myths and media in CJ exam 2

when was the conception of childhood as separate from adulthood popularized

the 19th century brought on the conception of childhood

when did the “Child Saver” movement occur

early 1900s

what is the philosophical basis for the “Child Saver” movement

founded on the desire of the wealthy to improve the conditions of poor children living in the ghettos of rapidly expanding American cities

treatment of children in CJ

United States: more likely to lock up children

other countries: less youth incarceration

who are the “Boomerang Generation”

young adults (23-34) that return home to live with parents or relatives

what does infantilization have to do with this group

they have been subject to a much greater degree of protective control and regulation than in former times

social, political, and economic forces have caused delays in the “rites of passage” people normally achieve

Doli incapax

“incapable of wrong”

who was James Bulger

a toddler who was kidnapped in a mall in England in 1993

who were the offenders in the Bulger case

10 year old Robert Thompson and Jon Venables

why was the Bulger case significant

it brought up the question if children could really be evil or monsters

when was the term pedophile introduced

first rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s

who was the first kid featured on the “Milk Carton Kid campaign and when did it begin

in 1979 with the disappearance of Etan Patz

was the “Milk Carton Kid” campaign beneficial

it proved only marginally successful in helping locate missing kids

1994 Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act

the first federal legislation to require states to maintain a registry of those convicted of child abuse or sex offense

Megan’s Law

makes the sex offender registry available to the public

Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act

happened in 2006 and mandated sex offender registration and reporting on a three-tiered system and allows for civil commitment (indefinite detention) of those offenders deemed most dangerous

Operation Halloween: Zero Tolerance program

“Collaborative, multi-pronged containment strategy giving parents, caregivers, law enforcement and the community the assurance they need in knowing that our neighborhood is safe”

restrictions to Operation Halloween

• Offenders return home at 3 pm or immediately following dismissal from work

• Remain at their residence until 6 am

• Be available by phone in their home should parole agents decide to call them

• “Operation Halloween” prohibits sex offenders from opening their door to any minors who are trick-or-treating

psychoanalytic perspectives with mothers

referring to the notion of female deviance/criminality lies within only certain females based on the idea that we already has for women

“otherness”

used as an explanation for the demonization and criminalization of those who differ in background, appearance, and son on from oneself or “us” and relies on notions such as moral majority, imagined community, and so forth to provide the norm against which others are perceived and judged

“difference”

a  concept often used in a negative sense to encapsulate cultural diversity, whereby the patterns of behavior of certain groups are identified as “differing” from some presumed norm (deviant)

notions of females

passive, maternal, married, monogamous, innocent

women were offenders in less that BLANK of murder cases in 2014

12%

media views violent or sexually deviant women as more

fascinating and diabolical

feminist perspectives emerged in

the 1970s

what is feminist criminology

diverse set of approaches that make different—and often diverging—claims about the intersections of gender, race, and class within crime, the criminal justice system , and criminology

1st issue with feminist criminology

whether women are treated more harshly or more leniently when they come before the courts accused of a serious offense

2nd issue with feminist criminology

whether women who commit violent crimes are in partnership with a man vs in self-defense, or are passive victims of male oppression or active lawbreakers

3rd issue with feminist criminology

how are women who kill represented in the media

chivalry hypothesis

theory that presupposes that women “get off lightly” in criminal cases because judges and juries extend to them the same gallantry they would give their female relatives

who attracts more media attention

women attract more media attention, the image they create is more powerful and leaves a long-lasting impression

Lizzie Borden

charged and acquitted with murdering her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1893

Susan Smith

convicted of murdering her two young children after strapping them into their car seats and rolling the vehicle into a lake in South Carolina in 1994

how does the media represent women who kill

women who kill are represented by the media as hypersexual temptresses, evil monsters, and everything in between

standard narratives used to construct women who commit veery serious crimes

physical attractiveness

bad wives

bad mothers

mythical monsters

mad cows (mad mothers)

evil manipulators

non-agents

Mary Kay Letourneau

34-year-old 6th grade teacher plead guilty to “second-degree rap of a child” after admitting to an ongoing sexual relationship and conceiving a child with her 12 year-old student

what anomalous category does Mary Kay Letourneau fit

the anomalous category that fits here would be “rapist”

why was Aileen Wuornos punished so harshly by the system and society

the media coverage focused on her sexuality, depicting her as a murderous “highway hooker” who simply stalked innocent, vulnerable men for money

why was Aileen Wuornos described as a monstrosity

because of her physical appearance —deep, sunken, searing eyes and crooked, stained teeth

how was Jodi Arias perceived

coverage focused not only on her attractive appearance but also, more importantly, on how it changed, went from manipulative “sex kitten” and changed to studious “librarian”

what ideals should women live up to

Victorian-inspired ideals of femininity and domesticity

what should women be doing

ideally women should be housewives, content to remain at home, and economically and emotionally dependent on their husbands, who are busy bestriding the public sphere

spousal homicide

the unlawful killing of an individual of her or his spouse or partner, this offense has led to a great deal of research, especially within feminist criminology, regarding the mediating factors that have to be taken into account in studios of offending and victimization

Francine Hughes

she was violently abused by her husband for a decade and in 1966 she set their bed on fire killing her husband

“bad mother” motif

when we interpret criminal behavior specifically by mothers, it challenges our normal notion about mothers being good when in reality they may have been

TN criminal code amendment in 2014 - Senate Bill 1291

recognized the “viable fetus of a human being” and assigned the crime of misdemeanor assault to mothers who used drugs during their pregnancy (Maximum 15 year sentence)

carceral feminism

the view held by some feminists which holds that the criminal justice system should be relied upon predominately to protect women against violence and abuse and also to punish the abusers

Myra Hindley

her and her lover, Ian Brady, in 1966 had been convicted of murdering 5 children between 1963 and 1965

who was Myra Hinder compared to

Medea and Medusa

infanticide

the homicide of an infant under 12 months old by its mother while she is affected by pregnancy or lactation

filicide

the killing of a child by its parent or stepparent, filicide is the only type of homicide that women and men commit in approximately equal numbers

women are encouraged to use what type of defense

psychiatric difficulties, in other words plead guilty on grounds of diminished responsibility or infanticide

Munchausen’s Syndrome By Proxy (MSBP)

a condition that affects parents or caregivers, mostly women, who are driven by a psychological need to gain attention by being involved in the criminal justice system

where does the word hysteria come from

comes from the Greek work husterikos, meaning :of the womb”, and has long been employed to reinforce the notion of women as “other”

myth of motherhood

treating women who commit infanticide or filicide as hormonally disturbed

in Criminality of Women, Otto Pollak

argues that women’s “other” biology not only propels them into crime but also allows them to conceal their criminality, just as they have, for centuries, concealed menstruation, pregnancy, the fatherhood of their children, menopause, and sexual arousal

PMS and biological determinism

the use of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) to explain and excuse women’s violent offending is the most recent manifestation of a biological determinism that has its origins in Victorian ideas about hysterics

who gets the blame in “lethal pairs” and why

the male perpetrators were all evil men, capable of extreme cruelty. But without a submissive woman, a sadistic man would never act. It is only together that they become a “lethal pair”. It is therefore the woman who is instrumental in unleashing the violence and depravity that the man has thus far contained

(non-agents) women are viewed as BLANK or BLANK

big children

as men

which two crimes can women commit and be considered nonagentic

spousal homicide & infanticide

with familicide/family annihilation, male offender are often referred to as

misguided heroes

what is the relationship between police power/legitimacy and the policy image

their power and authority is given be us and if we were to perceive them as abusing their power or illegitimate, we oppose them

thin blue line

holds that the police are all that stands between the law-abiding public and wholesale violence and anarchy

what was police visibility at one point

it was a one way form of communication with the police, we just knew what they told us

how is the new level of visibility been detrimental for law enforcement

they have consistent oversight from us, we just and nit pick everything they do

In what ways do these nonfictional representations portray a false image of the daily lives of law enforcement?

Cops is the longest running tv show and it makes it seme like every day is really fast paced, which is not the case

social media has change the police image, it is no longer just press conferences,

we get to interact

ways police use social media to solve crimes/apprehend suspects

police use social media platforms to alter people of past crimes or the dangers of those ongoing

to encourage engagement with crime control programs such as Amber Alert

to monitor and investigate suspects; to obtain information about riots

to uncover or illustrate criminal networks

ways police use social media to improve community relations

lip sync challenge humanized them in a way because it gave the public more perspective

Tiktok has allowed police to go live and give an unprecedented view of what their lives are really like