They're Planting Stories in the Press: the Impact of Media Distortions On

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

They're Planting Stories in the Press: the Impact of Media Distortions On digitalcommons.nyls.edu Faculty Scholarship Articles & Chapters 2013 They’re Planting Stories In the Press: The mpI act of Media Distortions on Sex Offender Law and Policy Heather Ellis Cucolo New York Law School, [email protected] Michael L. Perlin New York Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/fac_articles_chapters Part of the Criminal Procedure Commons, Disability Law Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Law and Psychology Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons, Medical Jurisprudence Commons, and the Sexuality and the Law Commons Recommended Citation Cucolo, Heather Ellis and Perlin, Michael L., "They’re Planting Stories In the Press: The mpI act of Media Distortions on Sex Offender Law and Policy" (2013). Articles & Chapters. 715. http://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/fac_articles_chapters/715 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at DigitalCommons@NYLS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles & Chapters by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@NYLS. "THEY'RE PLANTING STORIES IN THE PRESS": THE IMPACT OF MEDIA DISTORTIONS ON SEX OFFENDER LAW AND POLICY Heather Ellis Cucolo* and Michael L. Perlint Introduction Individuals classified as sexual predators are the pariahs of the community. Sex offenders are arguably the most despised members of our society and therefore warrant our harshest condemnation. Twenty individual states and the federal government have enacted laws confining individuals who have been adjudicated as "sexually violent predators" to civil commitment facilities post incarceration and/or conviction.2 Additionally, in many jurisdictions, offenders who are returned to the community are restricted and monitored under community notification, registration and residency limitations.3 Targeting, punishing, and ostracizing these individuals has become an obsession in society, clearly evidenced in the constant push to enact even more restrictive legislation that breaches the boundaries of constitutional protections. Adjunct Professor at New York Law School Professor and Director, International Mental Disability Law Reform Project, and Online Mental Disability Law Program at New York Law School. See generally Sarah Geraghty, Challenging the Banishment ofRegistered Sex Offenders from the State of Georgia: A Practitioner'sPerspective, 42 HARV. C.R.-C.L. L. REv. 513, 514 (2007); see also, Bruce J. Winick, Sex Offender Law in the 1990's: A Therapeutic JurisprudenceAnalysis, 4 PSYCHOL. PUB. POL'Y & L. 505, 506 (1998) (discussing that individuals who commit sex offenses against children are probably the most hated group in our society). 2 See generally Catherine L. Carpenter & Amy E. Beverlin, The Evolution of Unconstitutionalityin Sex Offender RegistrationLaws, 63 HASTINGS L. J. 1071 (2012). Id. at 1078. Michele L. Earl-Hubbard, The Child Sex Offender RegistrationLaws: The Punishment, Liberty Deprivation, and UnintendedResults Associated with the Scarlet Letter Laws of the 1990s, 90 NW. U. L. REV. 788, 853-54 (1996); David A. Singleton, Sex Offender Residency Statutes and the Culture of Fear: The Casefor More Meaningful Rational Basis Review of Fear-DrivenPublic Safety Laws, 3 U. ST. THOMAS L. J. 600, 628 (2006); See Corey Rayburn Yung, One of These Laws Is Not Like the Others: Why the FederalSex Offender Registrationand Notification Act Raises New ConstitutionalQuestions, 46 HARV. J. ON LEGIS. 369, 370-71 (2009) (contending that the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act provisions must be amended to meet constitutional muster). 186 UNIVERSITY OF DENVER CRIMINAL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 3 The advancement of technology and mass media communication have spawned a constant influx of information about sexual predators. News headlines and Internet webpages are dedicated to reporting on and highlighting sexual crimes and their infamous perpetrators. There is little disputing that the newest surge6 in legal attention and efforts to contain sexual predators stems from the mass dissemination of sexual offender media stories available to the general public.7 Thus, we cannot discuss our national obsession with sexual offenses and offenders without considering how the role of the media has framed our conceptualizations of offenders and influenced resulting legal decisions and legislation." The public perception of what constitutes a "sex offender" is undoubtedly linked to the media's portrayal of these types of heinous crimes.9 The media's attention to high profile, violent sexual offenses has been shown to elicit a panic and fear of rampant sexual violence within our communities. 10 This, in turn, places extreme public pressure on legislators to enact more repressive legislation and on judges to interpret such laws in ways that ensure lengthier periods of incarceration for offenders. The media's portrayal of a "largely ineffective" criminal justice system heightens fear; 12 fictionalized portrayals of crime on television dramas may lead viewers to believe that "all offenders are How We Began and the Needfor Transition, Jacob Wetterling Resource Ctr., http://www.jwrc.org/WhoWeAre/History/tabid/1 28/Default.aspx; About John Walsh, America's Most Wanted, http://www.amw.com/aboutamw/john walsh.cfm. 6 Carpenter & Beverlin, supra note 2, at 1078 ("The ensuing years [post the enactment of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act] have been marked by a dizzying array of increased registration and community notification requirements, the emergence of harshening residency restrictions, and the elimination of individuated risk assessment."); see infra text accompanying notes 164-193, 376-411. Kristen M. Zgoba, Spin Doctors and Moral Crusaders: The Moral PanicBehind Child Safety Legislation, 17 CRIM. JUST. STUD.385, 385 (2004) ("The media frenzy surrounding these publicized cases has created a 'fear factor' among parents and caregivers, begging the question as to whether the incidence of child abduction and molestation has increased or whether the nation's heightened sensitivity is a result of increased media reporting"). ' On the way that the media frames crime stories in general, see SHANTO IYENGAR, Is ANYONE RESPONSIBLE? How TELEVISION FRAMES POLITICAL ISSUES 26-31 (1991). 9 Clive Emsley, Victorian Crime, HISTORY TODAY, (1998), available at http://www.historytoday.com/clive- emsley/victorian-crime (arguing that nineteenth-century perceptions owed more to media-generated panic than to criminal realities). "o Lori Dorfman & Vincent Schiraldi, OffBalance: Youth, Race & Crime in the News, 4 (2001), available at http://wwwjusticepolicy.org/research/2060 (explaining that three-quarters of the public form their opinions about crime based on news reports-more than three times the number of people who form their opinions based on personal experience); Jill S. Levenson et. al., Public PerceptionsAbout Sex Offenders and Community Protection Policies, 7 ANALYSES Soc. ISSUES & PUB. POL'Y 1, 2 (2007) (citing L. C. Hirning, Indecent Exposure and Other Sex Offenses, 7 J. CLIN. PSYCHOPATHOLOGY & PSYCHOTHERAPY, 105 (1945) ( "As early as 1945, academic scholars were commenting on the reactions of the public to sex offenders: '. .there are periodic so-called sex crime waves often preceded by one or more serious sex offenses which have received wide notoriety in the newspapers. Every sex offender is looked upon as a potential murderer. Emotions run high. There are meetings and conferences; recommendations are made .... Meanwhile, sex offenses continue to occur.'"); see also, Kate Stone Lombardi, Fearsof Kidnapping Spur Effort on Education, N.Y. TIMES, March 13, 1994 (reporting on an "educational" video "Street Smart Kids" which shows headlines: "' 10-Year-Old Girl Abducted and Sexually Molested' and 'll-Year-Old Girl Strangled.' There ensues a scene of an anguished father holding a news conference and pleading for his son's safe return, which is followed by a headline of the child's fate: 'Boy's Severed Head Found in Creek"'). " Levenson, supra note 10, at 2 ('Sex offenders and sex crimes incite a great deal of fear among the general public and as a result, lawmakers have passed a variety of social policies designed to protect community members from sexual victimization"). 12 Kenneth Dowler, Media Consumption and Public Attitudes Toward Crime and Justice: The Relationship Between Fear of Crime, Punitive Attitudes, And Perceived Police Effectiveness, 10 J. CRIM. JUST. & POPULAR CULTURE 109, 120 (2003). 2013] "THEY'RE PLANTING STORIES IN THE PRESS" 187 'monsters' to be feared."13 The media, in short, shapes and produces the reality of crime,14 as it influences "factual perceptions of the world." Our desire to punish, treat and categorize this "abhorrent" population is not a new phenomenon.16 The notion of a "sex offender" or someone who engages in immoral sexual acts or desires, has been around for centuries.17 The fear and hatred of individuals 18 who have committed crimes of sexual violence has existed well before the 2 0 th century and well before our current, infiltrative, grand "mass-media" dissemination of information. 19 Our innate disgust at these types of offenses and our emotionally-charged responses appear to be quite natural, given societies' morals, ethics and codes of decency; yet, legislative actions cannot and should not be based solely (or even predominantly) on distorted media depictions (of both offenses and perpetrators). 20 Prior to the most recent spate of legislative enactments, the sexual
Recommended publications
  • Glitz and Glam
    FINAL-1 Sat, Feb 24, 2018 5:31:17 PM Glitz and glam The biggest celebration in filmmaking tvspotlight returns with the 90th Annual Academy Your Weekly Guide to TV Entertainment Awards, airing Sunday, March 4, on ABC. Every year, the most glamorous people • For the week of March 3 - 9, 2018 • in Hollywood stroll down the red carpet, hoping to take home that shiny Oscar for best film, director, lead actor or ac- tress and supporting actor or actress. Jimmy Kimmel returns to host again this year, in spite of last year’s Best Picture snafu. OMNI Security Team Jimmy Kimmel hosts the 90th Annual Academy Awards Omni Security SERVING OUR COMMUNITY FOR OVER 30 YEARS Put Your Trust in Our2 Familyx 3.5” to Protect Your Family Big enough to Residential & serve you Fire & Access Commercial Small enough to Systems and Video Security know you Surveillance Remote access 24/7 Alarm & Security Monitoring puts you in control Remote Access & Wireless Technology Fire, Smoke & Carbon Detection of your security Personal Emergency Response Systems system at all times. Medical Alert Systems 978-465-5000 | 1-800-698-1800 | www.securityteam.com MA Lic. 444C Old traditional Italian recipes made with natural ingredients, since 1995. Giuseppe's 2 x 3” fresh pasta • fine food ♦ 257 Low Street | Newburyport, MA 01950 978-465-2225 Mon. - Thur. 10am - 8pm | Fri. - Sat. 10am - 9pm Full Bar Open for Lunch & Dinner FINAL-1 Sat, Feb 24, 2018 5:31:19 PM 2 • Newburyport Daily News • March 3 - 9, 2018 the strict teachers at her Cath- olic school, her relationship with her mother (Metcalf) is Videoreleases strained, and her relationship Cream of the crop with her boyfriend, whom she Thor: Ragnarok met in her school’s theater Oscars roll out the red carpet for star quality After his father, Odin (Hop- program, ends when she walks kins), dies, Thor’s (Hems- in on him kissing another guy.
    [Show full text]
  • News Release***
    ***NEWS RELEASE*** For Immediate Release July 11, 2018 CONTACT: Deborah Hamilton, Hamilton Strategies, [email protected], 610.584.1096, ext. 102, or Patrick Benner, ext. 104 AVAILABLE TODAY: Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom Launches New Book ‘Big Brother in the Exam Room’ at FreedomFest Book by Twila Brase Exposes Dangers of Electronic Health Records and How the Government Imposes a Command & Control Surveillance System ST. PAUL, Minn.—Health care has already found its way into the narrative surrounding President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, announced less than 48 hours ago. But regardless of how SCOTUS may impact future health care policy, there are real threats to patients today, including third-party controls over care, surveillance, data collection and privacy invasions—much of it through electronic health record (EHR) systems found in a majority of doctor’s offices and hospitals around the country. A new, groundbreaking book from Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) will expose how the mandated, government-certified EHR technology (CEHRT) has negatively affected both doctors and patients. Written by CCHF president and co-founder Twila Brase, RN, PHN, and published by Beaver’s Pond Press, “Big Brother in the Exam Room: The Dangerous Truth About Electronic Health Records” is available beginning today at Amazon.com and www.BigBrotherInTheExamRoom.com. Brase’s extensively researched work shows how and why Congress forced doctors and hospitals to install a data-collecting, command and control surveillance system in the exam room. It also includes the impact of EHRs on privacy, patient care, costs, patient safety and more, according to doctors and more than 125 studies.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Megan's Law and the Misconception of Sex Offender Recidivism1 Debra
    Megan’s Law and the misconception of sex offender recidivism1 Debra Patkin 1 I would like to thank Professor Lynn M. LoPucki, Tayler Mayer, and Lesley Patkin for their support, help, and guidance in writing this paper. 1 Table of Contents I. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………...3 II. Sex Offender Legislations and Recidivism……………………………………………4 A. Sex crime and panic…………………………………………………………..…6 B. Megan’s Laws are largely based on so-called high recidivism…………………8 III. Megan’s Laws should not be based on a collection of recidivism studies in which there is no consensus………………………………………………………13 A. Different studies, different conclusions………………………………………..14 i. Differ by Methodology…………………………………………………..15 ii. Differ by Crime/Victims/Offender………………………………………19 iii. Differ by Individual Factors……………………………………………...21 B. Laws justified by recidivism rates of stranger offenders while the majority of victims know their offenders………………………..25 C. The great harms of the laws should be narrowly tailored………………….27 IV. Why the justifications for Megan’s Laws fail………………………………………30 V. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..34 2 I. Introduction Legislatures cite the so-called high recidivism rate of sex offenders to implement Megan’s Laws to justify laws requiring sex offenders to register and having their information being disseminated to the community. However, whether people convicted of sex crimes actually possess a dangerous risk of recidivism remains doubtful. This paper will critically question the justification of reliance on recidivism studies by both state and federal legislatures in implementing Megan’s Laws. Part II outlines the history of Megan’s Laws and presents the claims of recidivisms made by the legislatures. Part III first demonstrates how Megan’s laws do not take in account the variation in recidivism rates among studies.
    [Show full text]
  • Prosecuting Child Sex Tourists at Home: Do Laws in Sweden, Australia, and the United States Safeguard the Rights of Children As Mandated by International Law?
    Fordham International Law Journal Volume 18, Issue 5 1994 Article 24 Prosecuting Child Sex Tourists at Home: Do Laws in Sweden, Australia, and the United States Safeguard the Rights of Children as Mandated by International Law? Margaret A. Healy∗ ∗Fordham University Copyright c 1994 by the authors. Fordham International Law Journal is produced by The Berke- ley Electronic Press (bepress). http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj PROSECUTING CHILD SEX TOURISTS AT HOME: DO LAWS IN SWEDEN, AUSTRALIA, AND THE UNITED STATES SAFEGUARD THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN AS MANDATED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW? MargaretA. Healy* INTRODUCTION Rosario Baluyot was twelve years old when she died in 1987 in her native Philippines.' She was a street child.' Dr. Heinrich Stefan Ritter is an Austrian medical doctor.3 He forcibly in- serted an electric vibrator into Rosario's vagina during a night of sex spent with her and a fourteen year-old boy.4 The device broke and lodged inside of her.5 She carried the fragments dur- * J.D. Candidate, 1996, Fordham University. This Note is dedicated to child advocacy organizations around the globe who have accomplished so much in so little time. I would like to particularly acknowledge Ellis Shenk, Coordinator of ECPAT-US; Lisa Rana, Esq.; Bernadette McMenamin, ECPAT Australia; Helena Karl~n, RAdda Barnen, Sweden; Deen Kaplan of the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families; Andrew Vachss, Esq.; Paul Bravender-Coyle, Anti-Slavery Society; and Professor Roger Levesque of the University of Nebraska for their invaluable assistance. 1. RON O'GRADY, ECPAT, THE CHILD AND THE TouiusT 24 (1992).
    [Show full text]
  • Page 1 of 279 FLORIDA LRC DECISIONS
    FLORIDA LRC DECISIONS. January 01, 2012 to Date 2019/06/19 TITLE / EDITION OR ISSUE / AUTHOR OR EDITOR ACTION RULE MEETING (Titles beginning with "A", "An", or "The" will be listed according to the (Rejected / AUTH. DATE second/next word in title.) Approved) (Rejectio (YYYY/MM/DD) ns) 10 DAI THOU TUONG TRUNG QUAC. BY DONG VAN. REJECTED 3D 2017/07/06 10 DAI VAN HAO TRUNG QUOC. PUBLISHER NHA XUAT BAN VAN HOC. REJECTED 3D 2017/07/06 10 POWER REPORTS. SUPPLEMENT TO MEN'S HEALTH REJECTED 3IJ 2013/03/28 10 WORST PSYCHOPATHS: THE MOST DEPRAVED KILLERS IN HISTORY. BY VICTOR REJECTED 3M 2017/06/01 MCQUEEN. 100 + YEARS OF CASE LAW PROVIDING RIGHTS TO TRAVEL ON ROADS WITHOUT A APPROVED 2018/08/09 LICENSE. 100 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THE NEGRO. BY J. A. ROGERS. APPROVED 2015/10/14 100 BEST SOLITAIRE GAMES. BY SLOANE LEE, ETAL REJECTED 3M 2013/07/17 100 CARD GAMES FOR ALL THE FAMILY. BY JEREMY HARWOOD. REJECTED 3M 2016/06/22 100 COOL MUSHROOMS. BY MICHAEL KUO & ANDY METHVEN. REJECTED 3C 2019/02/06 100 DEADLY SKILLS SURVIVAL EDITION. BY CLINT EVERSON, NAVEL SEAL, RET. REJECTED 3M 2018/09/12 100 HOT AND SEXY STORIES. BY ANTONIA ALLUPATO. © 2012. APPROVED 2014/12/17 100 HOT SEX POSITIONS. BY TRACEY COX. REJECTED 3I 3J 2014/12/17 100 MOST INFAMOUS CRIMINALS. BY JO DURDEN SMITH. APPROVED 2019/01/09 100 NO- EQUIPMENT WORKOUTS. BY NEILA REY. REJECTED 3M 2018/03/21 100 WAYS TO WIN A TEN-SPOT. BY PAUL ZENON REJECTED 3E, 3M 2015/09/09 1000 BIKER TATTOOS.
    [Show full text]
  • Dip in Upfront Dollars Likely Buyers Want to Examine Broadcast's Digital Options Before Committing All Budgets PAGE 4
    MAY 22, 2006 $3.99 VOL. 16 NO. 21 THE NEWS MAGAZINE OF THE MEDIA Dip in Upfront Dollars Likely Buyers want to examine broadcast's digital options before committing all budgets PAGE 4 THE UPFRONT Fall Season's Hits and Misses Buyers dissect networks' programming slates PAGE 5 THE UPFRONT New Shows' Digital Dilemma Studios, networks battle over rights to revenue PAGE 6 THE UPFRONT Saturday Night Is Ripe for Fighting Telemundo's variety show to take on Univision's PAGE 8 21> iii Telcos and cable duel over 0 2 franchising rules -change in VISITVIN ARANDVEL " X , COK TODAY a classic Washington dustup WDXNUDWa ****,1*******AUTUsi 3 -DIGIT 070 LDS PAGE 18 #NNO529152# CONT 8 0032 LAURA CYR BORDERS EXPRESS 42 MOUNT PLEASANT AVE WHARTON NJ 07981-2120 P0001 FASHION The Two -Piece Life Preserver: How a Write -Up on Swimwear Left Her Bedecked to De -Deck Have a brilliant weekend. THE WALL STREET JORNAL. WEEKEND EDITION Inspiring millions of readers at the start of each weekend. Market At Deadline Indicators NATIONIU.111: CALM I CBS, FOX LEAD THE PACK IN MAY SWEEPS I RECORD LABELS SUE XM OVER DIGITAL SERVICE With broadcast net- (Based on ra'ings through May 17, CBS and Fox are The major record companies sued XM Satellite works presenting their dominating the May sweeps. CBS is first in total view- Radio over its XM + MP3 service claiming "massive 2006-07 prime -time ers with 12.7 million (down 10 percent from a year wholesale infringement" of their recordings. The suit, schedules to advertis- earlier), according to Nielsen Media Research.
    [Show full text]
  • How Can I Help? Keeping Children Safe from Abuse and Violence a Training Resource Manual
    How Can I Help? Keeping Children Safe from Abuse and Violence A Training Resource Manual County of Humboldt Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Branch Family Violence Prevention Program Funded by: If you could listen to a child’s soul… “Children of the world. Future flowers, now seeds. Some hand-raised, Nourished in love—richened ground. Others tossed carelessly On the coldest concrete, Struggling beneath Darwin’s dispassionate sunlight. Each unique, snowflake individualized. One race. The human race. One color…Many shades. Genetic and cultural variation… But blossoms in the earth’s bouquet.” Andrew Vachss’ Table of Contents Acknowledgments...........................................................................................3 Introduction......................................................................................................4 The Social Landscape of Family Violence How Society is Affected Consequences of Children Growing up with Violence Adverse Childhood Study (ACE) Study Chapter 1: The Provider’s Role .....................................................................6 This Book is for You Common Questions and Concerns Ethical Practice Chapter 2: Recognizing Family Abuse and Violence............................... 15 Child Abuse Domestic Violence Elder Abuse Animal Abuse Chapter 3: Suggested Approaches to Family Abuse and Violence …….32 Program Approaches Children: Art Projects, Storytelling Parents and Primary Caregivers: Fostering Involvement Chapter 4: Cultural Considerations ..........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Educator Sexual Misconduct: a Synthesis of Existing Literature
    POLICY AND PROGRAM STUDIES SERVICE Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature 2004 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY DOC # 2004-09 Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature Prepared for the U.S. Department of Education Office of the Under Secretary Policy and Program Studies Service By Charol Shakeshaft Hofstra University and Interactive, Inc. Huntington, N.Y. 2 This report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Education under Purchase Order ED-02-PO-3281. The views expressed herein are those of the authors. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education is intended or should be inferred. U.S. Department of Education Rod Paige Secretary June 2004 This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary, Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature, Washington, D.C., 2004. CONTENTS 1.0 Purpose and Methods of Synthesis 1 1.1 Definitions 1.2 Scope of synthesis search 1.3 Methods of synthesis 2.0 Description of Existing Research, Literature, or Other Verifiable Sources 4 2.1 Categories of discourse 2.2 Systematic studies 2.3 Practice-based accounts with first or third person descriptions 2.4 Newspaper and other media sources 2.5 General child sexual abuse data sets and instruments 2.6 Availability of research 3.0 Prevalence of Educator Sexual Misconduct 16
    [Show full text]
  • American Television, News Activists Frank Kameny by Greg Varner ; Claude J
    American Television, News Activists Frank Kameny by Greg Varner ; Claude J. Summers (left), Jack Nichols (center), and George Encyclopedia Copyright © 2015, glbtq, Inc. Weinberg feted at a New York City GLBT Pride Entry Copyright © 2002, glbtq, Inc. Parade. Footage of Reprinted from http://www.glbtq.com protesters including Frank Kameny was Until quite recently, gay people and issues pertaining to them have been inadequately included in a 1967 covered by American television news. Some of the reasons for this under-reporting episode of the news program CBS Reports in have to do with the nature of television news in general. The medium favors highly 1967 in which Jack dramatic, visually exciting content (fires, tornadoes, car chases, and so on) over Nichols was interviewed. substantive reportage and reasoned analysis. Television's inherent conservatism can George Weinberg coined also be blamed. After all, the medium's primary function is not to inform, or even the term "homophobia." entertain, viewers, but to deliver an audience to advertising sponsors. Courtesy Jack Nichols. Apart from those occasions when prominent women such as Ellen DeGeneres, k.d. lang, and Rosie O'Donnell have publicly acknowledged their homosexuality, lesbians have been even less visible in television news reports than their gay male counterparts. Unfortunately, this, too, is unsurprising, given America's patriarchal culture, in which women are all too often not paid serious consideration. For most of television's history, news coverage of gay people and relevant issues, if it existed at all, was usually negative. Frequently, gay achievement was ignored; it was not unusual, for example, for television news reports of the 1973 election of Elaine Noble to the Massachusetts state legislature to fail to identify her as an openly lesbian politician.
    [Show full text]
  • Child Sexual Abuse and the State: Applying Critical Outsider Methodologies to Legislative Policymaking
    Child Sexual Abuse and the State: Applying Critical Outsider Methodologies to Legislative Policymaking ∗ Ruby Andrew TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 1853 I. OUTCRIT SCHOLARSHIP: DEVELOPING A LEGAL PROBLEM- SOLVING METHODOLOGY ................................................................. 1855 II. HISTORY OF INCEST PROHIBITIONS................................................... 1858 III. RESPONSES TO CHILD ABUSE IN THE UNITED STATES ..................... 1863 A. Opening the Door in New York................................................. 1863 B. Parens Patriae and the Child Savers ........................................ 1864 C. Child Abuse Emerges from the Shadows.................................... 1866 IV. ADDRESSING INTRAFAMILIAL CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ..................... 1869 A. Penal Laws on Sexual Assault of Children ................................ 1869 B. Examining Arguments Offered by Apologists for Intrafamilial Offenders.................................................................................... 1873 V. HOW STATE AGENCIES SUPPORT THE INCEST AND PROBATION LOOPHOLES ....................................................................................... 1876 A. How Legislators Contribute to Differential Punishment for Related Offenders....................................................................... 1877 1. The Incest Loophole.......................................................... 1877 2. The Probation Loophole..................................................
    [Show full text]
  • How to Fight Child Abuse Originally Published in USA Today August 28, 2012
    R.A. Dickey's article in USA Today reveals an amazing and little-known fact about child sexual abuse in America: it can be stopped on a massive scale. Here's the article as it was published, with footnotes and links to source information on pages 2-4. How to Fight Child Abuse Originally published in USA Today August 28, 2012 By R.A. Dickey and Grier Weeks If there is one image from the Penn State scandal that should haunt our American memory, it’s not Joe Paterno’s fall, Jerry Sandusky’s grinning face or the specter of what former assistant football coach Mike McQueary saw. It’s the little boys who came out to the game with them with hair combed and jerseys on, sitting in the stands, filled with excitement, hope and trust. These boys are only the latest to suffer. For centuries, adults who preyed on children hid in the shadows. For every sexual predator witnessed in the act by an outsider such as McQueary, there were thousands who walked among us unsuspected and untouched. (1) Then the advent of the Internet dramatically changed this. Individuals with a sexual attraction to children began surfacing en masse, as they went online to do what millions of their fellow Americans were doing: accessing sexual content. But the content these individuals accessed — video and photos of children being raped, tortured and sexually displayed (child pornography) — was illegal. (2) By 2006, congressional hearings revealed hundreds of thousands of these criminals in the U.S. alone. (3) Law enforcement officers at the helm of a national online nerve center told Congress that they identified 300,000 suspects in 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 6: Sex Crime ❖ 193
    06-Helfgott-45520.qxd 2/12/2008 6:23 PM Page 191 6 ❖ Sex Crime Surely if humans, far and wide, wound the genitals, we hate them; we hate where they take us, what we do with them. —Andrea Dworkin (1987, p. 194) In March 2001, Armin Meiwes, a 42-year-old computer expert, murdered 43-year-old Bernd Juergen Brandes, a microchip engineer, in his home in Rotenburg, Germany. The two met after Brandes answered an Internet advertisement placed by Meiwes for a young man interested in “slaughter and consumption.” Meiwes testified in court that the killing began after the two engaged in sadomasochistic sex acts when, at Brandes’s request, he tried unsuccessfully to bite off Brandes’s penis, and then cut it off with a knife. The two then tried to eat the penis raw, then fried it in a pan trying unsuccessfully to eat it. Brandes eventually went unconscious from loss of blood after lying for hours in the bath- tub while Meiwes read magazines and drank wine. Meiwes then hung Brandes from a butcher’s hook and slaughtered him. The slaughter included severing his head, disem- bowelment, laying him out on a butcher block, and chopping his body into pieces. After the killing, Meiwes froze portions of the body, kept the skull in the freezer, buried other body parts in the garden, and ate 44 pounds of the body over the months to follow. Meiwes videotaped the entire event, watched it later to become sexually aroused, and spoke in court about how watching horror films as a child fueled his fantasies and long- time desires to commit such acts (“German Cannibal Tells of Fantasy,” December 3, 2003).
    [Show full text]