Caitlin Nash, Rachel Dioso-Villa, Louise E. Porter
{"title":"Identifying a “Miscarriage of Justice”: Factors Influencing a Successful Appeal Against a Guilty Plea Conviction in Australia","authors":"Caitlin Nash, Rachel Dioso-Villa, Louise E. Porter","doi":"10.1177/08874034231162776","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034231162776","url":null,"abstract":"While the difficulties in appealing a guilty plea conviction are widely acknowledged, little research has investigated how appellate courts handle guilty plea convictions. This study addresses this gap by examining Australian appellate court judgments in which a guilty plea conviction was contested, comparing successful appeals where a guilty plea conviction was overturned (n = 193) against unsuccessful appeals where a guilty plea conviction remained (n = 375). Hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that, independent of other case characteristics, legal representation on appeal and support from legal actors significantly predicted a successful appeal, while significant predictors of an unsuccessful appeal included male defendants, defendants who received a term of imprisonment, and those who argued they were pressured to plead guilty. The findings highlight the significant influence of legal and extra-legal factors on appellate decision-making beyond the grounds of appeal raised by the defendant, raising important policy implications for the post-conviction process.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"361 - 386"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46679211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"When Prosecution Is Declined: Factors Influencing Prosecutorial Portrayal of Officers Involved in Shootings","authors":"Jacob Herrera, Lonnie Schaible","doi":"10.1177/08874034221150639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221150639","url":null,"abstract":"Using District Attorney Declination Letters of officer-involved shootings in Denver, Colorado between 2000 and 2020 (N = 132) and drawing on the Narrative Policy Framework, this study examined how prosecutors use of narrative strategies varied with legal and extra-legal characteristics of shooting. Findings indicated that prosecutors were more likely to likely to praise police shootings involving armed subjects, independent witnesses, and injuries to officers. Surprisingly, prosecutors were less likely to praise officers involved in the shooting of African American subjects, unarmed suspects, and in shootings involving a standoff. Findings suggest that while prosecutors largely draw upon legal criteria to justify not prosecuting police, their narrative accounts of declining to pursue criminal charges are also sensitive to extra-legal variables. Implications for theory, practice, and research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"211 - 235"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44945110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brian Renauer, Christopher M. Campbell, Mark Harmon Leymon, A. Leymon
{"title":"Circumventing the Sentencing Grid: Encouraging Downward Departures in Presumptive Prison Cases","authors":"Brian Renauer, Christopher M. Campbell, Mark Harmon Leymon, A. Leymon","doi":"10.1177/08874034221146885","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221146885","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines sentencing outcomes of Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) focused on reducing incarceration by encouraging downward departures to community-based sanctions in presumptive prison cases. The sample includes 3,930 defendants enrolled in the JRI program. Pre-adjudication assessment reports and a judicial settlement conference were used to help the court decide if a case warranted a departure offer. A quasi-experimental design with propensity score matching balanced JRI program defendants to 1,153 historic defendants that would have been eligible in the previous year. Logistic regressions assessed the impact of both program participation and race/ethnicity, controlling for other factors on prison versus probation sentence outcomes and sentence length in prison outcomes. On average, across all racial groups, program participants are 52% less likely to go to prison. The impact of participation on sentencing outcomes was also equitable across the race/ethnicity of defendants. However, the program did not affect sentence length of prison outcomes.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"261 - 290"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48054862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Qualitative Inquiry Into the Sources of Resilience Found Among Maximum Security Correctional Officers","authors":"Jon T.A. Gist, Frank Ferdik, Hayden P. Smith","doi":"10.1177/08874034221143750","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221143750","url":null,"abstract":"Resilient individuals are better able to cope with trauma, and overcome life’s adversities. Correctional officers are routinely exposed to workplace stressors that can be psychologically harmful. For these essential workers, resilience, therefore, offers a way to counteract the aversive conditions of their employment. In light of its importance in promoting mental wellness, studies have explored antecedents of resilience, yet few of which were conducted among correctional officers. To address this literature void, open-ended questionnaire data were collected from maximum-security corrections officers (N = 193) working in a southeastern state to understand the factors they believe most crucial in developing resilience. Respondents identified seven key themes associated with resilience, including co-worker support, establishing purpose in life, individual characteristics, self-care, life balance, prayer/meditation, and finally, maintaining positive attitudes. Results are discussed in light of interventions targeted at improving correctional officer mental health.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"291 - 315"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48163259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Epperson, Leon Sawh, Sadiq Patel, Carrie Pettus, A. Grier
{"title":"Examining Case Dismissal Outcomes in Prosecutor-Led Diversion Programs","authors":"M. Epperson, Leon Sawh, Sadiq Patel, Carrie Pettus, A. Grier","doi":"10.1177/08874034221138738","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221138738","url":null,"abstract":"Prosecutors’ offices are a critical site for criminal legal reform and decarceration efforts. Prosecutor-led diversion programs (PLDPs) are a prosecutorial innovation that process cases away from punitive prosecution and, instead, offer various services and supports. Successfully completing a PLDP results in the dismissal of the charge, which helps participants to avoid formal entry into the criminal legal system and a range of collateral consequences. This paper reports findings from over 11,000 participants in six PLDPs in three Midwestern jurisdictions, and examines race/ethnicity and charge characteristics associated with successful program completion and case dismissal. Findings indicate that PLDPs have the capacity to provide alternative processing to a large volume of defendants with high completion rates, although the likelihood of racial/ethnic minorities to successfully complete the program is mixed. PLDPs are discussed as a promising policy and programmatic innovation that can help to move away from an era of mass incarceration.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"236 - 260"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45217390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Margaret Schmuhl, Colleen E. Mills, Jason R. Silva, Joel A. Capellan
{"title":"Racial and Gender Threat and the Death Penalty: A County-Level Examination of Sociopolitical Factors Influencing Death Sentences","authors":"Margaret Schmuhl, Colleen E. Mills, Jason R. Silva, Joel A. Capellan","doi":"10.1177/08874034221128939","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221128939","url":null,"abstract":"The death penalty is a local phenomenon with 15% of U.S. counties responsible for passing death sentences since 1976. Although state-level research has contributed a greater understanding of abolition and state-level factors surrounding the death penalty, it remains crucially important to understand the sociopolitical context of counties as key decision-makers in death penalty cases. Findings from our study suggest that both racial and gender threats are important predictors of death sentences within these communities. Specifically, counties with Black populations greater than the state median experience increases in all death sentences, while gender equality in education produces an ameliorative effect on death sentencing. The persistence of extralegal factors, especially racial bias, influencing death sentencing suggests that these relationships be carefully considered in the research and administration of capital sentencing.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"161 - 183"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43575600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Positive Criminology and Positive Psychology","authors":"Jeremy Olson","doi":"10.1177/08874034221133727","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221133727","url":null,"abstract":"Welcome to our Special Issue on Positive Criminology and Positive Psychology. It is our hope that this issue will help generate critical reflection about American criminal justice policy and the possibility of moving the system towards a happier and more prosocial perspective. To begin, this editorial introduction briefly frames positive criminology and positive psychology for the readers, and then reviews the content of the special issue.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"3 - 7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44869889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Positive Psychology and Positive Criminology: Similarities and Differences","authors":"Ety Elisha, Natti Ronel","doi":"10.1177/08874034211065992","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034211065992","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this review is to highlight the similarities and differences between positive psychology and positive criminology—both relatively new concepts that represent an optimistic view of human beings and their ability to recover—while calling for a change of focus in the discourse and research of their respective fields. To this end, we first present a brief overview of each of these perspectives, along with findings of studies that confirm their assumptions, and then address their similarities and differences, with an emphasis on positive criminology which is our area of expertise. We conclude that both approaches seek to improve the quality of life and well-being of individuals, families, and communities through the development of human strengths and skills and the provision of social assistance.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"8 - 19"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47204807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sami Abdel-Salam, M. E. Antonio, Michele P. Bratina, Ashley Kilmer
{"title":"Rapport and Relationship Building in a Therapeutic Community: Examining the Dynamic Between Correctional Officers and Incarcerated Persons","authors":"Sami Abdel-Salam, M. E. Antonio, Michele P. Bratina, Ashley Kilmer","doi":"10.1177/08874034211069097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034211069097","url":null,"abstract":"Correctional officers (COs) are vital to prison safety. While focused on security, some believe COs should also be trained to engage in the rehabilitation of incarcerated persons by offering motivation and support. This study examined incarcerated persons’ perceptions of COs working in a prison-based therapeutic community (TC). Data were gathered through qualitative interviews with individuals detained in a state correctional system for men. Findings revealed several themes related to incarcerated persons’ perceptions of COs’ knowledge toward treatment, their experiences and interactions with COs, and recommendations about how to improve the role of COs as therapeutic agents of change. Practical opportunities for implementing correctional research and practice using a positive criminology perspective are considered.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"43 - 64"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41842161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Seeing the Harm to Happiness: Integrating Satisfaction With Life Into Restorative Practices","authors":"Jeremy Olson, Rebecca S. Sarver, Brad Killian","doi":"10.1177/08874034221115337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08874034221115337","url":null,"abstract":"This article proposes an approach to intervening in harms that is based on the integration of positive psychology and restorative justice. We begin by reviewing the importance of interpersonal relationships to restorative justice. Next, we discuss harms as viewed in restorative justice. We then explore the concept and language of happiness through models of satisfaction with life (SWL) from positive psychology. We end the article by proposing the integration of models of SWL into the practices of restorative dialogue and the development of restoration plans.","PeriodicalId":10757,"journal":{"name":"Criminal Justice Policy Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"88 - 109"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43961134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}