Thomas J. Keil

SURVIVING “THE JOINT”: MITIGATING FACTORS OF CORRECTIONAL OFFICER STRESS

ABSTRACT Many studies have focused upon the effect of stress upon police and correctional officers. This study investigates the relationship between stressors, coping mechanisms, and three types of stress (job dissatisfaction, work stress, and life stress) encountered by correctional officers. Factors such as danger, education, and supervisory support, experience and court decisions are considered in the multivariate model.

Fear of crime and attitudes toward capital punishment: A structural equations model

This paper examines support for capital punishment in Kentucky. It is assumed that most citizens favor the use of the death penalty. Our findings confirm the conclusion, drawn from several previous studies, that attitudes toward capital punishment are complex and multidimensional. In particular, nonwhites, women, and respondents from low-income households are more likely to express less direct support for capital punishment. The fear of crime in the neighborhood results in a greater willingness to endorse capital punishment. It also plays a crucial role in mediating the influence of race, age, education, and the experience of violent crime victimization.

Race and the death penalty in Kentucky murder trials: An analysis of post-Gregg outcomes

This study examines the effect of the victims race on the probability that an accused murderer is charged with a capital crime and sentenced to death in Kentucky. Our results show that blacks accused of killing whites had a higher than average probability of being charged with a capital crime (by the prosecutor) and sentenced to die (by the jury) than did other homicide offenders. This finding remains after we take into account the effects of differences in the heinousness of the murder, prior criminal record, the personal relationship between the victim and the offender, and the probability that the accused will not stand trial for a capital offense.

Race and the death penalty in Kentucky murder trials: 1976–1991.

This study re-examines the effect of race of the victim on the probability that an accused murderer is charged with a capital crime and sentenced to death in Kentucky. It adds over five years of data to our original study. The results show that Blacks accused of killing Whites had a higher than average probability of being charged with a capital crime (by the prosecutor) and sentenced to die (by the jury) than other homicide offenders. This finding remains after taking into account the effects of differences in the heinousness of the murder, prior criminal record, the personal relationship between the victim and the offender, and the probability that the accused will not stand trial for a capital offense. Kentucky’s “guided discretion” system of capital sentencing has failed to eliminate race as a factor in this process.

Treatment Dropouts: The Effect of Client and Ecological Variables

Using data gathered on persons entering into alcohol treatment programs between 1974 and 1976, the study sought to develop an equation that would predict (1) Complete Successes, (2) Partial Successes, and (3) Dropouts. The predictor variables included a broad range of client-specific characteristics and ecological variables. The results indicate that both sets of influences affect our ability to predict who will fall into various categories. There appears to be a general progression in the amount of social resources held by the individual and contained within the individuals ecological environment as one moves from Dropouts to Partial Successes to Complete Successes. Results for policy makers and practitioners are identified and discussed.

Capriciousness or Fairness

Abstract Previous research on capital sentencing have discovered quantitative proof of discrimination, especially by race of the victim. The present study examines prosecutorial decision making in Kentucky. Using a method of analysis developed by Berk et al., it seeks to determine the level of capriciousness (uncertainty) present in the prosecutorial decision to seek the death penalty. Kentucky prosecutors were most likely to seek the death penalty in cases where black offenders killed white victims.

The State and Labor Conflict in Postrevolutionary Romania

This essay describes the history of labor unrest and the changes in the relations between unions and the Romanian government during and since the Ceausescu years (1965–89). Briefly, the relatively peaceful relations between one central labor confederation and the government during the communist era changed after the December 1989 revolution. In the early postrevolutionary era, some unions were organized into various confederations while others, such as the union representing Jiu Valley coal miners, remained independent, and labor unrest increased as workers protested over issues including workplace control, political policies, and economic conditions. While the government sought to create a more cooperative relationship with unions by enacting labor legislation in the early 1990s, labor militancy continued unabated. Recent developments having implications for Romania’s labor movement include economic and political conditions and the rise of a radical right seeking to appeal to the working class, a segment of society that feels more left behind by the changes since the revolution than any other group.

Perceptions of Neighborhood Safety and Support for the Reintroduction of Capital Punishment in Romania: Results from a Bucuresti Survey

Data from a probability sample of 400 households in Bucuresti are used to examine the nature of support for the reintroduction of the death penalty, abolished in 1989, in Romania. Results show that workers are more likely to support the reintroduction of the death penalty. Persons who see crime as increasing wish to reinstate the death penalty. Also, persons who perceive their neighborhoods as unsafe are more likely to support the return of executions. Two significant interaction effects were found. One was between worker status and perceptions of neighborhood safety. Neighborhood safety has the strongest negative effect on support for the reintroduction of capital punishment among workers. The second interaction effect was between perceptions that crime is increasing and perceptions of neighborhood safety. Among respondents who see crime as increasing, the variable of neighborhood safety has a positive effect on support for the reintroduction of capital punishment in Romania.

Internal colonization, folk justice, and murder in Appalachia: The case of Kentucky

For three decades, the southern subculture of violence thesis was the center of debate for homicide researchers. Often, the South was regarded as a homogeneous region regarded as a subculture without attending to within-region variations. This research tested whether there were subregional variations within the state of Kentucky, paying particular attention to the coal-producing counties of Appalachia as an internal colony. Sociodemographic factors, economic distress, Core-Appalachia, and alcohol were used as predictors of homicide in the state. Using path analysis, it is argued that economic distress and Core-Appalachia predict homicide with alcohol acting as a significant intervening factor in the relationship. It is concluded that sociodemographic, subcultural, structural, and lifestyle factors are interrelated and predictive of overall homicide rates in the state. Treating the South as a uniform region is questioned.

ELEMENTS OF SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF CHANGING ATTITUDES

ABSTRACT Support for capital punishment is not monolithic. Public attitudes toward the death penalty are influenced by several factors. This paper presents the results of a capital punishment attitude survey of Kentucky residents and makes comparisons to those conducted in other states. A number of factors influenced support for capital punishment, including: the nature of the homicide (degree of premeditation), the personal characteristics of the offender, and the circumstances surrounding the offense. The impact of this survey upon the Kentucky Legislature and the operation of the death penalty is discussed.