Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Criminal.
Is Incarceration Becoming a New Form of Segregation?. Top Story - October 2017.
Your name no longer matters. You no longer matter. Inmate 3846229 is who you are now, and the sad thing about it isn’t that you’re incarcerated; it’s that you became another statistic. Incarceration is becoming a popular trend in the criminal justice system. But what is the criminal justice system? It is a system of law enforcement that is directly involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing, and punishing those who are suspected or convicted of criminal offenses. By this definition, trials, treatment and punishments are equally distributed within ethnic groups, social classes, and economic standings. More often than not, this is not the case. It seems the poverty stricken minorities are the ones that suffer the most. In learning this, I have come to the conclusion that equal treatment through the current criminal justice system is becoming a struggle for minorities.
By _Laikyn Berry_7 years ago in Criminal
Sunday Night
It's late on a Sunday. Her blood flows from her dying body on to the kitchen floor like water from a faucet. He stands there frozen, unsure of what to do as his little sister bleeds from the knife wound in her chest. The knife falls as if in slow motion from his hands to the floor, creating a loud thud as it makes contact with the ground between his shaking legs and her limp arm.
By Lauren Whitney7 years ago in Criminal
Unsolved Mysteries Involving The Supernatural That Still Can't Be Explained
There's something incredibly comforting in being a skeptic to the paranormal. There's an idea that, no matter how strange something is, there's a real, rational explanation as to what happened. So, you never fear ghosts, ghouls, or demons as a result.
By Ossiana M. Tepfenhart7 years ago in Criminal
Most Violent Prisons in the World
If you thought Shawshank was bad, these prisons make that facility look like a holiday resort. From Russia and North Korea, to Brazil and even New York, these are the most violent prisons in the world. Not just prisons, but supermax jails and penitentiaries, oftentimes in the worst conditions, that lock away some the most ruthless of all villainy. These are places you hopefully have on any upcoming vacation destinations.
By Donald Gray7 years ago in Criminal
The Stoneman Murders
Let's play a game. Suppose you are a homeless person of the late 1980s. Just suppose! (..And forget that you still own a laptop/PC/smartphone to read this post in that time.) You are a homeless person and you are begging and trying to be alive to see the next morning. You struggle for food and other life crises and you go to that same corner of the street at night to sleep. What could you have possibly done wrong to someone that, while you are sleeping, some psychopath comes and crushes your head with a big stone? How horrible that is even to imagine! You might or might not have heard/read this story before, but it always runs a chill through my spine when I read it.
By Hitarth Raval7 years ago in Criminal
Sociology: Strain Theory
Strain Theory: Robert Merton’s Social Experiment In 1957, Robert K. Merton developed the Strain theory. It is a sociological and criminological term that primarily suggests that those who cannot hope to achieve some kind of “American dream” will receive the constant burden of not necessarily being rejected for not achieving their goals, but not having the resources that others were granted, to achieve the goals themselves. Therefore, people, specifically adolescents, resort to committing crimes. Today, Strain theorists acknowledge that this is not always the case, but instead that it is only for some but not most individuals. Ryan E. Spohn’s article, published in 2012 regarding criminogenic strain and influence on peers, searches to explain in what conditions and environments tend to result, specifically, the adolescent populace into deviant adaptations.
By Nathaniel Reidhead7 years ago in Criminal
The Tragic Murder of JonBenét Ramsey
It’s been nearly 21 years ever since JonBenét Ramsey was murdered on December 25, 1996. To this day, people are still questioning the unsolved murder case of this young girl. While there's multiple evidence in the murder scene, none of them seem to be connected with each other — resulting to different suspects. With this, the question continues to haunt us: Who murdered JonBenét Ramsey?
By Jacqueline Hanikeh7 years ago in Criminal
History's Least Prolific Serial Killer
You might not know the name, but you probably know the story: a vain noblewoman lures young virgins into her castle and bathes in their blood to stay young forever. She is Countess Dracula, a real life vampire and history's most prolific serial killer. It might be terrifying, a testament to human cruelty, to hear that such a person truly did exist. But dig even just a little deeper and you'll find the figure behind the legend has almost nothing to do with the myth she's grown into.
By Charlie Jackman7 years ago in Criminal
Down The Rabbit Hole
1600 people have gone missing in the National Parks and forests of the United States. 1600 people that went hiking, skiing, or out for a simple picnic with their family. 1600 people that disappeared without a trace. 1600 families left without answers.
By Taylor Mcdonald7 years ago in Criminal