This essay will critically consider the differences between acts of male and female filicide and the difference in the response of the Criminal Justice System towards each gender. Filicide is the heinous act of killings one’s son or daughter and there are several different types of filicide as classified by Ania Wilczynski (1997) through analysing the motives within each case. These categories included; retaliation killings such as those motivated by jealousy of victim or rejection of the offender by the victim, altruistic killings or killings due the fact the child was unwanted, psychosis within the parent, killings secondary to sexual abuse or death caused to victim due to acts of discipline whether there was an intent to kill or not. In total there were eleven classifications designated from this study, however, this essay will focus on the most frequently occurring ones such as retaliation killings, psychosis within the parent and altruistic killings. In order to establish whether the Criminal Justice System holds a gendered view towards this type of criminal offence, the backgrounds and motivations behind the act must be analysed and the differences between men and women in relation to this crime must be identified so that a conclusion can be drawn as to whether the system is favourable and more lenient towards men or women who participate in such an act.
Research carried out by Resnick (1969) identified mothers as being twice more likely to kill their offspring than fathers although this claim was later disproven following more recent research carried out by Levielle, Marleau and Dube (2007). They found that paternal filicide is more frequent than maternal with fathers accounting for fifty-five percent of all child-homici...
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Snook, E. (2011). The importance of motives and means in filicide sentencing.. Available: http://familylaw.uoregon.edu/assets/familylaw/snook.pdf. Last accessed 29th November 2013.
Stanton, J; Simpson, A. (2002). Filicide: A Review. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 25 (1), 1-14.
Walklate, S (2004). Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice. 2nd ed. London: Willian . 21-299.
West, G.Sara. (2007). An overview of filicide. Journal of Psychiatry. 4 (2), 48-57.
Wilczynski,A. (1995). Filicide. In: Dobash, E; Dobash,P; Noaks,L Gender and Crime. Wales: University of Wales Press. 167-180.
Wilczynski,A. (1997). Mad or bad? Child killers, Gender and the Courts. The British Journal of Criminology. 37 (3), 419-436.
Yarwood, D. (2004). Child Homicide: A review of the statistics and studies. Available: www.dewar4research.org/docs.chom.pdf. Last accessed 29th October 2013.
Bibbings , Lois , and Donald Nicolson. 2000. “General principles of criminal law'? A feminist
There is a broad spectrum of crimes that are committed day-to-day. When one thinks of murder, parental murder against children is not at the forefront of the mind. Filicide, or the murder of one’s child, is a crime that is common but not mentioned often. About 500 filicide cases happen each year, which has been close to the same number for about a decade (Orenstein, Brown University, 2014). Also, according to studies, boys were 58.3 percent more likely to be killed than girls.
Victor Rios states in his well-renowned book Punished, “In 1924, sociologist Edwin Sutherland discussed how boys were taught to be “rough and tough”, rendering them more likely than girls to become delinquent.” (Rios, 2011, p. 131) This quotation alone means that for almost 100 years, if not longer, boys have had a criminality stigma attached to them just because of their gender. Not only is it completely out of anybody’s control to pick their gender, it is also extremely sexist to say that boys are more likely than girls to become deviant in behavior. There are numerous statistics that prove how men are more often targeted than women when it comes to criminal acts, as well as how they are perceived to be more violent and less likely to comply
Although the years since Smart’s study have seen much more interest in the study of female crime and deviance, many general theories in this area continue to neglect gender as a factor influencing criminality. This is despite the fact that official figures suggest that gender is perhaps the most significant single factor in whether an individual is convicted of crime. Any theories which fail to explain this relationship could therefore be seen as inadequate. OFFICIAL STATISTICS, CRIMINALITY AND GENDER Pollak – the ‘masked’ female offender – ‘chivalry’ thesis Writing in 1950, Otto pollak argued that official statistics on gender and crime were highly misleading.
Moreover, females acting alone manage an estimated eight year killing time, double that of their male counterpart (as cited in Farrell et al, 2011, p. 232). For children, people are often hesitant to blame women for their deaths. Nobody wants to accept that a mother could kill their own child, or anyone else’s child. Even if they aren’t a mother, women are seen as compassionate and caring, the nurturing gender, so they are less likely to be the center of investigation in a child’s death.
Daly, Kathleen, Goldsmith, Andrew, and Israel, Mark. 2006, Crime and Justice: A guide to criminology, third addition, Thomson, Lawbook Co.
Sociologists try to explain it, so do criminologists, theologizes, politicians and world historians, but the resulting message is clear, and that message is that females are not alien to committing violent acts. In recent years, women have committed some of the most heinous crimes. Darlie Routier killed her two sons for reasons blamed on personal economics. Diane Downs killed one of her three children (she tried to kill all of them) in order to win back a lover who didn't want kids. Susan Smith drowned her boys in a neighborhood lake because her boyfriend did not want the responsibility of raising some other man's children. Karla Homolka and husband Paul Bernardo sexually assaulted, tortured and killed several young women for thrills.
Streib, Victor. "Death Penalty for Female Offenders." March 1, 2002. Ohio Northern University. April 15, 2002. <http://www.law.onu.edu/faculty/streib/femdeath.htm>.
This essay will explore reasons why females such as Vanessa George turn to the crime of sex offending. Demonstrating my knowledge and understanding of classical criminological theory, exploring biological theories such as penis envy and more contemporary views such as liberation theory within feminism. The essay will then go on to look at the inequalities female sex offenders face within the criminal justice system in comparison with males, using chivalry theory and evil woman theory to explain this.
Mitchell, Heather, and Michael G. Aamodt. "The incidence of child abuse in serial killers." Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 20.1 (2005): 40-47.
The United States criminal justice system is an ever-changing system that is based on the opinions and ideas of the public. Many of the policies today were established in direct response to polarizing events and generational shifts in ideology. In order to maintain public safety and punish those who break these laws, law enforcement officers arrest offenders and a judge or a group of the law offender’s peers judge their innocence. If found guilty, these individuals are sentenced for a predetermined amount of time in prison and are eventually, evaluated for early release through probation. While on probation, the individual is reintegrated into their community, with restrict limitations that are established for safety. In theory, this system
Before the jury stands the defendant. There is overwhelming evidence in the favor of the prosecution. The verdict comes back from the jury, not guilty. Why? The defendant is a woman. In our era of equal rights and civil liberties women have made great strides in their advancement and role in society, yet it seems that gender segregates when it comes to crime. There have been countless cases where women and men have been tried for the same crime, yet when it comes to verdict and sentencing, the results don’t necessarily match. If one commits a crime one should be punished accordingly regardless of gender. In our society we seem to have two separate rules for our criminals, one for men and one for women. The key issue is are men and women treated equally by the criminal justice system. Another issue in gender biased sentencing is in its is its severity. Are women sentenced heavier for certain crimes then men.
It seems that hegemonic masculinity does a great deal in explaining male-perpetrated familicide, but it fails to explain female perpetrators. There is a great lack of gender symmetrical explanations of interpersonal violence. However, as the 21st century continues, and there is a continued strive for gender equality, there is good chance that there will be an increasing amount of gender based research on violence.
In the twenty first century there have been many cases of kids committing murder, whether it is the relationships they hold at home or the video games they play, the environment a child is exposed to will affect their developmental process. Children are supposed to be innocent and pure without the desire to kill, yet in the last 50 years official statistics on Listverse.com suggest that over 1,100 kids have been found guilty of murder in England alone. The average age of a child that kills is just about fourteen years old. These kids are usually brought up in an environment that does not teach them right from wrong.
Many people claim that the child did not know any better, or that he was brought up with the idea that this behavior is acceptable. Although there is some truth to these allegations, the reality of this social issue is far more complex. Therefore we ask the question, "Should childhood offenders of capital crimes be treated as adults?" To begin with, numerous reasons for why a child acts in the manner he exhibits and why he continues to exert such dangerous and even fatal schemes. Recent research shows that factors ranging from inherited personality traits to chemical imbalances and damages suffered in the womb can increase the odds that a child will become violent (Johnson 234).