Interesting social sciences/Jurisprudence

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The causes of criminality.

English subtitles exist in this video. On the cover is a thief named Yaponchik (Vyacheslav Ivankov).

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Michel Foucault on prison reform.

English subtitles exist in this video. Valery Starikov Interesting social studies. On the cover is a still from the film "Gentlemen of Fortune."

The law is a system established by the State of norms and rules of behavior, fulfillment of which is ensured by force of State’s coercion. State-enforced laws are norms and the rules of behavior. Branches of criminal justice system (police, court, prison) must apply by sanctions to the culprit in case of violation of law. Corporal punishments (tortures and executions) served such legal sanctions in ancient times usually. The execution were replaced by life imprisonment in prison in modern democratic society often, and tortures were replaced by imprisonment for the term limited to the law, tortures were replaced by fine, confiscation of property, compensation of damage to the injured party and so on. But, nevertheless, law were built at the armed control of State over their citizens with antiquity before our days most frequently. Legal norms make behavior of people to a predictable, this is the function and the benefits of the law for society.

Legal norms should not be contradictory each to other; otherwise, citizens may find themselves in a difficult situation and citizens will not know what law they should perform. The State must to keep public order, to protect right to private property and free competition. The state has to stop rigidly all attempts of criminals to disturb public order. The state has to stop rigidly all attempts of criminals to seize somebody else’s property unlawfully. The state has to stop rigidly all attempts of criminals to prevent  to other citizens to be engaged freely in business activity. People enter the relations in society inevitably, people sign economic contracts with each other, at the same time the state is a guarantor of the fact that both parties have to satisfy conditions of this contract that the violator of terms of the contract will be punished and this violator have to compensate losses to the injured party. All citizens shall have the identical rights. All citizens shall to keep law irrespectively of social status of these citizens. Even high-ranking officials and rulers must keep the law and even rulers shouldn't allow of cases of an arbitrariness and lawlessness in own activity. Only published laws should apply, otherwise, citizens will not know the laws for which they may be punished and the power will receive the right to arbitrariness. If a constitution exists in the country that even the ruler is obliged to keep of the norms of this constitution.

The state-enforced laws as norms of behavior.
The state-enforced laws are adopted by the supreme bodies of the government. Laws are adopted by the king or the monarch with help of individual decision under tyranny, the kingdom or a hereditary monarchy, in such a way, for example, the king Hammurabi has accepted for the first time the code of laws known in the history. The state-enforced laws are adopted under the aristocracy or oligarchy by the senate, a Boyar Duma, the Central Committee or the Politburo of the ruling Communist Party with help of vote of members of this ruling privileged meeting. The state-enforced laws are adopted by vote in people's assembly under direct democracy. The state-enforced laws are adopted by parliament in the conditions of representative democracy. A hierarchy of the state-enforced laws and codes exist today. The code is a great number of the the state-enforced laws describing norms of behavior in some sphere of activity - in economy, the family sphere and so on. The most important the state-enforced laws are united in the constitution. The state-enforced laws from other codes shouldn't contradict to constitutional norms. The state-enforced laws from other codes become invalid according to the decision of the constitutional court in that case when the state-enforced law from the code is contrary to the norms of the constitution. Along with the state-enforced laws, there are also other legal acts subordinated to laws: decrees of the president, government regulations, instruction, rule, orders and so on. That to live in society, that to make success in affairs, the person has to study the state-enforced laws.

'''The causes of criminality. '''    Many viewpoints exist on the causes of criminality in science.

Neil Smelser has allocated three approaches in decision of this difficult problem:


 * biological approach,


 * psychological approach,

The essence of biological approach consist in the following:  the born criminal has the inclination to criminal behavior, the born criminal was born by thief and savage, the born criminal is able to do nothing else, a born criminal can only steal, rob and kill. Caesare Lombroso claimed within this approach that criminals are a result of degradation to earlier stages of human evolution. Cesare Lombroso named such external features of the born criminal, as the protruding lower jaw, rare beard and reduced sensitivity to pain. By the way, in my opinion, these features are most characteristic for speakers on personality type. Similarity of criminal with primitive savage is shown in the passion to tattoo, the weakness of mind and even in degradation of the handwriting similar to hieroglyphic writing. Caesar Lombroso has allocated four types of criminals: murderer, thief, rapist and swindler. And this typology remains to this day.
 * sociological approach.

According to Henry H. Goddard, criminals are mentally retarded men, occurring from hereditarily burdened families. My experience of school teaching of criminals on lessons of history in women's prison shows that criminals have different levels of development of intellect like ordinary people from very low level of development of intellect before very high level of development of intellect. Very high level of development of intellect was discovered at one thief‐women which received trust of men. she drank of men by vodka with sleeping pills and she robbed of men when men were sleeping. This thief-women has remember each my word in my lesson on history, each date, each name of hero of history, it is possible, the best memory is necessary feature of character of “thief on trust”. Level of development of intellect affects to degree of the success of growth for thief’s qualifications.

Stages for such growth for thief’s qualifications exist:

• Specialization on apartment's burglaries.

• Specialization on pocket thefts.

• Theft is based on trust of victim to criminal.

Thus, the opinion of Henry H. Goddard seems not entirely truth.

From the point of view of the theory of "criminal psychodynamics", the criminal in own acts is guided not by mind but only emotions, the criminal is a psychopathic personality who has deviates from the norm, but the criminal isn't neither mentally sick, nor mentally retarded personality.

Ernst Kretschmer have given the description of three main body types of man:

• asthenic (tall and thin);

• pyknic (stocky, fat),

• athletic (with advanced musculature);

An athlete is person with the developed musculature, inclined to the organization of conflict.

A pyknic is person, inclined to obesity, which attempts to settle conflict with help of peaceful way.

Asthenic is thin person, which is potential victim in the conflict. William Herbert Sheldon considered that the athletics are most inclined to the crimes.

The genetic explanation of the reasons of crime consists that some criminals have chromosomes like XYY whereas ordinary men have chromosomes like XY, and ordinary women have chromosomes like XX. These people with chromosomes like XYY have frightening appearance, high growth and this people are heavy psychopaths sometimes.

Sigmund Freud has entered concept "criminals with sense of guilt" within the framework of psychological approach, this criminals wish that they were caught and punished because this criminals feel own guilty because of their "inclination to destruction," this criminals believe that imprisonment will help them overcome this inclination.

The essence of sociological approach consists that the main reason of crime is that thieves are brought up in criminal group purposefully. Edwin Sutherland claimed that the prison corrects nobody, and prison is school of training in criminal behavior often.

Émile Durkheim considered that the social anomie or, in other words, lawlessness, is the main reason for criminality in the period of social crisis. A similar period was in Russia during government of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Eltsin. The a main goal of Vladimir Putin became the establishing of order in the country, that to drive of criminal world into an underground. The condition of an anomy is observed in big cities among teenagers where there is a mixture of various ethnic groups to the different systems of values.

Robert King Merton considered that the gap between the purposes and the approved means of their achievement is the reason of crime, for example, the purpose is financial success, and means is receiving the higher education, but paid education is often inaccessible today therefore some people can use illegal ways of enrichment.

According to the theory of stigmatization of Howard S. Becker, influential groups are capable to put stigma of criminal on members of less influential groups and thus influential groups train of members of less influential groups to consider themselves by criminals. For example, whites did with African Americans in the United States this way.

From the point of view of Marxism and radical criminologists, criminals are rebels against capitalist exploitation. The example of such "rebel" is Joseph Stalin who had 6 criminal records for extortion and 5 escapes from exile. It is possible to draw a conclusion that all these theories are partly true and crime is a consequence of many causes.

An empirical study of the causes of criminality.
My preliminary forecast before the empirical researches consisted that a potential criminal is the speaker. This forecast has found partial confirmation, but it has turned out that speakers are capable besides that to show resourcefulness, speakers know how to engage other personality types in a criminal group, speakers are able to use of other personality types as performers of own criminal plans, then speakers are capable to avoid criminal punishment and speakers are capable to shift all fault for crimes on other personality types. There is a specialization in the criminal world in various roles, such as organizer, executor, helper and instigator. Thief in law in Russia is an example of the organizer of the high qualification. Skilled in thieves' affairs speaker is capable to play a role of the organizer. The inexperienced speaker or the technician approach for a role of executor.

A principle: "You mustn't to be by a executor!" exists in criminal world, because executors are arrested by first of all then the executor is obliged according to thieves' laws to take all fault on himself and executor mustn't betray of other members of criminal group, otherwise executor can be killed in prison. The role of the executor is the most unprofitable in comparison with other roles.

The psychologist and the speaker can undertake role of the instigator, at the same time the speaker forces of executor to commit to crime by means of threats, and the psychologist persuades by executor to commit to crime by means of deception and cunning, thus, the speaker and psychologist use different coercion methods. The role of the helper is carried out different the personality types, for example the technician is capable to make high-quality weapon, the speaker is capable to sell stolen property. Psychologist and speaker are able to provide information about candidates of potential victims of robberies and about their property status at apartment's burglaries. The psychologist knows how to rub into the trust to potential victims.

By the way, my research has shown that, unlike rules in men's prisons, women having the status of thiefs in law do not exist in women's corrective labor colony of strict regimen and high hierarchy doesn't exist among the prisoner-women. The speaker and the psychologist approach for a role of the drug dealer. The technician can play a role of the cruel killer-executioner or killer-sniper because of inclination of the technician to insensibility and low emotionality.

The speaker has the highest inclination to be by leader of criminal world, to make all kinds of serious crimes and to improve thieves' skills, speaker has inclination to adventurism and frivolous behavior, readiness to submit to pressure of criminal group and inability to foresee heavy consequences of own crimes. This inclination of the speaker to criminal behavior is shown at young age and in state of intoxication especially brightly. The psychologist is the potential victim of crime often because the psychologist provoke of criminals involuntarily thanks to peculiar for psychologists weakness of character. A woman-psychologist provokes involuntarily of a rapist to rape due to the fact that the  woman-psychologist has the highest degree of sexuality.

This my research was conducted on the basis of women's corrective labor colony of strict regimen of UT 389/28 in town Berezniki during the period from November 2003 to March 2004. The status of colony was changed at the end of this period – the strict regimen was changed on a ordinary regimen. The informal unstructured interview (35 respondents) and the included observation in the course of training of prisoner in 8 and 9 classes of middle school (15 respondents) became forms of carrying out a research. Total, 50 prisoner-women were interviewed and subjected to observation by means of casual selection. 40% were by psychologists, 20% were by technicians, 40% were speakers from this prisoner-women, theorists were not found among prisoner-women. That to appear in this colony and to conduct a research, I had to get a job of the teacher of history in this prison's school. The generalized results of my research are given in the table given below:

It is possible to draw the following conclusions on the basis of these results of a research.

Speakers have the highest status in colony. Speakers have the biggest inclination to group crimes though all prisoner-women have noted that prisoner-women executed orders of the man-recidivist in criminal group. Re-education of the speaker is the most difficult task that finds manifestation that the speaker has the most large average amount of criminal records on one prisoner among the personality types. The task of re-education of the speaker is complicated by those circumstances that speaker has the worst marital status – speaker marries more rare, speaker has of children less often than other personality types, speaker has high inclination to the use of drugs, to alcoholism and high probability to ache by HIV.

Psychologists specialize in crimes on sale of drugs and apartment's burglaries. Psychologists have high inclination to fall into a state of passion and psychologists have high inclination to finish off victim in the course of causing grievous bodily harm, but psychologists have low inclination to robbery. Psychologists are most of all inclined to commit of crimes alone rather than in a group. The task of re-education of the psychologist is complicated by his inclination to the use of drugs, high probability to ache by HIV. Task of re-education of the psychologist is facilitated by a relatively good marital situation – psychologist marries more often and psychologist has children more often than others personality types.

Technicians are inclined to commission of crimes much less than other personality types. Technicians make only 20% of prisoners. But technicians have high inclination to commission of deliberate and unintentional domestic murders (malice aforethought murders and manslaughter), technicians are capable to kill as the executioner and technicians are capable to be cold insensitive to the death suffering of the victim. Process of re-education of technicians is facilitated by low inclination to the use of drugs and quite good marital status. 1 technician and 1 psychologist have two criminal records for murder each that is an example of unique cruelty.

All women of Romani people (5 women) were psychologists and women of Romani people specialize in sale of drugs – 60%, in thefts - 20% and in premeditated murders (malice aforethought) - 20%.

A knife (84% of cases), the axe (8% of cases), the noose of (4% of cases}, a rolling pin (4% of cases) have served as the crime tool in 24 cases of women crimes.

The question about necessity of the capital punishment


Punishment for the crimes connected with use of violence became much more strict under the new Russian criminal code. The top limits of punishment are raised from 15 to 20 years and to life imprisonment. Russian Federation keeps of conditions of the moratorium on the capital punishment, though such punishment as the capital punishment is prescribed in the criminal code for the most serious crimes, but courts replace of capital punishment to life imprisonment. It is connected with fear to make fatal mistake of justice when a theoretical opportunity remains to sentence of innocent person to death penalty. It is impossible already to return to life of the innocent person in case of detection of such mistake of justice after enforcement of sentence about capital punishment. For example, it has become clear during the investigation of criminal case of the serial killer Andrei Chikatilo who has killed about 50 people that the court has sentenced to capital punishment for one of these murders of innocent person who was executed already.

According to sociological polls, most of residents of Russia are sure of need of the capital punishment, especially in connection with threat of the Chechen terrorism. Most of residents of Russia are sure of need of application of the capital punishment to those terrorists who blew up houses in Moscow, Volgodonsk and Buynaksk. Most of residents of Russia are sure of need of application of the capital punishment to those terrorists who cut off heads of russian prisoner of war in Chechnya. To abolish of capital punishment is absurdity during war.

Region of Upper river Kama (the cities of Solikamsk, Berezniki, Krasnovishersk, Kizel) was turned into the prison region at the Soviet power. One of leaders of the Chechen terrorists – Salman Raduyev – was sentenced to life imprisonment and Salman Raduyev served sentence in Solikamsk supermax prison "White Swan". Salman Raduyev said in one of an interview that Salman Raduyev hopes to serve sentence in supermax prison 25 years, to receive amnesty and to be released, but Salman Raduyev has died a year later on December 14, 2002 in hospital from old wounds. To survive in prison is very difficult for the former terrorist. Prisoners and security guards put pressure upon terrorist also.

Almost all squad of the Perm OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit) – 43 militiamen (from them 32 were killed in battle, and 11 were captured and executed with special cruelty) has died in one of the ambushes made by the Chechen terrorists. This event has taken place on March 29, 2000. It is possible to understand hostility of security guards to the condemned terrorists in these conditions. Many leaders of the Chechen terrorists – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Shamil Basayev, Ibn al-Khattab, Aslan Maskhadov was killed with help of special operations. It is possible to abolish of capital punishment in civilized Europe, but it is impossible to abolish of capital punishment in criminal Russia. The capital punishment remains even in the USA. When the prisoner was sentenced to capital punishment, the prisoner can choose a method of execution in the USA – a lethal injection, an electrocution, firing squad, hanging or gas inhalation, and relatives of the victim have an opportunity to watch for this procedure of an execution with help of cable television.

Michel Foucault about the prison’s reform
Prison’s reform

Michel Foucault has described a cruel execution of Robert-François Damiens on March 2, 1757 at the beginning of own book "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison". Prisons in modern understanding have appeared eighty years later after this execution, and a daily routine was drawn up in prison for young prisoners already. Prisoners were obliged to work 9 hours in day in workshops, prisoners were obliged to study 2 hours in day in prison school. So, public execution were complemented by imprisonment and a prison daily routine. Public execution and imprisonment became different types of punishment in Europe and America. The prison was just the place earlier where the criminal was interrogated and tortured, and then criminal waited an execution here. The prison became the place of life and work for the prisoner after reform according to strict routine where the prisoner spent a long term of imprisonment. These punishments have become applicable for different kinds of crime and these punishments have become applicable to different types of criminals. This reform was carried out in period just under 100 years. During this time, new codes were drawn up that provided for a new types of punishment: in Russia – in 1769, in Prussia – in 1780, In Pennsylvania and Tuscany – in 1786, in Austria – 1788, in France – in 1791, 1808 and 1810.

The essence of prison’s reform (since the late 18th century until the early 19th century) consisted in following:  


 * Public executions and tortures were cancelled,


 * Accurate codes, uniform rules of legal proceedings, jury trial were introduced,


 * The corrective character of the penalty were introduced, assignment of various terms of imprisonment were introduced, kinds of punishment depending on weight of crime were introduced. Only flagellation  remain still some time in Russia, Austria and Prussia.


 * The human branding disappeared on the criminal's face or shoulder. A certain caution has arisen in the art of inflicting pain. The body disappeared as the major target of punishment.


 * Amende honorable and pillory were cancelled.


 * Use of convicts at public works was cancelled – at repair of roads when convicts were chained in shackles and iron collars and convicts exchanged with crowd by curses in response on contempt from this crowd.


 * Chain-gang were cancelled. While the chain-gang, which had dragged convicts across the whole of France, as far as Brest and Toulon was replaced in 1837 by inconspicuous black-painted cell-carts. This cell-carts was prison on wheels. The central corridor divides of cell-carts on all length, six single cells exist on each side of the corridor where prisoners sit facing a corridor. Legs and hands of criminals are chained by a chain.  An iron door with a small window was between a corridor and cell that prevents to communication between prisoners on the way.  There are two security guards armed by clubs in a corridor. Punishment had gradually ceased to be a spectacle, a rite and a show for gapers gradually.

Reasons of the abolition of public executions:

 * The execution exceed in savagery the crime itself.


 * The execution accustomed of spectators to cruelty whereas execution should wean of spectators from cruelty.


 * The execution makes of the executioner resemble a criminal. The execution makes judges resemble murderers.


 * The execution caused of admiration and pity to the executed criminal instead of contempt and hatred.

Conclusion: Punishment becomes the most hidden part of the penal process gradually. Effectiveness of punishment is seen as resulting from its inevitability, not from its visible intensity.

Powers began to apply imprisonment, confinement, forced labour, penal servitude, prohibition from entering certain areas, deportation instead of tortures and executions during modern times. Imprisonment is connected somewhat with physical suffering too unlike penalties, but intolerable corporal pain is not connected with criminal penalty any more already. The whole army of warders, doctors, chaplains, psychiatrists, psychologists, educationalists comes to replace the executioner as to the specialist in causing pain.

The shortcomings of modern imprisonment:

 * Imprisonment has no effect on the public.


 * Imprisonment is incapable of corresponding to the specificity of crimes.


 * Imprisonment is costly.


 * Imprisonment maintains of convicts in idleness. Imprisonment multiplies their vices.


 * Work of the jailer is an exercise in tyranny.

Panopticon
Possibility of the round-the-clock supervision of prisoners is here a main goal of construction of Panopticon prison according to the plan of Jeremy Bentham. This prison represents the round or crosswise building, for example, Kresty Prison in St. Petersburg represents several crosswise buildings. The central tower is in the center of such building where a supervisor settles down. A supervisor has an opportunity to observe through wide windows for life of prisoners in cells which are located around the circumference of the building as in an aquarium or in a zoo. Two windows exist in each cell, one window comes to light, the second big window leaves inside therefore the cell is looked through. Only one criminal has to sit in each cell that to avoid by bad influence from prisoners at each other. Walls between cell prevent to communication between prisoners. Therefore there is no of danger of a plot, planning of collective escape and the planning of new crimes for the future. This structure of the building of prison is opposite to the principle of a dungeon. Constant supervision eliminates the need for corporal punishment to some extent too. Modern technical means allow to provide constant supervision over prisoners in cells not by means of a special structure of the building of prison, and by means of video supervision. Such projects of prisons as Panopticon are still too expensive for Russia. The available prisons are overcrowded beyond any measure, closeness and insanitary conditions exist in cells in Russia today.

Two systems of keeping of criminals in prison in the West
Powers in the West wanted to interfere with association of criminals in prison in criminal community.

Two systems of keeping of criminals in prison were invented for this purpose in the USA:


 * Auburn system in  the 19th century which prescribes keeping  of the prisoners in  individual cell at night,  work and meals in common in the afternoon, as in the monastery, but on condition of absolute silence. Prisoners can speak only with warders.


 * Pennsylvania system (Separate system) provides keeping of prisoners in the conditions of absolute isolation from each other in the solitary cell that to leave of criminal alone with own conscience.

There were discussions about an opportunity to pay of work of prisoners and a possibility of the prisoner to refuse from some kinds of works and to organize of strike.

Arguments of opponents of prison reform and of replacement of executions and torture to imprisonment:

 * The prison organizes training of inexperienced criminals to "thieves' professions" and the prison organizes transformation of inexperienced criminals into professional criminals.


 * Criminals plan future crimes in prison, сriminals plan organization of escapes from prison and сriminals plan collective prison revolts.


 * Prisons don't diminish the crime rate. Prisons can be extended, multiplied or transformed, but the quantity of crime and criminals remains stable or, worse, increases.


 * Prison generates of recidivists, those criminals leaving prison have more chance than before of going back to prison. Existence in prison is lifestyle for recidivists. Recidivists get used to not taking care about food and housing, job and livelihood in prison.


 * The prison cannot fail to produce of delinquents. The prison produces more and more criminals, rather than correcting of criminals, whether criminals are in solitary cell or criminals perform useless work for them. Between 1,000 and 1,500 convicts live under the surveillance of between thirty and forty supervisors, who can preserve some kind of security only by depending on informers.


 * The prison makes possible, even encourages, the organization of a milieu of delinquents, loyal to one another, hierarchized, ready to aid and abet any future criminal act. The prison gives to "thieves' profession and the prison learns to be the informer. Сriminals find themselves after release from prison in such conditions which doom of criminals to crime repetition. Criminals lose residence during the inprisonment and criminals become homeless tramps after an exit from prison. Imprisonment dooms of family of the criminal to poverty after detention of the only breadwinner. As a result the son of the thief becomes by thief too frequently  that leads to new crimes eventually.

Conclusions: In my opinion, the prison has many shortcomings, but the prison can't be cancelled. It is impossible to return to tortures and executions because such return contradicts to the principles of humanity. Besides, corporal punishments remain in prison system today to some extent. Corporal punishments are the great invention of mankind too and corporal punishments can't be cancelled completely too because such people exist on which only corporal punishments act. It is impossible to replace corporal punishments on administrative punishments completely, that is it is impossible to replace corporal punishments on conversion of the person from the status  "free person" to status of "prisoner". The attempt to replace corporal punishments and an executions on administrative punishments (imprisonment) was not quite successful because this attempt has led to emergence of new problems which weren't earlier. If Gleb Zheglov from the movie "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed" was guided the principle that "the thief has to be imprisoned" at any cost, then the judge was guided earlier by the principle: the place of recidivists – on the gallows at any cost, because it was possible to reduce number of recidivists with help of executions, it was possible to destroy criminal hierarchy with help of an executions of leaders of criminal world,  it was possible to interfere to process of training of the inexperienced criminals to thieves' professions because executions reduced number  of similar "teachers" really. The execution of notorious villains allows to reduce costs on keeping of criminals to a minimum. Besides, the execution of terrorists and maniacs allows to satisfy sense of justice at relatives of the victims on the ancient law of retaliation – "Eye for an eye", these relatives are forced to commit murder of the criminal from revenge and  these relatives are forced to be exposed to criminal prosecution today sometimes. This example shows that cancellation of any social invention, even corporal punishments and the capital punishment leads to emergence of big problems always.