About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

9 Hastings Women's L.J. 27 (1998)
Riding the Punishment Wave: On the Origins of Our Devolving Standards of Decency

handle is hein.journals/haswo9 and id is 33 raw text is: Riding the Punishment Wave: On the Origins of Our Devolving Standards of Decency Craig Haney* Notwithstanding the claims of politicians and media pundits, the health and well-being of the nation in the waning years of the 20th century are threatened less by a crime wave than a punishment wave. A punishment *Professor of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz. B.A. (University of Penn- sylvania), M.A., Ph.D. (Stanford University), J.D. (Stanford Law School). 1. U.S. crime rates seem to have more or less carefully tracked the U.S. economy over the last two decades and, in recent years, have been declining in small but steady incre- ments. See, e.g., Violent Crime Rates Remain Unchanged, U.S. Justice Dept. Report for 1994, S.F. CHRON., Apr. 18, 1996, at A4 ('U.S. crime figures essentially stayed the same in 1992 and 1993, the data showed. They have been on a roller coaster over the past 15 years, falling 20 percent between 1981 and 1986, then rising 15 percent from 1986 through 1991.. .). Fox Butterfield, Violent Crime Rate Drops in U.S.for5th Straight Year, S.F. EXAM., Jan. 5, 1997, at A4 (Serious and violent crime dropped nationwide in the first half of last year, continuing a pattern that began five years ago, according to preliminary statistics to be released ... by the FBI.). Yet, the crime wave?' mythology is politically vibrant and en- during. See, e.g., Tupper Hull, Republicans Are Zeroing in on Crime Issue, S.F. EXAM., Feb. 27, 1994, at BI (Republican politicians in early 1994 claimed to be sensing 'explosive' anger ?bout crime in California, and were set to engage in what was called trench warfare, waged by crime victim organizations against criminal sympathizers among Democratic lawmakers.). In supposed response to what was characterized as an epidemic of carijackings and drive-by-shootings, the governor of California unveiled an anti-crime package that included not only stiffer penalties for those crimes but also longer sentences for numerous other crimes and a proposal to try 14 year-olds charged with serious crimes as adults. See Vlae Kershner, Wilson Takes Aim At Violent Crime, New Plan Would Beef Up Penalties. S.F. CHRON., Jan. 22, 1993, at A25. It was by no means a California phenomenon. See, e.g., Linda Chavez, Crack Down Harder-Watch the Crime Rate Fall, SAN JosE MERC. NEws, Feb. 1, 1996, at 7B (The president of a self-described Washington think tank asserted to readers of her nationally syndicated newspaper article that the major problem in what she claimed was the exploding violent crime rate in recent years, was the inability to ensure that convicted criminals remain behind bars.). In fact, in a re- markable variation on the crime wave rhetoric, more and tougher prison sentences recently were advocated in anticipation of a crime wave that has not yet happened. See Fox Butter- field, Crime Panel Fears New Wave of Violence, S.F. CHRON., Jan. 6, 1996, at A7 (Despite recent reports that crime is decreasing, violent crime in the United States is a 'ticking time bomb' that will explode in the next few years as the number of teenagers soars, an organi- zation of prosecutors and law-enforcement experts said in a report yesterday.). The author of the report, conservative criminologist John Dinlio, expressed the concern that recent HASTINGS WOMEN'S LAW JOURNAL

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most