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1 – 10 of over 8000This paper compares two approaches to the moral justifications for killing in war: the forfeiture approach, which sees killing as justified when the victim has forfeited his or…
Abstract
This paper compares two approaches to the moral justifications for killing in war: the forfeiture approach, which sees killing as justified when the victim has forfeited his or her right not to be killed, and the double-effect approach, which argues that even if intentional killing is absolutely prohibited, that killing can still be morally acceptable under certain conditions, most notably if it is not the intended, desired outcome of a person’s chosen action. The double-effect approach is considered out of fashion in contemporary military ethical literate. I argue that it warrants equal attention as an internally viable and coherent account of the morality of killing, and is preferable in at least one way: that it protects combatants from being necessarily culpable of killing merely by serving in active combat positions.
By defending an alternate framework to the forfeiture approach to killing which is most popular in today’s military ethical literature, I provide an opportunity for new and increased philosophical reflection and discourse on the ethics of killing, as well as new opportunity for defenders of double-effect to make a substantive contribution to the field. This paper demonstrates the internal consistency of arguments that seek to utilise DDE, including its relevance to individual self-defence and individual killing in war.
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Katherine T. Baggaley and Phillip C. Shon
Published over 30 years ago, Seductions of Crime has transformed criminology as a discipline, the foreground factors that make criminal behavior a morally alluring endeavor deemed…
Abstract
Published over 30 years ago, Seductions of Crime has transformed criminology as a discipline, the foreground factors that make criminal behavior a morally alluring endeavor deemed an important point to consider in accounts of criminal action by those even in mainstream criminology. In this chapter, we provide an update and revision to Katz's theory of righteous slaughter in an institutional context. We argue that killing is an overcoming, a negotiated and contingent outcome that is accomplished through the emotional and behavioral management of the self, the killing a reflexive reaction, driven by fear and excitement of the situation, peppered with a heavy heaping of moral agonizing. We argue that the killings and refrained killings carried out by soldiers and police are negative character, lacking the sensuous and affirmative character of an ontological project that Katz described.
So‐called ‘serial killing’ is frequently a topic of both professional and media concern and comment. As such, the term can be misused and may serve to obfuscate rather than…
Abstract
So‐called ‘serial killing’ is frequently a topic of both professional and media concern and comment. As such, the term can be misused and may serve to obfuscate rather than illuminate.This short contribution proposes a socio‐legal classification of all forms of unlawful killing into which serial killing might best be fitted.
Tri Keah Henry, Brittany E. Hayes, Joshua D. Freilich and Steven Chermak
The purpose of this paper is to compare the role honor and shame play in honor killings and anti-LGBTQ homicides by identifying similarities and differences across these two…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the role honor and shame play in honor killings and anti-LGBTQ homicides by identifying similarities and differences across these two homicide types.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses data from the US Extremist Crime Database (ECDB). Data for each of the incidents included in the ECDB are gathered from various open sources through a multi-stage process. A total of 16 honor killings and 21 anti-LGBTQ cases (i.e. the universe for both groups) are examined in this analysis. A closed-coded analysis technique is utilized to assess each case for evidence of shame and honor as well as an iterative coding process to identify sub-categories within these broader themes.
Findings
Results indicate that shame and honor play important roles in both honor killings and anti-LGBTQ homicides, although their influence manifests differently across these two types of homicide. Perceived shame to the family is most closely related to honor killings, while suppressing homosexual urges underlines anti-LGBTQ homicides. Violations of religious tenets, protection of masculinity, and protection of honor are evidenced in both types of homicide.
Originality/value
This study uses a unique database to examine the ideological motivations of individuals who perpetrate extremist crimes in comparison to those who commit honor killings. Findings may inform forensic practices, including rehabilitation and prevention programs.
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The present study examined homicides by police officers, testing threat, community violence, and organizational hypotheses. Using UCR, SHR, Census, and LEMAS data the study…
Abstract
The present study examined homicides by police officers, testing threat, community violence, and organizational hypotheses. Using UCR, SHR, Census, and LEMAS data the study extends previous research by examining the relative impact of community violence, inequality and race, and organizational characteristics on the number of killings of felons by police officers in large US cities. The findings show that measures of racial threat and community violence were related to police killings. Measures of organizational policies were largely unrelated to the number of police killings. Overall the study extends research in the area, yet it also points to a more general need for research on the effects of organizational factors on police violence.
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To study the concept of honor in Turkish everyday life discourses. Many surveys have focused on namus, thus referring to honor killings, the mechanism of violence perpetrated…
Abstract
Purpose
To study the concept of honor in Turkish everyday life discourses. Many surveys have focused on namus, thus referring to honor killings, the mechanism of violence perpetrated against women. The reason given for such killings, often seen as barbaric and the result of criminal urges, is that some men feel compelled to restore what they see as family honor, soiled by the actions of their female relatives. However, these studies avoid another key aspect of honor: namely the plurality of its meanings as honor in Turkey may also be translated both as şeref and onur.
Design/methodology/approach
To begin to understand honor in all its forms, I conducted interviews with 100 Turkish men and women ages 20–27, all university students or graduates, from the Istanbul area. I also consulted the current official and Ottoman dictionaries to understand the history of word use.
Findings
Among the young adults interviewed “honor-virtue” (i.e., namus) is a debated topic. It may be analyzed at both theoretical and geographic levels and has the connotations of otherness and non-modernity. Namus co-exists with şeref (citizen honor) and onur (dignity).
Social implications
Redefining the terms of honor could temper tensions between local/global, urban/countryside, modern/traditional, woman/man, and invisible frontier between namus and şeref worldviews. Advocating şeref and focusing on a broader definition of namus may encourage individuals to find their places in society. By focusing on national moral values, any individual in the country may participate in keeping the social order regardless of gender, age, or geographic location.
Uses statistics from FBI annual reports (1985‐1992) to compare felonious killings, analyzing and comparing with data for deaths of non‐state police officers. Finds that state…
Abstract
Uses statistics from FBI annual reports (1985‐1992) to compare felonious killings, analyzing and comparing with data for deaths of non‐state police officers. Finds that state police officers are feloniously killed in proportional numbers to non‐state officers, with both classes showing a recent downward trend. Calls for further research, by region or state, into the higher percentage of killings in Southern USA. Finds similar patterns in state and non‐state police officer killings but identifies some elements of divergence. Recommends that this data be used in police training to emphasize high‐risk factors such as routine traffic stops. Notes that domestic disputes do not cause a large number of police killings. Suggests that the wearing of body armor be made mandatory.
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The main purpose of this paper is to explore the extra-judicial killing situation in Bangladesh by analyzing both national and international human rights law. In addition, this…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to explore the extra-judicial killing situation in Bangladesh by analyzing both national and international human rights law. In addition, this paper will also identify the remedy that is available for the victim’s family for extra-judicial killing by law enforcement agencies, especially the Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a qualitative research where both primary and secondary sources have used to identify the situations of extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh, the human rights instruments and the judicial activism to protect human rights.
Findings
This paper will show impunity of the law enforcement agencies increasing the number of extra-judicial killings of citizens, by violating the Constitutional and International human rights law that deal with “right to life”. The state sovereignty is not hindering the implementation of the international law, but the judiciary of Bangladesh needs to be more efficient in protecting citizens’ human rights, along with bringing criminal prosecution against members of the law enforcement agencies, by providing “effective and adequate” remedy to the victim’s family.
Research limitations/implications
While analyzing the “right to life” under the International Human Rights Conventions, this paper will only deal with the UDHR and the ICCPR, as Bangladesh has ratified those Conventions.
Originality/value
This paper will add value to identify the present rights of the citizen under domestic and international law and to incorporate new legislation through finding the lack of present legislation to protect the right to life and remedy for extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh.
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Ewa Stefanska, Sinead Bloomfield and Adam Carter
The analysis of previous studies showed that research pertaining to the examination of the crime scene and Modus Operandi variables in intimate partner homicide (IPH) is scarce…
Abstract
Purpose
The analysis of previous studies showed that research pertaining to the examination of the crime scene and Modus Operandi variables in intimate partner homicide (IPH) is scarce. Additionally, to our knowledge, there are no studies investigating sexual homicide perpetrated by intimate partners. This study aims to address that void. Thus, the study examined various components of the crime event and as such, it was exploratory in nature.
Design/methodology/approach
The study consisted of male sexual killers, who perpetrated against pubescent female victims (14 years old and over) and served a custodial sentence within Her Majesty’s Prison Service in England and Wales. Variables for the study were chosen on the basis of previous research examining IPH and sexual homicide. Descriptive analyses were used in this exploratory study.
Findings
Descriptive analyses indicated that the most prevalent aggravating circumstances in the lead up to the killing included conflict with the victim before the offence and substance use by the perpetrator around the time of the killing. Stalking was present in approximately a quarter of cases. The results of the analyses of sexual behaviours showed that in 54.9% of the sample the act of killing was purely instrumental whereas in 39.4% of the sample the underlying drive of the act of killing was closely related to the sexual aspect.
Originality/value
This is a unique study on a topic not yet explored.
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