Closure and Justice: A Qualitative Study of Perspectives From Homicide Survivorship Experts

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 830-854
Author(s):  
Larissa Saco ◽  
Danielle Dirks
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Homicide Survivors ◽  
Murder Victims ◽  
The Media

The criminal justice system and the media perpetuate the rhetoric of closure, which frames the end of grief for homicide survivors, or murder victims’ loved ones, as an attainable goal on their path to healing. Public discourse has also framed the death penalty as justice for survivors. However, little scholarly attention has addressed survivors’ experiences and perceptions of closure and justice. This research addresses this gap in the literature using in-depth, qualitative interviews with 36 community, academic, and criminal justice experts on homicide survivorship, 12 of whom are homicide survivors themselves. Using grounded theory, we derived six themes on closure and justice from the data. The majority of respondents indicate that survivors do not experience closure, and that they consider the term misleading. The question as to the meaning of justice produced more disparate responses. While many indicated that justice has unique meanings for individual survivors, holding the perpetrator accountable emerged as the most common theme. Half of the respondents also indicated that justice does not exist in homicide cases because of their difficult experiences with the criminal justice system. The findings have implications for policy, practice, and future research.

Lingual injury

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Pugach ◽  
Anat Peleg ◽  
Natti Ronel
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Murder Victims ◽  
The Media ◽  
Close Relatives ◽  
Qualitative Phenomenological ◽  
Qualitative Phenomenological Study ◽  
Innovative Concept

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.

scholarly journals Mídia, medo e controle: Ensaio sobre o papel da mídia na dinãmica do recrudescimento do sistema penal

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Lazzari da Silveira
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
The Media ◽  
Medios De Comunicacion

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

scholarly journals Challenges of Effective Communication in the Criminal Justice Process: Findings from Interviews with Victims of Sexual Offences in Australia

Laws ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Davies ◽  
Lorana Bartels
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process

This article focuses on gendered experiences of the criminal justice system, specifically the experiences of adult female victims of sexual offending and the communication difficulties they experience during the criminal justice process. Drawing on the findings from qualitative interviews about sentencing with six victims and 15 justice professionals in Australia, we compare the lived experiences of the victims with the perceptions of the justice professionals who work with them, revealing a significant gap between the information justice professionals believe they are providing and the information victims recall receiving. We then analyse the international literature to distil effective communication strategies, with the goal of improving victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system as a whole. Specifically, we recommend verbal communication skills training for justice professionals who work with victims of crime and the development of visual flowcharts to help victims better understand the criminal justice process. We also recommend that Australian victims’ rights regimes be reformed to place the responsibility for providing information about the criminal process on the relevant justice agencies, rather than requiring the victim to seek this information, and suggest piloting automated notification systems to help agencies fulfil their obligations to provide victims with such information.

Cumulative Disadvantage in the American Criminal Justice System

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 291-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan C. Kurlychek ◽  
Brian D. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Cumulative Disadvantage ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Criminal Case Processing

Research on inequality in punishment has a long and storied history, yet the overwhelming focus has been on episodic disparity in isolated stages of criminal case processing (e.g., arrest, prosecution, or sentencing). Although theories of cumulative disadvantage exist in criminology, they are seldom adapted to account for treatment in the criminal justice system. We provide an overview of the concept of cumulative disadvantage in the life course and review evidence on the development of cumulative disadvantages across stages of the criminal justice system. In doing so, we appraise the empirical research on policing, prosecution, and the courts and consider how these largely separate bodies of scholarship are inherently connected. We conclude with a call for future research that focuses more explicitly on the ways that life-course disadvantages shape contact with the criminal justice system and how these processes work to perpetuate patterns of disadvantage within the system and in subsequent life outcomes.

The Relationship Between Experiences With the Criminal Justice System and Mental Health Outcomes Among Survivors of Homicide

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 310-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgenia Milman ◽  
Joah L. Williams ◽  
Kaitlin Bountress ◽  
Alyssa A. Rheingold
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Homicide Survivors ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Relationship

Homicide survivors are at increased risk for mental health disorders, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and complicated grief (CG). Accordingly, this survey study examined how satisfaction with the criminal justice system (CJS) was associated with depression, PTSD, and CG among 47 homicide survivors. It also examined how satisfaction with specific aspects of the CJS related to satisfaction with the overall CJS. Satisfaction with the overall CJS was uniquely associated with depression (odds ratio [OR] = 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.16, 4.66]) while satisfaction with the police department was uniquely associated with CG (OR = 2.14; 95% CI [1.02, 4.47]). Satisfaction with having input into the CJS process and satisfaction with efforts devoted by the CJS to apprehend the perpetrator were uniquely related to satisfaction with the overall CJS (β = .49, p = .003 and β = .40, p = .007, respectively).

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

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Rebekah Spaulding
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Institutional Racism ◽  
Secondary Character ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact

<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>

scholarly journals Impending Danger: The Meaning of Danger as a Legal Requirement for Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment in the Norwegian Criminal Justice System

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-135
Author(s):  
Martin Mindestrømmen
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Psychiatric Treatment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Legal Requirement

A proposal for the revision of the rule regulating involuntary psychiatric treatment of criminally insane offenders has been accepted by the Norwegian parliament. As a result, greater emphasis will be placed on the requirement of ‘danger’ in future decisions on whether criminally insane offenders shall be subjected to sanctions. This paper gives an overview of the rule in question and makes a preliminary analysis of the legal contents of the danger requirement. Possible problem-areas that have not been addressed in the proposal for revision are identified. The need for future research is explained.

Suicide prevention across the UK criminal justice system: an overview of current provision and future directions

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-62
Author(s):  
Stefanie Oliveira Antunes ◽  
Verity Wainwright ◽  
Neil Gredecki
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current Evidence Base ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Current Provision

Purpose This paper aims to provide an overview of current suicide prevention across the UK criminal justice system (CJS). It considers shortcomings in current provision and how improvements could be made by drawing on international practice. Recommendations for practice going forward and suggestions for future research are made based on the literature. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides an overview of suicide prevention research to date. Relevant literature was identified through a basic journal article search, including terms such as “probation”, “criminal justice system”, “suicide”, “suicide prevention”, “UK” and “suicide theory”. Findings This paper highlights opportunities to improve practice based on the current evidence base, making several recommendations and suggestions for practice, including improving multi-agency cooperation through clearer distribution of responsibilities, simplifying data sharing and investing in trauma-focussed suicide training for staff. Practical implications This paper considers how research and psychological theory has informed suicide prevention practice in the UK. Limitations and challenges in applying theory to practice are explored, in the context of research with frontline staff who use such policies. This review proposes potential improvements to suicide prevention implementation to reduce suicide across the wider CJS. Originality/value This article represents an overview of the existing literature as well as possible future ideas for policy. It is therefore a piece that represents the viewpoint of all involved authors.

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