On charges of murder or assault, it often appears that the accused's aggression was immediately preceded by provocative behaviour e.g. taunts or insults by the victim which induced anger or rage in the accused and which gave rise to his aggression. The present study aims to address the question whether, in South African law, a defence is available to an accused in such cases. Since the issue of provocation in South African law usually arises in homicide cases, this study will be restricted to such cases. It will be shown that, during the past couple of decades, the South African law relating to provocation has undergone significant development. In 1925, the Appellate Division declared s 141 of the Native Territories Penal Code to be an accurate reflection of the South African law relating to provocation. In terms of this section, provocation could operate as a partial defence on a charge of murder: where an accused successfully raised the defence he would be convicted of culpable homicide. Recently, however, it has become clear that provocation may operate as a complete defence, resulting in an accused leaving the court as a free person. It will be argued that the above development reflects a general shift in our law, starting in the 1950's, from a policy-based to a principle-based approach to criminal liability.

No description available.

This study analyzed case and sentencing data from 632 capital cases involving Black and White defendants and victims, processed in North Carolina from May 1990 through December 2002. Logistic regression analysis of all cases and race-specific data allowed assessment of the variable effects of jury acceptance of statutory aggravating and mitigating factors on capital sentencing outcomes (death versus life). The purpose was to evaluate the role race plays in shaping jury use of legally defined factors in capital sentencing. Significant variance in the effect of jury acceptance of aggravators was observed between Black and White defendants. Black defendants pay a higher premium in terms of the risk of a death sentence than do White defendants whose crimes are comparably aggravated. There was no overall disparity in the effect of jury acceptance of mitigatory factors observed, although certain mitigators reduced the risk of a death sentence significantly more for Black or White. Overall, the aggravators had a statistically significantly stronger effect on sentencing outcomes than did the mitigators, regardless of race, and on cases involving Black defendants, regardless of victim race. Racial invariance was not shown.

This study is an investigation of whether familial relationships among offenders and their victims affect capital sentencing. Using a sample of capital cases from North Carolina restricted to familial homicides, logistic regression models are used while controlling for legal and extra-legal factors that influence decision outcomes. Such models of capital sentencing are developed to (1) determine whether familial-victim cases have unique correlates; and (2) whether there are variations in the effects of these correlates across gender. Contradictory to these hypotheses, results suggest that acquaintance and stranger relationships are less likely to receive a capital outcome when compared to familial relationships. Therefore, in North Carolina it appears that familial relationships receive capital outcomes more frequently than other types of victim-offender relationships.

Subject of the dissertation research – analysis of the body of murder without circumstances aggravating and mitigating its gravity provided for in Part 1 Art. 129 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania as well as analysis of theoretical and practical problems that arise upon qualifying these criminal acts. The goal of this research is to reveal a concept of murder without circumstances aggravating and mitigating its gravity where punishment is imposed in accordance with Part 1 Art. 129 of the CC of the Republic of Lithuania, to analyse attributes of this criminal act, to raise theoretical and practical problems of qualification of the analysed criminal act and to make proposals for solution of these problems. / Disertacijos tyrimo dalykas – nužudymo be jo pavojingumą didinančių ir mažinančių aplinkybių, numatyto Lietuvos Respublikos baudžiamojo kodekso (toliau tekste – LR BK) 129 str. 1 d., sudėties analizė bei teorinių ir praktinių problemų, kylančių kvalifikuojant šias nusikalstamas veikas, tyrimas. Disertacijos tyrimo tikslas – atskleisti nužudymo be jo pavojingumą didinančių ar mažinančių aplinkybių, už kurį kyla baudžiamoji atsakomybė pagal LR BK 129 straipsnio 1 dalį, sampratą, išanalizuoti šios nusikalstamos veikos požymius, iškelti nagrinėjamos nusikalstamos veikos teorines ir praktines kvalifikavimo problemas bei pateikti pasiūlymus šių problemų sprendimui.

Whether the capital sentencing statute in Texas provides a vehicle for jurors to give effect to mitigation evidence has been a critical factor when the United States Supreme Court has sought to determine its constitutionality. Unlike the majority of other American jurisdictions which maintain capital punishment as a penalty, Texas utilizes a particularly unique scheme which places an assessment of the defendant’s dangerousness at the center of the sentencing decision. Using data gathered from personally conducted interviews with forty-six former capital jurors and trial transcripts from each trial in which they served, this thesis demonstrates how the current sentencing scheme in Texas fails to provide jurors with an adequate vehicle for considering mitigation evidence. Beginning with an analysis of the process of jury selection this study examines the various ways in which the sentencing scheme is explained to potential jurors by the judge, prosecution, and defense attorneys. Of crucial importance is how the mitigation instruction is reconstituted by trial judges and prosecutors into an extension of the defendant’s potential future dangerousness. Emerging from this analysis is the central role that the interpretation of the sentencing statute by legal actors play in determining how jurors view the evidence presented throughout the trial, as well as what factors they believe they are legally permitted to consider in sentencing. The findings of this study strongly suggest that the focus of the sentencing scheme on the defendant’s dangerousness inhibits jurors’ ability to view mitigation evidence unrelated to the crime as mitigating. Thus, the Texas capital sentencing statute in its application appears to prevent jurors from giving effect to personal mitigation, an essential element of a constitutionally satisfactory death penalty statute.

The study analyzed a convenience sample of published accounts of death penalty cases and life without parole cases. The objective of the study was to explore factors that influence the selection of cases for coverage in books, think tank reports (e.g., Heritage Foundation), and periodicals and factors related to coverage of homicides resulting in a death penalty sentence or a life without parole sentence (often termed “America’s other death penalty”). Since this study was exploratory, hypotheses were not offered. However, prior research on the death penalty and on life without parole offered several clues. For example, since black offender/white victim homicides were more likely to result in a death penalty sentence, it was expected that such homicides would more likely to be covered. Since conservatives were more likely to favor the death penalty and liberals were likely to oppose it, it was expected that coverage would vary by how conservative or liberal the coverage source. For example, how the Heritage Foundation covered cases was expected to be different from coverage by Human Rights Watch. In summary, my study revealed opposite results of previous research studies. The results of my study are probably skewed because of the small sample size. A bigger sample size would more than likely resulted in more accurate and reliable results.

Disertacijoje analizuojamas baudžiamosios atsakomybės už kvalifikuotą vagystę reglamentavimas Lietuvos BK 178 straipsnio 2 ir 3 dalyse, atskleidžiami šio reglamentavimo trūkumai, pateikiama pasiūlymų šiems trūkumams pašalinti. Kadangi vagystės kvalifikuotos sudėtys apima ir pagrindinės vagystės sudėties požymius, disertacijoje nagrinėjama vagystės samprata, atskleidžiami rūšiniai vagystės požymiai, aptariami kai kurie diskutuotini šių požymių aspektai, skiriamos vagystės rūšys ir sudėtys. Pagrindinis dėmesys disertacijoje skirtas vagystės kvalifikuotoms sudėtims, jų konstravimo ypatumams atskleisti: analizuojama vagystės kvalifikuotų sudėčių reglamentavimo Lietuvoje galiojusiuose įstatymuose istorinė raida, aptariami vagystės kvalifikuotų sudėčių ypatumai kitų šalių baudžiamuosiuose įstatymuose, pabrėžiami šių sudėčių konstravimo privalumai ir trūkumai galiojančiame Lietuvos BK, siūloma jų konstravimo tobulinimo variantų. Šiame moksliniame darbe nagrinėjami visi BK 178 straipsnio 2 ir 3 dalyse numatyti vagystę kvalifikuojantys požymiai, atskleidžiamas jų turinys, iškeliamos šių požymių inkriminavimo problemos teisės taikymo praktikoje, siūlomi šių problemų sprendimo variantai. Nagrinėjant kiekvieną vagystę kvalifikuojantį požymį, lyginamuoju aspektu apžvelgiami analogiški ar panašūs kitų šalių baudžiamuosiuose įstatymuose įtvirtinti vagystę kvalifikuojantys požymiai, baudžiamosios teisės moksle egzistuojanti jų samprata, teoriniai teiginiai grindžiami teismų praktikos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The thesis provides the analysis of regulation of criminal liability for aggravated theft in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 178 of the Lithuanian Criminal Code, reveals and makes proposals for eliminating the shortcomings in the regulation. Whereas corpus delicti of the aggravated theft also comprise elements constituting corpus delicti of principle theft, the thesis examines the concept of theft, reveals general elements of theft, covers certain debatable aspects of such elements and points out the types and corpus delictis of theft. The thesis focuses on revealing the corpus delictis of aggravated theft and the peculiarities of their construction: it provides the analysis of the historical development of norms regulating criminal liability for the aggravated theft during different periods of time in Lithuania, covers the peculiarities of corpus delictis of aggravated theft under the foreign criminal laws, emphasizes the advantages and disadvantages of constructions of corpus delictis of the aggravated theft in the valid Lithuanian Criminal Code and proposes options for improving such constructions. This scientific study explores all the elements aggravating theft provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 178 of the Criminal Code, reveals the content of each aggravating element, highlights the problems relating to enforcement of the elements in judicial practice and proposes options for addressing the problems. Each element aggravating theft is examined by drawing a... [to full text]

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka hur avhopparverksamheter arbetar med avhoppare med fokus på behandlingsarbete samt återintegrering. Vidare ville vi även undersöka vilka faktorer som ansågs vara väsentliga i beslutet att vilja lämna gängkriminalitet. Studiens teoretiska referensram baserades på tre huvudteorier: Exitprocessen, teorin om differentiella associationer samt stämplingsteorin. Studiens empiri är framtagen genom fyra separata intervjuer med socialarbetare där samtliga är verksamma inom avhopparverksamheter. Studiens resultat indikerar på att familjebildande, traumatiska händelser eller utmattning av livsstilen är betydande faktorer i beslutet att lämna gängkriminalitet. Vidare framkom det att behandlingsarbetet inte skiljer sig markant mellan de olika avhopparverksamheterna då majoriteten av behandlingen syftar till att skapa en beteendeförändring hos individerna i fråga. Detta innebär att förändra tidigare destruktiva beteenden som etablerats hos individen som en konsekvens av kriminalitet. Respondenterna anser enat att det finns stora svårigheter med återintegreringsarbetet gällande avhoppare. Svårigheterna visade sig grundas i att hitta sysselsättning, bostad och andra vägar in i samhället. / Criminal groupings are a diverse social problem that affects the society both economically and on an individual level. The aim of this qualitative study was to examine how defector support programmes work with defectors, especially focused on treatment work and reintegration. Furthermore, the aim was to explore which factors were considered significant in the decision to leave a criminal group. The study's theoretical frame was based on three main theories: exit-process, the theory of differential associations and the labeling theory. The empirical study was produced through four separate interviews with social workers, all of whom are professionals active in defector supporting programmes. The results of the study indicate that starting a family, traumatic events or exhaustion as a consequence of the lifestyle are significant factors in the decision to leave criminal groups. In addition, it emerged that the treatment work does not differ significantly between the various defector supporting programmes as the majority of the treatment aims to create a behavioral change. The respondents unanimously believe that there are major difficulties with the reintegration work regarding defectors. Difficulties were found in getting an employment, finding residence and other ways to reintegrate.

Hedersrelaterad brottslighet är ett allvarligt samhällsproblem där brottsoffer ofta utsätts för både psykiskt, fysiskt och socialt våld och förtryck. Sedan den första juli 2020 regleras hedersmotiv som en försvårande omständighet i Brottsbalken, 1962:700 29 kap 2 § p.10. Den nya straffskärpningsregeln syftar till att höja straffvärdet för brott som begås med ett hedersmotiv samt att förtydliga för domstolar vilka omständigheter ett sådant motiv kan utgöras av. För att få en djupare förståelse för hur tingsrätten resonerar kring hedersmotivet syftar studien till att jämföra dessa resonemang före respektive efter införandet av straffskärpningen. Vidare ämnar studien att undersöka hur tingsrätten styrker hedersmotiv samt vilken påverkan som straffskärpningen har inneburit vid värdering av straffvärdet. För att besvara frågeställningar har studien tillämpat en tematisk analys, där totalt 14 domar har analyserats. Resultatet visar att tingsrätten har blivit mer enhetlig och tydlig i sitt resonemang kring hedersmotiv efter införandet av straffskärpningen. Vid styrkande av föreliggande hedersmotiv har den tilltalades olika former av kontroll över målsägande, samt kollektiva omständigheter, beaktats i stor utsträckning. Innan införandet utgick tingsrätten från olika definitioner av fenomenet och motiverade sällan varför ett hedersmotiv förelåg. Vad gäller straffskärpningens påverkan vid värdering av straffvärdet har det inte gått att urskilja en generell påverkan på straffvärdets längd. Däremot har straffskärpningen inneburit en mer konsekvent bedömning av hedersmotivet som en försvårande omständighet under påföljdsbeslut. Då studien endast har inkluderat domslut mellan 2018–2022 rekommenderas framtida forskning inom området att vidga detta tidsperspektiv för att identifiera ytterligare förändring i tingsrättens resonemang samt motivering för hedersmotiv. / Honour-related crime is a serious societal problem where victims are often subjected to psychological, physical, and social violence and oppression. Since the first of July 2020, honour motives have been regulated as an aggravating circumstance in accordance with Chapter 29 2§ p.10 (The Swedish Penal Code, 1962: 700). The aim of this aggravating circumstance is to harshen the penalty value for crimes committed with an honour motive and to clarify to courts what circumstances such a motive may consist of. To gain a deeper understanding of the district court’s reasoning, the study aims to compare these reasonings before and after the introduction of this aggravating circumstance. Furthermore, the purpose of this study is to examine how the district court proves honour motives and what impact this has had on the penal value. To answer these questions a thematic analysis was used, where a total of fourteen verdicts were analysed. The result shows that the district court has become more coherent and clearer in its reasonings regarding honour motives. Furthermore, the district court usually supports the motive based on different circumstances surrounding the defendant's control over the victim and collective circumstances. Before the introduction of this aggravating circumstance the district court used different definitions of the phenomenon and rarely provided an explanation of why an honour motive was present. It has not been possible to distinguish a general impact on the length of the penalty value. However, this change has led to a more consistent assessment of the motive as an aggravating circumstance during penalty decisions. As the study only included verdicts between 2018-2022, future research is advised to identify further changes over time.