SOC101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Media Reform, Labeling Theory, Prison Break
Document Summary
Three big questions organizing the study of crime. And more recently, a third one has emerged and is gaining in importance. Studying crime and deviance is studying normal, studying society"s expectations. Taking the boundaries of acceptability as an object of inquiry instead of taken-for-granted. The criminal code defines crime as: the intentional violation of criminal law without defense and without excuse. There are 4 components of the criminal code: Politicality: laws are enacted by the legislature, that is, people who are elected. Looking at what is legal/illegal is part of the political process. (social movements, lobbyists, and political groups will attempt to change laws, take them away, or come up with new ones. Specificity: sets out, to the point, exactly what is a crime and what isn"t a crime. It"s the idea of due process", to balance your rights, and o make sure that there are many procedures that the system needs to go through to prove guilt.
