The purpose of this writing is to examine the treatment of Jodi Arias, and female offenders in general, in the media and to understand how this treatment fits into theories used by bio-social criminologists to analyze female offending, such as strain theory, and more specifically, objective strain. (Agnew, 2001) Background and Case Summary Jodi Arias was convicted of killing her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander in June of 2013. (Kouri, 2015) She is a 26 year old high school dropout, trying to support herself with a job as a waitress, when she learns about a company that sells legal plans for profit. (Kouri, 2015) At a company conference, she meets Alexander, who she takes a liking to. (Kouri, 2015) A short time after this meeting, the two …show more content…
(Moulds, 1978) This leads to women getting less harsh punishments than their male counterparts. So, one could argue that this need to protect women is actually hurting them, and society in general. When they are given lighter sentences, women learn that they can get away with more, because of the leniency they are given in the system. However, taking a step back and looking at the way media treats women vs men tells a very different story. For example, newspapers are more likely to publish close-up pictures of males then females. Close-up pictures tend to portray the subject as more dominant and intelligent, leading the public to believe that men are supposed to dominate over women, or are more intelligent. (Phyllis A. Anastasio, 2004) Therefore, Alexander would most likely have gotten a harsher sentence, but would be treated better by the media. While Arias was called “crazy”, Alexander may have simply been called “misunderstood” or the crime may have been called one of passion, not
Women convicted of “other property offenses” – a category of crimes that includes arson, receiving stolen property and breaking and entering — received shorter prison sentences. • Black female defendants were, in some ways, treated differently than white female defendants. Black women were assigned higher bond amounts and were more likely to be sent to prison than white women. Women of both races were equally likely to be released prior to
The trial was on multiple news stations and quickly gained a following worldwide. The defense’s argument was that Arias committed the murder in self-defense, while the prosecution depicted Arias as a jealous ex-girlfriend that wanted to get revenge. Saying this was a dramatic case would be an understatement, and the ups and downs of this trial was what kept the public engaged and kept them watching. Michelle Gonzalez explains how the media put Jodi Arias in the spotlight for the crime she committed based on stereotypes and archetypes in her article, “innocent Blood on Manicured Hands: How the Media has Brought the New Roxie Harts and Velma Kellys to Center Stage.” Gonzalez said that, “Arias is categorized as follows: (1) the trickster archetype, and (2) seductress-goddess stereotype” (86).
The story of, Piper Kerman, relates to what we learn in this course about female offenders. The show “Orange is the New Black” is about a nice blond white lady whose life change dramatically when she was arrested for conspiracy drug charges and heroin trafficking that occurred several years prior. Not like many prisoners, Kerman comes from well-educated family. She is the last person anyone would expect to see in prison (Sullivan, 2015). She got to experience first had on how the criminal justice works and see how women in prison go through every day.
The Criminal Justice System is to seek safety, protection, control in crimes, and to minimize crimes from criminal offenders. In the trail of Jodi Arias members of the jury faced a difficult task for the murder of Travis Alexander. They must evaluate many conflicting and confusing problems of a troubled relationship, and finally make a decision whether or not the evidence in this case reaches a verdict of guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Travis Victor Alexander was born on July 28, 1977, in Riverside, California. His parents were addicted to crystal meth.
Much of the twentieth century, crime and punishment has provided some of the most powerful signs of the racial split in America (Rosich,2007). For example, African Americans accounted for 89 percent of the prison population executed for rape between the years of 1930 and 1972 (U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000). The question that has been raised is not who, what, when but is why? Could the answer possibly be that, though criminal activity has no face, no gender, race, or ethnic background that people are always looking for a scapegoat of some sort to make sure someone pays the dues of the crime that has been committed?
The majority of excuses for the failure to hire women in the correctional setting could be the old school, “good old boys club” mentality from the 1970’s era. During my own career in the corrections industry, I
The author’s hypothesis that white female offenders are portrayed more favorably in the media than minority female offenders is supported. According to Brennan and Vandenberg (2009), “Figure 1 indicates that stories about white women were nearly three times more likely to have an overall favorable tone than were stories about minority women (47.8 percent versus 16.7 percent, respectively). We reached the opposite conclusion when we examined how race/ethnicity was related to stories that were overwhelmingly unfavorable. Specifically, while two-thirds of the stories about minority women were predominantly negative, only about one-quarter of the stories about white women had a similar tone” (p. 156). These results show that stories of white women were often more favorable, while stories of minority women were often more negative.
Most sexual offenders are male, and nearly all known serial killers are also male. Aileen Wuornos is one of history’s highest-profile female serial murderers. She was imprisoned and sentenced to death for the murder of six men. During her childhood, Wuornos was exposed to abandonment by her biological parents, seclusion and physical and emotional abuse from her grandparents. The conspicuous lack of attention and communication from her caregivers along with the violent and toxic environment she endured forged a pattern for Aileen’s early-on criminal nature and violent behavior.
Women of color are the most targeted, prosecuted, and imprisoned women in the country and rapidly increasing their population within the prison systems. According to Nicholas Freudenberg, 11 out of every 1000 women will end up incarcerated in their lifetime, the average age being 35, while only five of them are white, 15 are Latinas, and 36 are black. These two groups alone make up 70 percent of women in prison, an astonishing rate compared to the low percentage comprise of within the entire female population in the country (1895). Most of their offenses are non-violent, but drug related, and often these women come from oppressive and violent backgrounds, where many of their struggles occurred directly within the home and from their own family.
Feminist on Cellblock Y Research Paper Leonel Rojas-Gutierrez Department of Criminal Justice, California State San Bernardino CJUS 3320: Theories of Crime and Delinquency Dr. Reveka Shteynberg April 28, 2023 Abstract The documentary The Feminist on Cellblock Y follows the story of Richard Edmond Vargas, commonly known as Richie, through his journey of incarceration and rehabilitation. Richie’s troubled past was influenced by his father’s enforcement of “toxic masculinity” and “patriarchy,” which led him to engage in delinquent behavior and eventually commit two armed robberies resulting in his incarceration. Richie’s delinquent behavior can be explained through the Social Bond Theory, a micro-level Social Control Theory, which
Also, less pay because I’m a woman sounds unfair also. I’m glad that women had the courage to fight for their rights and prove that they deserve to be treated equally as men. Female inmates endure many obstacles and just as much stress as men. Women have hormone and changes with their bodies that they must tackle quite often. It is not uncommon for a woman to become pregnant in prison or enter the prison system expecting a child.
Agnew’s General Strain Theory in There Are No Children Here Introduction Throughout this semester, we have covered various criminological theories along with their strengths and limitations. These theoretical perspectives provide possible explanations to why individuals commit crimes. In addition to, these theories are indirectly woven within cultural objects such as song lyrics, movies, books, and television.
Angela Davis demonstrates the ongoing violent abuse as she quotes a report on sexual maltreatment in women’s prisons, “We found that male correctional employees have vaginally, anally, and orally raped female prisoners and sexually assaulted and abused them” (Davis 78). However disturbing this blunt sexual contact that male officers take with the vulnerable prisoners may be, the officers adopt even more severe tactics to harass and abuse the women as they often utilize “mandatory pat-frisks or room searches to grope women 's breasts, buttocks, and vaginal areas...” (Davis 79). To add insult to injury, women are virtually incapable of escaping from their abuser(s). Prison employees upkeep their inappropriate behavior as it is believed they will “rarely be held accountable, administratively or criminally” (Davis 78).
Twenty-seven stab wounds. A gunshot to the face. Throat slashed from ear to ear. These are not examples of multiple murders, but rather the gruesome details of Travis Alexander’s death (Archer, 2013). Jodi Arias, charged with his murder, consistently lied throughout the ordeal, changing her story three different times and demonstrating a history of deceiving people on even the smallest of details (Archer, 2014).
Gender should not depend on how people get treated differently from the opposite gender. If someone commits a crime regardless of their gender, they both should have to face the consequences regarding the crime they committed. A male should not be treated different than a female after committing a crime just because he is male and visa versa. Gender discrepancies play a role in everything in our world today. Whether it be in crime, sports, school, or even careers, males are typically punished much harder than females, and also get the most credit when it comes to sports, school, and their careers compared to females who excel in the exact same thing males do, even if the females are better than the males in any of those fields.