Cruel and unusual [[electronic resource] ] : the culture of punishment in America / / Anne-Marie Cusac

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910788997503321
• Autore: Cusac Anne-Marie
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: New Haven, : Yale University Press, c2009
• ISBN: 1-282-41588-3; 9786612415883; 0-300-15549-2
• Descrizione fisica: xii, 318 p
• Disciplina: 364.60973
• Soggetti: Punishment - United States - History; Prisons - United States - History; Prison administration - United States - History; Prisoners - United States - Social conditions
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. [261]-302) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front matter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. When Punishment Is the Subject, Religion Is the Predicate -- 2. ''A Heart Is Not Wholly Corrupted'' -- 3. Reforming the Reforms -- 4. Punishment Creep -- 5. Vigilantism and Progressivism -- 6. The Devilish Generation -- 7. Flogging for Jesus -- 8. Pain Becomes Valuable Again -- 9. Pop Culture and the Criminal Element -- 10. Stunning Technology -- 11. The Return to Restraint -- 12. Abu Ghraib, USA -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Index
• Sommario/riassunto: The statistics are startling. Since 1973, America's imprisonment rate has multiplied over five times to become the highest in the world. More than two million inmates reside in state and federal prisons. What does this say about our attitudes toward criminals and punishment? What does it say about us? This book explores the cultural evolution of punishment practices in the United States. Anne-Marie Cusac first looks at punishment in the nation's early days, when Americans repudiated Old World cruelty toward criminals and emphasized rehabilitation over retribution. This attitude persisted for some 200 years, but in recent decades we have abandoned it, Cusac shows. She discusses the ; dramatic rise in the use of torture and restraint, corporal and capital punishment, and punitive physical pain. And she links this new climate of punishment to shifts in other aspects of American culture, including changes in dominant religious beliefs, child-rearing practices, politics, television shows, movies, and more. America now punishes harder and longer and with methods we would have rejected as cruel and unusual not long ago. These changes are profound, their impact affects all our lives, and we have yet to understand the full consequences.

Geoscientists at Crime Scenes : A Companion to Forensic Geoscience / / edited by Rosa Maria Di Maggio, Pier Matteo Barone

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910768466103321
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Cham : , : Springer International Publishing : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2017
• ISBN: 3-319-58048-5
• Edizione: [1st ed. 2017.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (VII, 237 p. 116 illus., 84 illus. in color.)
• Collana: Soil Forensics, , 2214-4293
• Disciplina: 631.4
• Soggetti: Forensic geology; Soil conservation; Geology; Environmental sciences; Archaeology; Geophysics; Remote sensing
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Preface -- Chapter 1 – Introduction to forensic geoscience -- 1.1 The Applications of forensic geoscience -- 1.2 Crime Scene Investigations -- 1.3 The geo-scientific approach to crime scene -- Chapter 2 - Geological materials on the crime scene -- 2.1 Minerals -- 2.2 Rocks -- 2.3 Sands -- 2.4 Dusts -- 2.5 Soils -- 2.6 Gems -- 2.7 Precious metals -- 2.8 Fossils -- Chapter 3 - Pedology applied to forensics -- ; 3.1 Characteristics of forensic soils -- 3.2 Interdisciplinary in studies and forensic soil science analysis -- 3.3 The site survey in forensic soil science applications -- 3.4 The collection of evidence and preservation of traces of soil samples -- 3.5 The effects of wrong methods and operations during site surveys and evidence collection -- 3.6 Issues related to traces of soil -- Chapter 4 - Forensic Analysis of Soils and Geological Materials -- 4.1 Forensic laboratory analytical procedures for soils -- 4.2 Color analysis -- 4.3 The particle size analysis -- 4.4 Density analysis -- 4.5 Stereoscopic microscope analysis -- 4.6 Analysis by means of the polarizing microscope -- 4.7 X-ray diffraction analysis -- 4.8 SEM-EDX spectroscopy -- 4.9 Raman Spectroscopy -- 4.10 FT-IR spectroscopy -- 4.11 Thermal analysis -- Chapter 5 - Remote sensing applications in forensic investigations -- 5.1 Photointerpretation -- 5.3 Forensic photo-interpretation -- Appendix - A brief history of aerial photography in Italy -- Chapter 6 - Forensic Geomorphology -- 6.1. Overview -- 6.2. Principles and concepts of geomorphology -- 6.4. Determining the activity state of landforms -- 6.5. The detection of surface deposits -- Chapter 7 - Environmental Forensics -- 7.1 Inspections and historical research -- 7.2 Aerial photos and satellite footage -- 7.3 GPS surveys and DTM -- 7.4 Operating modes of sample collection -- 7.5 Packaging and transport -- 7.6 Worksite operating issues -- 7.7. Forensic environmental expert's activities -- Chapter 8 - Forensic Geophysics -- 8.1 Forensic geophysics -- 8.2 Pros and Cons of forensic geophysics -- 8.3 Cadaver dogs -- 8.4 Survey criticalities -- Appendix - How does GPR work -- Chapter 9 - Forensic Archaeology -- 9.1 Forensic archeology -- 9.2 Stratigraphic excavations at the crime scene -- 9.3 Forensic Archaeology and the integrated approach -- 9.4 Survey criticalities -- Chapter 10 - Quality, Expertise, and Ethics in Forensic Geoscience.
• Sommario/riassunto: After the publication of the first Italian book on Forensic Geoscience: “Geologia Forense” (Di Maggio, Barone, et al. 2013, Flaccovio Ed.), the international demand to have an International version (in English language) about the new applications of this topic carried out in Italy and the possibility to apply them in international contexts encouraged us to create a new English book based on this. If forensic science is the application of technical and scientific methodologies applied to traditional categories of judicial investigations, in connection with the investigation of a crime or a social behavior, within them a special role is held by forensic geoscience, or the application of different disciplines of Earth Sciences in judicial contexts. Forensic geoscience encompasses some branches of the earth sciences such as geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, geophysics, remote sensing, soil science and archaeology, whose applications may provide a suitable or appropriate environmental interpretation of the surroundings, in the context of numerous types of offences, both criminal and civil. The environmental context can become part of the crime narrative in diverse situations: it can be the place where to hide a body or precious objects, or it may be a witness to a crime. Given the nature of many crime narratives carried out in outdoor areas, the environment, as it is not a closed system, plays a dual role, passive and active. Passive in the sense that it may be the principal repository of clues and evidence that both the victim and/or offender may have been present in a given location. Active since it can be the protagonist of the crime narrative, where, for example, it may have been abused in the design and construction phases of landfill or architectural structures, but also when it leaves proof marks on clothing and objects, such as the soil found on footwear. Police and other law enforcement organization are increasingly becoming more dependent on the expertise that can be provided by forensic ; geoscience. As such, forensic geoscientists are therefore likely to continue in the years ahead providing an important role assisting with certain types of criminal investigations. It is therefore expected that this book will be of value to forensic geologists, forensic archaeologists, forensic scientists, environmental scientists, geophysicists, geomorphologists, police officers, law enforcement officers and students. Accordingly, Geoscientist at Crime Scenes provides information and a valuable collection of cases that are relevant for the professional and practicable applications of geoscience to policing and law enforcement. This book should be in the collection of every forensic geo-scientist throughout the world.