Category: Murder

Abstract

The following paper will closely analyze the matter of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhis assassination. It will examine the conditions prior to and after the incident. The characteristics of Godse, the motive (mens rea), and his actions (actus reus) will be looked at to establish the conditions of the case. Also, the paper will offer another approach to the case, which will provide for a clearer understanding of the nuances in the case. Most importantly, it will determine if there was a possibility to prevent the assassination from happening, and a conclusive report will be given after the fact.

Introduction

Human society has been a product of both kindness and hate, and those who fight for justice and equality are seen as honorable and deserving of praised individuals. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a fighter for his people and nation. Even though there were several attempts of assassination, he refused to get protection, as he believed that if it is meant to happen, then it must be (Deats, R. (2005). His teachings and beliefs are still a great part of the lives of many people, and it can be said that Gandhi is still alive through the memories and beliefs of others. Among other things, Mahatma Gandhi was the organizer of the social movement and the leader of people who wanted fairness. His involvement in politics and the general belief in non-violence and freedom of the nations people brought about the anger of many people (Hatt, 2002). This led to several attempts being made to stop him, but the assassinations failed. Overall, there were five prior attempts, in 1934, 1944, 1946, and the 20th of January 1948. On the 30th of January, 1948, Gandhi began his day with regular duties. He was projecting the constitution, as he was largely involved in politics and was able to conduct matters in the most efficient and fair manner (Kamath, 2007).

Main body

On that day, Gandhi was getting prepared to unveil his plans to the congress, and so, almost the whole day was spent discussing the future laws of the country. When the time for the night prayer came, he was exiting his house and onto the porch. As usual, there was a large gathering of people because, by that time, Mahatma Gandhi was already thought of as the father of the nation. In the crowd was a man named Godse, who had participated in the attack ten days before. He approached Gandhi as if to touch him but instead took out a gun and shot him three times in the chest. Two of the bullets went through Gandhi, and one got stuck in his lung in the area of the heart. According to some sources, Gandhi was held by his nieces on both sides and died instantly (Gandhiji shot dead  The Hindu, 2013). Other sources say that he was taken to Birlas house and lived for another 30 minutes (Assassination of Mr. Gandhi, 1948). In case he was taken to the Birla house, it is unclear why he was not taken to the hospital because there is always a chance to save a person. People on-site saw that the inflicted damage was very serious and could have assumed that Gandhi could not be saved, but they were not professional doctors, so it is strange how this happened.

Godse was apprehended on the spot, as he was not trying to leave, but in any case, the crowd took hold of the assassin. There were some rumors that Godse wanted to commit suicide, but this is not true. The crowd was angry enough to give Godse a beating. His injuries were minor. In his assassination, he used a six-chamber revolver,.38 caliber Beretta. Godses origin is still obscure, but he is said to be a Brahmin, and according to one report, comes from Poona (Assassination of Mr. Gandhi, 1948). The motive of the murderer was that Gandhi was at fault before the people, as he wanted to separate Muslims. The result of his actions divided the country into two, India and Pakistan. Also, Godse explained his actions by blaming appeasement, which was Gandhis policy and supposedly led to problems with the Muslims (Gandhi&Godse Assassination, 2013).

Conducting the investigation today, there would be several things that could have been done differently. After the assassination attempt on the 20th of January, Godse could be followed by the use of tracers or police surveillance. Interrogating his accomplices would provide information about another future attempt and alert the authorities. As Godse used an Italian-made Beretta, the source could have been traced in order to determine the party who supplied the guns. His DNA and fingerprints would then be inputted into the database and traced to make sure that there was no other criminal involvement. Eyewitnesses would have to be cross-examined to establish why Gandhi was not taken to the hospital and how decided or ordered to take him to a Shrine. That person could be connected to the side that was opposite of Gandhis policies.

Conclusion

Even though todays technology would allow a closer look at the case and look into a possibility of a conspiracy, the fact that he was shot at close range and the killer was apprehended would not majorly differentiate the investigation. The end result would also be unchanged, as the nation and whole of humanity lost one of the greatest fighters for justice.

References

Chunibhai Vaidya, C. (2013). Gandhi&Godse Assassination.

Deats, R. (2005). Mahatma Gandhi, Nonviolent Liberator: A Biography. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press.

Hatt, C. (2002). Mahatma Gandhi. London, England: Evans Brothers.

Kamath, M. (2007). Gandhi, a Spiritual Journey. Mumbai, India: Indus Source.

The Guardian. (1948). Assassination of Mr Gandhi.

The Hindu. (2013). Gandhiji shot dead  The Hindu.

The history of serial murder stretches into the beginning of humankind and beyond. While it was very easy for a crafty person to avoid punishment in the ancient times, modern forensic practice and investigation tools allow law enforcement agencies to rigorously and systematically prosecute murderers. Nevertheless, investigators can be limited because of the pressure that comes from the media and publicity. On the other hand, one can argue that the mass media do not have a significant impact on forensic actions and practices. However, the history of forensics demonstrates many ways in which law enforcement can be pressurized to limit its activity and affect its efficiency. Therefore, the media play a bigger role in the investigation of serial murders than it may seem.

Globalization of Serial Murder Investigation

Many factors determine modern forensic practices. Some of the factors include the increasing complexity of identifying and capturing the criminal. While it is much easier to apprehend delinquents than it ever was because of the steady development of surveillance and communications, it is complicated because of growing globalization. Borders are becoming less impenetrable, peoples mix and it is often not easy to spot unusual behavior at first sight. However, globalization does also affect investigations of serial murders in a positive way; it allows countries to share experience on the topic of investigating the cases of serial homicide. Therefore, forensic units are presented with a variety of different methods that originate from various countries and cultures.

For example, an article by Rossmo (2014), a former British detective inspector, presents the new method of narrowing the area in which the homicide has taken place (geographical profiling), and the method of closing the circle of suspects (psychological profiling). This is an excellent example of how experience exchange can benefit each participant. The primary influence that globalization has over the investigations of serial murders is that it can significantly reduce the efforts necessary to prevent such crimes or to solve the cases much faster. Therefore, globalization should be regarded as a decisive factor that contributes to forensic practices concerning serial crimes.

Serial Murder and the Media

While globalization pushes criminology and forensic practices to move forward, the media tend to decrease the effectiveness of any investigation. Primarily because the media benefit from attention, and law enforcing agencies often go out of their way to prevent the media from causing chaos amongst the community. Furthermore, the media often confuses the facts so that investigators are seen as not only dormant, but brutal in their actions as well. According to Fox and Levin (2015), The interchangeable use of the terms active shooting and mass shooting by news coverage has created a good deal of public anxiety and confusion (p. 9). Hence the assumption that the mass media activity can often result in the disruption of communitys well-being and overall quietude. Furthermore, the stress was caused only by mentioning shooting which is a relatively localized incident. When it comes to exaggeration of the facts concerning serial murders, people turn even more perturbed because of the unpredictable and unattached nature of such transgressions.

Additionally, media activity tends to create harmful stereotypes that negatively affect certain social groups. Besides, stereotypes are even more dangerous when they are based on some information that may draw a connection between serious crimes like serial homicide and the outcasts. Research by Allely, Minnis, Thompson, Wilson and Gillberg (2014) specifically dwells on the topic of media activity resulting in the discrimination of people who suffer from autism spectrum disorders or ASD. The paper concludes that the media reporting on serial murders or other violent crimes committed by people with ASD, in fact, creates harmful stereotypes. Thus, the community will most likely alienate ASD patients and other outcasts as well. This is especially crucial when taking the human factor into consideration. After all, investigators and law enforcement agents are a part of the community which may affect their judgments. To conclude, mass media may have a significant impact on the quality of investigations by confusing facts and spreading contradictory information, therefore creating anxiety throughout the community.

Conclusion

Serial murders are regarded as some of the most violent and intolerable crimes, and criminal and forensic sciences are constantly developing new methods of investigations to effectively identify and apprehend serial killers. However, while globalization actively contributes to the process, media activity is often much less useful. Although globalization processes not rarely lead to increasing a criminal activity, globalization is a force that pushes nations to cooperate and exchange experience in the field of criminology, often resulting in revolutionary means of investigation. In turn, mass media prove to be a more harmful factor that contributes to disrupting public order and distorting the information, which forces law enforcement agencies to limit media involvement in almost any case. More importantly, mass media tend to create harmful stereotypes by drawing questionable connections between social outcasts and their participation in crimes. Therefore, investigations are often affected by both factors  globalization and mass media alike. Nevertheless, the latter mostly results in the malfunctions of the law enforcement system.

References

Allely, C. S., Minnis, H., Thompson, L., Wilson, P., & Gillberg, C. (2014). Neurodevelopmental and psychosocial risk factors in serial killers and mass murderers. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 19(3), 288-301. Web.

Fox, J. A., & Levin, J. (2015). Mass confusion concerning mass murder. The Criminologist, 40(1), 8-11.

Rossmo, D. K. (2014). Geographic profiling. Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Vols. 1-10). New York, NY, Springer-Verlag.

Video is an integral part of human life, as it allows people to capture many important moments. There was a time when videos were recorded only for keeping important events in memory. Still, over time, the possibilities have increased, and now video recording is widely used in many areas of peoples lives. Making a video is very important and necessary in some cases because it can help save valuable moments of life and in many difficult situations to prove somebodies guilt or rightness.

People record videos to review the happy moments of life and remember their feelings in that situation. Usually, people take their vacation in another country, with its sights and exciting events. They also shoot a wedding or the birth of a child, its development and growth. After all, usually, such moments do not last long, and it is complicated to remember every detail. Therefore, by reviewing the video, people can immerse themselves in a time when they were happy.

Students and employees also use video recording to clearly show a particular fact that will help them succeed in business. In addition, in modern times, video is used to earn money. By showing exciting content that may not be available to someone in real life, people have a chance to see something unusual around them and get new information and knowledge. For people to share their videos, many different social networks have been created with convenient access and the function of viewing videos online.

Naturally, in addition to earning money and capturing moments, videos are actively used to have visual evidence of someones guilt or innocence. For example, in 2020, in a video of one of the Minnesota citizens, a police officer was caught holding a suspect in handcuffs, pressed to the ground with his knee (BBC, 2020). This became a resonant and essential case, which further activated the public to fight against racial discrimination and police permissiveness.

This video contains the fact of the murder of an African-American man Floyd by police officer Chauvin. The resonance is that the police officer handcuffed the man, threw him to the ground, and knelt on his neck. Floyd repeatedly begged and asked the police officer to remove his leg from his neck as he could not breathe. The policeman pretended not to hear or ignored the mans requests (BBC, 2020). Transcripts of police bodycam footage show Floyd said more than 20 times he could not breathe as he was restrained by the officers (BBC, 2020). In this position, he held him for about 9 minutes, and when the ambulance arrived, he continued to restrain the almost motionless criminal with his knee. In the hospital department, Floyd died due to a prolonged lack of oxygen (BBC, 2020). From the beginning and almost to the very end, this terrible story was captured on video.

The video was filmed and then distributed all over the Internet, which caused a lot of protests. However, based on the evidence, this video, the police officer was found guilty in court. This situation also proves that the video material, in this case, was necessary for a fair decision of the court. Probably without video, it would have been more difficult for the court to decide in Floyds favor since the fact of the murder would have been exclusively oral.

In conclusion, video is essential at almost every stage of peoples lives. With the ability to make videos, people gain the ability to save important moments, make a recording for work or school, and film crimes and draw public attention to acute problems. Therefore, such a tool as a video camera is one of the most necessary things for any person all over the world.

Reference

George Floyd: What happened in the final moments of his life. (2020). BBC, Web.

Introduction

The greeting session does not involve any deep analysis of the clients thoughts and diagnosis as well. It can be described as a get-to-know meeting rather than wholesome work. During the first session, the client usually tells about his problems, while the specialist asks about his feelings, concerns, and personal well-being in general. It is reasonable for the specialist to try different exercises to help the client reveal his fears and issues that bother him. The greeting process also involves discussing the methods the specialist uses to check if the client agrees to work with them or not.

Another critical aspect of the greeting session is the discussion of confidentiality issues. Client confidentiality is one of the basic rules of interaction between the patient and the specialist. Patients come for high-quality professional assistance, so they do not want their personal problems to be discussed by a third party. That is why the specialist needs to ensure that the issues the client discusses with him are confidential, and nobody will know about the problems they discuss during sessions. One important point about patient confidentiality concerns the aspect of the clients behavior being harmful or potentially dangerous either for himself or society. This group of activities includes the risks or attempts of suicide, homicide, and self-harm.

When communicating with the patients with the listed above risks, it is wrong to start seeking the reasons for such behavior during the first session. This process is traumatizing and requires mutual trust and respect. Since the client and the specialist do not have such a bond yet, the specialist should not discuss the patients problems right away. Instead of pointing at it during the greeting session, the specialist may devote it to the get-to-know process and just ask the client questions about him, maybe his family, and the reason for coming. The specialist may also conduct some tests to understand the possible diagnosis of the client. During the greeting session, the specialist should also show that he is interested in the patients problems and is able to help him solve them. In addition, patients with suicide, homicide, and self-harm risks require special attention due to specific mental health conditions and behavioral features.

Patients with the Risks of Suicide

As a rule, patients who have risks of committing suicide differ from other clients. It is necessary to understand that the risk does not appear without reason. It is usually the consequence of other mental disorders, such as bipolar disorder, major depression, or abuse in the family (Baldessarini, 2019). Suicidal patients generally have behavioral disorders, they are passive and depressed, are not interested in anything, have few friends, or do not have them at all. It is also possible to distinguish such their characteristics as the lack of communication, insomnia, or the feeling of heaviness in the chest or other parts of the body.

Suicidal patients require the careful attitude of the specialist, but it can be hard to communicate with them due to either their reluctance to accept help or the fear of being judged (Baldessarini, 2019). That is why the specialist must assess the risks of a new client being suicidal during the greeting session. He should pay attention to the patients physical and emotional state and develop a communication strategy and further treatment for him.

Patients with the Risks of Homicide

Patients who may commit homicide, as a rule, are aggressive and lose control quite easily. That is why the specialist needs to stay calm during sessions and do not accept provocations. The specialist should listen to what the patient says, but not how he does that (Baldessarini, 2019). It is the only way to help such patients. In addition, the specialist should not take the insults or threats personally because aggressive patients target not him but the situation in general. He may also address the patient by name because its mentioning decreases the scale of his anger (Baldessarini, 2019). The client primarily seeks help and professional advice, so no judgment or aggressive methods should be involved in ordernot to deteriorate the case.

Patients with the Risk of Self-Harm

It is necessary for the specialist to see the connection between suicidal patients and patients with the risk of self-harm. It is already proven that people who intentionally harm themselves are more likely to commit suicide if they are not appropriately treated (Leather et al., 2020). Self-harm is usually accompanied by such mental health issues as depression, alcohol or drug addiction, and abuse. Hence, the specialist should be careful and gentle with such patients and not judge them to let self-harm risks become suicide-commitment risks. He must ensure the client that there is nothing wrong with him and the problem can be solved.

Conclusion

Clients with suicide, homicide, or self-harm risks differ from the other clientele specialists may face. The common thing about these problems is that they are not the reason but the consequence of abuse or severe mental illnesses such as major depression and bipolar disorder. It is necessary to remember that the signs of these issues are noticeable, and in many cases, people who suffer from them wordlessly seek help. Hence, it is vital not to ignore them and, what is more important, not to judge them because professional assistance and advice are the best ways to solve the problem.

References

Baldessarini, R. J. (2019). Epidemiology of suicide: recent developments. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences.7(29). doi: 10.1017/S2045796019000672

Leather, J. Z., OConnor, R. C., Quinlivan, L., Kapur, N., Campbell, S., Armitage, C., J. (2020). Healthcare professionals implementation of national guidelines with patients who self-harm. Journal of psychiatric research, 130, 405-411. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.08.031

The course material I have studied so far has been interesting and informative for me. I have found many though-provoking takeaways throughout the course, but the ones that seemed most surprising to me were discussed in chapters 6 and 7 on Homicide and Sexual Victimization. First, it was rather interesting for me to read about the differences in the types of homicide and learn about the legal definitions of excusable and justifiable homicide. It was also informative to read about the legal categorization of rape and sexual abuse. In addition, I was surprised by some statistical facts related to homicide and sexual victimization, such as females being much more likely to become victims of intimate partner homicide and sexual abuse.

Kitsantonis, N. (2022). In Greece, a string of killings pushes domestic abuse into the spotlight. 

This news article discusses the rising rates of intimate partner violence and homicide in Greece. The author tells about several cases of mens deadly assaults on their female partners, which have been covered in press. It is suggested that the rise in the number of intimate partner homicides was partly the result of Covid lockdowns (Williams & Bailey, 2020). Additionally, this increase and the fact that the assaults were covered in the news helped to raise awareness about the issue and encouraged more women subjected to domestic violence to seek help from law enforcement.

Overall, the article appears to be a credible source; it provides statistics on the assaults and extracts from the interviews with some prominent figures, such as lawyers and a sociologist who works with gender studies. The author also connects the situation in Greece with similar problems in other countries across the globe, which adds significance to the issue (Kitsantonis, 2022). The tone of the writing is moderate yet persuasive, and the article does not seem biased, as the author gives many examples of homicide cases to demonstrate that the problem remains topical.

I have chosen this current event because it focuses on a society where open discussion of domestic violence and intimate partner assaults is still stigmatized to a certain extent. Relating the article to the textbook chapters on the same topic, I have realized that the scope of the issue is much broader than I had imagined, which is aggravated by the stigma that still exists in some communities (Lauritsen & Lentz, 2019). While studying this topic, I felt the emotions of anger, frustration, and concern for those women who are still too scared to speak about their horrifying experiences.

The important items from the textbook that have increased my understanding of the topic were mainly presented in Chapter 6, which discussed some facts about intimate partner homicide. For example, it is stated that risk of being killed by a loved one is much higher for females, and this fact is supported by the article, as all the victims mentioned were women (Kitsantonis, 2022). It can be argued that a victimological lens with a focus on both the victim and the offender can significantly strengthen our understanding of the problem and what causes it. This is mainly due to the fact that it will provide a more profound knowledge of the behaviors that can precede the assault and factors contributing to intimate partner violence.

References

Kitsantonis, N. (2022). In Greece, a string of killings pushes domestic abuse into the spotlight.

Lauritsen, J. L., & Lentz, T. S. (2019). National and local trends in serious violence, firearm victimization, and homicide. Homicide Studies, 23(3), 243-261.

Williams, M., & Bailey, R. K. (2020). Intimate partner violence during SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Intimate Partner Violence, 3(2), 137-141.

Introduction

Murder is an act of crime in which prior meditations about target persons are involved before performing the execution. It is undoubtedly that individuals can plan, either solely or in groups, and wage war against their fellows. Engagement in violence has been associated with historical accounts of humankinds evolution (Glowacki et al. 2). However, researchers in social science hold the contrary opinion that serial killing while engaging in violent exchange among people emerged from cultural diversity. The biological perspective affirms that it is scientifically incorrect to say that we have genetically inherited the tendency to make war from our animal ancestors (Durrant 429). The implication is that violence is not encoded in the genes of parents and transferred to offspring. It is conceivable that wrangles among people emerge from contentious matters which yield explosive exchange of words and physical fights. Consequently, suffering and death mark the end of involvement in wars (Durrant 429). This paper discusses whether war is a form of murder, emphasizing human intentions and incidences leading to fights and serial killing.

Main body

Engagement in wars that culminate in genocide or homicide comes from predetermination to execute people or an individual. As defined by international legal acts, genocide is the act committed with intent to destroy, in whole or part. Involvement in wars follows the incitement generated by contrasting political opinions held by different parts (Harff 58). It is acceptable that humans can live peacefully in a cosmopolitan manner, defying cultural, racial, and religious differences. Moreover, the co-existence can be extended into uniting in economic and social agreements for team benefit. However, political agendas associated with democracy or other leadership often shift peoples attention from loving the neighbors and patriotism (Turchin et al. 16384). Considering the case of the Rwanda genocide of the 1990s, the Tutsi community developed the motive to slay the Hutu people following political divides among them. Wars stemming from communities that lead to genocide and assassinations are directed by individuals with clear intentions (Harff 58). Thus, war is not accidental, making it a criminal offense.

Warfare is preceded by contrasting opinions, which can be managed to cultivate peace; however, people get inclined to endanger the lives of their opponents. Violence encompasses peoples aggressiveness to withstand the pressure exerted on them by their opponents (Dutton et al. 457). Behavioral scientists unveil that hostility is a survival tactic to over threats. However, the use of war as a survival avenue is socially destructive since it involves eliminating other people. For instance, incidences of homicides account that women are inclined to execute their husbands after an encounter of frustration from them (White et al. 623). The idea that hostility is a mechanism of withstanding hostility from the surrounding world is socially unacceptable. It is conceivable that war is cultivated by fear and xenophobia, and the survivor of such incidences live at the expense of another persons life (Dutton et al. 458). Eliminating an individual through killing is not a survival tactic and should be charged as murder crime.

Conclusion

In conclusion, wars involve aggressive and hostile behaviors that put the lives of contrasting parties at risk. Fights are often initiated by political agendas and fear of threats, which impairs peoples intention to commit murder. However, every incidence of war is preceded by resolutions made to engage in hostile behavior and execute the opponent intentionally. Thus, war is a form of murder since it involved an intentional criminal offense.

Works Cited

Durrant, Russil. Collective Violence: An Evolutionary Perspective. Aggression and Violent Behavior, vol. 16, 2011, pp. 428-436.

Dutton, Donald G., et al. Extreme Mass Homicide: From Military Massacre to Genocide. Aggression and Violent Behavior, vol. 10, 2005, pp. 437-473.

Glowacki, Luke, et al. The Evolution Anthropology of War. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2017, pp. 1-20.

Harff, Barbara. No Lessons Learned from the Holocaust? Assessing Risks of Genocide and Political Mass Murder since 1955. American Political Science Review, vol. 97, no. 1, 2003, pp. 57-73.

Turchin, Peter, et al. War, Space, and The Evolution of Old World Complex Societies. PNAS: Anthropology, vol. 110, no. 41, 2013, pp. 16384-16389.

White, Andrew Edward, et al. When Nasty Breeds Nice: Threats of Violence Amplify Agreeableness at National, Individual, and Situational Levels. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 103, no. 4, 2012, pp. 622-634.

Homicide detectives often deploy unethical and improper investigatory tactics to secure convictions of wrongly accused persons. Flynns (2019) article outlines how law enforcement agencies fabricated evidence, falsified witness statements, and coerced a single onlooker to make a false identification, which sent Johnson Lamar to prison. Although homicide investigators are highly competent and specially trained, the pressure to resolve and incriminate a culprit often pushes them to operate unethically.

Johnson Lamar was convicted for life in the State of Missouri over the murder of Marcus Boyd. Prosecutors and the investigating officer, Joseph Nickerson, falsified witness statements and pressured a lone onlooker to make a false identification to help convict Johnson, despite his innocence (Flynn, 2019). Nickerson, the single detective who investigated the incident, authored four fallacious police reports repudiated by the witnesses sworn under oath. Moreover, Greg Elking was the only eyewitness who was sitting with Boyd at the time of the shooting and received over $4,000 for facilitating Johnsons wrongful implication, despite the written confession from the victims real killers (Flynn, 2019). Although Greg never saw Boyds shooters, Nickerson wrote in his report that the witness positively identified Johnson. However, Greg only recognized Johnson after the officer had directed him the number to pick from the lineup (Flynn, 2019). Ultimately, Johnson was imprisoned for life based on Gregs false identification.

Johnsons imprisonment over Marcus murder highlights the climax of unethical conduct by homicide detectives. The manufactured witness statements, paying an onlooker to give fabricated evidence, and concocting testimonies were monumental professional misconducts which undermined the possibility of convicting Boyds shooters. Consequently, the real perpetrators of the felony were left free to commit other crimes. Therefore, the police and prosecutors failed to conduct competent investigations due to the various ethical breaches and professional misconduct.

Reference

Flynn, M. (2019). To win a murder case, police and prosecutors made up evidence and secretly paid a witness, St Louis DA finds. The Washington Post.

According to FBI statistics, the crime rate in the United States is growing. In the early 2000s, it declined significantly, especially in the number of homicides and other serious violent crimes (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). However, in recent years, the murder rate has risen significantly across the country, and some states have much higher levels of violent crime. Using data from the Uniform Crime Report, this paper discusses the peculiarities of the homicide rate in the United States and its changes over time. The analyzed data represents the actual prevalence of homicide in the country and may influence the decision-making process in developing policies to minimize this crime.

In 2019, the number of homicides in the United States was 16,245. In 2020, the situation has deteriorated and murders have increased by an average of 24 percent compared to 2019 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). As Figure 1 states, the homicide rate has risen by 0.3 percent from 2018, by 3.4 percent from 2015, and by 11.6 percent from 2010 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). In 2020, 41 mass murders have been committed in the United States so far (Bullinger et al., 2020). American public attention was drawn to the mass shooting in El Paso and Odessa, Dayton, Virginia, and New Jersey. In the passing year, the highest number of massacres was committed in the United States since the 1970s when the country began to record the crime rates.

The largest surge of violence occurred in Chicago where the biggest number of all murders was recorded. Moreover, compared to 2019, the number of homicides in Chicago has grown by more than 50 percent (Bullinger et al., 2020). According to the Chicago Police Department, from January 1 to the end of July 2020, 440 murders were committed in Chicago, and a total of 2,240 people received bullet wounds, including fatal ones (Bullinger et al., 2020). Chicago police say that the high numbers are linked to gang wars when members of a rival gang are shot from a passing car, and random bullets also hit passers-by. Homicide rates have also increased in both typically high crime cities such as Detroit and Philadelphia, as well as generally peaceful cities such as Phoenix and Omaha. New York has also seen a surge in crime and gunfire in 2020.

The highest number of massacres occurred in California, the state with the strictest rules for carrying and acquiring firearms. In most cases, the attackers were personally acquainted with their victims. This happened in the case of family quarrels, wars between criminal gangs, or shootings caused by anger and irritation towards colleagues or relatives. At the same time, in many cases, the motives that guided the attackers were never revealed. In general, Michigan is considered the most dangerous state because of the most criminal city of Detroit (Bullinger et al., 2020). Today, some other states can be distinguished, such as Arkansas, Missouri, California, Tennessee, New York, and Ohio.

Taking into account race and gender, black men seem to be most victimized by homicide in the United States. According to the Uniform Crime Report, in 2019, most of the murder victims were males. Based on the Expanded Homicide Data Table 1, it can be calculated that 46 percent of all homicide victims were African American men (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). Violence is directed primarily at members of the same racial or ethnic group. Therefore, the number of murder victims per 1 million inhabitants among African Americans is much higher than among whites, Hispanics, and Asians (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). White homicides are distributed relatively proportionally across different demographic groups. In contrast, murders committed by blacks focus on members of their racial group. The distribution of the death toll of African Americans by race or ethnicity of the criminal highlights the leading cause of violent deaths among black Americans.

Another distinctive feature that characterizes American crime is the ethnicity of the offenders. In 2019, 39.5 percent of African Americans committed a homicide in comparison with 29.1 percent of white people (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). However, white nationalists are also responsible for the vast majority of all extremist killings over the past 10 years. In 2018, that number soared to 78% of the total homicide rate (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). According to the Expanded Homicide Data Table 3, 88 percent of the offenders in 2019 were males (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). Thus, black males appear to be the offenders most of the time. Criminologists associate this tendency with discrimination against black people, who find it difficult to have permanent work and housing, which pushes them onto the criminal road.

The crime rate in the United States is high because the influence of gangs is still great. The total number of gang members in the country, despite serious opposition from the police, is large and amounts to about 1.4 million people (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019). In some cities, there are areas where even police officers are afraid to go unarmed. Another important factor is the role of firearms in homicides. Since it is officially allowed to carry firearms for self-defense, on the one hand, it allows people to protect themselves as much as possible. On the other hand, it leads to frequent fatal shootings, which negatively affects the overall security of the United States.

The growing number of murders should lead to a reassessment of the internal threat posed by black gangs and militant white nationalists. The use of regulations that severely restrict the rights of citizens to own firearms can lead to a decrease in the level of homicide and other violent crimes. Congress tried to impose mandatory identity checks on all weapons purchases, including private transactions. Despite Senate support, the project was blocked by a minority over procedural objections. Today the situation is changing since Congress has passed legislation regulating the possession of firearms. However, the opposition to any gun control bills in the Senate remains significant.

The existence of dangerous gangs, racism, and the availability of firearms significantly undermines the security of the United States. Recently, many of the murders have been committed against members of racial and ethnic minorities. In each of these cases, the offenders were guided by their conviction that the representatives of other races were going to harm them. The provided figures give rise to many politicians to declare that it is time to end the growth of homicide since it is the result of incorrect shifts in the public perception of crime. This threat should lead to effective methods and procedures of dealing with this issue, including the reduction of racist attitudes and increased gun control.

References

Bullinger, L. R., Carr, J. B., & Packham, A. (2020). COVID-19 and crime: Effects of stay-at-home orders on domestic violence. National Bureau of Economic Research.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (2019). Uniform Crime Reports. 2019 crime in the United States. Web.

Abstract

During the course of recent decades, it became a common trait among Americans to think of Puerto Rico in terms of being a crime-haven, even though Americas mass Medias and this countrys progressive sociologists continue to refer to this tendency as simply another proof of White Americans biasness. Yet, there is nothing biased about statistical data in regards to the criminological situation in Puerto Rico  this data invariably points out the fact that as time goes by, perpetrating acts of violence becomes the norm of life among a rapidly growing proportion of Puerto Ricans. In her article With the Highest Murder Rate in the U.S., Puerto Rico Needs Immediate Solutions, available on the website of Puerto-Rico Herald, Taina Rosa provides us with the insight into the true scope of the criminological disaster in Puerto-Rico: More murders occur in Puerto Rico than anywhere in the mainland U.S., according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Once again, Puerto Ricowith a population of 4 millionended the year with an alarming homicide rate, higher than the three-largest cities in the mainland U.S. With 790 murders reported during 2004, the island had a higher murder rate than New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Puerto Ricos mean homicide rate is three times that of the total U.S. mainland and four times that of Europe (2005). Moreover, there are also substantial increases to the annual rates of homicidal crime on the island. In his article Homicide Toll Surpasses 2008 Figures, which can be found on the web site of Puerto-Rico Daily Sun, Waldo D. Covas Quevedo states: The number of homicides (in Puerto-Rico) for the current year reached 807 killings, surpassing the total for 2008. The number does not include a handful of murders the Police have not yet counted& Unsolved homicide cases have increased to 61 percent during his tenure in and in some cases have risen as much as 78 percent (2009). At the same time, it would be wrong to think of this situation as such that reflects the lack of professional enthusiasm, on the part of representatives of Puerto-Rican law enforcement agencies. The report Homicides among Children and Young Adults  Puerto Rico, 19992003, available on the website of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, leaves no doubt as to the fact that Puerto-Rican police and countrys politicians do apply a great amount of effort in trying to tackle the problem: To address this problem (high rate of homicidal crime), the Puerto Rican government has initiated a comprehensive strategy that includes enhancing an integrated surveillance system for fatal and nonfatal assault, supporting research on interpersonal violence, and establishing local prevention (2006). Therefore, it would only be logical to conclude that the continuous worsening of the criminological situation in Puerto-Rico, reflects country policy-makers lack of conceptual understanding of what causes people to indulge in criminal behavior, in the first place. In this report, I will aim at exploring this thesis even further, while outlining the main principles, upon which Puerto-Rican law enforcement agencies should base their crime-prevention policies, in order to be able to effectively address the issue.

Statement of the Problem

Even a brief analysis of homicidal crimes, which had taken place in Puerto-Rico, during the course of recent years, reveals the fact that most of them were committed in particularly gruesome manner  Puerto-Rican newspapers never cease reporting on people being gang-raped, burned alive, sawn in half and etc. Selena Watkins article Gay Teen Burned and Decapitated in Puerto Rico can be referred to as the typical account of Puerto-Rican homicidal crime: Nineteen-year-old, Jorge Steven Lopez Mercados body was found burned, decapitated and dismembered on Nov. 14 in Cayey, a city only a few miles away from his hometown in Caguas (2009). What this means is that it is the methodology of Positive Criminology, which appears being particularly applicable in dealing with the phenomenon of ever-increased rates of homicide in Puerto-Rico  apparently, it is the particularities of homicidal criminals biological makeup that we should view as the main motivational factor behind their socially-inappropriate behavior.

In his famous book Criminal Man, the founder of Positive Criminology Cesare Lombroso was not only able to prove beyond any reasonable doubt the validity of a born criminal concept, but he also provided us with the insight onto the fact that is namely individuals inborn anthropological atavism, which should be thought of as the ultimate proof of his or her criminal-mindedness: Atavism remains one of the most constant characteristics of the born criminal, in spite of, or rather together with pathology. Many of the characteristics of primitive man are also commonly found in the born criminal, including low, sloping foreheads, overdeveloped sinuses, overdevelopment of jaws and cheekbones, prognathism, oblique and large eye sockets, dark skin& (1911, p. 222). Given the fact that the citizens in Western countries are now expected to celebrate diversity as their full-time occupation, it comes as no surprise that the methodology of Positive Criminology has fallen out of favour with the hawks of political correctness, who refer to it as racist, biased and non-academic.

For example, in his article Craniums, Criminals, and the Cursed Race: Italian Anthropology in American Racial Thought, 1861-1924, while rightly identifying theoretical premises of Positive Criminology, Peter DAgostino still describes them as illegitimate: Lombroso argued penology should consider the criminal in his social and biological circumstances. He asserted that the classical penal code reduced justice to logically applying a general principle with complete disregard for observation and investigation of facts. Such an approach was unscientific and unjust (2002, p. 322). However, even though Positive Criminology is being often described as unjust it does not make it less valid, especially given the latest breakthroughs in the field of genetic science  the objective reality substantiates the conceptual soundness of this statement better than anything else does.

In her article Criminal Man Rediscovered, available on the website of Humanities & Social Sciences Online, Isobel Williams states: He (Lombroso) first hypothesized that the tendency to commit crime was mirrored in the physical characteristics, or physiognomy, of the criminal, including such factors as race and color& As gene research advances, some behavioural traits that were designated as learned are being cast into doubt and reclassified as innate when taken together with environmental factors (2007). The reason why Medias refer to particularly gruesome crimes as inhuman, bestial and savage, is because their perpetrators cannot be assumed being fully human. And, it is needless to mention that ones inability to act as a human can be hardly referred to as the matter of his or her choice.

In its turn, this points out to the fact that there must an objective precondition for people, who go about cutting off victims heads in a way we go about cutting sausage, to be born endowed with essentially savage mentality. What creates such a precondition, in the first place? The answer to this question is being rather politically-incorrect  one among major factors behind peoples existential inadequacy is the practice of interracial mixing. And, as statistics indicate, 80% of Puerto-Ricos population is being affected by racial mongrelization, just as it is the case in just about any other Latin American country, with the exception of Argentina and Chile.

The irony resides in the fact that the majority of Puerto-Ricans continue to identify themselves as white. In her study Ethnic Classification in Southeastern Puerto Rico: The Cultural Model of Color, Clarence C. Gravlee says: In 2002, for the first time in 50 years, the census asked Puerto Ricans to identify their race. Over 80% self-identified as white, even though in U.S. they would have been identified as meztizos (2005, p. 965). Thus, it would only be logical to conclude that there is a link between particularities of Puerto-Ricans racial affiliation and disproportionately high rates of homicide in this country  peoples inability to adjust their behavior to universally accepted norms of social conduct often correlates with their inability to operate with highly abstract categories (low IQ). In its turn, such their inability is being genetically predetermined, which explains why the geopolitical attractiveness of every particular country directly corresponds to the proportion of White citizens within its population.

In their book IQ and the Wealth of Nations, Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen state: IQs appear to be determined by the racial and ethnic make-up of the populations&The IQs of 96 are typical of Europeans. The countries with lower proportions of Europeans and greater proportions of Native Americans, Blacks, and Mestizos have lower IQs (2002, p. 63). Why is it that the perpetrators of particularly violent crimes often have a hard time realizing the sheer wickedness of their criminal behavior? This is because most of them do not even understand what the concept of morality stands for, in the first place. These peoples existential mode is being primarily affected by their animalistic urges, which explains why out of 812 acts of homicide that had taken place in Puerto-Rico, during the course of 2009, only 25 were recognized as having been premeditated. This explains country polices utter operational inefficiency, for as long as the issue of crime prevention is being concerned  unlike what it is the case among people of pure European descend, even the slightest domestic dispute among Puerto-Ricans can unpredictably escalate into a full-scale gunfight.

In its turn, this phenomenon can be well explained along the lines of eugenics  just as plants and animals, people are being subjected to objectively existing biological laws. For example, dog breeders are well aware of the fact that particularly vicious dogs are always the ones that had been affected by crossbreeding the most. Pit bulls, famed for their unprovoked attacks on even small children, have been artificially breaded out of the genetic pool, associated with thirty different dog pedigrees. In fact, Pit-bulls unpredictable behaviour resulted in this dog breed being outlawed in the countries of EU. Apparently, the same applies to people  the more they are being affected by racial mongrelization, the more they are being capable of deriving pleasure out of indulging in criminally-violent behavior.

And, as we have pointed out earlier, the majority of Puerto-Ricans are racial hybrids, born as a result of interracial crossbreeding between Blacks, Whites, and Indians, which explains why even today, many of them continue to experience a variety of deep-seated psychological anxieties as to the true essence of their racial affiliation. In his article The Rough Edges of Puerto Rican Identities: Race, Gender, and Transnationalism, Jorge Duany makes a perfectly good point while stating: Puerto Rican culture on the island has been thoroughly racialized through the founding myth of mestizajew, which tends to privilege whiteness and sometimes the indigenous heritage at the expense of the African contribution (2005, p. 181). The fact that even today, the juxtaposition Black vs. White continues to define the very subtleties of Puerto-Rican culture, suggests that throughout their lives, Puerto-Ricans never cease dealing with the crisis of self-identity, which contributes rather substantially to the rate of homicidal crime on the island being continuously increased. Whatever the politically-incorrect it might sound  it is in these peoples blood to indulge in violently-criminal behaviour, every time opportunity presents itself, which explains why representatives of racially homogeneous ethnic minorities in America are being united in their animosity towards Puerto-Rican amigos  it is not only that Puerto-Ricans do not have to go through the humiliations of marriage of convenience, in order to be able to come to U.S., but as soon as their number in American urban communities reaches a critical mass, they turn these communities into little Puerto-Ricos, where people go about dumping garbage on the front lawns of their houses without any second thoughts, whatsoever.

Therefore, it is utterly inappropriate to refer to the high rate of homicidal crime in Puerto-Rico as the result of countrys citizens suffering from poverty or the legacy of colonialism, as many naïve people prefer to believe. If this was the case, Puerto-Rican Americans social attitudes would significantly differ from those of Puerto-Ricans proper. Yet, there is a plenty of objective evidence as to the fact that this is far from being the case. For example, as of 1995, the dropout rate among Puerto-Rican high school students in America has reached 40-45%, while continuing to increase in exponential progression to the flow of time. In their article Hispanic Educational Attainment: The Effects of Family Background and Nativity, Roger Wojtkiewicz and Katharine Donato provide us with insight onto the full scope of what they refer to as Hispanic educational disaster: By 1991, only 61% of Hispanics 20 to 21 years old had completed high school compared with 81 % of non-Hispanic Blacks and 90% of Whites (1995, p. 559). Thus, the issue of homicide in Puerto-Rico simply cannot be tackled mechanistically as thing in itself, because the roots of Puerto-Rican homicidal crime are being rather biologically then socially predetermined  that is, governmental attempts to reduce the rate of homicidal crime will automatically be doomed to failure, unless they incorporate the methodology of Positive Criminology as their essential component. In the concluding part of this report, I will outline guiding principles, as to how this can be accomplished.

Recommendations

As it appears from what has been said earlier, crime can only be effectively combated if the very concept of law enforcement transforms its operational function from serving the needs of punishment to serving the needs of prevention. This can be done if policy-makers adopt a racially biological outlook onto the essence of criminological issues. The following is the list of recommendations, which representatives of Puerto-Rican law enforcement agencies and countrys politicians should resort to, while addressing Puerto-Ricos high rate of homicide:

• Puerto-Ricos law enforcement agencies need to design a conceptual framework for distinguishing natural-born criminals from those who had committed criminal acts under the pressure of external circumstances. In order for this to be done, countrys lawmakers will have to adjust the practice of introducing new criminal legislations to the empirical science of biology. The following excerpt from Elizabeth Englanders book Understanding Violence, contains an insight on how this can be done: Genetic influences refer to the blueprints for behavior that are contained in a persons chromosomes. An individuals phenotype is the outward expression of his or her genotype. It is theoretically possible for a person to carry genes that influence behavior; the behavior they actually express would be the phenotype of those genes (2003, p. 56). The positively indentified natural-born criminals must be stripped of their civil rights, sterilized and isolated from the rest of society.
• Police officers must familiarize themselves with Cezare Lombrosos most important works and with how this Italian criminologists theories have been implemented practically. For example, during the course of Moscow Olympic Games of 1980, not even a single incident of crime has been reported in this city of ten million, throughout the entire Games duration. The reason for this is simple  one week prior to the Olympics official opening, Moscow police had simply ordered citys residents who bore atavistic anthropological features to leave Soviet capital.¹ This incident serves as the best poof of a complete validity of Lombrosos criminological insights.
• The influence on Catholic Church on socio-political realities in Puerto-Rico must be strictly limited. Is namely Catholic clergys active promotion of unsafe interracial sex, which contributes rather substantially to the fact that, as time goes by, the percentage of physically and mentally defective children in Puerto-Rico is being continuously increased (just as it is the case in other Latin American and Caribbean countries). This observation has direct implications within reports context. One of the reasons why homicidal rate in Puerto-Rico had assumed an alarming magnitude is because Puerto-Rican society appears being quite insensitive towards the emanations of peoples existential inadequacy. In his article Studying Mental Illness in Context: Local, Global, or Universal?, Byron Good says: Cultural interpretations of behavioral pathologies held by members of a society or social group (including mental health professionals) strongly influence their response to persons who are ill and both directly and indirectly influence the course of illness (1997, p. 233). In Puerto-Rico, the price of ones life is cheap  after all, parents can well afford losing one child, if the total number of their children amounts to as many as 10-15.
• The government should institutionalize the practice of racial/genetic hygiene and to subject all of islands residents to it, regardless of their socio-economic status. Before being allowed to conceive a child, potential parents would have to undergo a medical examination on whether they carry defective genes or not. In case a probability for the child to be born physically or mentally inadequate overexceeds 50%, married couple shall not be granted a permission to have kids. If this proposal attains legislative status, the number of natural-born criminals in Puerto-Rican society will be reduced drastically  thus, positively affecting countrys homicidal statistics.

Bibliography:

DAgostino, P. (2002). Craniums, criminals, and the cursed race: Italian anthropology in American racial thought, 1861-1924.

Comparative Studies in Society and History, 44(2), 319-343.

Duany, J. (2005). The rough edges of Puerto Rican identities: Race, gender, and transnationalism. Latin American Research Review, 40 (3), 177-190.

Englander, E. (2003). Understanding violence. Mahwah, N.J., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Good, B. (1997). Studying mental illness in context: Local, global, or universal? Ethos, 25 (2), 230-248.

Gravlee, C. (2005). Ethnic classification in southeastern Puerto Rico: The cultural model of color. Social Forces, 83 (3), 949-970.

Homicides among children and young adults  Puerto Rico, 1999 2003. (2006). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Web.

Hulme, D. (1990). The political Olympics: Moscow, Afghanistan, and the 1980 U.S. boycott. New York, Praeger.

Lombroso, C. (1911) 2006. Criminal Man. Durham, Duke University Press.

Lynn, R. & Vanhanen, T. (2002). IQ and the wealth of nations. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Quevedo, W. (2009). Homicide toll surpasses 2008 figures. Puerto Rico Daily Sun. Web.

Schmalleger, F. (2009). Criminology today: An integrative introduction. 5th ed.,Upper Saddle River, N.J., Pearson Prentice-Hall.

Rosa, T. (2005). With the highest murder rate in the U.S., Puerto Rico needs immediate solutions. Puerto Rico Herald. Web.

Watkins, S. (2009). Gay teen burned and decapitated in Puerto Rico. 365 Gay.Com. Web.

Williams, I. (2007). Criminal man rediscovered. Humanities & Social Sciences Online. Web.

Wojtkiewicz, R. & Donato, K. (1995). Hispanic educational attainment: The effects of family background and nativity. Social Forces, 74 (2), 559-574.

Footnotes

1. Hulme, D. (1990). The political Olympics: Moscow, Afghanistan, and the 1980 U.S. boycott. New York, Praeger.

The films name is How a Folk Singers Murder Forced Chile to Confront Its Past This film is from Chile, a country on South Americas coastline. I saw the film on YouTube on the 23rd of November, 2022. Before I clicked the link and watched the video, I felt emotional brought about by its title. I had a sympathy expectation because the films title concerns the death of a singer. The film is about artists who get together to honor the late folk singer Victor Jara, who was assassinated in Chile in 1973 during a military coup (Retro Report). Forty-five years after the death of Victor, his family has been still looking for justice. Jara entered the stadium and was immediately recognized since he was a well-known artist. He was then separated from the other prisoners before being assaulted, tormented below the stadium, and killed because his music conveyed a message in the last song he wrote. Finally, in 2016 the family of Victor found justice as the Barrientos received a $28 million judgment verdict, which they could not afford.

Jara wrote and sang songs that were quite relevant to the people in Chile. After Chilean police brutally evicted squatters in 1969 and killed ten locals, he openly criticized the interior minister in Preguntas Por Puerto Montt (Lynske). I liked the scene in the film when Jara sang a song calling for deliverance from the ruler of poverty. The reason for liking the scene is because it conveys a message to everyone to practice justice and equality. Other songs offered gentle, sympathetic tales of rural working-class lives, like Bradfields favorite Luchín. One of Jaras final songs, Manifiesto, was a ballad-like anthem with a message that read, A song has meaning/ When it beats in the veins/ Of a man who will die singing. (Lynske). Jara was killed on the morning of the 16th and shot with machine gun fire before being discarded on the street. One of the reasons that led to his death was that he drafted a song carrying a message on the morning of his death.

Victor Jara is still regarded as a national legend in Chile, and his death was a tragic incident in that countrys history. Another scene I liked is where a Florida civil court convicted former Chilean army commander Pedro Barrientos, who was responsible for Jaras demise in 2016. Then eight former senior officers were found guilty in 2018 and sentenced to prison for their participation. I liked this scene because justice was served at last, 45 years after the tragedy. Following the decision, Joan said that she was among the lucky ones because many people in Chile still do not know the destiny of their loved ones (Retro Report). It would be good if justice were served to many others as Joan Jara did.

I like the plot of this film because it is chronological and ends with a positive theme of justice. The story is credible as it made me feel good since the perpetrators who participated in the death of Victor ended up in jail. It taught me that it is possible to receive justice even after many years. The story relates to my Hispanic culture in the way, in some parts, people speak Spanish, even Victor sings in Spanish, and the judge delivers fairness. When these values are compared to our culture, it is seen that Hispanics are a Spanish-speaking nation with courts to serve justice.

The movie maker wanted to convey the message that justice should prevail even if many years of the tragic event pass. I recommend the film to other students of Spanish because the background of the scene is a singer who used to sing in Spanish, and after his assassination, justice finally prevails. The filmmaker could improve the event by involving a translator who speaks rather than subtitling in the place where they speak Spanish.

Works Cited

Lynske, Dorian. Víctor Jara: The Folk Singer Murdered for His Music. BBC Culture, Web.

How a Folk Singers Murder Forced Chile to Confront Its Past. YouTube, uploaded by Retro Report, Web.