Explain the basic propositions and substantive issues associated with the research.

ESSAY
You will note that two principle sections form the basic framework of the essay. Each section intersects with the next to form a complete, and historical, timeline. Therefore do not jump from one section to the next without transitioning (how does this material link to the next section, and what are you going to present?). Be specific. That way the reader understands how theories and substantive issues are integrated and advanced over time.
Be sure to explicate each theory in a comprehensive manner. Don’t just mention the theorist, etc. Explain the basic propositions and substantive issues associated with the research. What methods are used to measure variables? Detail the basic analysis given by the theorist. Also place specific emphasis on the strengths and weaknesses of the theories. This is best emphasized through critical analysis.
Essay Format, requires you to write using the APA style manual, (cover page, reference page, etc.).
[INTRODUCTION]
Part I:
The Genesis story of Cain and Abel establishes a basic framework for an analysis of the structure of the criminal justice system in the U.S. and manner in which variables such as race, and social class, impacts the current definition of crime and punishment.
Specifically, the manner in which individuals, like Cain, circumvent punishment due to the unequal distribution of law, prosecutorial discretion, adjudication, and sentencing
practices in the U.S.
In this sense, the so called “first murder” serves as a metaphor for the way criminal behavior and methods of punishment are too often defined in the abstract. For example, Cain committed an act of murder, i.e., homicide, yet he was punished by the act of banishment which runs counter to the methods of retribution traditionally used in the Old Testament. Instead of severe punishment, which typically and traditionally fits the crime of murder, Cain marries, prospers, gains power, and teaches his children to hate God.
[These elements of the crime inevitable lead us to this question]
How do you deter crimes of murder when the act is defined and adjudicated in such an abstract manner?
Early writings, such as that seen in the Book of Genesis, take license with such issues due to their origins. Mainly because there is no concrete system of Criminal Justice with doctrines defining predatory acts of this nature. So, it is not surprising that the punishment appears to be experimental in nature.
[This leads to another set of questions]
Is it possible that the current system of criminal justice is inundated with the same or similar abstractions?
Is it possible for people to commit predatory acts such as murder, get away with them, and
thus beat the system, in spite of well-established laws defining such behavior as criminal and predatory in nature?
[Something else to think about]
Is it possible to gain a concrete sense of the crime of murder, which by today’s standard rises to the level of homicidal behavior, particularly when the punishment given for such a crime is adjudicated in such an abstract manner?
The act of murder by any standard, past and present, requires a significant level of punitive response first by individuals who react to the norms of a society, and then later by institutions shaping the nature of criminal justice with its attending definitions of homicide. In this respect, the definitions of crime and punishment, as written into the Christian- Judeo tradition, may have had a negative impact on the way crime and punishment is administered in the postmodern world.
[How is the current system impacted in this manner?]
The current system of criminal justice is designed to function effectively in relation to the convergence of law enforcement, the courts, and correctional institutions. Specifically on the adjudication and punishment of violent offenders. Yet there are many instances, past and present, where the system has failed due to a combination of errors which inevitably shifts concrete definitions of crime and criminal behavior into abstract systems of punishment.
[So how did we advance from abstract definitions of crime and punishment – to concrete definitions? Or have we?]
BEGIN THE ESSAY
Part II:
Beginning with the 1940s through the 1970s, write a detailed presentation and
analysis of the theories, methods, and substantive issues constituting the modern field of victimology.
[The presentation should proceed in the following order]
Hans Von Hentig
Benjamin Mendelsohn
Stephen Schaefer
Marvin Wolfgang
Menachem Amir
[ALSO]
Explain how this body of research may be impacted historically by the abstract definitions of crime and punishment originating in the Genesis story.
Did a shift from the standard typological methods of research to the modern quantitative methodology produce clearer structural frameworks of study?
Was the “blame the victim” strategy advanced into a more valid and reliable research model?
What are the strengths and weakness of this body of research?
Has the research given rise to valid and reliable laws, legislative policies and practices aimed at developing more concrete definitions of crime and punishment?
Or are we still struggling to break the abstract practices of the past?

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