1.2 Flashcards

Question

how have gun laws changed over time

Answer 1

In the UK, laws governing access to firearms changed following two mass shootings Most of the weapons used were legally held! As a result, the law was tightened in 1997. The government introduced an act banning all handguns It is now illegal to own a handgun in Great Britain

Answer 2

The Gun Control Network- set up by lawyers, academics and parents of victims to campaign for tighter gun control laws The Snowdrop Campaign- started by bereaved Dunblane parents and their friends, organised a petition and collected 750,000 signatures calling for a change in the law

Answer 3

In 1987, Michael Ryan, an unemployed antique dealer, shot and killed 16 people in Hungerford, Berkshire. In 1996, 16 children and one teacher were shot dead at Dunblane primary school near Stirling in Scotland by Thomas Hamilton, an unemployed scout leader

Answer 4

The practice of executing someone as punishment for a specific crime after a proper legal trial

Answer 5

In the 18th Century there were over 200 crimes that were punishable by death Laws were made by the rich to protect themselves and their property. In 1908, the Children Act 1908 banned the execution of juveniles under the age of 16 the murder Act 1965 suspended the death penalty in Great Britain (but not in Northern Ireland) The death penalty for murder was abolished in Northern Ireland on 25 July 1973

Answer 6

Views on the poor changed along with society – welfare, education and health The changing in social status and views on social groups within society and increased rights under the law provided for change Various key cases highlighting miscarriages of Justice and defences to murder promoted the change from death to prison

Answer 7

Derek Bentley hanged on 28th Jan 1953 aged 19 Bentley was sentenced to death on 11 December for killing Pc Miles during a bungled break-in at a warehouse in Croydon, Surrey.

Answer 8

In British Society today, the dominant idea of childhood is of a special time of happiness. We see children as fundamentally different from adults

Answer 9

The law often made no distinction between children and adults, and children could face the same severe punishments as those handed out to adults. Over time, the idea of childhood as a sperate stage in life gradually developed and society became more ‘child centred’

Answer 10

The 19th Century saw a radical attitude change towards children Law changes – The Factory Act’s – throughout the 1800’s saw children's working conditions improving Social concern about children on the streets and being exploited by predatory adults (Pickpockets, beggars, prostitutes) saw legislations protecting children emerging 1867 Thomas Bernardo opened his first children's home 1889 NSPCC was set up 1870 Mass education for 5–12-year-olds was set up and made compulsory in 1880

Answer 11

How laws are applied differently according to circumstances in which actions occur

Answer 12

In theory, the law is applied equally to everyone: two different people suspected of the same crime should be treated in the same way by the justice system

Answer 13

moral panic typification situational factors

Answer 14

Those convicted of relatively minor offences committed during the London riots of 2011, such as theft, were more likely to receive custodial sentences than similar cases committed under ‘normal’ circumstances

Answer 15

the work of Chambliss: Chambliss studied 2 groups of youths, the middle-class ‘Saints’ and the working-class ‘Roughnecks’. He found that, while both groups committed offences, the police enforced the law more strictly against the Roughnecks. Chambliss’s supported the work of Cicourel who argued that police hold typification's – ideas of the typical criminal

Answer 16

Piliavin and Briar found that ‘situational factors’ play a large part in police officers’ decisions to stop and arrest a person. These include the individual’s class, ethnicity, age, attitude towards the officer, and place and time of day or night. Thus, two different individuals can commit the same offence but one may be more likely to be arrested than the other

Answer 17

It is the minimum age at which a person is legally considered capable of committing a crime

Answer 18

They are considered not to fully understand the consequences of their actions and cannot be held responsible in the same way as adults

Answer 19

Through separate, less formal courts that do not allow public attendance

Answer 20

Special magistrates' courts that hear cases involving individuals aged 10 to 17

Answer 21

The Homicide Act 1957

Answer 22

Diminished responsibility, loss of control, and automatism

Answer 23

A defence where a defendant's mental condition substantially impairs their ability to understand their actions or make rational judgments, reducing the charge to manslaughter

Answer 24

A partial defence that can reduce a murder charge to manslaughter if the defendant acted out of significant emotional disturbance

Answer 25

A defence used when a defendant's actions were involuntary, meaning they had no conscious control over their behaviour

1.2 Flashcards

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