Homicide and Murder

as Serious Crime
Dr James Treadwell

Assessment
Assessment comes in 2 parts, one essay and one
There is also a formative assessment, which is due in 3
weeks time to be handed in in class. 1000 words
The Formative assessment, which will help you with the
summative preparation is a choice of either of these
questions:
1) How has psychology contributed to criminal
investigation with specific regards to the detection of
serious crime?
2) How has psychology contributed to offender
treatment with regard serious crime?

Poster Presentation (50% of overall

mark)
Will be delivered in week 8 (The last week) . Title: Case Study of ******* (see
below) in the context of criminological theories of Serious Crime.
Your poster and an electronic version must be formally submitted
You are required to select a representation of a case of serious crime to create
an academic poster presentation on. The case may be factual or fictional, but
must draw on theories explaining the aetiology of serious offending and relate
them directly to the case in question and show academic and intellectual
engagement with the subject area. How are you going to layout your
information?
Once you have a good idea of your case study, you will need to consider the
structure of your information, you can begin thinking about layout. In the final
session you will have to present your poster (a single academic poster) to the
cohort and speak about it briefly defending it orally.

The Essay
Essay questions Select one of the following (2,500 words)
1) Is it time to reform in the law on murder in England and Wales?
2) How have criminologists theorised and attempted to explain the
rational for why humans kill? which academic do you believe provides
the most useful contribution?
3) Is evil a useful criminological concept?
4) How has academic criminology sought to explain sexual offending?
5)How compelling is Steven Pinkers (2011) contention that violence has
been in decline over millennia and that the present epoch is probably the
most peaceful time in the history of the human species?
6) Is there evidence that representations of violence in the media can
fuel its actuality in reality?

Today Going to consider Homicide

and Murder
The term homicide covers the offences of murder, manslaughter
(including corporate manslaughter) and infanticide. Murder and
manslaughter are common law offences that have never been
defined by statute, although they have been modified by statute.
By end of next week, have some insight into How the CJS responds
and deals with these most serious of offences, how they are
investigated, policed and punished; the theoretical perspectives,
both structural and individual that frame understanding, the cultural
representations and contemporary realities, and hence, you should
have a much better understanding of this form of serious
criminality.

Broader question What is

violence?
Read some Zizek On Violence.
Two types of violence, Subjective Violence and
Systematic Violence.
Zizek says our subjective outrage at the facts of
subjective violence the murder, a terrorist attack, the
assassination of a political figure blinds us to the
objective violence of the world, a violence where we are
perpetrators and not just innocent bystanders.
Zizek says we see acts that disturb the supposed peace
of everyday life. We consistently overlook the objective
or what Zizek calls "systemic" violence, endemic to our
socio-economic order, becoming concerned with the

What is the systematic violence we

are implicated in?
Violence of capitalism
The suicides of workers
pressured unnecessarily in
iPhone factories, the
creation of Slums, Favelas,
the global arms trade, the
very structural inequality
that exists in todays neoliberal capitalism
See Zizek explain here
https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=WCOv8X-u2Ko

This week
What is Homicide/Murder?
What are the realities of murder?
How is murder and homicide represented in popular media?
Going to look at how criminology understands the generation of
violence The Civilising Process (Elias) Pseudo-Pacification Process
(Hall) and the ideas of Violentization (Lonnie Athens) and Steven
Pinker (Better Angels of our Nature).
Look at the case of Marine Sergeant Alexander Blackman
Look at the Case of Robert Stewart.
Introduce the Notion of Psychopathy, the PCL-R and how violent
crime may be linked to this.

This session
Private Violence in this session next session we will look at structural
violence more although the Blackman case confounds this a little.
Homicide is the most serious form of violent crime. It is uniquely harmful and
strikes at the very heart of what most of us hold most precious our life. As
Falk (1990: xi) put it, the only possession any of us truly have is our lives.
As well as the obviously devastating consequences to victims of homicide, the
effects reach far wider to family and friends of the victim, offenders
themselves and the community as a whole.
Whilst homicide is undoubtedly a tragic event, at the same time it holds, for
many, great interest and, in some cases, fascination. It is the subject of
constant press attention and of numerous popular books and films. By
contrast, however, homicide has undergone relatively little rigorous study by
criminologists in the UK for some significant time, and where it is studied, it is
in a disparate way.

For this module

Making a lot of resources available but you need to read a
lot, and read around the subject.
Variety of Journals and books, articles and media sources
but less from official sources (A Home Office funded
homicide related projects, such as possible ways to reduce
or prevent homicide in the UK (see Brookman and Maguire,
from 2003 stands as a dated but notable exception).
Expect you to follow up on suggestions of texts look at
books such as those mentioned in course, some are
available in Library, others are very inexpensive, but there
is a lot of resource out there if you are creative.

Todays session - Murder (Common

Law Offence)
Murder is the most serious homicide offence.
It is contrary to common law.
Use a modern day definition the unlawful killing of a
human being by a human being during the Queens
Peace with malice aforethought.
Has been altered under statute, (e.g. year and a day
limitations removed).

So Mens Rea of Murder

Malice aforethought
(i) an intention to kill or
(ii) an intention to cause grievous bodily harm
Sentences: Offender aged over 21 - mandatory life imprisonment,
Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 section 1. Committed
aged over 18, convicted before age 21 - custody for life, Powers of
Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 section 93. Committed
aged under 18 at date of offence irrespective of age when
convicted - detention during Her Majestys pleasure, Powers of
Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 section 90.

What is Homicide?
Want you to write a definition, what is it?

Homicide
As Brookman notes, although legal categories of homicide may appear clear
cut, in reality a very fine, and often artificial, line divides murder from
manslaughter or accident or licensed killings by law enforcers or
euthanasia. As will be revealed, the divide between acceptable and
unacceptable killings is socially, historically and culturally constructed.
Very rarely does the image of a large corporation flouting Health and Safety
legislation (thereby causing deaths spring to mind when one thinks of
unlawful homicide. This is perhaps not surprising, since the law rarely deals
with these killings as homicides. Examples include the slow and painful
deaths of thousands of individuals exposed to pernicious dusts, such as
asbestos, despite ample evidence, known to employers, of the potentially
fatal health risks, or the negligent and fraudulent safety testing of drugs by
the pharmaceutical industry, or environmental crimes that cause death due
to the dumping of hazardous wastes and illegal toxic emissions.

Example

We do not think of the actions of VW on their Diesel Car

emissions as homicidal

Yet Public Health England (PHE) said 5.3 per cent of all deaths
in over-25s were linked to air pollution, although the figures
varied considerably by region, the cars outside may be killing
you, there wont be prosecutions

Yet if as an individual you are convicted of murder, how do

you get sentenced?

Life (It never ends)

five sentencing starting points:
Para 4 - whole life order (exceptionally high seriousness)
Para 5 - minimum term of 30 years (particularly high seriousness)
Para 5A - minimum term of 25 years, if aged 18 or over, and bring
knife or other weapon (not including firearm or explosive) to the scene
intending to commit any offence or have it as a weapon and use that
weapon to commit murder (does not apply to a sentence for a murder
committed before 2 March 2010).
Para 6 - otherwise, if aged 18 or over at date of offence, minimum
term of 15 years
Para 7 - if under 18 years at date of offence, minimum term of 12
years

Dangerous criminals
e.g. in the CJS and specifically in prison, concepts of risk, harmfulness
and Dangerousness are core. Harm to public is a factor, especially
where murder is concerned
Male adult prisoners (those aged 21 or over) are given a security
categorisation soon after they enter prison. These categories are
based on a combination of the type of crime committed, the length of
sentence, the likelihood of escape, and the danger to the public if they
were to escape.
Closed prison- Category A prisoner: Those whose escape would be
highly dangerous to the public or national security and for whom
escape must be made impossible to Category D Those who can be
reasonably trusted not to try to escape, and are given the privilege of
an open prison.

Homicide UK
The Home Office Homicide Index shows that there were
551 homicides (murder, manslaughter and infanticide)
recorded in 2012/13 in England and Wales, 21 more
than the 530 recorded in 2011/12 (an increase of 4%).
In the year to September 2015 homicides have
increased 14 per cent to 574 - the highest level for five
years.
Does not tell us that much of the nature and character
of murder though. Is there a typical murder.

Murder and Serious Violence

In media representation and cultural sources make murder frequent and
everyday, rather than what it is, a rarity.
In 2012/13, as in previous years, more than two-thirds of homicide victims
(69%) were male.
However among those aged under one victims of homicide were just as
likely to be male as female.
In other age groups there were differences between males and females in
the pattern of relationships between victims and suspects. Women were
far more likely than men to be killed by partners/ex-partners, and men
were far more likely than women to be killed by friends/ acquaintances.
With the exception of those aged under one year, adults generally had
higher victimisation rates than children.

Homicide in the UK
In 2012/13, there were 67 homicide victims aged under
16 years. In line with previous years, the majority of
these victims were killed by a parent or step-parent
(60%, or 40 offences) and 8 (12% of victims) were killed
by a stranger.
The most common method of killing continued to be by
sharp instrument (such as a knife or broken bottle). In
2012/13, there were 194 victims killed in this way,
accounting for around 1 in 3 (35%) of all homicides.

Murder is a contested topic

e.g. Public Opinion and the Penalty for Murder: Report of
the Homicide Review Advisory Group On the Mandatory
Sentence of Life Imprisonment for Murder in 2011.
Cases Cause Controversy Classic examples being
cases such as Thornton and Clegg, currently we have
Alex Blackman, which we will look at later.
Public would support reforming the penalty for murder
to make life imprisonment the maximum sentence
rather than mandatory would you?
Think about the History of Murder

The Ballad of Reading Gaol Oscar

Wilde
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
2tUZltCmfyc
Wildes thoughts on Prison and
imprisonment, but inexorably
connected with his own story.
There is so much that is in this, but
it is also a tremendous insight into
prison servitude and capital
punishment, in this case the
execution of Charles Thomas
Wooldridge had been a trooper in
the Royal Horse Guards. He was
convicted of cutting the throat of his
wife, Laura Ellen.

Danny Dorling Prime Suspect

What Does Dorling say best predicts Murder in the UK?
Behind the man with the knife is the man who sold him the knife,
the man who did not give him a job, the man who decided that his
school did not need funding, the man who closed down the branch
plant where he could have worked, the man who decided to reduce
benefit levels so that a black economy grew, all the way back to the
woman who only noticed those inner cities some six years after the
summer of 1981, and the people who voted to keep her in office.
The harm done to one generation has repercussions long after that
harm is first acted out. Those who perpetrated the social violence
that was done to the lives of young men starting some 20 years ago
are the prime suspects for most of the murders in Britain.

Steven Pinker
The Better Angels of Our
Nature
Long term decline in violence in
Human Society.
Society becoming increasingly
less violent and hostile based on
reading of multiple statistical
sources
Well received and highly praised
Not dissimilar in some ways to a
continuation of Elias Civilising
thesis

Criticisms

Various critics reject the central assertion of Pinkers

arguments for a range of reasons

Failure to acknowledge the precarious nature or social world

we are in

Measuring violence over such long term period virtually

impossible

Disagreement about very central premise of argument

Explaining Violence Levels The

Civilising Process
Norbert Ellias A sociologist
who spent most of his career at
the University of Leicester
coined the term the civilising
process to consider the decline
of violence as a longer process
with the emergence of nation
states from European Middle
Ages.
A longer term view that
considers the longer term
decline of violence (nnot
dissimilar to Pinkers ideas).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzSXS8pbMVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZtIxsMQYWQ

The Civilising Process

Elias traced how post-medieval European standards regarding
violence, sexual behaviour, bodily functions, table manners and
forms of speech were gradually transformed by increasing
thresholds of shame and repugnance, working outward from a
nucleus in court etiquette.
The internalized "self-restraint" imposed by increasingly complex
networks of social connections developed the "psychological"
self-perceptions.
The second volume of The Civilizing Process looks into the causes
of these processes and finds them in the increasingly centralized
Early Modern state and the increasingly differentiated and
interconnected web of society.

Lonnie Athens Violentisation

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=0fQxAf7-J1Y
Lonnie Athens
popularised by Richard
Rhodes in very accessible
Why they Kill which gives
overview of Athens work,
and his personal
biography.

Lonnie Athens (Symbolic

interactionist)
Lonnie Athens has worked for many years on
understanding how some people become violent while
others do not. He describes this process as one of
violentization, in which people are first brutalized into
learning that they will not be protected by the system
responsible for them, that they must brutalize others or
be brutalized themselves, and finally, through the
performance of such brutalization they become violent
perpetrators themselves. In the following section, I have
summarized the process of violentization as Richard
Rhodes describes it in Why They Kill, the biography of
Lonnie Athens, whom Richard Rhodes calls "a maverick
criminologist."

1. The Brutalisation Stage

A. This is the stage in which the subject is first forced into subjugation by a member of
his/her primary group.
1.Violent subjugation: the subject must comply with an order or face physical or verbal
force, up to and including violence. In coercion, the violence ends upon submission. In
retaliation, the violence does not end upon submission, the authority figure continues with
the violence to gain long-term submission and/or respect. Athens speaks of this as denying
the "precious luxury" of "choosing when to end the assault by submitting."
2.Personal horrification: the subject must experience the violent subjugation of a member of
his/her primary group --- "mother, sister or brother or a very close friend." Builds conflict in
that the subject begins to feel guilt behind the helplessness.
3.Violent coaching: someone appoints himself/herself as the coach who insists that the
subject must defend himself/herself, depend only on himself/herself, and that it is their
"personal responsibility which they cannot evade, but must discharge regardless of whether
they are a man or a woman, young or old, large or small, or what their prior beliefs . . .
about hurting others may have been.

Violent Coaching.
Means of coaching vary, and there may be more than one coach
at a time.
Coaching methods include:
Vainglorification, which glorifies violence through storytelling
Ridicule, which promotes violence through belittling and
derision.
Coercion. Some coaches threaten novices not with
psychological punishment, as in ridicule, but with physical
punishment. Stand up and fight, or I'll beat you myself.

Stage 2. The Belligerency Stage:

Takes personal responsibility for stopping the brutalization.
"Why have I not done anything to stop my own and my intimates' violent subjugation?"
"His problem finally becomes fully crystallized in his mind, " Athens comments. The
subject understands clearly for the first time that he must find a way to stop people from
brutalizing him. . . .It is as if the subject . . . has only now heard what his coach had been
telling him all along: Resorting to violence is sometimes necessary in this world."
An Emotionally-laden step.
"For the brutalized subject to determine for the first time in his life 'to attack other people
physically who unduly provoke him, with the serious intention of gravely harming or even
killing them,' Athens writes, is a "deeply emotion-laden resolution."
First step is mitigated by provocation and precaution.
"The brutalized subject resolves to . . . use serious violence---but with an important
qualification: he resolves to use serious violence only if he is seriously provoked and only
if he thinks he has a chance of prevailing."
First mitigated violent resolution marks end of belligerency stage.

Stage 3. Violent Performances

Athens make clear that it takes more than a resolution to be violent.
Actual violence is frightening and dehumanizing. The subject who
makes a first violent resolution must wants to be sure that if and when
he/she is called upon to engage in violent acts that he/she will be able
to do so, and that there is some probability of outcome other than
irretrievable loss and the resultant terrible subjugation.
In initial violent performances the outcome is uncertain, the subject
himself/herself is unsure of his ability to inflict the harm his violence
coach has convinced him will end the violent subjugation. The subject
does not lightly undertaken this violent performance, for he/she
understands that if he/she is unsuccessful, the resulting subjugation
will be worse.

Athens says
'the protagonist is always a current subjugator of the
subject or of a loved one of the subject. Since the
subject is seeking to thwart either his own or a loved
one's violent subjugation, his act is one of outright
defiance against a perceived evil oppressor. If the
subject wins, oppression may cease, but he understands
that if he loses, 'his oppression may become far
harsher.' " Such a defeat could discourage the subject
from continuing on the path of violentization, or could
so deepen his belligerence and confirm him/her in that
path
Of course, if successful the individual starts to gain a

Stage 4. Virulency
At this point, the subject discovers the advantage of being "famous" even if the fame is
"notoriety." He becomes, says Athens, "overly impressed with his violent performances
and ultimately with himself in general.
1.Vainglorification
Filled with feelings of exultancy, he concludes that since he performed this violent feat,
there is no reason why he cannot perform even more impressive violent feats in the
future. The subject much too hastily draws the conclusion that he is now invincible.
Subject makes a new violent resolution.
He now firmly resolves to attack people physically with the serious intention of
gravely harming or even killing them for the slightest or no provocation
whatsoever. . . . He has suddenly been emboldened and made venomous at the same
time. . . . The subject is ready to attack people physically with the serious intention of
gravely harming or killing them with minimal or less than minimal provocation on their
part." Says Rhodes, "that is, he is ready to become an ultraviolent criminal.

Athens Theory
Any person who does ultimately complete the virulency stage,
and consequently the entire experiential process, will become
a dangerous violent criminal. This remains the case regardless
of the social class, race, sex or age and intelligence of people,
as long as their degree of mental and physical competence is
sufficient for them to perform a a violent criminal act
Problems?
Criticisms of the model those of Athens method (interpretivist
and symbolic interactionist) Too causal, too simplistic and
linear people change, in complex ways.
Full criticisms see ODonnell in British Journal of Criminology.

What Do you think of Violentisation?

In pairs discuss these ideas
Do you think violentisation works as a model or is it
tautological and circular reasoning?
Can you find cases that support violentisation?
Does it work as a theory, or is it problematic?
What other models may work, what does the theory
neglect?
Is it not too individualistic?

Case Studies Robert Stewart

Robert Stewart Killed Assian
Cellmate Zahid Mubarek in
Feltham
His lack of concern for other
people or for the consequences
of his actions meant that he was
not constrained by the things
which would restrain a normal
person. At his trial, he said that
he just felt like attacking Zahid.
Perhaps it was as simple as
that (Report of Mubarak
Inquiry, 2006).

Questions - Tasks
How does focus on Stewart hide the systematic and wider problems of
violence How would you use Zizeks ideas to support a theoretical
explanation of this?
To what extent can we say that Stewart was created by social conditions
is it fair to suggest that he was almost destined to Kill?
Can we say that there is such a thing as Evil, Was Robert Stewart evil or
even made evil? (we will return to this theme)
To what extent can you apply Lonnie Athens theoretical model to Stewart?
What do you make of Dave Gadds attempts to explain Stewart?
It has been claimed by David Wilson in Death at the hands of the state
that the murder rate in prison is far higher than that in the community
why do you think that could be?

Background
Murder is an offence under the Common
Law of England and Wales, defined as An
unlawful killing of a reasonable person in
being under the Queen's peace with malice
aforethought express or implied
Today going to look at the case of Royal
Marine Commando Alexander Blackman.
You may have heard of him, but I want to
consider that case in more detail.

What Happened?
Marines involved in
operation Herrick Afghanistan.
A British citizen is
punishable by the law of
England and Wales
wherever committed see
R v Page [1954] 1 QB 170.

http://bcove.me/av6ozssl

Court Martial System

Appeal states Marine A could have
been tried in a civilian court. However
the decision was made that the he and
the other marines should be
prosecuted under the Court Martial
system
Under s.155 a Court Martial comprises
a Judge Advocate and between at least
three but no more than seven other
persons known as lay members. The
Act proscribes the qualification for
those other members who are officers
or warrant officers.

Is this a jury of Peers more or less

than Civilian court?

Background
An Apache helicopter from Camp Bastion attacks two
insurgents in an open field. The helicopter fired a total of 139
30mm rounds at one insurgent. Those watching the operation,
including the pilot thought that he could not have survived.
The Royal Marines sent to do battle Assessment. They located
the injured man, his AK 47, two magazines and a hand
grenade.
In September 2012, during an investigation into an unrelated
matter the military police found on a computer a video
recording of the incident that had taken place on 15
September 2011.

Did the Marines Murder the

Insurgent?
The doctrine of common purpose, common design, joint enterprise,
or joint criminal enterprise is a legal doctrine in some common law
jurisdictions that imputes criminal liability on the participants to a
criminal enterprise for all that results from that enterprise.
A common incidence of the application of the rule is to impute
criminal liability; for example assaulting a person with a knife on all
the participants to a fight who knew or were reckless as to knowing
that one of their number had a knife and might use it, even when
the imputed participants did not actually have knives themselves.
If the Marines involved were young, black men in Birmingham, the
Joint Enterprise doctrine would likely have been used.

Courts
On 8 November 2013 the Court Martial found the appellant guilty of
murder but acquitted two other lower rank Marines (known as B and
C).
On 6 December 2013 the Court Martial sentenced the Blackman to
life imprisonment with a minimum term of 10 years reduction to the
ranks and dismissal with disgrace from the Armed Forces. This has
now been reduced on appeal to 8 years.
The case has proved controversial, and a great deal of support has
been given to Blackman, marches, social media campaigns, backing
of public figures and celebrities an interesting departure from the
normal condemnation that occurs in the context of murder.
Why?

His Honour Judge Jeff Blackett

The Judge Advocate General
Some suggest it is legitimate to kill wounded enemy
combatants because, as you said after you shot the
insurgent, it is nothing they wouldnt do to British
casualties. Those commentators are very wrong: if the
British Armed Forces are not assiduous in complying
with the laws of armed conflict and international
humanitarian law they would become no better than the
insurgents and terrorists they are fighting.
Of course sitting in a court room in middle England is a
far cry from the brutality of the conflict in Afghanistan,
but you have been judged here by a Board made up of
Service personnel who understand operational service

But what of Alexander Blackman the man?

He had spent 15 years in the Royal
Marines.
Exceptional qualities during six
operational tours of duty including Iraq
and Afghanistan. An outstanding
commander of his post.
His resilience had been compromised,
bereavement following his fathers death
and symptoms of a combat stress
disorder.

Blackman case
Different attitudes exist towards murder, complex
questions about culpability and context. In this session
I have looked specifically at the socio-cultural context,
rather than individual factors.
The way murder, and Homicide are socially constructed
I(for more on this see textbooks by the likes of Ray
(2011) or Brookman (2006).
Looked at different explanations for Homicide, some
cases of Homicide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wF0jb6M0J0