Insanity Defense: Psychopaths

I wanted to share this before we discussed the prison side of the criminal justice system. It's only tangentially related, so I didn't post it as additional reading. I think the article is a good read regardless.

How to spot a psychopath:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/21/jon-ronson-how-to-spot-a-psychopath

"I wondered if sometimes the difference between a psychopath in Broadmoor and a psychopath on Wall Street was the luck of being born into a stable, rich family."

7/5 Prisons

Tuesday July 5th, 6:30pm
MU Student Center 2200

Workings of the U.S. Prison System:

The United States Prison System

http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/00342/The%20Prison%20System.html

Summary of the Findings by the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons

http://prisoncommission.org/pdfs/prison_commission_summary.pdf

Solitary Confinement and its Effects

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande

Masked Racism

http://colorlines.com/archives/1998/09/masked_racism_reflections_on_the_prison_industrial_complex.html

Disproportionate Incarceration of Young Black Women

http://ethnoblog.newamericamedia.org/2011/03/in-post-racial-america-prisons-feast-on-black-girls-1.php

SCOTUS Ruling on Overcrowding in CA Prisons

http://abovethelaw.com/2011/05/supreme-court-upholds-order-requiring-release-of-thousands-of-prisoners/

America’s Addiction to Incarceration

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-slovick/addicted-to-incarceration_b_868473.html

Conditions Vary between Lifers and Death Row Inmates

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11179/1156707-53.stm

Alternatives:

Problem-Solving Courts:

http://www.nadcp.org/learn/what-are-drug-courts/models/problem-solving-courts

Drug Courts:

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/campaign/166311-drug-courts-save-lives-tax-dollars

10 Alternatives:

http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/15/prison-justice-alternatives_cx_rd_06slate_0418alter.html

Norwegian Prison System

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1986002,00.html

Flogging?

http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/06/20/flogging_interview

Prison Vouchers

http://volokh.com/2011/05/31/prison-vouchers/

6/28 Controversies in Art

Tuesday 6/28, 6:30pm
MU Student Center 2200 (study rooms near traditions lounge)

Controversies in Art

Ethics of buying and selling art:
http://thegazette.com/2011/03/28/art-experts-break-down-pollock-controversy/
http://www.jrank.org/history/pages/6579/Trafficking-In-Antiquities.html

Cultural and jurisdictional ownership rights:
http://gogreece.about.com/od/museumsingreec1/i/marblereturn.htm
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,447136,00.html

Gender and culture concerns:
http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/02/01/where-are-the-women-in-googles-art-project/
http://paintingsgalleries.blogspot.com/2010/10/artists-painting-beauty-of-women-figure.html


The implications of forgeries:
http://www.archaeology.org/0101/abstracts/goddess.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,768195,00.html

What is Art?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkteNuJepzU
http://www.philosophytalk.org/pas

6/21 Drug Decriminalization

Drug Decriminalization
June 21st, 6:30pm, MU Student Center Traditions Lounge

There are a lot of articles here, so just read what you have time for. Try to balance the pro & con opinions to get both sides.

Commentary on the 40 year Anniversary of America's War on Drugs
Jimmy Carter
White House National Drug Control Policy
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Tax and Fiscal Issues
Obama: Legalizing Pot Won't Grow Economy
Social Cost vs. Government Spending
Pro/Con

Central American Crime
America's Third World
Guatemala's State of Siege
Myths about Mexico's Drug War

Health
UN Backs Decriminalization
Portugal
Harmful Health Effects

US Policy
US Congressman Backs Marijuana Legalization
Don't Legalize Drugs

2011 Summer Update

The Social Justice Reading Group (or Just Read if you love puns) is happening again! Bring it on, summer 2011. For those new to the group, our philosophy is pretty simple: respect for all viewpoints. We're all coming from different places and educational backgrounds and we will disagree sometimes- which is part of the fun. If something offends or upsets you, try to address that in discussion to give everyone a chance to clarify their position.

A note on the format: SJRG is not a book club for two reasons. The first is cost, it gets expensive to require all the members to buy books. The second is sustainability. We can cut down on the environmental impact by passing along books after we read them. On that note... we're also doing book swaps this summer. Anytime you have a book you want to lend out, bring it to a meeting!

Meetings will be every Tuesday at 6:30pm, location TBD (but probably the MU Student Center).