Adult Offenders and their Crime

Question 1

What are the general categories of offending?

Answer 1

drug possession/distribution, fraud/minor property crime, sex work, women in gangs, homicide

Question 2

How are women involved in drugs addictions?

Answer 2

not viewed as typical addict till recently, coping mechanisms for gender-role expectations, accepted practice to use

Question 3

How are mothers with drug addictions viewed? What does this lead to?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What was the Take Your Pills Documentary about?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

What are the primary pathways to drug use for women?

Answer 5

exposure to drugs and alcohol at a young age, childhood victimization, mental health challenges, economic challenges

Question 6

What are the risk for women with drug addicitons?

Answer 6

homelessness, violence, incarceration

Question 7

How was the War on Drugs affected how drug offenders are punished?

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What did the Crack, Cocaine, Corruption and Conspiracy documentary say?

Answer 8

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

Question 9

What are Drug offenders sentences like?

Answer 9

women receiving longer incarceration time (drug offenses of ancillary offenses)
legislation has increased court backlogs and prison overcrowding (warehousing rather than rehabilitating)

Question 10

How are women criminalized for property crime?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

How are women criminalized for sex work?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

How does sex work affect women?

Answer 12

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)

Question 13

What is the legalization debate? What are some pros?

Answer 13

whether or not prostitution should be legalized
helps create a sustainable economy
Some women enjoy sex work, stops their criminalization and provides them resources

Question 14

How has Nevada’s legalization of sex work been?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

What are the concerns with Nevada’s legalization of sex work?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

How has the Netherlands Red Lights District in Amsterdam governed sex work?

Answer 16

licensure in 2000, labour laws for sex workers, created tax base,

Question 17

What are the concerns with the Netherlands Red Lights District in Amsterdam?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is the Swedish Model?

Answer 18

criminalize buyers not sellers of sex work
could help shift stigma in US

Question 19

How have women historically been involved in gangs?

Answer 19

20th century moral panic but typically a small percentage, typically join for brother or boyfriend, viewed as sexual toy for gang members

Question 20

How are women currently involved in gangs?

Answer 20

active participants in crimes, equal if join by walking the line, pulling the train leads to more disrespect and sexual abuse

Question 21

Why do female gang members leave?

Answer 21

pregnancy (biggest), employment, education, incarceration (less gangs in prison), jumped out

Question 22

How often do women leave gangs?

Answer 22

exit at higher rates, easier if entered for a boyfriend, fine letting women leave if won’t snitch

Question 23

What is the involvement of girls in gangs?

Answer 23

young as 14, mostly runaways that need protection and home

Question 24

How does media report girls in gangs?

Answer 24

many are cliques not gangs, ex: Reena Virk’s murders

Question 25

How are women involved in homicide?

Answer 25

more likely to kill spouse, s/o or acquaintance (always a connection)

Question 26

How does the media view women and homicide?

Answer 26

contributes to fascination of violence by females (ex: songs, tv and docs), hyper sexualization of women who engage in crime

Question 27

What was the Pamela Smart Case?

Answer 27

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

Question 28

What was the Michelle Carter case?

Answer 28

encourage boyfriend Conrad Roy III to commit suicide over phone, guilty of involuntary manslaughter for 20 years
Were her actions criminal?

Question 29

What is fillicide?

Answer 29

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

Question 30

What is a family annihilator?

Answer 30

men who kill their families

Question 31

What are the Resnicks Typology explanations for filicide?

Answer 31

1. altruism: for best interest of the children
2. psychotic or psychological reasons: mental illness, postpartum psychosis
3. unwanted pregnancy: usually neonaticide, often unclear if stillbirth
4. Accidental death due to maltreatment or abuse
5. vengeful act against spouss of father (custodial dispute, via kidnapping)

Question 32

Who was Andrea Yates

Answer 32

famous case of severe postpartum psychosis, drowned 5 children in bathtub while husband was at work

Question 33

How is infanticide prosecuted?

Answer 33

infanticide 233 of criminal code (lesser than 1st, 2nd, manslaughter)
accidental death
failure to protect laws

Question 34

What are failure to protect laws?

Answer 34

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

Question 35

What is the Brooke Skylar Richardson Case?

Answer 35

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