Child Abuse

1.         When I think of child abuse I, as I think most people do, immediately think of an adult physically hitting a child.  However, I also realize that there are other forms of abuse aside from actually hitting someone.  Essentially, though, I think child abuse to be mistreating a child through physical, sexual, or emotional means.

            I realize actually, from talking with friends growing up, that there is a debate at whether spanking is child abuse or not - or rather, at the time whether we thought it was "right,'' or acceptable.  I personally don't believe spanking a child for doing something wrong to be child abuse, so long as the spanker doesn't truly hurt the spanked.  I guess what differentiates spanking as being "okay" or abuse is how hard the spanking is.  There's a difference between spanking a child and hitting a child.  So if a parent spanks their child to steer them away from doing something wrong or bad, I think that's acceptable and allowable, but when a parent passes that threshold and hits their child to teach them a lesson, I don't believe that to be acceptable or allowable.  Though I will also add, that I realize the line I've drawn is a thin one which can and is crossed often.

            Since everyone has their own views on this, it's hard to say for sure what should concern the public or not.  Even spanking is considered by some as unacceptable in public areas - some even altogether.  However, I fall back to what I mentioned earlier in that I believe there is a difference between spanking and hitting.  So I do believe that parents should be allowed to punish their children in public without being chastised for it.  One of the points for this would be that if a parent doesn't punish their child for doing something bad at the time that it is committed and instead at a later time, say back home while not in public, it can led the child to confusion.  They did whatever bad deed they did and had no repercussions, but then when they were alone with their parent, they were punished for seemingly, to them, no reason.  I think spanking is an acceptable form of public punishment, but hitting your child is not.

2.         Any person who violates the Nebraska Child Pornography Prevention Act, which is comprised of sections 28-1463.01-.05 of the Nebraska Revised Statute, and is under nineteen years of age is guilty of a Class III felony.  If the person is over nineteen years of age, they are guilty of a Class ID felony, ad repeat offenders are guilty of a Class IC felony.  In addition, if one under the age of nineteen caught with such possessions, they are guilty of a Class IIIA felony, while those above the age of nineteen are guilty of a Class III felony.  In addition, if they are repeat offenders, they are charged with a Class IC felony.  These offenders can face up to 20 years in jail and possibly a fine.  In addition, they need to register as a sex offender.

            Nebraska, in 2009, passed legislation about teenage sexting.  Those under the age of 18 will not be punished by receiving a sexually explicit image of a minor if such minor was at least 15 years of age and voluntarily created the image.  Also the receiver may not distribute such an image to others.  If they do, they will be punished.  In addition, if minors are currently engaged in sexual activity in the images, then both parties will be punished regardless as to whether it was distributed or not.

            Sexting is the sending of sexually explicit messages and/or pictures from one person to another via cell phones.  I think that if the sexting involves child pornography, then yes, both parties should be punished to varying degrees.  Depending on their ages, they, in the grand scheme of things, don't know what they're doing.  Or so at least I'd like to believe.  However, if the sexting is between two adults who are in a relationship with each other, I don't feel like anything needs to be done - meaning I don't think they need to be punished for it.

http://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/browse-chapters.php?chapter=28

                (28-1463.01 through 28-1463.05)

http://mobilemediaguard.com/states/sexting_laws_nebraska.html

3.         This case deals with a child who, after school, was dropped off by the bus driver roughly 15 miles away from his house.  A construction worker happened to see the boy walking and crying and so the worker called his mother who came and got him.  The bus driver, however, said that the child was not on his student list and that he was going to the kid's grandfather's house to drop him off.  Apparently there was a short phone conversation with the bus driver and his boss who told the driver to leave the kid at the last stop, causing the kid to walk home.  This misdemeanor led to the bus driver being put on administrative leave while his boss got fired.

            For better or for worse, this article didn't affect me all that much.  I believe this to be because that this case turned out to have a relatively happy ending.  The child ended up being fine and action was taken against the two involved with leaving the child so far away from home.

http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/jury-to-hear-nebraska-city-bus-driver-s-child-abuse/article_a2802616-f13c-59a9-aff4-22bafd629434.html

4.         One of the more popular fairly recent movies about child abuse is Precious, which is based upon a book called "Push."  This story revolves around a girl who goes by Precious, her middle name, and is constantly being physically and emotionally abused by her mother and has been raped by her father throughout her life.  Although her mother doesn't think school will do Precious any good, Precious gets transferred to an alternative school where she finds hope for herself to get out of her horrible situation.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/

                There is a book that captures, startlingly well, one of the most severe child abuse cases known to California: A Child Called "It."  This book tells the tale of a child who grew up with a very abusive mother who not only beat, but starved him.  She considered him her slave and an "it," instead of a boy who was her son.  With torn and smelly clothing and living conditions, this child kept alive by playing his mothers games and dreaming of finding a family that would love him.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60748.A_Child_Called_It_

Murder and Homicide

1.         Basically homicide is when one person kills another person.  Murder, however, needs the intent to kill another human.  So both involve the killing of an individual, but the separating factor is if there is any intent to kill or not.  If there is, it is murder; if there is not, it is a homicide.

            From looking around there seem to be several categories for each (murder and homicide), and even more is that they seem to overlap to some extent.  It appears, however, that the three main categories for homicide are justifiable, excusable, and criminal.  Within criminal homicide, there are murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide.  Murder is also broken down into the first and second degrees, as manslaughter is broken down into voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.  For murder, there are several categories such as felony, capital, vehicular homicide, and justifiable homicide.

2.         I found an article about a Matthew Hinrichsen who was charged with two accounts of first degree murder, two accounts of use of a firearm in a felony, and arson.  All of this was from when he burned down a mobile home with a Victoria "Vickie" Lee and Gabino Alex Vargas inside, who both died as a result.  Vickie was an ex-girlfriend of Matthew and they had reportedly had some trouble in their relationship.  The articles mainly focused on how Vickie was an outstanding citizen who worked hard and diligently to help her community.  She had many friends who spoke well of her and thought that what happened was a tragedy.  Other than that, the information given is mostly in a matter-of-factly manner, giving information on what happened and who all was involved.  Unfortunately, after quite some time searching for an article on what he was actually convicted on, I couldn't find out.  The last date in the online news was on January 21st.

http://www.ktiv.com/story/20314893/2012/12/11/nebraska-man-accused-of-a-double-murer-makes-his-intital-court-appearance-this-afternoon-matthew-hinrichsen

http://www.southwestiowanews.com/council_bluffs/news/former-mo-valley-resident-council-member-killed/article_b1c40666-3319-57b0-b91e-c105d1daa20d.html

http://www.nelighnews.com/news/article_f5b9f414-43cf-11e2-946f-001a4bcf6878.html

http://www.nelighnews.com/news/article_391c1df8-63ed-11e2-94e9-001a4bcf6878.html

3.         Of course murder and homicide are subjects of many different forms of stories.  For instance, one book, Along Came A Spider, deals with an individual, Gary Soneji, who is a psychopathic serial murderer.  He has quite the history of murders and plans to do more despite being targeted by virtually everyone, including the Secret Service.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13145.Along_Came_a_Spider

            A movie popped into my head for another case about this topic: Se7en.  This story revolves around two homicide detectives trying to catch a serial killer who is murdering his victims in line with the seven deadly sins.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/

Mob Violence

1.         Mob violence is violence acted upon by a mob, which is an out of control crowd usually acting on emotion.  Another definition found is related strongly to mob violence, in the form of a riot: a disturbance of the peace by several persons, assembled and acting with a common intent in executing a lawful or unlawful enterprise in a violent and turbulent manner.  (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Mob+violence)  Two examples include rioting and lynching.

            It exists because groups of people gather, forming a crowd, and then an individual, or group of individuals, triggers the crowd to act out violently because of emotions that now loosely unites the mob together.  People have and probably always will have at least some type of problem with each other and when this dislike or hatred is brought out in a crowd setting, it can turn into something very dangerous.

2.         At its heart, this story, from 1919 in Omaha, Nebraska, revolves around an African American, named Will Brown, who was accused of assaulting a Caucasian woman, Agnes Loebeck.  Brown was shortly later stripped, beaten, shot, dragged, hanged, and burned by a large mob estimated being anywhere from roughly 5,000 people to roughly 15,000 people.  Two other people were killed in the turmoil: a 34-year-old businessman, and a 16-year-old "leader of the mob."

            During this time period, race riots were happening all over the place and it was not necessarily out of the ordinary - or at the very least not surprising when they happened.  There were multiple theories as to how the mob was truly formed.  Many believed that it was actually organized in the shadows by those vying for power and control in and over the city.  Others believe that it was several teenagers who initially started the riot and it essentially snowballed to what it became.  It appears that whether or not the Bee (a newspaper company and also suspected, though not proven, to be one of the ones who may have organized the riot from the shadows) had anything to do directly with the riot, its contents egged on those participating in the riot.

            After the army had finally appeared and gotten the city under control, they began to investigate what had transpired.  Even though around 300 people being taken in for questioning, they were all released soon thereafter and nothing was done to any suspects.  However, the people's faith in the police department of the city diminished despite efforts after the fact by the police department to swell its ranks and gather riot equipment.

http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0700/frameset_reset.html?http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0700/stories/0701_0134.html

3.         This first source is a book that deals with lynching, something found in relative abundance in the south.  However, this book instead focuses in all areas outside the south, giving a broader view of how lynching occurred throughout America.  Although it's a collection of essays, it brings to light that such events weren't confined to the south and that people of all races were victims of lynching.  The book also showed the distinctions between the different areas such as the West and Midwest.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/listing/2688735275993?r=1&cm_mmca2=pla&cm_mmc=GooglePLA-_-Book_25To44-_-Q000000633-_-2688735275993

            The second book I found dealt with the span of 1949 to 1951, focusing on how mob violence was the center of journalism and also the movie industry.  The book recites many different riots that happened and the reactions of the newspapers at the time.  It also showed how the people in the film industry used these happenings as bases for their own material.

http://www.google.com/shopping/product/6469247183651066542?q=Books%20about%20Mob%20Violence&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&biw=1600&bih=799&sa=X&ei=J09GUeLgEbTJ4AP5uoGoBg&ved=0CJUBEPMCMAc

Sexual Assault

1.         The total population of the state is 1,842,641 and there were 695 reported forced rape incidences.

2.         The limitations for Nebraska are as follows: For all felonies, indictment must be found by a grand jury within three years after the commission of the offense, unless a complaint is filed within this same time period and a warrant for arrest of the defendant has been issued.  For all misdemeanors and other things below felonies, indictment within one year and six months.  However, for all misdemeanors of fines no more than $100 and three months imprisonment, there is one year after the offense.  For sexually explicit conduct, there is a seven year period after either the offense or after the victim's 16th birthday, unless a complaint is filed and a warrant for arrest issued within the same time period.  There are no limitations, however, for sexual assaults, of children or otherwise, in the first and second degrees, or of children in the third degree.  There are also no limitations for incest and sexual assault in the third degree if the victim is under 16 when the offense is committed.

3.         For Nebraska there is no set law in place for rape, however there are multiple statutes on sexual assault in various forms that, in essence, form a law for rape.  28-319 regards sexual assault in the first degree and states that this happens when a person sexually penetrates another without consent, who knew or should have known the victim was incapable of resisting, and when the person is at least 19 and their victim is at least 12 but younger than 16.  It is considered a Class II felony and on the second conviction must serve at least 25 years in prison.  28-319.01 is sexual assault of a child in the first degree.  This happens when the offender is at least 19 and the victim under 12, or if the offender is 25 and the victim is younger than 16 but at least 12.  One is charged with a Class IB felony and 15 years in prison on first offense, 25 years in prison on second offense.  28-320 deals with sexual assault in the second or third degree.  Once again, it is if a person has sexual contact with another without their consent, or if the offender knew or should have known that the offender was incapable of resisting.  If there is serious personal injury to the victim, it is considered second degree and is a Class III felony.  If no serious personal injury is present, it is in the third degree and is a Class I misdemeanor.  28-320.01 deals with sexual assault of a child in the second or third degree.  The offender must be at least 19 and the victim is no older than 14.  If there is personal injury, it is in the second degree and is a Class II felony for the first offense; if there is no personal injury, it is in the third degree and is a Class IIIA felony for the first offense.  Further offenses for second degree are guilty of a Class IC felony and must serve 25 years in prison.  Further offenses for third degree are guilty of a Class IC felony.  28-320.02 reports that one knowingly solicits, coaxes, entices, or lures a child, or someone believed to be a child, 16 or younger via electronic communication that violates the above mentioned sections.  If one does, they are guilty of a Class ID felony the first time, and a Class IC felony after that.  Section 28-322.02 deals with sexual penetration, as defined above, of an inmate or parolee in the first degree, which is a Class III felony.  28-322.03 speaks of secual contact, defined above, of an inmate or parolee in the second degree, which is a Class IV felony.  28-322.04 focuses on sexual abuse of protected individuals, those either working for specific places or under the protection of them.  If they are subjected to sexual penetration, it is in the first degree and is a Class III felony.  If they are subjected to sexual contact, it is in the second degree and is a Class IC felony.

http://law.justia.com/codes/nebraska/2009/Chapter28/Chapter28.html

4.         These article deal with Juneal Pratt who was convicted of raping two sisters in a downtown Omaha hotel in 1975.  However, he has always stated that he was innocent, and has some witnesses placing him at home with an injured leg at the time this happened.  A similar looking ring to one stolen from the sisters during the acts, was found on Juneal, but it is said to be a gift from Juneal's sister.  He has been in jail for several decades now and still maintains his innocence, constantly trying to get DNA tests done to prove such, but nothing has yet been done to put these tests in motion.

http://www.kptm.com/story/17060044/convicted-rapist-says-hes-innocent

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100113/NEWS01/701139906

5.         One of the first things to pop into mind was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  It tells of a story in which two people are hired to find out about the disappearance of a family member.  While uncovering the truth behind the disappearance, the girl with the dragon tattoo, Lisbeth, finds herself in troubling circumstances.  However, with her knowledge and technology, she was able to fight back against the man who had wronged her.

http://www.listal.com/movie/man-som-hatar-kvinnor

            Moving on to PSAs, I found a small clip from the Women Organized Against Rape website that dealt with the consequences of sexual assault.  Sexual assault was listed as a felony and stated that one could serve anywhere from 10 to 20 years in prison.

http://www.woar.org/resources/public-service-announcements.php

            I believe the second source mentioned is accurate to an extent.  It has a good broad definition and punishment for what could be done if one did such a thing which could scare them away from the act.  The movie, on the other hand, was very atypical in my mind.  The conditions in which the man took advantage of the girl was believable, but how it was handled, I don't think was accurate.  Not many, I think, could use what happened to them as blackmail in the way she did.  But, as I said, I think the act and struggle was portrayed well in the movie.

Hate Crimes in Nebraska

1.         The population reported in Nebraska is 1,478,313 with the total number of incidents reported being 36.

2.         The state of Nebraska covers everything except the training for law enforcement personnel.  Meaning that, as a list, it covers bias-motivated violence and intimidation, civil action (including rave, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, disability, and "other" [age]), institutional vandalism, and data collection.

3.         There are three sections against hate crime that sum up how it is handled in Nebraska.  The three are 28-110, 28-111, and 28-114, all put into effect 2010.  Basically, it states that one has a right to live free from violence, threats of violence, vandalism or destruction, or threats of vandalism or destruction because of numerous traits including race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability.  If one does do such an act, commit violence, vandalize, destroy, threaten, etc., then additional penalties may incur unless their offense is already punishable as a Class IB felony or higher.  The right to live free of violence among other things, and the additional punishments refer to 28-110 and 28-111 respectively.  The last, 28-114, simply says that Nebraska collects data and keeps records of such crimes.

Interestingly enough, however, this reference said that there was no statute regarding institutional vandalism, whereas the site in question two said that it was covered.  I briefly searched a few times in Google and checked the top links that came up, but I found nothing to support there being a statute for institutional vandalism in Nebraska.

4.         N/A

5.         This case happened to turn into a very complex case.  It covered the vast majority of the first few pages of Google after trying to find hate crimes in Nebraska.  A woman, Charlie Rogers, 33, who was openly gay said that she was attacked in her home in July 2012.  She said that three masked men had held her down, stripped her, tied her up, and carved antigay words into her skin before trying and failing to burn her house down.  She had escaped and gotten to her neighbors house where 911 was called and investigations started.  This, however, led to them finding inconsistencies with Rogers' story.  Her bed, where she said she was cut on, held no blood, and there were no signs of a forced entry or a struggle.  Pictures of her wounds led experts to believe that the wounds were self-inflicted.  In addition, materials for the hate crime were purchased five days before from a store that Rogers frequented.  Rogers was arrested and charged for false reporting, but she pleaded not guilty and was released.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/nebraska-lesbian-mutilated-anti-gay-hate-crime/story?id=16846781

http://www.advocate.com/crime/2012/07/24/investigation-continues-brutal-nebraska-hate-crime

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/21/justice/nebraska-hate-crime

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/21/13397580-lesbian-who-alleged-nebraska-hate-crime-charged-with-lying-about-attack?lite

6.         One of the first things to pop up when searching for movies about hate crimes was one very aptly named: Hate Crime (2005).  The story centers upon a gay couple that moves to a new neighborhood where they are not welcomed in the kindest of matters.  In particular, when their neighbor's son goes missing, the two are blamed for his disappearance and they must prove their innocence.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415833/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

            While searching for books about hate crimes, yet another movie popped up near the beginning.  This one too, for better or for worse, was titled Hate Crime (2012), but with a different kind of hate crime than the previous one.  This one focused on a Jewish family who was celebrating their youngest son's birthday when three masked men with Nazi armbands storm into their house.

http://horrorhappyhour.com/?p=17024

IPV and DV

1.         After reading the state law overview and the crimes section, I did not find any link to intimate partner violence or domestic violence.

(http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?id=235&state_code=NE)

            As instructed I went to Google and searched for "Nebraska Domestic Violence Law."  I opened the third link down and found a statute on domestic assault.

(http://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=28-323)

            There are three small sections defining this, the first with three subsections.  Basically, if a person intentionally and knowingly hurts their intimate partner, whether it be with their own hands, an object, or their voice; for instance, a threat.  Violating the first section is considered a misdemeanor, with repeated violations of the first two subsections becoming felonies.  Violating the second two sections is considered a felony.  This protects intimate partners: spouses, whether current or prior, people who have a child, regardless as to if they're married or not, and those dating.

2.         While searching for ways people can get help from abusive relationships, I came across the Nebraska Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Coalition.  They listed many resources available in the program.  Along the explanation of how the program is run and how to help there were many services listed that could help someone who may need them.  Among the services were support groups and a crisis line as well as shelters and information on both emergency transportation options as well as emergency financial assistance.

(http://ndvsac.org/resources-2/program-standards/)

3.         Looking for some information about domestic violence led me very quickly to a film about just that.  The film held many interviews with a wide array of people both drawing on their own experiences at the heart of domestic violence as well as those trying to help them and try to raise the awareness of domestic violence.  The overarching theme of the documentary was boldly stated in its title: Power and Control.

(http://www.powerandcontrolfilm.com/)

            In addition to the stories told in film, there are plenty of books about domestic violence and telling stories of those who have had unfortunate experiences with it.  Although the list could go on for quite some time, I decided to go with one that pulled from real experiences as opposed to those whose particular story was fiction.  Though perhaps these too stemmed from something more than just the mind, but the book I choose to put forth was simply and aptly named "Domestic Abuse: Our Stories."

(http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6332469-domestic-abuse)