scholarly journals In the Wake of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter: The Plight of John Artis

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Rebekah Spaulding

<p class="BodyA">In the summer of 1966 in Paterson, New Jersey, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and John Artis were arrested on suspicion of triple homicide. Tried and convicted the following year, Carter and Artis would spend almost twenty years in jail, despite evidence of witness tampering and police malfeasance. During and after their incarceration, Carter received an abundance of public support due to his famous boxing career, while Artis often went unnoticed as a secondary character by the media. By examining the details surrounding Carter and Artis’s wrongful imprisonment, it is clear to see the institutional racism and systematic criminalization of African Americans, as well as the impact of notoriety in criminal justice. While this case is undoubtedly a gross miscarriage of justice, it is the forgotten story of John Artis that shows the flaws of the criminal justice system and how society is told to remember its history.</p>

2002 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 114-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight E. Brooks ◽  
James A. Rada

This study employs a framing analysis of media explanations regarding public support for President Clinton during the 1998 coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. An analysis of broadcast, newspaper, and magazine stories during the scandal reveals that media coverage of support for the President focused exclusively on African Americans. Five discursive frames were used to explain African American support: morality, political pragmatism, distrust of the criminal justice system, forgiveness/redemption, and Clinton's rapport with African Americans. Although these frames construct blackness using a variety of characteristics seldom found in the media, they also construct the concept of blackness in near universal and essentialist terms. Media explanations of Black support at the expense of explanations of White support (or lack thereof) for the President reinforce a racial hierarchy whereby whiteness serves as an invisible racial norm.


Author(s):  
Miriam Gur-Arye

This article reveals the relationship between the societal phenomenon of moral panic and the specific waves that it generates in the legal system. It focuses on hit-and-run traffic offenses and suggests that a moral panic with regard to these offenses uniquely affected the Israeli criminal justice system during 2002–2013. The media generates concern, fear, and outrage that are disproportionate to both the size and the nature of the offenses. In describing hit-and-run accidents, both the media and the courts demonize the drivers. Both the courts and the legislature react to the panic with disproportionally harsh punishments. This article also offers a possible explanation for why hit-and-run traffic offenses generated moral panic uniquely in Israel, and why this occurred during the period 2002–2013. Although the article focuses on hit-and-run traffic offenses in Israel, it has more general implications: it reveals in detail the interaction between constructed public anxieties and systems charged with delivering justice.


2002 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 541-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamal Sharma

The media, judiciary, legislature and the Executive currently agree that the criminal process is in need of reform. Indeed, on Tuesday 18 June 2002, Tony Blair described the criminal justice system as ‘antique and ineffectual’. This article investigates the purposes and uses of racial and ethnical terminologies in the criminal justice system. Notwithstanding the importance of existing racial definitions in criminal justice, a standard definition of ethnicity is regarded as necessary to ensure that ethnic monitoring is accurate and effective. Therefore this article questions the validity, accuracy and purposes of the terminologies used in contemporary and past studies in relation to the most extensive reports on ethnic monitoring; namely the National Censuses of Population, the Home Office Research Statistics and Development Directorate's publications and the British Crime Surveys'. This article also considers the impact that foreseeable social and demographic changes may have on the use of racial and ethnic classifications in the criminal justice system, as well as the ways in which the various bodies of the criminal process may prepare for potential changes.


Author(s):  
Andrew Valls

The criminal justice system in the United States both reflects racial inequality in the broader society and contributes to it. The overrepresentation of African Americans among those in prison is a result of both the conditions in poor black neighborhoods and racial bias in the criminal justice system. The American system of criminal justice today is excessively punitive, when compared to previous periods and to other countries, and its harsh treatment disproportionately harms African Americans. In addition, those released from prison face a number of obstacles to housing, employment, and other prerequisites of decent life, and the concentration of prisoners and ex-prisoners in black communities does much to perpetuate racial inequality.


2003 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Warner ◽  
Jenny Gawlik

Increased recognition of the need for victims of crime to be integrated into the criminal justice system and to receive adequate reparation has led, in a number of jurisdictions, to legislative measures to encourage the greater use of compensation orders. The Sentencing Act 1997 (Tas) (which came into force on 1 August 1998) went further and made compensation orders compulsory for property damage or loss resulting from certain crimes. This article shows that this measure has failed victims and argues that they have been used in the service of other ends. Mandatory compensation orders are a token gesture repackaged as restorative justice to gain public support for the administration of the criminal justice system.Ways in which compensation orders could be made more effective and the possibilities of accommodating restorative compensation into a conventional criminal justice system are explored.


Author(s):  
Gianni Ribeiro ◽  
Emma Antrobus

Public confidence in the criminal justice system is critical for the system to function effectively. Two studies investigated the impact of jury sentencing recommendations on public confidence using procedural justice theory. The first study (N = 80) manipulated the presence of jury involvement in sentencing (voice present versus voice absent) and the punitiveness of the minimum non-parole period (more punitive versus less punitive) to examine whether giving juries a “voice”—a key element of procedural justice—would increase public confidence in the courts, as well as perceptions of fairness and legitimacy. Contrary to predictions, results revealed that a more punitive sentence led to increased perceptions of legitimacy, which was associated with higher confidence. The second study (N = 60) examined whether manipulating the Judge’s agreement with the jury’s recommendation—as well as the Judge’s reason for disagreement—would elicit the “frustration effect,” leading to a decrease in confidence and perceptions of fairness and legitimacy. There was no evidence to suggest that the frustration effect was present. Results of both studies could suggest that jury sentencing recommendations may not effectively increase public confidence and perceptions of fairness and legitimacy in the courts, however alternate explanations are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Lazzari da Silveira

Partindo do pressuposto que a mídia possui grande influência sobre os indivíduos, e que ao veicular notícias sobre crimes de forma excessiva, muitas vezes sob um viés sensacionalista, dissemina o medo e a insegurança no tecido social, o presente artigo tem como objetivo identificar de que modo a mídia se relaciona com o sistema penal, bem como o papel que desempenha na dinâmica que enseja o seu recrudescimento.Resumen: Partiendo de la suposición de que los medios de comunicación ejercen gran influencia en los individuos, y que al transmitir excesivamente noticias sobre crímenes - a menudo a partir de un sesgo sensacionalista - siembran el miedo y la inseguridad en el tejido social, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo identificar el modo por lo cual los medios de comunicación se relacionan con el sistema penal, así como el rol que desempeñan en la dinámica que posibilita su endurecimiento. Palabras clave: Medios - Crimen - Miedo - Sistema Penal  Abstract: Assuming that the media has the ability to influence people , and to convey news about crimes excessively, often in a sensationalist bias , spreading fear and insecurity in society , this paper aims to identify how the media relates to the criminal justice system , and the role it plays in the dynamics that gives rise to its expansion. Keywords: Media – Crime – Fear – Criminal System


Author(s):  
Tenzin Butsang ◽  
Flora Matheson ◽  
Jerry Flores ◽  
Angela Mashford-Pringle

Over the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of incarcerated Indigenous women within Canada’s federal prisons. More than half of these women also identify as single mothers of multiple children, extending the scope of incarceration’s impact across generations. While maternal incarceration has been shown to contribute to a myriad of issues in children, including mental illness and increased mortality, there are few qualitative studies where previously incarcerated Indigenous women have been asked directly about the impact of incarceration on their wellbeing and mothering. This project will utilize a community-based research methodology that centers the voices of previously incarcerated Indigenous mothers by examining the commonalities and distinctions in their lived experiences. We will (1) identify the mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, and relational implications of incarceration for Indigenous mothers, (2) explore Indigenous concepts of motherhood and kinship, (3) identify the unique needs of this population in the criminal justice system, and (4) inform new and existing programs and services directed towards Indigenous mothers involved in the criminal justice system. Semi-structured individual interviews with previously incarcerated Indigenous mothers and Sharing Circles (focus groups) with key stakeholders, including Elders, Healers, and community partners involved in the criminal justice field will form the core knowledge for the project. This project will address a critical gap in public health research concerning the wellbeing of marginalized and incarcerated individuals and contribute significantly to our understanding of the experiences of Indigenous women in the criminal justice system. Through a collaborative partnership with several key Indigenous-centred organizations, the knowledge generated will be used to inform and develop decarceration programming and supports for previously incarcerated Indigenous mothers, establishing concrete measures to reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous women in the Canadian criminal justice system, now and into the future.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Pugach ◽  
Anat Peleg ◽  
Natti Ronel

This qualitative, phenomenological study conducted in Israel consisted of interviews with 14 close relatives of murder victims whose cases generated media interest. The research offers a comprehensive view of the endeavors of the participants to be heard in both the criminal justice system and the media. The findings indicate that despite the growing recognition of co-victims’ rights and media attention to their narratives, both the justice system and the media disappoint these victims and largely fail to respond to their need to convey their messages. The participants experienced ‘lingual injury:’ the repudiation and muting of their own language in favor of professional jargon. Lingual injury is an innovative concept that describes particular aspects of secondary victimization; it contributes to the existing literature by enabling a detailed mapping of co-victims’ simultaneous difficulties in the interplay between the criminal justice system and the media. It highlights the need for developing professional tools, both legal and victimological, to alleviate this situation.


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