Deborah G. Wilson

Back from the dead: Tracking the progress of Kentucky's Furman-commuted death row population

After the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia (1972), 23 inmates at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville had their capital sentences commuted. This study tracks 17 of these former death row inmates, who have been paroled, and reports on their current legal status. The analysis reveals that the recidivism rate of these parolees was not dramatically high and that none of the parolees committed another homicide. In fact, those inmates who did recidivate had the most extensive prior records and had committed homicides of police officers during an armed robbery.

Prevalence, Use, and Evidentiary Issues of Digital Evidence of Cellular Telephone Consumer and Small-Scale Digital Devices

ABSTRACT Digital systems are found in a number of casual consumer tools, including cellular telephones. Their prevalence in society is matched by a growing presence as evidence in civil and criminal court cases. The current survey research suggests that cell phones and their potential evidence may be found in over half of all violent crime and even more substantially in drug crimes in some jurisdiction. The police commander respondents to this survey reported that cell phones had been used as evidence via lay testimony and expert analysis in their jurisdictions. Such evidence may face increasing judicial challenges in the future as the specialized nature of the analysis, even with commercially available, easy-to-use practices, goes “well beyond that of the average layperson.” Digital forensics analysts must be prepared to provide both proper lay testimony on cell phones as well as details and justifications for their own tools, techniques, and qualifications as required by Daubert and Federal Rule of Evid...

Imprisoned Elders: The Experience Of One Institution

This study examines the characteristics and institutional experience of inmate elders from one medium security institution. It also features a stratified random sample of inmates aged 49 and under from the same institution. Data were collected from inmates files and interviews with inmate elders (aged 50 and older) and institutional staff. Specific attention is given to policy issues concerning the treatment of this special needs group.

Drug Testing in Community Corrections: Results from a Four-Year Program

Drug testing has become a significant part of community supervision. This article summarizes the results from a Jefferson County (Kentucky) program. During the program, the level of positive tests has continuously declined to a rate of 35%. Marijuana and cocaine were consistently the drug of choice for this population. Lower recidivism rates were recorded for offenders who completed the treatment offered by the Kentucky Substance Abuse Program, Inc. (KSAP).

Challenge--Construction of an Adequate Digital Forensics Testbed

The challenge - what is an adequate laboratory specification for emulating network attacks and experimenting with network forensics, other digital forensics techniques and social behavioral traits? Could published specifications for different scales of research assist in research development? Is the specification described here adequate for research purposes? What additional considerations are needed for simulating network attacks and validating forensic tools?

The female murderer: Alabama 1929–1971

The following descriptive study of female offenders (N = 455), in a southern state covering a forty-two year period seeks to expand our knowledge about one type of female violent crime--homicide. In doing so, the results are noteworthy for their overall similarity to earlier studies and the consistency of female patterns of homicide with regard to sex role differentiation. The findings demonstrate the importance of precipitating events, the contributory effect of alcohol, and the increasing use of firearms among women offenders.

The effect of shock and regular probation upon recidivism: A comparative analysis

Previous studies of shock probation have reported mixed effects with regard to recidivism rates. This particular study compared the attributes of a sample of shock and regular probationers and discovered that type of probation was not significantly related to rearrest rates.

DRUG TESTING IN COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS: A COMPARATIVE PROGRAM ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT This article presents comparative results from the first two years of a drug testing program for probationers and parolees in Louisville, Kentucky. Comparisons are made between the research findings from the first and second years of the program and to the results from the drug use forecasting program (DUF). For both years, marijuana (59% and 53% of all tests) and cocaine (36% and 28%) were the drugs typically abused. Clients who completed the Kentucky Substance Abuse Program (KSAP) were less likely to recidivate. Client attributes associated with substance abuse were established through the use of discriminant function analysis.