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#YANG, SoYoung
ReplyDelete[Gov’t must pay torture victim, family $5.8 million]
-The article shows that sometimes, especially under a politically unstable/dictatorial government, there may be abuses of authority even in the court, where the course of justice have to be practiced. And it results in irretrievable damages to those falsely accused(it's like the scarlet letter to them. Who can compensate for the damages enough?). That is, calling someone criminal should be the last action after enough and careful investigation and considerations.
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The Seoul Central District Court ruled yesterday the Korean government must pay 6.8 billion won ($5.8 million) in compensation to the family of Bae Gyeong-ok, 71, who has been acquitted after serving nearly 21 years in prison on charges of assisting a relative, Lee Su-geun, in a spy case.
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-http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2914533
(There were some typos in the prior comments that I had to delete them.)
ReplyDeleteJiHye Kang
"Homeless woman accused of killing her second baby"
In the article, the homeless woman (Kim) suffocated the baby to death. She has already served a year in prison for the same crime back in 90s. And she has committed the same crime again.
According to theories in the reading, humans, including criminals, are the rational beings and they go through their own decision-making process before they commit a crime. However, not everyone is equally rational. Rather, as rational choice and routine activities theorists agree, some people assumed to have a limited rationality. It made me curious if we can also say this woman is rational; Kim killed the baby again when she could have expected the consequences maybe better than others. Plus, it seems that she went through own decision-making process because she confessed she killed the baby because she was not confident about raising a child by herself. Police officer in charge even said that she looked completely “sane” during questioning. It is true that she made her own decision to kill the baby based on own reason and that Kim was a free actor when she committed a crime. But I realized that this is where the limited rationality applies to. Considering Kim’s history of the same crime and possibility of having mental issues (postpartum psychosis), she might not be purely rational. It does not matter whether she “looked” normal or not. For example, psychopaths, who have become the major social problems in Korea recently, look perfectly normal just like us.
The question is whether the other circumstances such as her economic situation, social status and psychological issues should be considered when comparing with other offenders of the same crime. Kim was not indicted yet and her economic circumstances and mental problems have not been considered at all so far. In this case, it seems that police is taking the “law and order” approach. They are focusing only on the surface: crime itself, infanticide, and the fact it is her who did it. Police is not even planning to give her a chance to be interviewed by the psychiatrist. Police judged her as a perfectly sane murderer because she looked so in questioning. Personally, it only looks like a nice way to get a warrant and indict her easily. It is a favorable situation for Police because she has confessed and she is a recidivist. However, killing a baby twice is not common. Something must be behind it. I think depriving her of a chance to be examined by a psychiatrist, when she has a history and could be reasonably assumed to have mental issues, is violation of due process: she is taken away the chance to be proven “less” guilty.
(continued)
ReplyDeleteThe position of neoclassicism was once criticized due to its excessive discretion. And that’s where the “justice” theory took on. However, unlike U.S., Korean legal system is based on the written law. Judges should make a decision according to the statutes. Therefore, there is little chance that the decision will be arbitrary or excessively discretionary. Korean penal code set only max sentence for infanticide: 10 years of incapacitation. There is no choice of rehabilitation. Nevertheless, the fact that Kim was sentenced to only one year in prison before implies that the judge took her circumstances (economic difficulty, possible mental issues, difficulty of raising a child without dad in Korean society and so forth) into consideration. Judge might have thought one year of confinement would solve the matter but it has failed. As in the reading, several key factors of justice theory have failed. One of the examples is incapacitation and its failure also can be seen in this case. It did not fix the problem. Perhaps what she really needed was rehabilitation not confinement. Consequently, Korean penal code on infanticide which aims to realize the justice in the society has recreated itself to be a means of injustice by denying a chance of rehabilitation. I think this case proves that incapacitation, especially when it comes to matters related to mental issues, should not be the solution. Likewise, justice theory may be an efficient solution to certain kinds of crimes but it cannot be the panacea for all. Even though excessive discretion and arbitrary sentencing should not be accepted, there should be reasonable consideration and recognition in difference among individuals. I do not think accepting the difference would not change the fact that she is a criminal. She cannot take back what she has already done. However recognizing the difference in sentencing might be more efficient means of deterrence, preventing a criminal to commit the same crime again in the future. Like in this case, if Kim had had proper help for her mental issues, she might have not become a criminal again.
While first reading of this article, I noticed the issue of rationality. But as I read more, I found out there are many more related to this one case than I first thought.
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A woman who allegedly killed her baby after giving birth in a Seoul motel is under arrest and will be detained after police secure a warrant.
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http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2917366
KIM Gayoung
ReplyDelete'Black Box' Triggers Debate on Privacy
I heard about this news on the radio while having dinner this evening. Actually this is not directly related to the concept of crime, but I would like to focus on "VALUE".
In this article, two different important values are presented. The first one is the safety. Taxi companies say that because the black box records speeding ups etc., the device is useful in reducing accidents. The other is the right of the people in the cab, both the driver and the passengers. Some drivers complained that they feel uncomfortable with the presence of black box. They don't want to be watched by the company. Passengers also say that they want to avoid getting in a taxi with a black box because of their privacy.
I think that we should put more values to safety and the life of each one of us, if I have to stand on only one side. If drivers know that everything inside the cab is recorded, they would try to be a good driver. Passengers also would be careful about their behavior with the awareness of the device's presence.(Some impolite passengers, they sometimes attack the driver making him or her difficult to concentrating driving.)
However, it's not easy to say that something is more valuable than some other thing as we have different standards of evaluating and the these values can have different meanings according to the circumstances. That's why we need some kind of fixed regulations or detailed rules for common good just like in this case. For example, only investigation-related authorities can see the recorded contents in the black box and anyone who use it as a posting material-when according to the radio news, this was what people were worrying about-should be punished for violating portrait rights.
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A growing number of taxis are installing "black boxes,'' or sophisticated surveillance cameras, on top of rear view mirrors to record conversations with passengers. The gadgets also record the speed and driving records of the vehicles, providing decisive data for the settlements of disputes over car accidents.
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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/02/117_39034.html
1. Yoon Young Kang
ReplyDelete2. Teenager Found Dead, Police Search for Rapist
3. I heard about this news yesterday. Child rape is a very serious offense - yet its relatively light punishment always seems to leave the society even more shocked than the crime itself, as proven in the case of Cho Doo Soon who had brutally raped a 8-year-old girl. When it is followed by the murder of the victim, it would cause even more problems besides the increased gravity of the crime - such as increasing the anger and sense of social insecurity. The murder of two girls, Ye Seul Woo and Hye Jin Lee in 2008 shocked the Korean society, and so would this case. I wondered if heavier punishment could decrease the number of this type of crime - or at least, ease social insecurity.
What would prevent child rape and murder?
Would heavier punishment work?
What would be the proper conpensation for the victim's family?
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A 13-year-old middle school girl in Busan who went missing 11 days was found dead on Saturday in a water tank 100 meters (328 feet) from her home.
Police are searching for 33-year-old Kim Kil-tae, a convicted rapist, in connection with the killing.
Kim Hui-wung, an investigator in charge of the case at Busan’s Sasang Police Precinct, said an initial post-mortem examination has uncovered physical evidence that victim Lee Yu-ri was raped and strangled.
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http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2917513
1. Hyun-Kyung Park
ReplyDelete2. Preventing child sex crimes
3. Min-sik Park of Congress criticized armchair debates and suggested chemical castration, today(03/09/2010). Child sexual abuse is a hot issue recently. This article is about the issue, child sex crime. Consideration about introducing a criminal DNA bank and chemical castration is based on the idea that sex crime is related to biological factors.
Is this measure(chemical castration) effective to "prevent" molest?
(It is no good working after crime.)
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(continued)
ReplyDelete4. This time, we must hold onto our anger over Na-young’s case and not let it subside like we have in the past. Appropriate legal measures should be mapped out to deter sexual abuse against children. Authorities need to take all possible moves to scare sexual molesters, showing that they will eventually be caught and pay a harsh price for committing wrongdoings. Extending the statute of limitations for child sex offenders until the victim becomes an adult and bringing more psychologists to police stations to induce crucial testimonies could go a long way in helping. Also, the government needs to introduce a criminal DNA bank as soon as possible. Although there are valid human rights questions about such a move, it would be an effective measure to stem this growing problem.
Limited resources and budgets also hinder police from tackling this issue head-on. The government needs to change related laws to allow the courts to hand down heavier sentences. And these sex offenders should not be given the options of paroles or pardons. The government also needs to consider introducing a bill that would make sex offenders undergo chemical castration, similar to the laws in some other countries.
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5. http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2910984
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete1. Hye sung So
ReplyDelete2. Police seek warrant to arrest son in parricide case.
3.The parents of a 24 year-old student are found dead in their home after a domestic dispute. The father, a 51 year-old government official was found dead in his home after being struck with a blunt instrument to the head. The mother was found beaten to death with another weapon found by police later that day. Police caught up with the 24 year-old student ,who later confessed to killing his parents after evidence were presented to him.
The first time I viewed this case, I tried to look at the case from the defendant's point of view. Of course there are times we have troubles with our parents. When I got into an argument with my father, I also imagine doing violent things to him as well. In this particular case the difference between me and him is the point of classical theory. Most people are afraid of killing someone, but the defendant in this case clearly was too calm about the situation. I never understood if he accidentally killed his parents then why wouldn't he call the police. No one knows what his family life was like, but his mind was filled with anger and rage. A mind filled with a lot of anger is unable to think rationally about his actions and the consequences of his actions. I believe a further investigation is needed in order to determine what led up to the argument.
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4. Police in Yeongam Country, South Jeolla, yesterday requested an arrest warrant for a 24 year-old college senior surnamed Kim for alleged parricide. Kim allegedly killed his father, 51, with a blunt instrument during a dispute on Christmas Eve. He is accused of later killing his mother as he tried to cover up his deed.
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http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2914632