1.2 Flashcards
What is the social construction of criminality?
Crime is made or defined by society
What’s an example of a law changing from culture to culture
Polygamy
What is polygamy
Having more than one wife or husband
What is polygyny
Where a man has more than one wife
What is polyandry
Where a woman has more than one husband
Where is polygyny legal
Afghanistan
Where is polyandry legal
Nepal
Where is polygamy a crime
Uk
Why does the law about polygamy vary between culture
Religion - Qur’an permits it
Tradition - Traditionally practiced in some African societies
An example of a law changing over time
Capital punishment
What is capital punishment
Execution by hanging
What is corporal punishment
Includes flogging, birching, branding and being put in stocks
How it capital punishment laws changed over time
1723 black act made over 50 offences capital crimes, over time this got gradually reduced until it was abolished in 1965
How corporal punishment laws changed over time
Flogging in the armed forces was abolished in 1881 and all corporal punishment of offenders was abolished in 1967
An example of how laws change between places
Gun control laws
A law that allows guns in the USA
The second amendment
Why moral panics change the way laws are applied
Those convicted of relativly minor offences committed during the london riots of 2011 were treated harsher than usual
Why typifications change the way laws are applied
Chambliss did a study which showed that police officers have the idea of the typical criminal so those that fit this are more likely to be arrested
How age affects the way laws are applied
Two people may commit the same act but get treated differently due to age
Diminished responsibility
If a defendant can show that their mental condition substantially reduced the ability to understand what they were doing
Loss of control
A partial defence that may reduce the offence to manslaughter
Automatism
If they can show that it was involuntary, they can plead the defence of automatism
