Sociology
THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE PARTS TO THIS ESSAY PART ONE IS TO BE DONE BY FEBRUARY 12 IT IS A SHORT ANSWER QUESTION. PART TWO IS THE ESSAY ITSELF.
There have been several issues related to crime and mental illness. The mass media portrays the mentally ill as violent whereas many people deal with mental illness with no violence whatsoever. In the past year, there have been several cases where people have committed heinous crimes and it was related to mental health issues.
Virginia Tech Shooting: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us/16cnd-shooting.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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Aurora Shootings: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/20/19505917-remembering-the-aurora-shooting-victims?lite
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Georgia School: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/21/decatur-georgia-michael-brandon-hill-school-shooting/2680407/
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Amish Shooting: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/02/amish.shooting/
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Sandy Hook: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/sandy-hook-timeline/index.html
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Las Vegas Shooting: http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/12/us/las-vegas-shooting-documents-unsealed/index.html
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Texas Church Shooting: https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/texas-church-shooting
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Latest School Shooting Feb 14, 2018: https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/14/us/florida-high-school-shooting/index.html
This discussion is to deal ONLY with the issue of mental illness and crimes. You can review how people are treated in the criminal justice system. Next week, we will be looking at these crimes with relation to protection of groups and what efforts should be taken.
Select 3 cases in total and look at how the media and law enforcement viewed the mental status of the individual who committed the crimes. You must select ONE case from Texas Church Shooting or the Las Vegas Shooting and then 2 others (you can look up your own cases as well)
PART TWO
Rational Choice.
This assignment is to look at rational choice and both specific and general deterrence. This assignment is allowing you to select two crimes that have occurred in the last 6 months.
Go through each crime and explain the following:
Critical Thinking Questions
1.Are criminals rational decision makers, or are most of them motivated by uncontrollable psychological and emotional drives or social forces such as poverty and despair?
2.Would you want to live in a society where crime rates were quite low because they were controlled by extremely harsh punishments, such as flogging for vandalism?
3.Which would you be more afraid of if you were caught by the police while shoplifting: receiving criminal punishment or having to face the contempt of your friends or relatives?
4.Is it possible to create a method of capital punishment that would actually deter people from committing murder? For example, would televising executions work? What might be some of the negative consequences of such a policy?
