DOCSLIB.ORG

The Impact of Media Distortions on Sex Offender Law and Policy

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Impact of Media Distortions on Sex Offender Law and Policy University of Denver Criminal Law Review Volume 3 Issue 1 Article 7 January 2013 They're Planting Stories in the Press: The Impact of Media Distortions on Sex Offender Law and Policy Heather Ellis Cucolo Michael L. Perlin Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/crimlawrev Part of the Criminal Law Commons Recommended Citation Heather Ellis Cucolo & Michael L. Perlin, They're Planting Stories in the Press: The Impact of Media Distortions on Sex Offender Law and Policy, 3 U. Denv. Crim. L. Rev. 185 (2013) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Denver Sturm College of Law at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Denver Criminal Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],dig- [email protected]. Cucolo and Perlin: They're Planting Stories in the Press: The Impact of Media Distor "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). Published by Digital Commons @ DU, 2013 1 University of Denver Criminal Law Review, Vol. 3, Iss. 1 [2013], Art. 7 186 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). https://digitalcommons.du.edu/crimlawrev/vol3/iss1/7 2 Cucolo and Perlin: They're Planting Stories in the Press: The Impact of Media Distor 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
Load more

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]
  • 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]
  • 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]
  • The Ethics of APA's Goldwater Rule
    ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY The Ethics of APA’s Goldwater Rule Jerome Kroll, MD, and Claire Pouncey, MD, PhD Section 7.3 of the code of ethics of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) cautions psychiatrists against making public statements about public figures whom they have not formally evaluated. The APA’s concern is to safeguard the public perception of psychiatry as a scientific and credible profession. The ethic is that diagnostic terminology and theory should not be used for speculative or ad hominem attacks that promote the interests of the individual physician or for political and ideological causes. However, the Goldwater Rule presents conflicting problems. These include the right to speak one’s conscience regarding concerns about the psychological stability of high office holders and competing considerations regarding one’s role as a private citizen versus that as a professional figure. Furthermore, the APA’s proscription on diagnosis without formal interview can be questioned, since third-party payers, expert witnesses in law cases, and historical psychobiographers make diagnoses without conducting formal interviews. Some third-party assessments are reckless, but do not negate legitimate reasons for providing thoughtful education to the public and voicing psychiatric concerns as acts of conscience. We conclude that the Goldwater Rule was an excessive organizational response to what was clearly an inflammatory and embarrassing moment for American psychiatry. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 44:226–35, 2016 In 1964 when Barry Goldwater,
    [Show full text]
  • Full Packet of 15 Cases Prepared by the IEB Regional
    Regional Ethics Bowl Cases Fall 2017 Prepared by: Susanna Flavia Boxall, Chair Case Writers: Becky Cox-White Rhiannon D. Funke Michael B. Funke Gretchen A. Myers © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2012 Case 1: Euthanasia for Alcoholism On July 14, 2016, a Dutch general practitioner euthanized Mark Langedijk by giving him a lethal injection. Langedijk’s death had been approved by a physician from Support and Consultation on Euthanasia (SCEN), the Netherlands’ medical body that examines requests from persons wishing to avail themselves of state-assisted dying. “Enough is enough,” stated the 41-year-old alcoholic, who had unsuccessfully undergone twenty-one attempts at rehabilitation for his addiction. His marriage destroyed, Langedijk said he “could not continue to live as an alcoholic.”1 Physician-performed-euthanasia (“mercy killing”) has been permissible in the Netherlands since 2002; although still officially illegal, it is not prosecuted when 1) the patient’s request is voluntary and well-considered, 2) the patient’s suffering is unbearable, and 3) there is no prospect of improvement. A SCEN physician must agree that these criteria are met. Contrary to popular belief and usual practice, the act does not state that euthanasia may only be performed in the ‘terminal stage’ of a condition.2 Initially, 90+% of requests came from terminally ill cancer patients. However, over the last decade requests have come from persons with a greater variety of diagnoses. More than one person has requested and been granted euthanasia for “social isolation and loneliness,”3 and pediatricians have recommended that euthanasia be available to patients as young as 10-years-old.
    [Show full text]
  • Constitutive Rhetoric in the Stewart/Colbert Universe
    THE LOGIC OF IRONIC APPROPRIATION: CONSTITUTIVE RHETORIC IN THE STEWART/COLBERT UNIVERSE Christopher A.Medjesky A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2012 Committee: Michael L. Butterworth, Advisor Gary Heba Graduate Faculty Representative Joshua Atkinson Clayton Rosati ii ABSTRACT Michael L. Butterworth, Advisor Scholars have long considered myth to be the driving force of rhetorical constitution. While myth has and remains a key logic that aids rhetoric in the formation of audiences, Roland Barthes argues that myth is a tool best served to produce right-leaning political discourse. As such, the shared logic of myth has encouraged the constitution of audiences that are positioned to act in ways that lead to predetermined judgments of politics and society that reinforce current power structures. Yet, Barthes argues that, despite myth’s dominance in discourse, another logic must exist that is better suited for left-leaning political purposes. Looking at the related paratexts from Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and the entire Stewart/Colbert universe, I argue this universe utilizes such an alternative logic to produce left- leaning constitutive rhetoric. This logic of ironic appropriation serves to hail an audience into being, position that audience toward action, and uses that action to make judgments about the world in which the audience lives. Using the three principles of ironic appropriation—irony, intertextuality, and interactivity—the Stewart/Colbert universe produces texts that encourage individuals to come together into an audience that questions the normalization of incommensurability in discourse and, instead, seeks to find ways to build bridges and increase political activity.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Second Candidate Steps up in Nahant
    SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2019 Second candidate steps up in Nahant Trades By Bridget Turcotte turbo machinery, said the budget, The Board of Selectmen called for ITEM STAFF Northeastern University’s proposal the vote to be rescinded, citing the tested to expand the Marine Science Cen- heat and lack of space in Town Hall NAHANT — Board of Selectmen ter, and the newly voted Wetlands at the rst meeting that lasted more candidate Josh Antrim is trying to Protection bylaw are among the big- than 3 ½ hours and left not a sin- engineer a plan to help his town at Lynn ourish. gest issues facing the town. gle chair — or squEare inch of oor “There’s a lot of different opinions “We passed a Wetlands Protec- space — unoccupied. in town,” said Antrim. “We have to tion bylaw a few months back and A yes or no ballot was handed Tech respect that someone might have a it was a well-intended effort to put out, as voted by the body, and 285 different opinion than our own. That some protections in place. However, returned the slip in favor while 278 the way the election happened and were opposed to an amendment to By Bella diGrazia doesn’t make them a bad person.” ITEM STAFF Instead, he said residents should the closeness of the vote created a the town’s bylaws to change the per- channel that same energy and focus lot of animosity,” said Antrim, who mitting process for projects within LYNN — Trade educa- on what they agree on: making Nah- supports putting a question before the town’s wetlands.
    [Show full text]
  • 2017 Regional Cases
    Regional Ethics Bowl Cases Fall 2017 Prepared by: Susanna Flavia Boxall, Chair Case Writers: Becky Cox-White Rhiannon D. Funke Michael B. Funke Gretchen A. Myers © Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2012 Case 1: Euthanasia for Alcoholism On July 14, 2016, a Dutch general practitioner euthanized Mark Langedijk by giving him a lethal injection. Langedijk’s death had been approved by a physician from Support and Consultation on Euthanasia (SCEN), the Netherlands’ medical body that examines requests from persons wishing to avail themselves of state-assisted dying. “Enough is enough,” stated the 41-year-old alcoholic, who had unsuccessfully undergone twenty-one attempts at rehabilitation for his addiction. His marriage destroyed, Langedijk said he “could not continue to live as an alcoholic.”1 Physician-performed-euthanasia (“mercy killing”) has been permissible in the Netherlands since 2002; although still officially illegal, it is not prosecuted when 1) the patient’s request is voluntary and well-considered, 2) the patient’s suffering is unbearable, and 3) there is no prospect of improvement. A SCEN physician must agree that these criteria are met. Contrary to popular belief and usual practice, the act does not state that euthanasia may only be performed in the ‘terminal stage’ of a condition.2 Initially, 90+% of requests came from terminally ill cancer patients. However, over the last decade requests have come from persons with a greater variety of diagnoses. More than one person has requested and been granted euthanasia for “social isolation and loneliness,”3 and pediatricians have recommended that euthanasia be available to patients as young as 10-years-old.
    [Show full text]
  • How the US Media Militarized the 2014 Ebola Epidemic
    Ebola the Enemy: How the U.S. Media Militarized the 2014 Ebola Epidemic Sarah Chamness CC 300 EVBX: Sinful Words: Literature of Human Failure Professor Nunes 4/3/16 I have neither given nor received, nor have I tolerated others’ use of unauthorized aid. Sarah Chamness 1 Chamness INTRODUCTION Nobody knew it was ebola. The outbreak that would result in the deaths of over 11,000 people in multiple countries began very quietly in Guinea with the illness of a young boy named Emile. 1 Although Emile and many of his close family members died, including his mother and sister, no one investigated too closely. 2 And so the virus began its deadly journey across western Africa. By the time the World Health Organization figured out in March of 2014 which disease was causing the deaths, the outbreak was already well underway.3 Ebola spread first from Guinea to Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries that would become the epicenter of the epidemic.4 A short while later, an infected traveller brought it to Nigeria. 5 Soon ebola had killed enough people to become worthy of media coverage around the world, including in America, where the August news that two infected aid workers would be travelling back to the U.S. for care caused a dramatic increase in the public’s interest in the disease.6 1 “WHO declares official end to Ebola outbreak in West Africa,” CBSNews.com, last modified January 14, 2016, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-declares-official-end-to- ebola-outbreak-in-west-africa/; and James Lyons-Weiler, Ebola: An Evolving Story (Hackensack: World Scientific, 2015), 1.
    [Show full text]