from the Google Scholar database. The case was located after the following search terms were used: “discrimination us criminal justice system.” After the search had been narrowed down to the 2016 cases, the search engine returned 1060 results, among which the Foster v. Chatman case was found.

Analysis and Data Findings: What the Case Has to Offer

According to the case details, Timothy Foster was sentenced to the death penalty after murdering Bruce Chatman, a prison warden, in Georgia. The case details specify that the corpse of Queen Madge White, a 79-year-old widow, was found with severe injuries and the signs of a sexual assault, and strangling, in her house, which was burglarized (Foster v. Chatman No. 14-8349, 2015). Foster was charged with first-degree murder and a robbery. As the case details specify, before carrying out the proceedings, the State “exercised peremptory strikes against all four black prospective jurors qualified to serve” (Foster v. Chatman No. 14-8349, 2015, p. 1).

Afterward, Foster pressed the Barton claim for a retrial under the pretext of the judges having been dismissed from the case unfairly. The judge, however, rejected the claim and considered Foster guilty, therefore, sentencing him to death. Even though the verdict had already been passed, Foster renewed a claim so that a retrial could be arranged. Even though the court denied the motion again, Foster submitted a writ of habeas corpus so that the case could be reconsidered. Finally, the documents were admitted into consideration. However, after the consideration of the evidence, the court denied the motion again claiming that there was no arguable merit in the claim submitted by the accused (Cook & Akegria, 2012).

Even though the evidence of Foster’s guilt provided during the proceedings can be considered overwhelming and pointing to the fact that he was responsible for the murder, the fact that the four judges were dismissed without any legal justification for it makes one question the fairness of the U.S. justice system, in general, and the supposedly unbiased position of the court toward certain racial and ethnic groups, in particular.

Furthermore, the outcome of the case serves as the foundation for promoting change in the context of the American legal system so that the rights of every party in court could be acknowledged. Specifically, the case of Foster v. Chatman demonstrates that there is a necessity to reconsider the image of a criminal that the state officials have so that the specific traits of a certain ethnicity, race, nationality, or culture could not be attributed to it.

Discussion: The Racism Issue and the Means of Addressing It

As stressed above, there is a plethora of controversy about the case. On the one hand, the defendant was guilty and deserved the punishment that he received. Indeed, according to the case details, the evidence is quite plentiful, and it points directly to the fact that Foster is the murderer. Therefore, the sentence passed by the judge seems quite fair (Wasserman & Connolly, 2015).

On the other hand, one must admit that the environment, in which the trial occurred, can be deemed as biased due to the removal of every African American judge. Although all pieces of evidence available point to the fact that Foster must be the one that committed the murder, it would be unfair to sentence the accused to the death penalty without exhausting every possibility of proving his innocence (Hurwitz, Peffley, & Mondak, 2015).

In light of the ideas mentioned above, the effects of the judges’ removal from the trial need to be considered. Seeing that the lack of objectivity and racial biases were the primary sources of concern for the people involved and the key point of the defendant’s appeal, it begs the question of whether the admission of the judges to the trial would have tipped the scale toward a different outcome (Lima‐Nunes, Pereira, & Correia, 2013).

Arguably, the fact that the outcome of the court proceedings would have been the same disregarding whether the judges would have been present or not can be deemed as valid in the identified situation since it implies that the unbiased atmosphere should only be provided only in specific cases. In reality, however, the existing set of democratic principles requires that an unbiased and prejudice-free environment should be provided to any citizen of the United States, no matter what they are accused of. It is imperative to make sure that every person appearing in court should be provided with equal opportunities for defense (Beaver et al., 2013).

In the case in point, the issue of culture clash could be viewed as the primary source of conflict. Although Foster was unlikely to be proven not guilty even in case the African American jury has been admitted to the proceedings, the very fact that the defendant was not offered a chance at being represented in a bias-free environment shows that the contemporary U.S. legal system is very flawed. Put differently, the Foster v. Chatman case could be interpreted as an instance of racism in the Supreme Court.

When considering the means of managing the problem, one should bring up the fact that there is a strong need in representing each side of the case in a fair and unprejudiced manner. In the case in point, the issue of discrimination concerns primarily depriving the accused of the right to have his case considered by the representatives of his culture Indeed, dismissing one or two judges that were of the same cultural and ethnic descent that the accused was could have been determined as a coincidence that was not worth paying special attention to. However, the fact that every single black judge was removed from the case points to the conclusion that the attempt at creating a biased environment did take place (Colquitt et al., 2013).

Conclusion and Implications: What Needs to Be Addressed

Although the case of Foster v. Chatman can hardly be seen as a prime example of an African American falling victim to the crooked justice system, and that the defendant had to be guilty of the crime, the fact that there is an ongoing discriminatory issue in the modern U.S. justice system can hardly be denied. Both public and private legal agencies suffer from the lack of objectivity in their actions when it comes to meeting the needs of the people belonging to different ethnic and racial communities; as a result, the outcomes of the trial can be viewed as biased and, therefore, not trustworthy.

Furthermore, the lack of clarity and the increasing discrimination levels in the U.S. criminal justice agencies affects the very fabric of the social justice system, shaping people’s concept of a criminal in a very specific manner. As a result of the given tendencies, the threat of attributing specific racial or ethnic characteristics to the portrait of a criminal may become tangible to the point where the race will serve as a pretext for accusing people of crimes that they did not commit.

It could be argued that the problem described above has become dominant in modern society would be quite a stretch. As explained above, the case of Foster v. Chatman represents a rather ambiguous situation, in which the defendant was guilty, yet, based on the principles of democracy and equal rights, he had to be offered an opportunity to prove his innocence. However, a closer look at the contemporary legal system and the agencies operating in it will reveal that the problem of prejudices and biased attitudes toward people of other ethnicities and nationalities, i.e., ethnic and racial minorities, has been in existence for years (Frank et al., 2014). Therefore, there is an urgent need to take action so that the subject matter could be managed in a manner as efficient and expeditious as possible (Gabbidon et al., 2014).

The case described above also shows quite clearly that the issue of employment in the contemporary justice system needs to be considered closed. Employing people that have a very rigid set of values and are not prone to corruption deserves to be viewed as the issue of the highest priority for the U.S. justice system at present. Furthermore, the problem of the lack of diversity in the American criminal justice agencies should be discussed and managed.

The significance of the subject matter can be supported by the necessity to represent the case of each party appropriately in the court, eliminating the slightest chances for a culture clash or a misconception during the proceeding. Because the life of a person often hinges on the opinion that the judge will have of the defendant (e.g., when considering the possibility of a retrial), it is imperative to make sure that everyone has equal chances of being properly represented in court.

Reference List

Batson v. Kentucky 476 U.S. 79 (2009).

Beaver, K. M., DeLisi, M., Wright, J. P., Boutwell, B. P., Barnes, J. C., & Vaughn, M. G. (2013). No evidence of racial discrimination in criminal justice processing: Results from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Personality and Individual Differences, 65(1), 29-34. Web.

Colquitt, J. A., Scott, B. A., Rodell, J. B., Long, D. M., Zapata, C. P., & Conlon, D. E. (2013). Justice at the millennium, a decade later: A meta-analytic test of social exchange and affect-based perspectives. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 199 –236. Web.

Cook, B. L., & Akegria, M. (2012). Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Substance Abuse Treatment: The Role of Criminal History and Socioeconomic Status. Psychiatric Services, 62(11), 1273–1281. Web.

Foster v. Chatman No. 14-8349. (2015).

Frank, J. W., Wang, E. A., Nunez-Smith, M., Lee, H., & Comfort, M. (2014). Discrimination based on criminal record and healthcare utilization among men recently released from prison: a descriptive study. Health and Justice, 2(1), 6-13.

Gabbidon, S. L., Jordan, K. L., Penn, S. B., & Higgins, G. E. (2014). Black supporters of the no-discrimination thesis in criminal justice: A portrait of an understudied segment of the Black community. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 25(5), 637-652. Web.

Reskin, B. (2012). The race discrimination system. Annual Review of Sociology, 38(1), 17-35. Web.

Hurwitz, J., Peffley, M., & Mondak, J. (2015). Linked fate and outgroup perceptions: blacks, Latinos, and the U.S. criminal justice system. Political Research Quarterly, 68(3), 505-530. Web.

Lima‐Nunes, A., Pereira, C., & Correia, I. (2013). Restricting the scope of justice to justify discrimination: The role played by justice perceptions in discrimination against immigrants. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43(7), 627–636. Web.

Wasserman, L. M., & Connolly, J. P. (2015). United States Supreme Court justices’ voting in systemic racial discrimination cases in education. The Urban Lawyer, 47(1), 1-82.

According to Glen R Hanson and Peter J Venturelli, “There is a long-established close association between drug abuse and criminality.” There are two contrasting views in this approach. The first one is that criminal behavior develops to support a drug addiction, and the second one is that criminality is inherently linked to drug users’ personalities but occurs independently of drug use. This raises two questions.

The first one is: Does drug addiction cause a person to engage in criminal activities such as theft, burglary, and larceny to pay for the drug habits? On the other hand, a question emerges: Does the criminal behavior of a person have to do with the already existing criminal personality and that drugs are used as an adjunct to commit such crime? In other words, are drugs related to crime, or are they used to sedate and give confidence a person may need to commit a daring law violation. (Hanson G. & Venturelli P. 2006)

There has never been a clear answer to these questions since the finding whose views contradict each other continues to mount on both sides. Studies have been conducted in different cultures and settings, using different research methods and focusing on addictive drugs. This happens to be the reason behind the controversy in the relationship between drug abuse and criminal activities. As a result, there are too many factors involved in helping us distinguish cause from the results. Each type of drug has a unique, addictive potential, and there is a variation of exactly when to consider a defiant act offensive.

Furthermore, people think differently under drug influence. Therefore, it remains unclear whether criminal behavior is directly caused by poor drug use or even peer influence and socialization work in concert to cause criminal behavior. (Dantzker M.L 1999)

Directly systematic observation of crime is difficult due to the system for reporting crime as weak and uniform due to its inherently stealthy nature. A good example is the one from the FBI, which gets the root of crime in two ways. The first one is where individuals confess their own criminal convictions or involvements, and the second one is the victimization survey known to report the general criminal activities. Through these, one can tell or assess the criminal information. (Rasmussen D.W & Benson B 1994)

Also, some examples of the findings show the connection between drugs and criminal activities, such as the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ’s), Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM), which conducted urine tests on females in 21 and males in 23 cities. There was a range of 51.4% in San Jose to 80.5% in Manhattan of all those who tested positive at the time of the arrest. A female arrestee who tested positive in Indianapolis was lower, but that for Manhattan was the same as that of the males.

These findings were later affirmed in 1997 by the Bureau of Justice statistic who released information that about half or rather over half of the inmates committed their crime when they were under the influence of some drugs: this is a clear indication that some drugs have an effect on crime or rather that there is a relationship between drug abuse crime and criminal activities in our society. Also, the same survey indicated that over three-quarters of the inmates in the local jails had reported using drugs at one time in their life.

Though they may not have been under the influence of the drugs by the time of committing the crime, they were at one time involved with drugs, and this may have had an effect on their engagement in criminal activities www.drugpolicycentral.com

In that research, 33 percent of the inmates had been jailed for a drug offense. Sizeable proportions were incarcerated for a property offense, violent offense, and public order offence-Public intoxication, loitering, distributing the peace, and so on. However, something common came out of these findings; that all the parties involved were under the influence of some drugs at the time of the occurrence of the offense. www.interpol.int/public/Drugs

There was another little recent study by Robert Wood Johnston Foundation in 2001. This study showed that there was a dramatic correlation between crime and drug use. The study, which was conducted on criminal cases concerning theft, assault, and homicide, revealed that at least half of the people, especially the adults arrested, were under the influence of drugs by the time they were committing the offense. From those findings, approximately 30% of state prisoners and 40% of federal prisoners were drunk or were under the influence of drugs by the time they were committing the offense. This shows that drugs directly affect the rate of criminal activities. (Dantzker M.L 1999)

There are some situations where drugs do not have a direct relation with criminal activities. We also find that drugs have an indirect relation to criminal activities. That means that some people may commit a certain type of crime to have some money. This is evident to those people who are addicted to drugs. Sometimes they find that they do not have money. They are addicted, and thus, they can not live without drugs. So what they do is that they engage in some criminal activities such as robbery so that they can be able to get money and buy drugs. Approximately one out of every six major crimes is committed since the offender needs to get money for drugs. (Allen C 2007

Drugs can be classified into legal and illicit drugs, as under a study conducted by the US household survey of Drugs Abuse. They were found to commit a crime or linked with criminal activities had a link to illicit drug use. This shows that there is a correlation between drug use and criminal activities. The research revealed a difference in the occurrence of the crime and the type of drug used. (White L. W 1996)

Drugs can be related to criminal activities in many other ways. We find that there is also an indirect correlation between drugs, crime, and criminal activities. We find that some people are known to commit criminal activities to cover up some drug deals. Such is common with the mafias or those other great drug barons in a certain state. Some of these happen to be drug tycoons, and they are wealthy. They have dealings of a lot of drugs and a lot of money. These tycoons are known to kill people who stand by their way and prevent them from achieving their goals. They also have rival groups where we find them (the drug dealers) fighting among themselves. They sometimes result in the death of these people, which can be considered criminal activity. (Rasmussen D.W & Benson B 1994).

Some of these people are these tycoons who may commit some other types of crimes. In some cases, these people are involved in high-profile criminal activities. They may be involved in dealing that has gone too far that the government is involved. In some corrupt states, these tycoons are known by the police department. These people keep doing their business despite their business being illegal.

In most cases, these people do bribe the department so that they can still do business underground. Corruption is a criminal offense that is prosecutable by law, resulting in an underground drug business. This also shows a relationship between drugs and crime. (Hanson G. & Venturelli P. 2006)

There are two types of drugs. These are licit and illicit drugs. The licit operate in the open and legal world, and the illicit one operates in the dark and illegal world. This means that they use the illegal market and the black market. The black market is considered a criminal offense, and one can be charged in a court of law. Thus this means that if illegal drugs have to be a black market which is considered a crime, meaning that criminal activities will have to be there. Also, this shows a clear indication of the connection or the relationship between crime and drugs. (Hanson G. & Venturelli P. 2006)

Addiction to drugs makes people commit a crime. Most of the lower socio-economic class of people who takes drugs find themselves in this mess. After some time, they are addicted, but they do not have enough money to cater to their addiction. That means that they have to engage in some criminal activities, or rather, they find that criminal activities or committing a crime is the only thing that they can do to get the money to pay or to buy the expensive illicit narcotic drugs. And because they do not have anywhere to get regular pay from, they will always engage in criminal activities. (White L. W 1996

Drugs are known to influence one to commit a crime. That is, they do not influence the person directly, but people commit crimes so that they can get or fulfill their drug addiction needs. Hanson G. & Venturelli P. (2006), in their book Drugs and Society, says that heroic addict criminal activities are a result of addiction and not the influence of the substance. This shows that there is a link, especially between drug addiction and criminal activities. However, most of this occurs in the area that is not economically well off, where there are people who do not have money to meet this daily addiction. (Hanson G. & Venturelli P. 2006)

Drug use and criminal activities can be linked to each other from the social or subculture attachment. This is to say that drug addiction is mostly to those places where there is high consumption of these drugs, say narcotic drugs. In these areas, there are many criminal activities, and people view those areas as criminal areas. It is viewed that all the people in these areas and are taking drugs are expected to be involved in criminal activities. So when such people take these drugs, they are likely to commit a crime. (White L. W 1996)

Drugs can be linked to criminal activities through prostitution. We find that in some places, prostitution is not legal, and anyone who is found prostituting can be liable for a charge in the court of law. Some people may also be involved in prostitution simply because they want to get some money to buy drugs. In such cases, it can be said that drugs have caused such people to engage in criminal activities, in this case, prostitution.

An example is a case where we find a young lady who is addicted, let’s say, to heroin moving to the streets to get some money for the drugs. This mostly happens to those areas or rather those states that are still developing or rather in the developing world. Also, it happens to those people who live below the poverty level as they have to earn a living, and they do not know how to do this. They also have to get some money to buy or to cater for their drug addiction. Thus the circumstances force them to engage in prostitution. (White L. W 1996)

Many research showed that or rather were linked to men’s use of the drug. However, research in the 1980s showed that women were also linked to drug use. The research found that women who were linked to drug use had some criminal records in their history. They were linked to criminal activities mostly to support their addiction. The research showed that these women who did not turn to prostitution turned to other forms of getting money to support their addiction. Most of them turned into other criminal activities such as car theft, shoplifting, and pick-pocketing. Most women were not linked to robbery and burglary. “Am not sure now my drugs use and hustles go together. Booting (shoplifting) and fraud are my main hustles. Sometimes I will get into something else like burglary, but that’s only if an asked to be a partner”. (Sterk, 1999).

Drug use has also been linked to organizations. Most of the people who belong to drug gangs are linked to organized crimes. Organized crimes are criminal activities such as violence, kidnapping, or even murder. www.drugpolicycentral.com

Due to most of the criminal activities being linked to drug use, we find that the state also links all the other activities that relate to criminal activities to the drug. Most of the organized criminal activities are conducted by an organization’s drug gang. At some points, they require a ransom or something that is or will be related to criminal activities. At sometimes, they may request a ransom from the government for a certain amount of money, and while at other times, they may kidnap an important person requiring the government to do some favor for them, for example, release some criminal implicated for drug dealing.

At other times, they may highjack planes and require one of their own who has been arrested in relation to drugs to be released. These can be termed as criminal activities relating to drug use either directly or indirectly. (Strain E. 2005)

A good example is the sweeping indictment of 28 alleged TTP Blond members unsealed in federal court in Baltimore. Twenty-six of them were charged will racketeering conspiracy. They were charged under the law designed to go against organized crime. They were accused of committing five murders along with other robberies in the past two and half years. www.drugpolicycentral.com

Drug use has also been linked to criminal activities in that those people how might have used drugs at their young ages or when they were young had an involvement with the drugs end up having a negative impact on their life when they grow up. They may end up engaging in criminal activities. They are likely to engage in criminal activities when they grow up. Strain (2005), in his book The Treatment of Opioid Dependence, says that drug use happens not to be the only path leading to crime; early drug use fosters a criminal behavior pattern that sometimes continues to adulthood. (Strain, 2005).

Criminal activities are related to how long and how much a person has taken the drugs or rather the extent of the drug use and also to the type of drug used. Research shows that those people who take cocaine are likely to commit more lethal and more serious crimes than the others who do take other types of drugs. The research also says that those people who are on the list of committing very serious crimes are usually cocaine addicts.

Heavy drug use is linked to more diverse crime or a rather more diverse array of criminal activities. For example, in an early study conducted in Miami, it should be that 239 males interviewed who were cocaine addicts committed 80644 criminal acts during the 12 months prior to their interview. When the same cohort was interviewed when it was not addicted, the cohort had only 41 days of criminal activities per year. While the influence of addiction, it was found that the same cohort had committed crime on 248 days per year. This research shows that drug use or even drug abstinence can actually affect or influence the criminal activities that may be happing in a specific area. (Strain, 2005).

One consequence of the connection drug crime is that most of those who end up in drugs definitely end up engaging in other criminal activities. This may be in most cases due to the connection that exists between these two that the society has a link or rather an attitude that makes people think that all those people who are linked to drugs in one way or another end up being linked with criminal activities. Also that most of the people who take them are poor. This means that they have to have a way of getting their money for the use to attend to their addiction. This makes them more liable to committing crimes as these are the only simple way of getting money.

In conclusion, this can be said the there is a link between crime and drug use. This is evident in most or rather the majority of the researches conducted around the world, which shows that majority of the criminals have a link with drug use. Also, there is quite sufficient evidence that people do commit a crime so as to cover up drug deals. There are quite enough evidence to show that drug indeed has a link to criminal activities and crime as a whole.

References

Allen C (2007). Crime Drug and Social theory. Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Dantzker M.L (1999) Reading for Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Elsevier Publishers.

Hanson G. & Venturelli P. (2006) Drugs and Society. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Inc.

Strain E. (2005) The Treatment of Opiod Dependency. JHM Press.

Rusmussen D.W & Benson B (1994). The Economic Anatomy of a Drug War; Criminal Justice in the common. Rawman & Littlefield Publishers.

Sterk E.C (1999) Women who use crack cocaine. Temple University Press.

Siegel L. J (2004) Criminology: The core, Thomson Wadsworth Publishers.

White L. W (1996) Pathways: From the culture of Addiction to the culture of Recovery. Hazelden PES Publishers.

The year 1888 witnessed a series of ultimate unsolved and mysterious homicides the world has ever experienced. The unknown assassin went on committing his cruel deeds, putting the Scotland Yard investigators in big trouble. He lurked behind the shadows creating chaos and leaving little evidence to the cops. Five prostitutes were killed in the Whitechapel area of London alone by the so-called legend who named himself Jack the ripper. The London media made the name popular and today it has become worth enough to address all the murderers at large. The story of Jack the Ripper, no doubt, remains as an unsolved riddle even today and the peculiar nature of his crimes has raised the curiosity of criminologists, investigators, crime reporters, criminals, and the common man. Many theories and speculations have been drawn regarding the series of murders; however, it is still an unresolved puzzle of who the actual killer was.

The identity of the White chapel murderer was unknown to the world until the police and the newspapers received a number of letters ‘during the autumn and winter of 1888/89’ which were supposed to have been written by the murderer himself and one of them “contained the first use of ‘Jack the Ripper’, a nickname the papers swiftly adopted and which is now synonymous.” (Wilde). The modus operandi in these crimes was unique and peculiar that made him a legend. Even after the passage of a century, the public fascination in this regard has not yet come to an end. Jack the ripper has sustained to maintain his role as the godfather of entire serial killers of the world. The strategy of his murders has been ever analyzed by the police and psychologist.

Even though there is no unanimous list of the people Jack murdered, studies have pointed out a common strain in his murders-that he killed five London prostitutes. It is believed that Jack the Ripper “killed five women, all London prostitutes, during 1888: Mary Ann ‘Polly’ Nichols on August 31, Annie Chapman on September 8, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes on September 30 and Mary Jane (Marie Jeanette) Kelly on November 9.” (Wilde). The nature of the crime, the mannerisms, and the ferocity displayed by the killer add to the professionalism of Jack the Ripper. There are many who believe that the killer had some sort of anatomical knowledge and many perceive him to be a doctor or surgeon because he killed his victims by strangling them, “then laying them down and cutting the arteries in their throats; this was followed by a varied process of mutilation, during which parts of the body were removed and kept.” (Wilde). Even though there were visible traces and common patterns in all the murders, it is quite mysterious that the killer was neither identified nor prosecuted. Thus, the name of Jack has become synonymous with unproven crimes and this has raised him to the stature of a hero admired by criminals all over the world.

Like any other sensational news, London dailies and magazines contributed their major portion of time and effort to add enough flavor to the gruesome events. The admiration, if it could be called so, was really attributed to the media. They cherished every horrible event especially when the Scotland Yard received certain letters on behalf of the very dangerous thug. He concluded his letters signed “Jack the Ripper” and thus entered history forever. Wide publicity was given to the letters supposed to have been written by Jack and with the publication of the letters “the murderer was given the name that would launch him into legend. A name that would become so well known the world over that the very mention of it, even to those who have little knowledge of the actual murders, could summon up vivid images of gas-lit, foggy streets and of an unknown terror stalking the night shadows on a murderous and chilling quest.” (Jone). Thus, one can never undermine the role played by the newspapers and the other media in popularizing the ‘heroic’ deeds of Jack, and these sorts of undue publicity have accelerated the mysterious element in the homicides.

Though highly terrifying were the cruel deeds he performed under the cover of solid darkness, they were highly an epoch-making one. An unlimited number of stories, novels, films, dramas, and operas are born on this classic culprit. Since then, Jack has been a subject for researchers. His attire and deportment were praised to be the symbols of a perfect killer. With his quickness, mystic image, and supernatural ability to vanish from the scene we’re capturing the readers and spectators all over the world. Jack the Ripper is considered to be an unsolved mystery for a number of reasons. There must be several killers who have shed the blood of more people than Jack did. Yet he is considered to be unique and extremely mysterious. Perhaps, unlike others, he deliberately left some trace but always managed to be in ambush. Simply killing people was not his motto. Instead, he always haunted a particular category of women. This is very well pointed out by Marjorie Dorfman when the author observes:

Certainly Jack the Ripper left traces of his murderous presence, including a leather apron soaked in blood. In an act of ultimate audacity, he even sent a body part of one of the victims to Scotland Yard. It is likely that the crime technology and criminal profiling techniques of today would have yielded many more clues to the identity of Jack the Ripper and that these crimes, were they committed today, might not have gone unsolved. (Dorfman).

The initial objective of the killer was not apprehensive to the experts, yet the modus operandi paved way for enormous discussions and further case studies all over the world. Crime investigations have shown that based on an offender’s way of work and his behavior patterns, various conclusions regarding the murderer can be drawn. For instance, the conclusion of an expert is given below: “By choosing to murder Kelly indoors, the killer demonstrated that he was an experienced nighttime cat burglar and stalker, as he attacked all his victims in the early morning hours when dawn was approaching.” (Jack the Ripper the First Serial Killer: Jack the Ripper’s Modus Operandi). However, Jack the Ripper’s crimes remain still unsolved as such conclusions were inadequate and insufficient. The consequences of his brutal actions were far-reaching. It did not cease with the end of five prostitutes.

The mysterious assailant tormented many innocent people by leaving them suspects to the police. An array of investigators and suspects took their turn to unveil the secret but all in vain. All efforts added to his fame and made him an unsolved mystery in crime history. Jack the Ripper has attributed to the origin of a number of ‘Jack the Ripper theories’ and a new term ‘ripperologists’. Among the theories, the most controversial one was the ‘Sickert theory’ which also displayed a paucity of vital facts and evidence. The fact that differentiated the theory from many others was that its assumptions were more reasonable and sufficient to satisfy the avenging lust of the people who were persecuted by the Government. Patricia Cornwell cites a number of evidence to prove that Walter Richard Sickert was behind the series of murders. She found the key to most solid evidence to Sickert’s guilt “in his paintings, which she claims have an eerie similarity to the grisly post mortem pictures taken of the Ripper’s victims.” (Steele). And purports that he is the most dreaded criminal behind the homicides. Whether the theory is reliable or not people who read and watch fiction or non-fictions on this legend killer today would like to see him remain mysterious forever.

The reason behind this is perhaps, the people who suffered some kind of social injustice always longed for an anti-hero who would give enough headache to the authorities. All professional and amateur forensic experts have tried to analyze the psychological dimensions of Jack the Ripper for a period of hundred and more years. Still, he remains an unapproachable character minimizing their studies to a kind of uncertainty. The words of Keppel and Burns would be appropriate to quote: “Hidden among the evidence, often gleaned from the marks and wounds on the victim’s body these signatures are the only ways the killer truly expresses himself.” (Jack the Ripper the First Serial Killer: Jack the Ripper’s Signature). But in the then case of Jack, the Ripper such ways of expressing never took place, or rather the evidence was still hidden, unexplored, and unproven. To conclude Jack the Ripper is still an unsolved mystery-a puzzle or riddle that needs to be solved or answered.

Works Cited

1. Dorfman, Marjorie. Jack the Ripper. Suite101.com: The Genuine Article. 2007.
2. Jack the Ripper the First Serial Killer: Jack the Ripper’s Modus Operandi. All About Forensic Psychology. 2008. Web.
3. Jack the Ripper the First Serial Killer: Jack the Ripper’s Signature. Web.
4. Jone, Richard. The Letter from Jack the Ripper: The Legend of Jack The Ripper is Born. London Walking Tours. 2007.
5. Steele, John. Jack the Ripper was painter Sickert Says Crime Writer. Telegraph.co.uk. 2008.
6. Wilde, Robert. Jack the Ripper: The Crimes. About.com: European History. 2008.
7. Wilde, Robert. Jack the Ripper: The Letters and Nick Names. About.com: European History 2008.