1. The difference between murder and homicide is that homicide is the killing of one person by another. Murder is a form of criminal homicide, where the perpetrator intended to kill the other person, sometimes with premeditation. The different categories under Common Law are 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. 1st degree is premeditated. 2nd degree is intentional; no premeditation. Voluntary Manslaughter is killing but no malice after thought. There was an intention to harm but not necessarily kill. Involuntary Manslaughter is completely unintentional, like drunk driving.
2. The article I found for the state of Pennsylvania about murder happened two days ago. According to the news article, Mark R. Miscavish a retired state police officer walked into a local supermarket where his estranged wife Traci Miscavish worked and shot and killed her and then turned the gun on himself. The incident happened just a few days after she filed for divorce. There also seemed to be a history of domestic violence. A few months ago in January, Mark Miscavish was arrested after his wife had left him but returned home to get a few belongings and he attacked her. He attempted to bind her arms together with duck tape and also pulled out a gun but luckily a passer-by witnessed him trying to drag her back into the home and intervened. The article portrayed Traci Miscavish as a woman who was terrified of her husband and trying to move on with her life without him. They portrayed Mark Miscavish as an abusive man, who also abused prescription drugs. When I typed in his name into google, about a dozen different news websites popped up covering the story, and I don't think they made it too dramatic but the facts of the case itself made it dramatic.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/28/pennsylvania-supermarket-shooting_n_2972841.html
3. One movie that comes to mind when I think about movies about murders in the movie Seven, which is about two detectives, one's a veteran and one's a rookie and they are hunting a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as each of his murders. The second movie I think of is Kiss the Girls which is about a Washington D.C. cop and forensic psychologist who learns that his niece who is going to college in North Carolina is missing. So he goes there and learns that the police think she's among the victims of someone who kidnaps young girls and holds them captive and kills them who dubs himself Cassanova after the great lover. Later, one of his victims, escapes and tries to help the cop find his niece.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Blog #4 - Mob Violence
1. Mob Violence occurs when a group of people become focused on a violent plan, and 'feed' off one another in their excitement. So no one person can stop the violent events from taking place. Some examples of mob violence would be riots and bully groups. I think this type of violence exists because people feed off each other emotions and in a sense lose their moral compass when they see a group of people all doing the same thing, it seems okay.
2. For my state of Pennsylvania I found a article from March 24, 2010 that took place in Philadelphia. It seems around that time was when flash mobs were starting to get popular except these flash mobs were people just meeting to dance, have pillow fights, or have fun. These were violent flash mobs that would hurt anything or anyone in their path. They would break into fights and hurt each other and onlookers. Before the violent flash mob took place, nothing was happening. The point of these things to break out into a flash mob is to look like you are just going about your daily life and then change into a flash mob as quick as possible. The media points out that these violent flash mobs that are taking place in Philadelphia are black teenage boys who are poor and the incidents are happening in white business class districts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html
3. While I was searching for media aspects online I came across a website that listed the author's top 10 movie riots. One was the scene from the original Police Academy in which the rioters were chasing the police officers and also lists another movie, Britannia Hospital which shows police brutality on a woman who tries to hand the police officer a flower.
http://whatculture.com/film/top-10-movie-riots.php
2. For my state of Pennsylvania I found a article from March 24, 2010 that took place in Philadelphia. It seems around that time was when flash mobs were starting to get popular except these flash mobs were people just meeting to dance, have pillow fights, or have fun. These were violent flash mobs that would hurt anything or anyone in their path. They would break into fights and hurt each other and onlookers. Before the violent flash mob took place, nothing was happening. The point of these things to break out into a flash mob is to look like you are just going about your daily life and then change into a flash mob as quick as possible. The media points out that these violent flash mobs that are taking place in Philadelphia are black teenage boys who are poor and the incidents are happening in white business class districts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/us/25mobs.html
3. While I was searching for media aspects online I came across a website that listed the author's top 10 movie riots. One was the scene from the original Police Academy in which the rioters were chasing the police officers and also lists another movie, Britannia Hospital which shows police brutality on a woman who tries to hand the police officer a flower.
http://whatculture.com/film/top-10-movie-riots.php
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Blog #3 - Sexual Assault/Rape
1. The population for Pennsylvania is 10,719,812 and the amount of forcible rapes reported was 3,324.
2. I was able to find information on the statute of limitations for sexual assault in Pennsylvania. They have the following information listed:
For the following major sexual offenses, within 12 years after commission of the offense:
Rape
Statutory sexual assault
Involuntary deviate sexual intercourse
Sexual assault
Aggravated indecent assault
Incest
Sexual abuse of children
For the following offenses, if committed against a minor under 18, prosecution must commence by the date the minor reaches 50 years of age:
Rape
Statutory sexual assault
Involuntary deviate sexual intercourse
Sexual assault
Aggravated indecent assault
Indecent assault
Incest
Sexual abuse of children
3. By doing a google search I was able to find some detailed information on Pennsylvania's rape laws. Rape is a crime in Pennsylvania where the defendant forcibly or under threat of force engages in sexual intercourse with another person. Rape has also occurred if the defendant has substantially impaired the victim's ability to control his/her conduct by intoxicating the victim without his/her knowledge or if the victim has a mental disability. If the defendant rapes a child under the age of 13, the charge is called "rape of a child" and is a separate offense from rape. It is also considered a separate offense if the defendant commits a rape of a child and the child is seriously injured. This offense is called "rape of a child with serious bodily injury." Rape is considered a first degree felony in Pennsylvania. A first degree felony carries a sentence of up to twenty years in prison. In addition to this term, if the defendant used any type of intoxicating drug in the commission of this offense, the sentence may be extended for an additional ten years in prison. Also, a fine of up to $100,000 may be imposed as well.
For the crime of rape of a child, the charge is also a first degree felony. The maximum sentence for this crime can be up to forty years in prison. For the rape of a child with serious bodily injury, it is also a first degree felony and the sentence can be extended to life imprisonment.
4. I found a news article from back in December of 2012 in Upper Darby where three armed men forced their way into a car where a woman was waiting for her boyfriend to come out of the bar on Christmas night. The article states that the three men then drove the woman around Philadelphia for three hours while making her perform sex acts on them. The men also physically assaulted her and stole a bunch of her valuable belongings. While going through her purse they noticed the victim had a daughter and threatened to kill her if she didn't keep quiet. After the men fled on foot, the woman drove to her boyfriends house and then they went straight to the police to report the incident. In an ironic twist, later that night police were called to another woman's house for a disturbance call and the victim's belongings were found and two of the three men were arrested. All are charged as adults with 42 crimes related to the attack including kidnapping, rape and robbery. One of the men is also facing weapons charges. Two of the men were 17 and one was 19. The victim was 22.
5. A movie that sticks out in my mind about rape/sexual assault would be Precious. The movie is about a 16 year old girl born into a life no one would want. She’s gets raped repeatedly by her father and is pregnant for the second time by him. Her mother knows about it and just gets angry at her and puts all the blame on her and none on the father. She must also wait hand and foot on her mother, who abuses her emotionally and physically. Another movie about sexual abuse would be the movie Taken. A young girl goes to Paris with her best friend and is kidnapped on the first day they arrive and is put into the sex trafficking trade where the women are beaten, raped, sexually assaulted and sold on a daily basis.
I think both of those movies portray sexual abuse/rape in a very accurate manner. Unfortunately, you hear of stories like Precious more than we would like to think about in urban areas. And the movie Taken could happen to any young girl that is on vacation in a foreign country and not being careful of her surroundings.
2. I was able to find information on the statute of limitations for sexual assault in Pennsylvania. They have the following information listed:
For the following major sexual offenses, within 12 years after commission of the offense:
Rape
Statutory sexual assault
Involuntary deviate sexual intercourse
Sexual assault
Aggravated indecent assault
Incest
Sexual abuse of children
For the following offenses, if committed against a minor under 18, prosecution must commence by the date the minor reaches 50 years of age:
Rape
Statutory sexual assault
Involuntary deviate sexual intercourse
Sexual assault
Aggravated indecent assault
Indecent assault
Incest
Sexual abuse of children
3. By doing a google search I was able to find some detailed information on Pennsylvania's rape laws. Rape is a crime in Pennsylvania where the defendant forcibly or under threat of force engages in sexual intercourse with another person. Rape has also occurred if the defendant has substantially impaired the victim's ability to control his/her conduct by intoxicating the victim without his/her knowledge or if the victim has a mental disability. If the defendant rapes a child under the age of 13, the charge is called "rape of a child" and is a separate offense from rape. It is also considered a separate offense if the defendant commits a rape of a child and the child is seriously injured. This offense is called "rape of a child with serious bodily injury." Rape is considered a first degree felony in Pennsylvania. A first degree felony carries a sentence of up to twenty years in prison. In addition to this term, if the defendant used any type of intoxicating drug in the commission of this offense, the sentence may be extended for an additional ten years in prison. Also, a fine of up to $100,000 may be imposed as well.
For the crime of rape of a child, the charge is also a first degree felony. The maximum sentence for this crime can be up to forty years in prison. For the rape of a child with serious bodily injury, it is also a first degree felony and the sentence can be extended to life imprisonment.
4. I found a news article from back in December of 2012 in Upper Darby where three armed men forced their way into a car where a woman was waiting for her boyfriend to come out of the bar on Christmas night. The article states that the three men then drove the woman around Philadelphia for three hours while making her perform sex acts on them. The men also physically assaulted her and stole a bunch of her valuable belongings. While going through her purse they noticed the victim had a daughter and threatened to kill her if she didn't keep quiet. After the men fled on foot, the woman drove to her boyfriends house and then they went straight to the police to report the incident. In an ironic twist, later that night police were called to another woman's house for a disturbance call and the victim's belongings were found and two of the three men were arrested. All are charged as adults with 42 crimes related to the attack including kidnapping, rape and robbery. One of the men is also facing weapons charges. Two of the men were 17 and one was 19. The victim was 22.
5. A movie that sticks out in my mind about rape/sexual assault would be Precious. The movie is about a 16 year old girl born into a life no one would want. She’s gets raped repeatedly by her father and is pregnant for the second time by him. Her mother knows about it and just gets angry at her and puts all the blame on her and none on the father. She must also wait hand and foot on her mother, who abuses her emotionally and physically. Another movie about sexual abuse would be the movie Taken. A young girl goes to Paris with her best friend and is kidnapped on the first day they arrive and is put into the sex trafficking trade where the women are beaten, raped, sexually assaulted and sold on a daily basis.
I think both of those movies portray sexual abuse/rape in a very accurate manner. Unfortunately, you hear of stories like Precious more than we would like to think about in urban areas. And the movie Taken could happen to any young girl that is on vacation in a foreign country and not being careful of her surroundings.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Blog #2 Hate Crimes
My second blog is about hate crimes in Pennsylvania, the following are the answers to the questions you asked.
1. The population covered for hate crimes in Pennsylvania was 12,565,359 and the total number of incidents reported was 53.
2. The crimes covered under Pennsylvania state law are bias-motivated violence and intimidation, civil action, race, religion, ethnicity, institutional vandalism and data collection. It does not cover sexual orientation, gender, disability, "other" and training for law enforcement personnel.
3. Pennsylvania covers crime penalty/enhancement which they define as: A person commits the offense of ethnic intimidation if, with malicious intention toward the race, color, religion or national origin of another individual or group of individuals, he commits an offense under any other provision of this article or under Chapter 33 (relating to arson, criminal mischief and other property destruction) exclusive of section 3307 (relating to institutional vandalism) or under section 3503 (relating to criminal trespass) with respect to such individual or his or her property or with respect to one or more members of such group or to their property. an offense under this section shall be classified one degree higher in the classification specified in section 106 (relating to classes of offenses) than the classification of the other offense. Pennsylvania also covers institutional vandalism which they define as: A person commits the offense of institutional vandalism if he knowingly desecrates, vandalizes, defaces or otherwise damages: (1) any church, synagogue or other facility or place used for religious worship or other religious purposes; (2) any cemetery, mortuary or other facility used for the purpose of burial or memorializing the dead; (3) any school, educational facility, community center, municipal building, courthouse facility, State or local government building or vehicle or juvenile detention center; (4) the grounds adjacent to and owned or occupied by any facility set forth in paragraph (1), (2) or (3); or (5) any personal property located in any facility set forth in this subsection. A person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if he intentionally desecrates any public monument or structure, or place of worship or burial. The state also covers data collection which they define as: The Pennsylvania State Police shall have the power and its duty shall be to collect information relating to crimes and incidents related to the race, color, religion or national origin of individuals or groups, which shall be reported monthly by all local law enforcement agencies and the State Fire Marshal. But Pennsylvania does not cover Law Enforcement training.
5. Back in February of 2011, two Pennsylvania men were convicted of a hate crime and sentenced to 9 years in prison. Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky were found guilty in federal court for several crimes including hate crimes on Luis Ramirez. They were acquitted of the murder charge, but found guilty on the simple assault. According to witnesses, the fight started because the two defendants did not want "immigrants" in their neighborhood and began to attacked Luis Ramirez while using racial slurs. The beat Luis Ramirez so badly that he was on life support and then died two days after the attack. Three police officers were also charged in trying to cover up the crime and falsifying police reports. All three were found not guilty of conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation, but one of the officers was found guilty of falsifying police reports and the other officer was found guilty of lying to the FBI.
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-23/justice/pennsylvania.hate.crime_1_derrick-donchak-brandon-piekarsky-federal-court?_s=PM:CRIME
6. Two movies about hate crimes that instantly come to my mind would be Boys don't cry and American History X. Boys don't cry stars Hilary Swank and is a real life story about a woman who dresses and acts like a boy and is beaten, raped and murdered by male acquaintances once they find out that find out that he is actually a female. The second movie is American History X which is about two brothers whose father is a firefighter and is killed by a black gang member while he is trying to put out a fire. The oldest brother is a neo-nazi and brutally kills two black gang members when he catches them trying to break into his truck that his father gave to him. He gets sent to prison and his views change and he tries to teach his brother to not go down the same path he went down. I don't have links for this question, because I have seen both films so I already knew what they were about :)
1. The population covered for hate crimes in Pennsylvania was 12,565,359 and the total number of incidents reported was 53.
2. The crimes covered under Pennsylvania state law are bias-motivated violence and intimidation, civil action, race, religion, ethnicity, institutional vandalism and data collection. It does not cover sexual orientation, gender, disability, "other" and training for law enforcement personnel.
3. Pennsylvania covers crime penalty/enhancement which they define as: A person commits the offense of ethnic intimidation if, with malicious intention toward the race, color, religion or national origin of another individual or group of individuals, he commits an offense under any other provision of this article or under Chapter 33 (relating to arson, criminal mischief and other property destruction) exclusive of section 3307 (relating to institutional vandalism) or under section 3503 (relating to criminal trespass) with respect to such individual or his or her property or with respect to one or more members of such group or to their property. an offense under this section shall be classified one degree higher in the classification specified in section 106 (relating to classes of offenses) than the classification of the other offense. Pennsylvania also covers institutional vandalism which they define as: A person commits the offense of institutional vandalism if he knowingly desecrates, vandalizes, defaces or otherwise damages: (1) any church, synagogue or other facility or place used for religious worship or other religious purposes; (2) any cemetery, mortuary or other facility used for the purpose of burial or memorializing the dead; (3) any school, educational facility, community center, municipal building, courthouse facility, State or local government building or vehicle or juvenile detention center; (4) the grounds adjacent to and owned or occupied by any facility set forth in paragraph (1), (2) or (3); or (5) any personal property located in any facility set forth in this subsection. A person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if he intentionally desecrates any public monument or structure, or place of worship or burial. The state also covers data collection which they define as: The Pennsylvania State Police shall have the power and its duty shall be to collect information relating to crimes and incidents related to the race, color, religion or national origin of individuals or groups, which shall be reported monthly by all local law enforcement agencies and the State Fire Marshal. But Pennsylvania does not cover Law Enforcement training.
5. Back in February of 2011, two Pennsylvania men were convicted of a hate crime and sentenced to 9 years in prison. Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky were found guilty in federal court for several crimes including hate crimes on Luis Ramirez. They were acquitted of the murder charge, but found guilty on the simple assault. According to witnesses, the fight started because the two defendants did not want "immigrants" in their neighborhood and began to attacked Luis Ramirez while using racial slurs. The beat Luis Ramirez so badly that he was on life support and then died two days after the attack. Three police officers were also charged in trying to cover up the crime and falsifying police reports. All three were found not guilty of conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation, but one of the officers was found guilty of falsifying police reports and the other officer was found guilty of lying to the FBI.
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-23/justice/pennsylvania.hate.crime_1_derrick-donchak-brandon-piekarsky-federal-court?_s=PM:CRIME
6. Two movies about hate crimes that instantly come to my mind would be Boys don't cry and American History X. Boys don't cry stars Hilary Swank and is a real life story about a woman who dresses and acts like a boy and is beaten, raped and murdered by male acquaintances once they find out that find out that he is actually a female. The second movie is American History X which is about two brothers whose father is a firefighter and is killed by a black gang member while he is trying to put out a fire. The oldest brother is a neo-nazi and brutally kills two black gang members when he catches them trying to break into his truck that his father gave to him. He gets sent to prison and his views change and he tries to teach his brother to not go down the same path he went down. I don't have links for this question, because I have seen both films so I already knew what they were about :)
Friday, January 25, 2013
Blog #1 Intimate Partner Violence & Domestic Violence
For this blog we had to find an article about intimate partner violence in our state and I picked Pennsylvania, where I grew up. I was able to find a murder case that happened in my hometown of Stroudsburg, that happened back in 2008 but he was just convicted of murder a few days ago. Arthur Schirmer was a pastor at one of the local churches called Reeders United Methodist Church. He hit his wife, Betty over the head with a crowbar in their garage but then put her body in their car and staged a car accident. The one witness that testified against him was the first person to come upon the scene and he described Mr. Schimer as unusually calm especially since he wife was unconscious and he also testified that something didn't seem right since there was a lot of blood on Mrs. Schirmer. It also came out during his trial that his first wife, Jewel died in a unusual circumstance back in 1999. He is being charged separately for her murder at a later date. He will be sentenced for the murder of his second wife Betty in March 2013.
The Pennsylvania Domestic Violence laws states that these acts can take place between family or household members, sexual partners or those who share biological parenthood in order to qualify as domestic abuse. If someone calls the police to report that a violent domestic act has happened to them the police will come and they are required to make an arrest and then it is up to the prosecutor to file charges or dismiss them. The victim does not have the option to drop the charges. The punishment for domestic violence varies from taking anger management courses all the way up to felony charges with incarceration. The sentence is heavily based on the severity of the abuse as well as if the person is a repeat offender.
Pennsylvania does offer a website called Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. It's a statewide network of programs offering 24 hour emergency hotline services, shelters, counseling, legal services, health care, childrens programs, temporary housing and many more services that are both free and confidential. It also has links to help if someone is needing to change their identity or keep their address confidential for their own protection. As well as information on stalking, which is a crime in Pennsylvania. It also had information on if their computer was being monitored and tips on what to do if they thought that, and it actually made me feel really scared for these women (or men) that actually have to live like this. http://www.pcadv.org/
Media aspect - The movie "Enough" that came out in 2002 starring Jennifer Lopez is about a woman suffering domestic abuse. She meets this handsome and wealthy man and they fall in love, get married and have a baby and then one day he turns. He abuses her so badly that she goes behind his back and takes self defense classes. She ends up leaving him but he never gives up trying to find her and when he eventually does they have a battle in which she ends up murdering him out of self defense.
Sleeping with the Enemy which came out in 1991 was also a popular domestic violence movie. Julia Roberts character is married to man that is abusive, controlling and possessive. She tells him that she cannot swim but has secretly taking swimming lessons and stages her own death when they are out on their boat at night. She moves back to her hometown and starts her life over but her husband ends up finding her and breaking into her home in which a struggle ensues and she ends up murdering him with a gun in self defense.
http://www.ncdsv.org/images/fictional%20movies%20with%20domestic%20violence%20themes%20-%20revised1.pdf
The Pennsylvania Domestic Violence laws states that these acts can take place between family or household members, sexual partners or those who share biological parenthood in order to qualify as domestic abuse. If someone calls the police to report that a violent domestic act has happened to them the police will come and they are required to make an arrest and then it is up to the prosecutor to file charges or dismiss them. The victim does not have the option to drop the charges. The punishment for domestic violence varies from taking anger management courses all the way up to felony charges with incarceration. The sentence is heavily based on the severity of the abuse as well as if the person is a repeat offender.
Pennsylvania does offer a website called Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. It's a statewide network of programs offering 24 hour emergency hotline services, shelters, counseling, legal services, health care, childrens programs, temporary housing and many more services that are both free and confidential. It also has links to help if someone is needing to change their identity or keep their address confidential for their own protection. As well as information on stalking, which is a crime in Pennsylvania. It also had information on if their computer was being monitored and tips on what to do if they thought that, and it actually made me feel really scared for these women (or men) that actually have to live like this. http://www.pcadv.org/
Media aspect - The movie "Enough" that came out in 2002 starring Jennifer Lopez is about a woman suffering domestic abuse. She meets this handsome and wealthy man and they fall in love, get married and have a baby and then one day he turns. He abuses her so badly that she goes behind his back and takes self defense classes. She ends up leaving him but he never gives up trying to find her and when he eventually does they have a battle in which she ends up murdering him out of self defense.
Sleeping with the Enemy which came out in 1991 was also a popular domestic violence movie. Julia Roberts character is married to man that is abusive, controlling and possessive. She tells him that she cannot swim but has secretly taking swimming lessons and stages her own death when they are out on their boat at night. She moves back to her hometown and starts her life over but her husband ends up finding her and breaking into her home in which a struggle ensues and she ends up murdering him with a gun in self defense.
http://www.ncdsv.org/images/fictional%20movies%20with%20domestic%20violence%20themes%20-%20revised1.pdf
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