Adult Offenders and their Crime Flashcards
What are the general categories of offending?
drug possession/distribution, fraud/minor property crime, sex work, women in gangs, homicide
How are women involved in drugs addictions?
not viewed as typical addict till recently, coping mechanisms for gender-role expectations, accepted practice to use
How are mothers with drug addictions viewed? What does this lead to?
now: great stigma and negative attitudes
many become pregnant while using and are unaware, unlikely to seek prenatal care for fear of arrest or apprehension, leads to higher rates of FASD, opioid dependence syndrome and other birth defects
What was the Take Your Pills Documentary about?
drug use is not new, amphetamine as medication that led to addiction, now its a controlled substance, but has led to many turning to meth instead to deal with addiction
What are the primary pathways to drug use for women?
exposure to drugs and alcohol at a young age, childhood victimization, mental health challenges, economic challenges
What are the risk for women with drug addicitons?
homelessness, violence, incarceration
How was the War on Drugs affected how drug offenders are punished?
1980: cocaine 500g -> potential 5 year sentence, crack 5g -> mandatory 5 year sentence
2010: fair sentencing act to reduce disparity, crack 18:1 sentence disparity now
What did the Crack, Cocaine, Corruption and Conspiracy documentary say?
1980 Regan: party and drugs, cocaine for elite, increase of extreme poverty
1982-84: increase of cocaine shipping into US lowers its cost, wake up to new uses for crack and its accessibility, prevalent in Black neighbourhoods and made money
What are Drug offenders sentences like?
women receiving longer incarceration time (drug offenses of ancillary offenses)
legislation has increased court backlogs and prison overcrowding (warehousing rather than rehabilitating)
How are women criminalized for property crime?
theft, burglary, arson, fraud to service drug use
women more likely to engage in property crime than other types, described as “pink collar”, high rates of shop lifting and robbery
How are women criminalized for sex work?
prostitution: criminal act of exchanging or trading sex for money (escort services, massage parlors, brothers, street level)
concerns about increase of use of crack cocaine by female prostitutes
How does sex work affect women?
many engaging in sex work have a history of being abused
often witness and become victims of violence and dont report due to fear police wont help, trauma leads to mental health issues, self-protection that may lead to their own prosecution
engage in drug use as coping mechanism (also leads to health issues)
What is the legalization debate? What are some pros?
whether or not prostitution should be legalized
helps create a sustainable economy
Some women enjoy sex work, stops their criminalization and provides them resources
How has Nevada’s legalization of sex work been?
prostitution legal in areas of less than 400,000, to minimize the risk of violence for women who engage in prostitution, must work in brotherls and get weekly HIV and STI tests, violence on street has decreased and buyers are more likely to use brothels
What are the concerns with Nevada’s legalization of sex work?
individuals could still be victims of sex trafficking, rates of participation skew young 18-30, stigma continues & hard to get job outside of sex work
How has the Netherlands Red Lights District in Amsterdam governed sex work?
licensure in 2000, labour laws for sex workers, created tax base,
What are the concerns with the Netherlands Red Lights District in Amsterdam?
concern of area attracting human trafficking, drug sale, sex trafficking
nearby property values decrease, people fleeing
this area did not become integrate with the community
What is the Swedish Model?
criminalize buyers not sellers of sex work
could help shift stigma in US
How have women historically been involved in gangs?
20th century moral panic but typically a small percentage, typically join for brother or boyfriend, viewed as sexual toy for gang members
How are women currently involved in gangs?
active participants in crimes, equal if join by walking the line, pulling the train leads to more disrespect and sexual abuse
Why do female gang members leave?
pregnancy (biggest), employment, education, incarceration (less gangs in prison), jumped out
How often do women leave gangs?
exit at higher rates, easier if entered for a boyfriend, fine letting women leave if won’t snitch
What is the involvement of girls in gangs?
young as 14, mostly runaways that need protection and home
How does media report girls in gangs?
many are cliques not gangs, ex: Reena Virk’s murders
How are women involved in homicide?
more likely to kill spouse, s/o or acquaintance (always a connection)
How does the media view women and homicide?
contributes to fascination of violence by females (ex: songs, tv and docs), hyper sexualization of women who engage in crime
What was the Pamela Smart Case?
1990 husband murdered at home with a burgalry while she was at work, said she recruited boy she had affair with and his friends, she was the mastermind and got life in prison, says shes innocent, nickname “matron of metal”, would not have been so harsh without the media attention
What was the Michelle Carter case?
encourage boyfriend Conrad Roy III to commit suicide over phone, guilty of involuntary manslaughter for 20 years
Were her actions criminal?
What is fillicide?
rare, killing of a biological child or children
neonaticide (first 24 hours)
infanticide (killing before 1st bday)
50/50 she will kill herself too
many mothers plead insanity
What is a family annihilator?
men who kill their families
What are the Resnicks Typology explanations for filicide?
- altruism: for best interest of the children
- psychotic or psychological reasons: mental illness, postpartum psychosis
- unwanted pregnancy: usually neonaticide, often unclear if stillbirth
- Accidental death due to maltreatment or abuse
- vengeful act against spouss of father (custodial dispute, via kidnapping)
Who was Andrea Yates
famous case of severe postpartum psychosis, drowned 5 children in bathtub while husband was at work
How is infanticide prosecuted?
infanticide 233 of criminal code (lesser than 1st, 2nd, manslaughter)
accidental death
failure to protect laws
What are failure to protect laws?
can be prosecuted if partner harms child and you don’t report, often women also experiences physical and sexual abuse
US sentence: life, by state
Canada sentence: max 10 years
rare a man is prosecuted
What is the Brooke Skylar Richardson Case?
stillborn baby and no one knew and she buried it, unclear what happened, obgyn called police, led to confess, no evidence but she was prosecuted and media sensationalized the case
