When Killing Is a Crime / Tony Waters.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Waters, Tony, Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (252 p.)

Place of Publication:

Boulder : Lynne Rienner Publishers, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Taking another person's life is the crime for which every society reserves the strongest of punishments. But why (and when) is the act of killing sometimes defined as murder--as inexcusable--and other times considered a justifiable, or even righteous, act? Grappling with this ambiguity, Tony Waters sheds light on the sociology of murder. This innovative text draws on wide-ranging case studies of killing--from urban gangs in Washington, DC to the Salem witchcraft trials, from the "Wild West" to blood feuds in modern Albania, from dueling gentlemen to government-orchestrated mass executions to illustrate the process of criminalization. Along the way, it looks at both the microsociological level of the violent act itself and the macro level of society's reaction. When Killing Is a Crime will leave students with a clear understanding of how differences in culture, status, power, technology, and legal systems pattern violence and murder.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

CHAPTER 1 The Criminalization of Killing

CHAPTER 2 The Invention of Murder: Killing and the Law

CHAPTER 3 The Ecology of Violence: From Hurt Feelings to Fatal Blows

CHAPTER 4 Societies Respond to Killers: The Need for Catharsis and Outrage

CHAPTER 5 When the State Kills: Execution, War, and Genocide

CHAPTER 6 Understanding the Sociology of Killing

APPENDIX 1 The Statistics of Killing

APPENDIX 2 Laws and Norms About Murder

Bibliography

Index

About the Book

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 29. Jun 2022)

ISBN:

1-68585-370-6

OCLC:

1334343313