Sondra J. Fogel

The Interaction Between Victim Race and Gender on Sentencing Outcomes in Capital Murder Trials A Further Exploration

This study extends previous research on the interactive effects of victim race and gender on death sentence outcomes reported by Williams and Holcomb (2004). They report an interactive effect between victim race and victim gender on Ohio death sentencing outcomes, such that killers of White women are especially at risk of receiving death sentences. The study here seeks to determine if the Williams and Holcomb finding holds for a sample of murder cases in North Carolina for which the state sought the death penalty. Initial results of a descriptive analysis suggest a White female victim effect, but the introduction of control variables via logistic regression equations yields no gender or race interactions as predictors of sentencing outcomes. Reasons for the different outcomes are explored, and topics requiring further exploration are discussed.

Risks and Opportunities for Success: Perceptions of Urban Youths in a Distressed Community and Lessons for Adults

This article presents the challenges facing 41 youths living in a distressed urban area, and their adaptations to those challenges. Scholarship in the areas of community building, youth civic engagement, and employment helped to develop the theoretical outline for this project. Through the use of focus groups, adolescents of color, ages 14-18, were asked a series of open-ended questions about what youths need in order to be economically and socially involved in their neighborhood. Responses indicate a need for practitioners to incorporate protective factors in the community environment, and nonkin adults in intervention plans and programs. In addition, the evolving innovative partnership between a newly formed community development corporation and the neighborhood youths that emerged from this process is discussed.

The Role of Mitigating Factors in Capital Sentencing Before and After McKoy v. North Carolina

In 1990, the United States Supreme Court ruled that capital jurors do not have to be unanimous in deciding whether or not to accept any particular mitigating circumstance presented to them by the defense during the penalty phase of a capital murder trial. This study examines whether this shift in procedure may have altered the role of mitigation in predicting capital sentencing outcomes by comparing death sentencing predictors before and after the McKoy decision with data from an extensive sample of capital cases in North Carolina tried between 1977 and 2002. The results indicate that (1) both the number of aggravating and mitigating circumstances accepted by capital jurors had statistically significant and substantial effects on capital sentencing outcomes both before and after the McKoy decision; (2) the number of mitigating circumstances presented to and accepted by capital juries in North Carolina doubled during the post‐McKoy period; and (3) the influence of mitigating circumstance on capital sentencing outcomes was attenuated in the post‐McKoy period. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Alcohol and Drug Mitigation in Capital Murder Trials: Implications for Sentencing Decisions

Analyses of the impact on sentencing when alcohol and drug‐related mitigation is used in the sentencing phases of capital murder trials is virtually absent from the existing literature. The present study addresses this by exploring the effect of having mitigation with alcohol and drug themes accepted in a large sample (n = 804) of capital murder trials in North Carolina. Logistic regression analyses that include a number of relevant control variables reveal no substantive impacts of having alcohol mitigation accepted by capital murder juries, but drug mitigators that were either accepted or rejected by juries were associated with an increased risk of receiving a death sentence. Possible reasons for the results and their implications are discussed and suggestions are made for further study of the effects of alcohol/drug mitigation in capital trials.

Exploring the Role of Victim Sex, Victim Conduct, and Victim–Defendant Relationship in Capital Punishment Sentencing

Disparities in the administration of capital punishment are a prominent social and political issue. Recent studies indicate that victim characteristics of sex and race produce interactive effects on capital-sentencing outcomes. Extending this line of research, the current analysis explores the intersection of victim sex with victim conduct and victim–defendant relationship, utilizing a population of North Carolina capital cases spanning the years 1977 to 2009 (N = 1,285). Findings indicate that cases with a female victim who was not involved in illegal activity at the time of the murder and acquaintance female victim cases are most likely to result in a death recommendation. Potential reasons for these findings are discussed.

Owning a Home: New Opportunities and Challenges for Low-Income Women

ABSTRACT In recent years, policy initiatives at the federal, state and local levels have fostered innovative programs to promote and support low-to-moderate income individuals and families in achieving homeownership. However, the sustainability of homeownership among this group is an area of concern as default and foreclosure rates have increased and are expected to grow. This exploratory study examined the housing experience of 11 female, first-time low-to-moderate income homeowners who completed a homebuyer education program. Their experiences suggest that sustaining homeownership, while problematic, provides immeasurable positive gains within themselves and for their families. Strategies of how they cope with the challenges inherent in maintaining this asset are discussed. Implications for supporting these tenuous housing situations are offered.

Explaining the “Female Victim Effect” in Capital Punishment An Examination of Victim Sex–Specific Models of Juror Sentence Decision-Making

Only a limited body of research has focused on how victim sex may affect capital sentencing decisions. Acknowledging this issue, the present study uses a large sample of capital cases from North Carolina (n = 709) and victim sex–specific logistic regression models to examine whether different variables are important predictors of receiving the death penalty for male victim cases versus female victim cases. Results indicate that (a) sex-specific models better explain juror death penalty decision-making compared with a full model, including victims of both sexes, and (b) different extralegal and legal characteristics predict jurors’ decisions to choose the death penalty in cases with male victims versus female victims. Specifically, for male victims, older victim age, younger defendant age, urban jurisdiction, the number of victims killed, the number of aggravators, the number of mitigators, and case designation as heinous and cruel predict juror decision-making. Comparatively, for female victim cases, only the number of mitigators and case designation as heinous and cruel are significant predictors. Theoretical and legal implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Assessing Health Care Needs Among Street Homeless and Transitionally Housed Adults

ABSTRACT This study examined the health services received and needed among homeless persons in Hillsborough County, FL (N = 823). Lifetime and current need and receipt of health services were assessed with a cross-sectional survey. Participants reported extensive lifetime and current needs for physical and behavioral health care services. Nearly a third of participants reported current unaddressed health problem(s); an inability to obtain needed health care; and feelings of unaddressed mental health issue(s) as well as substance abuse problem(s) in the past year. Future research on homelessness and health should focus on identifying different pathways to health and mental health services for this vulnerable population and the outcomes of these interventions.

(Editorial) Prevention, Community Engagement, and Social Work

Social work has a long history of addressing problems that occur in the lives of individuals and in their communities. Many of the activities of the profession are based not only on intervening in these areas to address specific areas of concern, but also in preventing detrimental situations from occurring or repeating. Traditionally, prevention activities have been divided into three categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary. More recently, prevention classifications use universal, selective, and indicated definitions to signify the target of the intervention. For the purposes of this issues special focus, we are delineating the three categories of prevention activities as preventing a problem from occurring by taking a targeted action, preventing an identified problem from progressing by means of a strategic intervention, and taking steps to prevent an acknowledged epidemic from spreading to other groups. We find positive examples of the growing importance placed on such initiatives: As was examined...

Writing a Good Peer Review to Improve Scholarship: What Editors Value and Authors Find Helpful

The above quotes were recently published in Buzzfeed (Oakes, 2014), an online media and technology company, and ostensibly were culled from actual peer reviews published on another website. As is the case with much content on the Internet, it’s hard to determine if these are fabricated or real. Nonetheless, despite the intended humor for the general public, they clearly demonstrate the type of mean-spirited review comments that are not helpful to authors or editors. With increasing demands for faculty to publish in top ranked journals, editors continually are faced with the challenge of selecting high quality manuscripts that not only meet the specific criteria for their journals, but also retain or raise their journal’s prestige. The peer review process plays an indispensable role in these decisions and editors base their final decision on their reviewer’s comments combined with their own expertise, assessment, and judgment. In a 2009 large-scale international peer review survey of over 4,000 authors and reviewers, the study found that most respondents valued the peer review process and deemed it to be essential, and almost all researchers believed that the peer review process improved the quality of their papers. The vast majority of reviewers enjoyed not only reading other scholars ’ works, but also appreciated the ability to help authors improve their manuscripts. Notably, they also saw this as an important role as a member of the academic community and were committed to conducting reviews in the future. However, they also noted that in order to improve the peer review process, the training of new reviewers was needed (Mulligan, Hall, & Raphael, 2013). Although most journals provide specific guidelines for reviewers, in general, there is little or no mentorship when faculty are selected to conduct peer reviews. Although