CRM/LAW C106 Study Guide - Final Guide: Baldus De Ubaldis, Dorothy Otnow Lewis, Radical Change
8 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Jessica Mangold
C106 Crime & Public Policy
Final Review Session
6/7/18
Final Review
Foundational Stuff
- crime and public policy
- US “crime problem” = violence
- lethal violence
- US rate of violence (i.e. homicide) distinguishes it from other advanced, industrial
societies
- US tends not to see
- often will not look beyond personal experience
- why?
- some flaw in the justice system
- “myth of leniency” -> believe haven’t been tough enough
- therefore need to get tougher
- typical CJ policy responses: deterrence + incapacitation
- very limited techniques
- how can problem of violence be confronted
Set Up
- 3 prompts regarding public policy
- 2 essays
- bring blue/green book
- write legibly (with ink pen)
Guiding Framework
- Basic (generic 4-5 paragraph essay)
- clear argument -> central claim (thesis)
- ex. “The death penalty for street heroin dealing will not reduce the prevalence of
this type of drug crime because it relies on general deterrence, a weakly supported
theory of crime prevention.”
- supporting statements
- 1, 2, 3 (topic sentences)
- ex. “Street heroin dealers, faced with the prospect of a death sentence, will be
more inclined to rely on lethal violence given the nature of the illicit drug trade.”
- provide evidence from book(s), class, etc.
- ex. “The death penalty produces a ‘brutalization’ effect, which in turn be
punctuated by illicit market dynamics.”
- cogency of argument
- make argument persuasive!
Minor Points
- take time thinking of responses to prompt
- don’t jump right into it
- outline logic of argument
- “road map”
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- try to weave in buzzwords (e.g. “brutalization” effect)
- makes argument more powerful
- between 3-5 pages, more or less, for each essay
- find balance
- please write legibly with ink pen
- don’t panic!
Death Penalty
- “What is the recent history of the death penalty in the US? How does this differ from
other countries?”
- deeply dividing issue in US
- seen as expensive, immoral, unjust, etc.
- some would prefer alternative -> life imprisonment w/o parole
- some see as justice -> an eye for an eye
- things are changing, although DP still popular in some states (e.g. CA)
- support for DP has fallen to about 55% -> has been falling lately
- 1,475 executions since 1976 -> more than other advanced industrial societies
- US = only advanced Western society w/DP
- going against worldwide trend
*see Amnesty International report on website
- “Is the death penalty administered fairly in American…”
- No
- Furman v. Georgia (1972)
- moratorium on DP
- ruled that DP as administered at time violated 8th + 14th amendments
- applied arbitrarily
*Greg v. Georgia -> can start executing people again
- David Baldus study
- whether DP is applied depends largely on race of victim
- when account for everything else + control for them
- not necessarily overt, explicit discrimination
- murder of white victims 4x more likely to result in death sentence
- study used in McKlesky v. Kemp
- Just Mercy: Walter, a black man, sentenced to death for allegedly killing white
woman – race of victim a salient factor
*racial discrimination in application of death penalty continues today
- majority of people on death row are African American (41% in 2017
when only 12% of US pop. is black)
- class matters as well
- “Most of the hundred or so death row prisoners who had been sentenced
to execution in Alabama since capital punishment was restored in 1975
were black, although to Walter’s surprise nearly 40 percent of them were
white. Everyone was poor…” (Stevenson, 2014 p. 53)
- “Does the death penalty deter…”
- the highest form of punishment
- does not make us safer
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
How can problem of violence be confronted. Often will not look beyond personal experience. Us rate of violence (i. e. homicide) distinguishes it from other advanced, industrial societies. Myth of leniency -> believe haven"t been tough enough. Typical cj policy responses: deterrence + incapacitation. The death penalty produces a brutalization" effect, which in turn be punctuated by illicit market dynamics. Take time thinking of responses to prompt. The death penalty for street heroin dealing will not reduce the prevalence of this type of drug crime because it relies on general deterrence, a weakly supported theory of crime prevention. Street heroin dealers, faced with the prospect of a death sentence, will be more inclined to rely on lethal violence given the nature of the illicit drug trade. Try to weave in buzzwords (e. g. brutalization effect) Between 3-5 pages, more or less, for each essay. Some would prefer alternative -> life imprisonment w/o parole.
