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.
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Wilczynski,A. (1995). Filicide. In: Dobash, E; Dobash,P; Noaks,L Gender and Crime. Wales: University of Wales Press. 167-180.
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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
Bibbings , Lois , and Donald Nicolson. 2000. “General principles of criminal law'? A feminist
One case that was highly publicized and brought filicide to the forefront of America’s mind was Andrea Yates. Andrea murdered all five of her children by drowning them in the bathtub in her home. Prior to this incident, Andrea had been in and out of hospitals and mental institutes for depression and psychosis (West). Psychosis is defined as, “disruptions to a person’s thoughts and perceptions that make it difficult for them to recognize what is real and what isn’t. These disruptions are often experienced as seeing, hearing and believing things that aren’t real or having strange,
The rate of women’s conviction is on the rise (Van Wormer, Bartollas). The increase of incarceration is outdoing the conviction of the men (Van Wormer, Bartollas). Female defendants found guilty of felonies in State courts has more than doubled the proportion of male offenders since 1990 (Greenfeld, Snell). Male offenders are estimated to commit about one violent offense for every nine males; the estimation is six times that of women (Greenfeld, Snell). Women are held accountable for about 2.1 violent offenses (Greenfeld, Snell).
When it comes to gender and crime most theories have typically focused on males and how they have influence crime rates, however in this modern day and age it is imperative to discuss and debate why gender is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of crime. We would like to use Agnew’s theory and take it one step further to hypothesis why men (who were at least born male and identify as male) commit significantly more crime or why women (who were at least born female and identify as female) commit significantly less.
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.
Perhaps the most notorious school massacre was at Columbine High School. It was here, in 1999, that two male students murdered twelve students, one teacher, and then committed suicide (Internet Site #4). We viewed a film, The Killer at Thurston High, and saw Kip Kinkel not only shoot up his high school, but also murder his parents. These few extraordinary children strike fear in the hearts of America’s parents every morning when they send their own children off to school. However, the likelihood of a child being murdered as a result of a school-associated violent incident is less than one in one million, and less than one percent of children murdered in 1992 and 1993 were killed on school property (Kappeler, 187). The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice reports that the likelihood of a child dying in a school related incident is actually one in two million (Brooks, 1)! The National Commission on Child Abuse and Neglect reports that 2,000 to 3,000 children are murdered annually by their parents, opposed to approximately two-dozen children murdered in schools (Kappeler, 187).
Ricard, Suzanne, Thompson, Jennie. “Women’s Role in Serial Killing Teams: Reconstructing a Radical Feminist Perspective.” Critical Criminology 17(4): 261-275
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>.
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.
In 1998 NCANDS (National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System) calculated the Fatalities by Maltreatment, Child Abuse...
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.
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.
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.