published_or_final_version / Law / Master / Master of Laws

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Lietuvoje ir ir kitose Europos šalyse (Italijoje, Lenkijoje) pasigirsta politikų bei visuomenės kalbų, jog verta atkurti mirties bausmę. Kiek tokios kalbos realios? Europa po antrojo pasaulinio karo dėjo maksimaliai pastangų panaikinti mirties bausmę visame kontinente. Darbas buvo ilgas, užtruko ilgus dešimtmečius, bet dėl diplomatinių viražų, beveik visos Europos šalys mirties bausmės nebetaiko. Dabartinės retencionistinės kalbos kai kam atrodo kaip žingsnis atgal, nes aboliucionistai mano, jog mirties bausmės uždraudimas tai toks pats didelis laimėjimas, kaip pasaulinis demokratijos įsitvirtinimas daugumoje pasaulio šalių. Retencionistai gi visai kitaip žvelgia į mirties bausmę ir mato ją kaip normalią baudžiamosios politikos priemonę. Todėl diskusijos tarp dviejų priešingų stovyklų verda tiek dėl mirties bausmės privalumų ir trūkumų, tiek dėl apskritai galimybės atkurti mirties bausmę bent jau tam tikrose šalyse. Aboliucionistai, ilgai kovoję už visuotinį aboliucionizmą neketina užleisti nė kiek savo jau iškovotų pozicijų plotelio, tačiau tam vėlgi pasitelkia argumentus, kuriuos naudoja debatuose „už ir prieš“ mirties bausmę. Retencionistai gi naudoja skirtingoms diskusijoms skirtingus argumentus, bet matyt jų retorika ir pozicija yra kitokia dėl to, kad jų šalių baudžiamoji politika kelia kitokius tikslus ir uždavinius teisei, susiduria su kitomis problemomis, o visuomenės skirtingai nuo ES senbuvių visuomenių supranta teisės paskirtį, Europa gi visus paima po vienu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In Lithuania and other European countries (Italy, Poland) politicians and the public discuss on the issue is it worth restoring the death penalty. Europe after the Second World War, has made maximum efforts to abolish the death penalty throughout the continent. The work was long, it took many decades, but after the diplomatic virages, almost all European countries have abolished death penalty. Current retencional discusses for some seems like a step back, because abolutionists believe that the prohibition of the death penalty is same great achievement, as the global entrenchment of democracy in most countries of the world. Retencionists look in other way to the death penalty and sees it as a normal criminal policy. Therefore, the debate between two opposite camps is going both about death penalty pros and cons, both for the general possibility of restoring the death penalty, at least in certain countries. Aboliucionists has long fought for universal aboliutionizm and do not intend to relinquish any of the positions they have already achieved. Abolutionists rely on the arguments used by the recent debates for and against the death penalty. Retencionists use different arguments for debates, but apparently their rhetoric, and the position is different because of their criminal policies are different goals. Countries of the retencionists has other objectives for the law- it is faced with other problems, and the public, unlike the EU's old member countries‘s societies understand... [to full text]

This paper explores execution rates among states where the death penalty is legal. Following the Supreme Court ruling in 1972 (Furman v. Georgia) which categorized the death penalty as cruel and unusual punishment due to arbitrary sentencing, this paper looks at whether or not executions are arbitrarily conducted by states. By taking into account race of the defendant, race of the victim, heinousness of crime, quality of defense, and public support for the death penalty, this paper seeks answers to the varying rates of executions across the United States. It was however, unable to find causal reasons for differences in execution rates. It did find though, that in some states, a black defendant had a higher likelihood of being executed during 2008-2012. This finding is important because it shows that race matters in some states if you are a defendant on a capital case.

One of the purposes of this thesis is to try to examine the concepts of mental sickness and responsibility (and some other related concepts) and see whether or not they can be defended against some of the criticisms that have been made against them. It has, for instance, been argued that the concept mental sickness is culture relative in a bad sense. If this criticism is valid, then we cannot be justified in saying that mental sickness has impaired a person's responsibility. Another criticism that has been made is that arguments that use mental sickness to explain and excuse criminal behaviour are circular. Most of the criticisms that I have discussed are intended to be general, i.e. they are criticisms of the concept of mental disorder im general, not just of a particular kind of mental disorder. Thus though Lady Wootton says that arguments that try to explain the psychopath's anti-social behaviour are circular, she thinks (at least in her more radical moments) that the circular process prevails in other mental disorders as well (e.g. with mental defectives. See <u>Social Science and Social Pathology</u>, page 256 ff.). Similarly, the argument that different standards of mental defect prevail in different cultures, and that therefore there is something wrong with the concept of mental defect, is intended to be (at least in her more radical moments) a general one, i.e. it is intended to apply, <u>mutatis mutandis</u> against other kinds of mental disorders also.

The present study was designed to test for sequential effects of partial punishment training.

Capital Punishment Abstract This paper is aimed at the capital punishment and its usage in modern society. The basic question examined is, whether death penalty can ever be justified as a tool to fight the most heinous crimes. In order to determine the answer this question, I am examining the capital punishment from the point of view of possible functions it can have and weighting it against inherent risks and harms created by it. The first chapter of this thesis is based on description. Firstly it shows the history of using the capital punishment in the area of Czech Republic; secondly I describe the usage around the world - mainly in USA, China and Middle East. Lastly I analyze international law concerned with capital punishment - namely International Covenant on Civil and Political rights and European Charter of Human rights, optional protocols to them and of course court decisions regarding these treaties. The second chapter is aimed at evaluating the possible benefits that using of capital punishment can have - especially when compared to life imprisonment. It is divided according to these functions, which are deterrence of potential criminals, protection of the society from sentenced criminals and the retribution for the crimes committed. In the end I find no clear benefit that executing of felons...

The purpose of my thesis is to analyse the life imprisonment and answer basic questions related to issue of this criminal sanction. It is necessary to study the life imprisonment from the perspective of the criminal law, but in the light of psychological and social aspects that are connected with the long-term imprisonment. The thesis is composed of six main chapters, which are divided into different subchapters. Each of these chapters is dedicated to several aspects of life imprisonment and this work is trying to give a global view of the life imprisonment. The Introduction is followed by Chapter One which defines the term and purpose of the punishment. This Chapter presents the history of the evolution of the punishment. This work describes development of the concept of the punishment from retribution and frighten to the modern comprehension that respects human rights and liberties. The work is pointing out the example of the remarkable Italian scientist Cesare Beccaria, who came with the modern comprehension of the punishment in the era of the Enlightenment. However, the modern view prevailed not earlier than in the 19th century. The Chapter One also explains the system of the punishment. The Chapter Two examines the death penalty. The death penalty is a sanction that must be compared with the...

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / L. Susan Williams / This qualitative study draws from 54 interviews with "lifers" -- those serving 20 years or more -- from three correctional facilities across Kansas; it addresses the stark void in criminological literature about prison culture in the context of late-modern penality. This dissertation explores identity transformation of inmates serving a life sentence, proposing that incarceration represents a new rite of passage for 2.22 million citizens in the US. This inquiry utilizes the concept of liminality to capture the "betwixt and between" component of significant life transitions such as being handed a life sentence. Extending Jewkes' (2002) work on liminality, the study advances and supports the notion of a suspended liminality, an elongated vulnerability to one's sense of self, which, for those serving a long prison sentence, generally occurs during the first five years. Eventually, some lifers are able to rebuild social networks. The process of identity transition reflects an interstitial drift between suspended liminality and prisonization, contingent upon social support, sense of belonging, and forms of hope. Reconsidering the notion of a permanent "social death," this study provides evidence of a social purgatory, yielding a period of chaos and confusion in which the self is in turmoil, engaged in a battle to find meaning and purpose. The analysis employs group interviews, multiple on-site observations, field notes, and a night in solitary confinement; three inmates assisted in the interview design. This dissertation contributes a "thick description" of contemporary life in US prisons and transitions through long sentences that may present barriers to successful reentry.

The following research attempts to determine the factors used by an individual to develop an attitude on the political issue of capital punishment. Using data from the 2000 National Election Study and ordered probit analysis, this research produces a multivariate, multi-stage model of death penalty attitudes. Demographic factors such as race, age, gender, and education level are included in the initial stage of the model. Attitudinal variables such as party identification, ideology, and religiosity are added, one-by-one, in the second stage of the model to determine their own individual effect on death penalty attitudes, and their effect on the preceding demographic variables. The result is a comprehensive model of death penalty attitudes.