The <keyword id="20082013" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Madhya-Pradesh-High-Court" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Madhya Pradesh High Court" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Madhya Pradesh High Court">Madhya Pradesh High Court</keyword> has issued strong remarks criticizing the lenient treatment of juveniles in India, stating that the country’s legislature has failed to learn from the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case. In an order dated September 11, Justice <keyword id="23201795" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Subodh-Abhyankar" source="keywords">Subodh Abhyankar</keyword> from the <keyword id="20204219" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indore-bench" source="keywords">Indore bench</keyword> of the High Court expressed his concerns while dismissing an appeal filed by a man convicted in the rape of a four-year-old girl in 2017. The convict was 17 years old at the time of the crime and had escaped from a <keyword id="23201684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="juvenile-correction-home" source="keywords">juvenile correction home</keyword> in 2019, just six months after being sentenced. Commenting on this, the court said, "Juveniles in this country are being treated rather too leniently, and the Legislature, to the utter misfortune of the victims of such crimes, has still not learnt any lessons from the horrors of Nirbhaya." <h2>Harsh words for legislative inaction</h2>Justice Abhyankar drew attention to the overwhelming medical evidence in the case and the brutal nature of the crime, stating that the convict’s behaviour was "demonic." The court further noted the convict’s escape from the juvenile home as evidence of his dangerous mindset, saying, "He is presently at large, probably lurking in some dark corner of the street, for yet another prey, and there is nobody to stop him." The court also pointed out that despite repeated calls from constitutional courts, there has been little legislative impact since the 2012 <keyword id="21208698" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirbhaya-case" source="keywords">Nirbhaya case</keyword>, which involved the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in Delhi. The incident sparked nationwide outrage and led to demands for stricter laws to address such crimes, but the court noted that these demands have gone largely unheeded. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112654348" title="Nirbhaya Fund to Disha Act: What changes has the Indian govt implemented in response to major rape cases in the past?" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>The Nirbhaya case, which occurred in December 2012, became a turning point in India’s legal framework for dealing with sexual offences. The case led to the enactment of stricter laws, including the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. However, as highlighted by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the reforms may not have gone far enough, particularly in addressing crimes committed by juveniles. The High Court has directed that a copy of its order be sent to the Law Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi. The court’s sharp observations highlight its frustration with the current <keyword id="21532521" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Juvenile-justice" source="keywords">juvenile justice</keyword> system and its call for legislative reform to address crimes involving minors. <h2>Convict's appeal dismissed, arrest warrant issued</h2>The convict had been sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by an additional sessions judge in Indore on May 8, 2019, under the <keyword id="19898811" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Penal-Code" source="keywords">Indian Penal Code</keyword> (IPC) and the <keyword id="20156004" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="protection-of-children-from-sexual-offences" source="keywords">Protection of Children from Sexual Offences</keyword> (POCSO) Act. The lower court had ordered that he be sent to jail once he turned 21. However, after escaping the juvenile home along with seven other boys in November 2019, the convict remained at large. The High Court upheld the lower court's sentence and dismissed the convict’s appeal, ordering the issuance of a warrant for his arrest so that he can serve the remainder of his sentence.

​“Learned no lessons from Nirbhaya case”: Madhya Pradesh High Court criticises lenient treatment of crime-accused juvies in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Police said a Louisiana man shot and injured a teen girl playing hide-and-seek on his property. </li><li>The suspect told investigators that he saw "shadows outside his home," prompting him to get his gun.</li></ul>Police said this week that a Louisiana man shot a 14-year-old girl in the head as she and other kids were playing a game of hide-and-seek on his property, marking the latest in a recent string of <a href="https://www.insider.com/shootings-stand-your-ground-us-gun-culture-experts-2023-4">unprovoked shootings across the country</a> that have made headlines. Homeowner David Doyle, 58, was arrested on charges of aggravated battery, four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, and the illegal discharge of a firearm in connection to the early Sunday morning incident in the small community of Starks, Louisiana, authorities said. When deputies with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office were called to Doyle's home, they discovered the teen girl with a gunshot wound to the back of her head, officials said.Investigators found that "several juveniles were playing hide and seek in the area and were hiding on the neighbor's property," the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office <a href="https://www.cpso.com/2023/05/08/cpso-arrests-man-for-aggravated-assault-after-shooting/">said in a statement</a>. Authorities said that Doyle told investigators that he saw "shadows outside his home," prompting him to go inside and get his firearm. "He then advised detectives he went back outside and observed people running away from his property, at which time he began shooting at them and unknowingly hit the girl," the sheriff's office said. The teen victim, whose identity was not released by police, was rushed to an out-of-town hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.Doyle was arrested and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center, the sheriff's office said. Family members of the shot teenager <a href="https://www.kplctv.com/2023/05/08/starks-man-accused-shooting-14-year-old-girl-playing-hide-seek-back-head/">told KPLC 7 News</a> that the victim is recovering. The news outlet reported that the shooting happened on a dead-end road where only Doyle, the victim's family, and a relative of the victim live. The incident comes after a series of similar shootings in which several people, including teenagers, were gunned down in unprovoked attacks across the US. Last month, a 65-year-old <a href="https://www.insider.com/florida-man-65-accused-of-shooting-teen-driving-past-home-2023-5">Florida man shot and wounded a teenager who drove an ATV</a> past his property.Earlier on April 13, an 85-year-old man shot and injured <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-teen-shot-head-ringing-wrong-doorbell-kansas-ralph-yarl-2023-4">a 16-year-old Black boy in Missouri</a> when the teen mistakenly rang the wrong doorbell.Two days later, a <a href="https://www.insider.com/new-york-woman-fatally-shot-after-pulling-into-wrong-driveway-2023-4">20-year-old woman was fatally shot in New York</a> by a 65-year-old man when she pulled into the wrong driveway. On April 18, <a href="https://www.insider.com/cheerleaders-shot-after-mistakenly-got-into-wrong-car-reports-police-2023-4">two Texas high school cheerleaders were shot and injured</a> after one of them mistakenly got into the wrong car while the teens were on their way home from practice.

A Louisiana man shot a teen girl in the head as she played hide-and-seek on his property, the latest in a string of unprovoked shootings

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Georgia community wants charges brought against a group of teens in connection to an assault. </li><li>Trent Lehrkamp, 19, was dropped off at a hospital with blood-alcohol content of .46, police said. </li></ul>Members of a Georgia community are demanding justice for a 19-year-old who was hospitalized and put on a ventilator last week after an apparent assault that police had initially characterized as a "hazing."Trent Lehrkamp was dropped off at a hospital on March 21 after hanging out with a group of teens, according to an incident report from the Glynn County Police Department.When he arrived at the hospital, Lehrkamp was only breathing six times a minute and his blood-alcohol content had reached a staggering and near fatal .464, according to the police report. Police later said that he was intoxicated from a mix of alcohol and "controlled substances."Lehrkamp was also covered in spray paint and his clothes smelled like urine, police said.The Glynn County police, along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and now the FBI, said they are working to gather evidence and build a criminal case.Police said they searched an area on St. Simons Island where they believe Lehrkamp was assaulted during a party, and said they interviewed "several juveniles" in connection to the incident.The Glynn County police captain, Michael Robinson, told Insider the department is "aggressively" working to gather evidence so the district attorney can build a case against the suspects."In our society we should all have a zero tolerance for bullying and the mistreatment of others," Robinson said in a written statement. "I encourage everyone to say something if they see something. This incident may not have been brought to our attention if Trenton didn't end up in the hospital."On Sunday, police said Lehrkamp was "alert and conscious" and was cooperating with the investigation.Lehrkamp's father told police it's not the first time this group of teens had abused him. Less than a week before the incident that left him in the ICU, Lehrkamp came home covered in "WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk, and spray paint," his father told police. A few weeks before that, Lehrkamp's father told police he had to take his son to the hospital to get stitches on a cut above his eye after he had been hanging out with the same group. The hashtag #JusticeforTrent has been trending on social media as community members have accused the police department of not acting fast enough to arrest and charge the suspected assailants. A GoFundMe page was also set up to cover the teen's medical expenses and support his family. By Thursday afternoon it had raised more than $100,000."The anguish he suffered, it's sure to be a long recovery … emotionally and mentally as well," the fundraiser's organizer wrote.Correction: March 31, 2023 — An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the group of teens police suspect were involved in the assault. The story initially stated they were college students. The story has also been updated to reflect that police are now calling the incident an assault, not a hazing.

A Georgia community is demanding a group of teens face charges in connection to an assault that left a 19-year-old on a ventilator

The fear was palpable in the small town of Newport News, Virginia, on the afternoon of January 6 as <a href="https://www.insider.com/mayor-town-child-shot-teacher-dark-day-in-our-history-2023-1">reports rolled in of a shooting</a> at Richneck Elementary School.As the dust settled — the children all accounted for, the lone adult victim on her way to the hospital — the police identified an unlikely perpetrator: a <a href="https://www.insider.com/virginia-richneck-elementary-school-staff-member-injured-in-shooting-report-2023-1">6-year-old boy</a>, accused of deliberately shooting his first-grade teacher.Officials said the boy, whom they've not named because of his age, shot <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wounded-virginia-teacher-walked-students-safety-was-shot-6-year-old-of-rcna64938">Abigail Zwerner</a> through her hand and into her upper chest as she taught a classroom of about 20 children. The officials said the boy brought a 9 mm Taurus firearm from his home and that his mother had purchased the weapon legally.Steve Drew, the city's police chief, said <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ece4M5WSb7A">at a news conference</a> on Monday that as Zwerner taught the class, the boy pointed the firearm at her and fired one round. "The shooting was not accidental," Drew said. "It was intentional."But what does "intentional" mean to a 6-year-old, whose brain is still in the earliest stages of development? Scientists told Insider that neurobiology indicates a child of that age doesn't understand morality, consequences, or the law. They also suggested that instead of arrest, young offenders need rehabilitation — and courts are finally starting to listen.<h2>A developing brain means young kids physically can't make rational decisions</h2>Arielle Baskin-Sommers, an associate professor of psychology and of psychiatry at Yale, told Insider that a single act of violence, however horrific, is not enough to merit a psychiatric diagnosis. While researchers have observed pathological traits <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5607565/">in kids as young as 2</a>, gun violence is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743519300143?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">correlated more with access to guns</a> than mental illness.At age 6, the brain's emotional structures, known as the limbic system, are further along in development than its rational decision-making chambers, in the prefrontal cortex. Though the brain is already 90% developed <a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/changes-occur-aging-brain-what-happens-when-we-get-older">in terms of size</a>, many of the neural connections formed during early childhood will be eliminated and then replaced with stronger connections.Throughout childhood and adolescence, the brain does its own version of a <a href="https://www.insider.com/marie-kondo-tidying-up-does-it-work-mental-health-2019-1">Marie Kondo cleanup</a>: Connections that are repeatedly used are strengthened, while excessive synaptic links are eliminated."It's really about learning how to cope with those emotions — having the experiences and the failures and an unconditionally loving environment, too — that helps us learn right from wrong," BJ Casey, a professor of neuroscience at Barnard College, told Insider.Most of this pruning happens by your early to mid-20s, though the brain is never completely done changing. By adulthood, we're capable of reflecting on the past and weighing the consequences of an action. Young kids physically aren't."When infants can't walk and talk, we don't think of that as deviant," Casey said. "But by late childhood and adolescence, when they make a bad decision or engage in bad behavior, we call that deviant. We have to keep in mind that there's continued development there, too."<div type="image" title="Toy Gun" height="1022" width="1363" msid="97006771" hostid="261" sizebytes="67942"></div><h2>The law has only recently started recognizing brain development as a factor in crime</h2>The Virginia police have described the 6-year-old's actions as intentional — but science suggests the boy likely didn't understand the full consequences of his actions.Moral decision-making requires myriad cognitive abilities that are still developing during adolescence, Casey said. Children may struggle to grasp social norms and legal consequences while processing information about their environment, so they're more likely to act out."If you just take the behavior alone, this kid showed an extreme form of aggressive behavior," Baskin-Sommers said. "It's really important to remember that despite this behavior seeming very calculated and planned out, it is immature compared to someone who is older."It's only in the past decade that the highest court in the land has started recognizing how neuroscience and brain development affect criminal intent.A <a href="https://www.aacap.org/App_Themes/AACAP/docs/Advocacy/amicus_curiae/miller_vs_alabama_and_jackson_vs_hobbs_amici_brief.pdf">2012 amicus brief</a> written by the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry highlighting the latest neuroimaging research helped convince the Supreme Court that life without parole was an <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2011/10-9646">unconstitutional mandatory sentence</a> for anyone under 18.Justice Anthony Kennedy acknowledged in the court's opinion in <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2015/14-280">another case involving youth</a> in 2016 that "children are constitutionally different from adults in their level of culpability."Developmental psychologists have established what's known as the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-013-9950-4">age-crime curve</a>: Across racial and economic backgrounds, criminal behavior tends to peak during adolescence and decrease by the mid-to-late 20s."There's so much potential for change, particularly during these early stages of development," Casey said. "Neuroscience shows us throughout our life that our brain doesn't stop changing."<h2>Child advocates say differences in brain development should inform criminal charges</h2><div type="image" title="six year old girl arrested at school 4x3" height="1800" width="2400" msid="97006774" hostid="261" sizebytes="242572"></div>The Virginia boy's tender age makes his interactions with law enforcement an anomaly, but not unprecedented. In 2019, the police in Orlando, Florida, <a href="https://www.insider.com/6-year-old-black-girl-arrested-school-disturbing-trend-criminalization-2021-3">arrested a 6-year-old named Kaia Rolle</a> at school after a temper tantrum, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8DWqMWJdy8">escorting her out of the building in restraints as she sobbed</a>.An <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/education/criminalizing-kids/young-kids-arrested-at-schools/">analysis by USA Today</a> published last year found more than 2,600 arrests in schools involving 5- to 9-year-olds from 2000 to 2019. An investigation published by the Center for Public Integrity in 2015 found that for years <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/education/virginia-tops-nation-in-sending-students-to-cops-courts-where-does-your-state-rank/">Virginia led the nation in sending students to courtrooms</a>, adding that an outsized percentage of those students had learning disabilities.There's no federal minimum age for arrest, so <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/05/02/1093313589/states-juvenile-minimum-age-arrested-advocates-change">each state sets its own bar</a>. In 25 states, including Virginia, there's no minimum age for juvenile prosecution, though Virginia's juvenile-detention facilities have an age minimum of 11. <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/youngest-children-adults-1st-degree-murder-released/story?id=32644967">Kids as young as 12 have been tried as adults</a> in the US, spending years in prison for crimes they committed as children.Young people of color in the criminal-justice system <a href="https://cfsy.org/wp-content/uploads/Final-Racial-Disparities-Fact-Sheet-March-2022-1.pdf">face especially severe and disproportionate repercussions</a>. <a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/about/staff-board/joshua-rovner/">Joshua Rovner</a>, the director of youth justice at <a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/">The Sentencing Project</a>, said the organization's research has found that Black children are 2 ½ times as likely <a href="https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/model-programs-guide/literature-reviews/racial-and-ethnic-disparity">to be arrested</a> as white kids and 4½ times as likely <a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/fact-sheet/black-disparities-in-youth-incarceration/">to be incarcerated</a>, despite <a href="https://eji.org/news/black-children-five-times-more-likely-than-whites-to-be-incarcerated/">no quantifiable difference in their behavior</a>. Black children are also more likely than white kids to be charged <a href="http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/research/cfyj-reports/item/the-color-of-youth-transfer-the-adultification-of-black-youth-in-the-criminal-justice-system">as adults</a>, Rovner said.Such discrepancies in treatment combined with the science supporting age-appropriate adjudication have led many advocates to draw a line in the sand. "Our position is that no one under 18 should be charged in adult court regardless of the circumstances," Rovner said."We've drawn that line of age of 18 in this country in so many ways: when you can join the military, when you can get married, and when you can buy lottery tickets," he added. "But we've decided that under the extraordinary circumstances that a young person is accused of a very serious crime, we're comfortable pretending that that young person is an adult."<h2>Children's malleable brains mean rehabilitation is better than incarceration</h2>The police <a href="https://www.insider.com/richneck-elementary-school-teacher-shot-gun-backpack-2023-1">in Virginia</a> have not said whether the boy, who's being held at a medical facility under an emergency court order, or his mother will face charges. A representative for the Newport News Police Department told Insider on Friday that the boy had not been charged and was in the custody of the city's human-services department.But legal experts and criminal-justice advocates have told Insider that <a href="https://www.insider.com/teacher-shot-richneck-elementary-school-shooting-liability-gun-access-concerns-2023-1">the 6-year-old is unlikely to be charged or prosecuted in the shooting</a>.They suggested his brain is young and malleable enough that he'd likely be receptive to interventions. (Cognitive-behavioral therapy, for example, has been found to be an <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/preventing-future-crime-cognitive-behavioral-therapy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">effective intervention</a> for young people who've committed a crime.) They added that it's unlikely he'd go on to become a dangerous criminal in adulthood."The single event by itself, while horrific, is not enough to label someone as having systematic personality or behavioral differences," Baskin-Sommers said. "As unbelievable as it may seem, it is possible that this was a singular event that got out of control, by a young kid who had access to a firearm that they shouldn't have had access to."Scientists and criminal-justice advocates who spoke with Insider argued that incarceration overwhelmingly makes matters worse for juveniles.One study of 141 young people who'd scored highly on a psychopathy checklist found that those who served time in a juvenile correctional setting were <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0093854806288176">more than twice as likely</a> to commit another act of violence during a two-year follow-up period than those who got specialized mental-health treatment.<a href="https://cfsy.org/ican/xavier-mcelrath-bey/">Xavier McElrath-Bey</a>, 47, was the same age as the boy in Virginia the first time he was placed in the back of a cop car. As a young teen, he found himself <a href="https://people.com/crime/xavier-mcelrath-bey-convicted-murder-found-forgiveness-helps-others/">locked away for 25 years</a>, convicted of murder for his role in a gang-related killing. Now he serves as a co-executive director for the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, advocating for young people in the system.McElrath-Bey told Insider that kids have an extraordinary capacity for change."No child is born bad," he said. "No child should be regarded as irredeemable or without hope."

Inside the mind of a 6-year-old shooter

(Eds: Adds details) Lucknow, Jun 20 () Twenty-two people have succumbed to COVID-19 and 541 more people tested positive in Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours, officials said on Saturday. The death toll in the state is 529 now with the coronavirus tally reaching 17,135, they said. Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said 10,369 of the total infected have recovered. The state has 6,237 active COVID-19 patients now. Among the 22 new fatalities, five have been reported from Meerut, two each in Kanpur Nagar, Ghaziabad, Varanasi and Hapur, one each in Lucknow, Prayagraj, Sambhal, Mathura, Muzaffarnagar, Etawah, Mainpuri, Farrukhabad and Baghpat, a health department release said. As many as 65 cases were reported from Hapur followed by 55 in Kanpur Nagar, 41 in Gautam Budhnagar, 40 in Ghaziabad and 38 in Lucknow among others, the release said On Friday, 14,048 samples were tested, he said, adding that ASHA workers have tracked over 17 thousand people. Samples of 1,567 of them have been sent for testing, he said. Prasad said that random testing was being carried out in old age homes, orphanages and juvenile homes on the directions of the chief minister. COVID-19 cases have been found in old age homes in Sultanpur, Kushinagar and Jalaun districts and in orphanages and juvenile homes in Meerut and Kanpur. A government spokesman said urban slums were sampled randomly across the state. In the bigger districts, 10 slums were sampled. In the middle size districts, 5 slums per districts and in the smaller districts 2 slums per district were sampled. A total of 311 slums were randomly tested across the state. Thirty slums in 20 districts showed positivity for COVID-19 in pool test. Out of 4,160 samples tested, 75 samples tested positive and the results of 4,085 came out negative. Twenty districts which "showed positivity" are Ambedkar Nagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Sultanpur, Varanasi, Moradabad, Mathura, Shravasti, Aligarh, Auraiya, Badaun, Ballia, Etah, Firozabad, Ghazipur, Jalaun, Kanpur Nagar, Merrut and Gautam Buddha Nagar. Such random sampling is being carried out to map the vulnerability of high risk groups, generate awareness among them and take corrective measures in time to contain the spread of infection, the spokesman said. The chief minister has directed all DMs to take precautionary measures. He has also asked for active contact-tracing and sampling wherever "positivity" has been found in the slums, the spokesman added. SAB CK

UP's COVID-19 tally reaches 17,135; death toll rises to 529

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sociopaths and psychopaths are two distinct subtypes of antisocial personality disorder.</li><li>Psychopaths are typically less anxious and have an easier time holding a job than sociopaths.</li><li>Stigma against these 2 labels has led to harsher criminal sentencing in certain cases.</li></ul><keyword id="12562392" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="psychopath" source="Orion">Psychopath</keyword>. Sociopath. Lots of people throw around these terms, but few understand what they actually mean. Even experts disagree on what makes a true psychopath or sociopath. Diagnosis, causes, potential criminality — all of these are subject to long-standing debate.The topic is complicated, but our explanation doesn't have to be. Here is a quick primer on what psychopathy and sociopathy actually mean.<h2>Antisocial personality disorder</h2>Typically, psychology sources describe psychopathy and sociopathy as two variants of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546673/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antisocial personality disorder</a> is marked by:<ul><li>Antagonistic behavior: Someone may act cruel to others without remorse. They may use manipulation or lies to get what they want.</li><li>Disinhibition: Someone may act without regard for social, ethical, or legal norms. They might act impulsively and take unnecessary risks out of boredom.</li></ul>Estimates suggest ASPD affects <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546673/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1%-4%</a> of the general adult population (only those 18 and older can be diagnosed with ASPD). Men are 3-5 times more likely to get an ASPD diagnosis than women. Most people with ASPD do not have psychopathy or sociopathy. These variants tend to be more severe versions of ASPD. According to a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Scott-Johnson-12/publication/331993478_Understanding_the_violent_personality_2019/links/5c9a3570a6fdccd4603bf2f8/Understanding-the-violent-personality-2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2019 literature review</a>:<ul><li>3%-15% of ASPD cases are the psychopathic subtype</li><li>30% of ASPD cases are the sociopathic subtype</li></ul>It's important to note that psychopathy and sociopathy are not official diagnoses. You can only be diagnosed with ASPD. <h2>Diagnosis</h2>If psychopathy and sociopathy aren't official diagnoses, how can professionals tell when someone has one of the conditions? Many clinicians use the <a href="http://www.hare.org/Hare2016CPAgoldmedalaward.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R)</a>, which scores you on 20 factors outlined in the table below. Professional raters score you on a 0-2 scale for each factor: <ul><li>0 means the factor doesn't describe you at all</li><li>1 means it describes you a little</li><li>2 means it describes you very well</li></ul>If you have a total score of 30 or higher, then you meet the threshold for psychopathy or sociopathy. <table style="height: 484px;"><tbody><tr style="height: 204px;"><td style="height: 204px; width: 376.227px;">Interpersonal signs:<ul><li>Superficial charm</li><li>Pathological lying</li><li>Grandiose sense of self worth</li><li>Manipulation or ability to "con" others</li></ul></td><td style="height: 204px; width: 390.766px;">Emotional signs:<ul><li>Lack of remorse or guilt</li><li>Callousness or restricted empathy</li><li>Blunted emotional response</li><li>Refusal to accept responsibility for one's own actions</li></ul></td></tr><tr style="height: 280px;"><td style="height: 280px; width: 376.227px;">Lifestyle signs:<ul><li>Difficulty handling boredom; need for stimulation</li><li>Impulsivity</li><li>Ignores responsibilities, such as paying bills or keeping promises</li><li>Lack of realistic, long-term goals</li><li>Using other people to avoid work and get free resources </li></ul></td><td style="height: 280px; width: 390.766px;">Antisocial signs:<ul><li>Early behavioral problems such as animal abuse</li><li>Juvenile delinquency</li><li>Difficulty controlling one's own behavior</li><li>Inability to follow the rules of parole after being released from prison</li><li>Tendency to commit multiple kinds of crimes, violent or nonviolent</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table>People with psychopathy (PwP) tend to score higher on the interpersonal and emotional factors and have very low levels of anxiety and anger. Moreover, they often have a bold, charming demeanor and an exaggerated self-image. When they do act aggressively, it is often in service of a larger goal, and they will likely have a plan to talk their way out of trouble.People with sociopathy (PwS) tend to score higher on lifestyle and antisocial factors. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178915000543?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">High anxiety levels</a> can cause them to avoid responsibilities, and intense anger can lead to violence. PwS are often more impulsive than PwP and more likely to openly disregard laws and social norms. Thus, they are more likely to get into legal trouble.<h2>Psychopathy vs. sociopathy terminology</h2>In research, the term psychopath is more widely used than sociopath. "Psychopathy is far more widely researched (680+ scholarly publications in 2021 alone) than sociopathy (12 publications), which is telling," says <a href="https://www.waikato.ac.nz/fass/about/staff/tamatea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Armon Tamatea</a>, PhD, senior lecturer in psychology at <a href="https://www.waikato.ac.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Waikato</a> who served as senior researcher for New Zealand's Department of Corrections. Instead of comparing it with sociopathy, the literature tends to use psychopathy as an umbrella term for the ASPD subtypes. For example, you can sometimes see sociopathy referred to as "secondary psychopathy." "The psychiatric, psychological, correctional, and criminal justice literatures tend to overwhelmingly favor 'psychopathy' as a more viable construct," says Tamatea. <h2>Causes</h2>Often psychopathy is described as having biological roots, while sociopathy is blamed on environmental triggers. In reality, nature and nurture have a hand in both.<h3>What causes psychopathy?</h3><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178915000543?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Studies suggest</a> there's a strong genetic component to psychopathy which may predispose someone to antisocial behavior.PwP may also have <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00695/full#h5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">differences in their brain structure</a> which can cause:<ul><li>Blunted emotional response: Their amygdalas tend to under-react to stressful stimuli. This may explain why PwP can act boldly and take risks. It may also explain why typical deterrents to behavior, like punishment or guilt, don't seem to affect them much.</li><li>Reduced empathy: PwP can recognize others' emotions — they wouldn't be able to manipulate others without that skill. While they may show the "correct" emotional response back, they may not feel that way inside. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763421004619" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neurological research</a> suggests PwP can "switch on" empathy if it suits a goal, but it isn't present by default. </li><li>Goal-focused attention: When PwP have a goal, they may develop tunnel vision. It can be harder for them to recall information that doesn't directly help them, such as social norms of right and wrong.</li></ul>Although biology may have a strong influence on how psychopathy develops, it isn't destiny. Early trauma, especially <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Scott-Johnson-12/publication/331993478_Understanding_the_violent_personality_2019/links/5c9a3570a6fdccd4603bf2f8/Understanding-the-violent-personality-2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">witnessing violence in the community</a>, can make someone more likely to develop psychopathic traits."Psychopathic persons don't fall out of the sky. There is likely to be a background of trauma and abuse, psychophysiological differences, and a complex history of impaired relationships throughout their lives," says Tamatea. <h3>What causes sociopathy?</h3><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pamela-Perez/publication/271893643_The_etiology_of_psychopathy_A_neuropsychological_perspective/links/5a395ffaa6fdcc5ea0d0b386/The-etiology-of-psychopathy-A-neuropsychological-perspective.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research suggests</a> the environment plays a strong role in sociopathy. PwS are more likely than the general public to have experienced:<ul><li>Childhood neglect and a lack of socialization</li><li>Physical and emotional abuse</li><li>Harsh and inconsistent discipline</li><li>Violence in the home or community</li></ul>"Like other aversive personality patterns, [antisocial] traits may well have emerged to serve a survival function," says Tamatea. For example, if your parents regularly hit you when they're in a bad mood, you may grow up seeing violence as normal. In that environment, it may make sense to "get the first punch in" as soon as you sense conflict so you aren't put on the defensive. Outside that home, however, physical aggression is usually less helpful when resolving conflicts.However, biological factors can also contribute to sociopathy. Studies suggest PwS have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178915000543?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">differences in their prefrontal cortex</a>, the part of the brain that helps make decisions. These differences may explain why PwS have difficulty controlling their tempers and tend to take dangerous risks. A person's prefrontal cortex may develop differently due to early trauma and hardship. Brain injuries can also damage this area and cause a transition from normal development to sociopathic behavior. A <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00346/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2019 systematic review</a> found 85 cases of brain injuries causing sociopathy recorded in the past century.<h2>Careers</h2><h3>Psychopathy</h3>PwP can struggle with employment, especially if they have impulsive tendencies. However, some find their charisma and bold decision-making suit them well in their careers. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Scott-Johnson-12/publication/331993478_Understanding_the_violent_personality_2019/links/5c9a3570a6fdccd4603bf2f8/Understanding-the-violent-personality-2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research suggests</a> around 4.5% of corporate professionals score high enough on the PCL-R to indicate psychopathy.Some PwP are genuinely good at their jobs. Others may rise the ranks through deceit and manipulation rather than merit."Any field that utilizes "'experts'" is vulnerable," says <a href="https://forensicconsultation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scott Allen Johnson</a>, author and forensic consultant for the US Department of Defense. "Surgeons, military, educators, business executives and of course politicians who possess psychopath traits effectively persuade others of their superiority and expertise, even when their educational and experiential backgrounds do not appear to warrant their success or expertise. They are able to hide their intentions, lie and mislead, yet portray themselves as a rose, a savior to all."<h3>Sociopathy</h3>Sociopathy can make it hard to maintain employment for extended periods. "Sociopaths are not able to hide their antisociality, but rather … quite open and quick to demonstrate their thoughts and violent behaviors," says Johnson. Some PwS may find more successful careers after therapy and rehabilitation. Contrary to what older studies claimed, personality disorders, including antisocial personality disorder, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26364988/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are treatable</a>. Research on psychopathy and sociopathy treatment is still very new though. The studies that do exist claim treatment works best when it:<ul><li>Is highly structured</li><li>Addresses comorbid conditions like anxiety or PTSD</li><li>Has realistic goals with explicit expectations</li></ul><h2>Crime</h2>Research has shown a strong link between psychopathy, sociopathy, and criminal behavior. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26364988/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Studies</a> have linked these traits to severe crimes such as interpersonal violence or sexual coercion. Estimates suggest <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Scott-Johnson-12/publication/331993478_Understanding_the_violent_personality_2019/links/5c9a3570a6fdccd4603bf2f8/Understanding-the-violent-personality-2019.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">up to 30%</a> of the prison population meets the criteria for psychopathy and sociopathy. PwP and PwS also have higher rates of reoffending after release.However, PwP and PwS are not born criminals. Robert Hare, creator of the PCL-R checklist for measuring psychopathy and sociopathy, emphasizes in a <a href="http://www.hare.org/Hare2016CPAgoldmedalaward.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2016 paper</a> that "antisociality" is the core of these conditions, not law-breaking or violence. But since the DSM-5 and PCL-R criteria both include criminal behaviors, it is likely that studies overlook PwP and PwS without a criminal background. Therefore, without a clear picture of the whole group, studies may overestimate the prevalence of criminal behavior in PwP and PwS. There are also concerns that psychopathy and sociopathy labels may lead to worse sentencing for criminal defendants. <a href="https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2444&amp;context=fac_articles_chapters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to a 2021 paper</a>, when juries perceive a defendant as psychopathic (regardless of the person's actual mental condition), they are more likely to support a death penalty for that case.This is an especially serious risk for Black defendants. The same 2021 paper listed past findings such as:<ul><li>The PCL-R may skew results against Black respondents.</li><li>Jurors are more likely to see Black defendants as "antisocial" or "psychopathic."</li><li>Black defendants are more likely to be cast as "dangerous," even when their behavior is identical to white defendants.</li></ul>A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bsl.2009" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2012 survey</a> of legal professionals found labels of ASPD, psychopathy, or sociopathy had a significant effect on court rulings. Although defense teams often objected to the use of PCL-R and similar screening tools due to their subjectivity, the court typically admitted them as evidence of the defendant's mental <keyword id="11894571" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health" source="Orion">health</keyword> and threat to society.<h2>Psychopathy vs. sociopathy</h2>That was a lot of information, so here is a table summarizing the main differences between psychopathy and sociopathy:<table><tbody><tr><td>Psychopathy</td><td>Sociopathy</td></tr><tr><td>3% - 15% of ASPD cases</td><td>30% of ASPD cases</td></tr><tr><td>Mostly caused by biological factors</td><td>Mostly caused by environmental factors</td></tr><tr><td>Difficulty empathizing or bonding with anyone</td><td>May show limited empathy toward some people in their family or friend group</td></tr><tr><td>Aggression tends to be goal-driven</td><td>Aggression tends to be impulsive</td></tr><tr><td>Low levels of anxiety and anger</td><td>High levels of anxiety and anger</td></tr><tr><td>May have stable employment or let others provide for them</td><td>Difficulty maintaining any employment</td></tr><tr><td>Better at avoiding trouble through deceit and manipulation</td><td>More likely to get in trouble due to lack of planning and antagonistic attitude</td></tr></tbody></table>It's important to note that these traits aren't absolute. Someone with sociopathy can have a career, and a person with psychopathy may have impulsive tendencies. But this table can give you a general idea of how to recognize sociopathy or psychopathy in the real world.<h2>Insider's takeaway</h2>To summarize, psychopathy and sociopathy are rare forms of antisocial personality disorder. Pop culture tends to mythologize people with these conditions as evil masterminds or born criminals. And criminal defendants labeled with psychopathic or sociopathic traits are typically subject to harsher sentences, regardless of their actual mental health.The truth, however, is they're simply humans with mental health issues and should be treated as such.

The real differences between psychopaths and sociopaths and why you can't be officially diagnosed as either

Rome, May 1 (AP) When Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said the government would relax some parts of a nationwide lockdown, residents entering an eighth week of home confinement to inhibit the coronavirus dove for their dictionaries. Conte announced that starting May 4, people in Italy will be permitted to travel within their home regions for visits with "congiunti," a formal Italian word that can mean either relatives, relations or kinsmen. Under the lockdown, Italians only have been able to leave home for essential jobs or vital tasks such as grocery shopping. The country's cooped-up citizens therefore sought clarification. Which relatives? What relation? Would a second-cousin count as kin? A brother-in-law? The additional freedom previewed by the premier Sunday night seemed to rest on a clunky, archaic-sounding noun. The correct definition is more than pedantic in Italy, a country where the generous concept of family embraces extended clans tied by blood or marriage. Whatever the government's intent, "congiunti" would be part of what stitches much of Italian life together. The next day, Conte sought to clear up the confusion. Instead, he created more. The premier allowed that "congiunti" is a "broad and generic formula." What he meant, he said, was Italians could pay visits to "relatives, and to those with whom they have relationships of steady affection." Godparents? Longtime lovers? Couples engaged for years but without setting a wedding date, as is frequently the case in Italy? An early morning talk show on state radio tried to parse what ties of "steady" or "stable" affection mean. Calls and text messages poured in. One guest, a lawyer who specializes in marriage law, said he has met couples together for only a week with more stable relationships than some spouses who have been married for years. As far as the issue of home regions is concerned, the show's host raised the possibility that someone who lived, say, in eastern Sicily, could drive hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the island to see relatives, but couldn't visit a loved one just a handful of kilometers away in Calabria, a different region across the Strait of Messina. For Bianca Amodeo, 17, that host's hypothetical scenario is painful reality. Her boyfriend of 1 1/2 years - for many adolescents that equates to an exceedingly stable tie of affection - lives not far measured in kilometers but just across the Marche region border in the region of Abruzzo. Deepening the teenager's anguish: Bianca has friends with boyfriends who live farther away but in the same region, and they are excitedly planning to see their sweethearts next week. Said the girl's mother, Olga Anastasi, before passing the phone to her daughter: "There's a deep sense of injustice." "When a Carabiniere (police officer) stops to ask where you are going, can he determine what's a steady relationship?" wondered Anastasi, a lawyer who deals with divorce and juvenile matters. Some see more serious inequality in the government's policy. Same-sex marriages are not legal in Italy, so civil rights advocates worry that same-sex couples and their children might be excluded from the "stable affection" category. When Italians finally determine whom they can visit, they'll have to puzzle out how to express affection when they arrive. The new measure requires all to wear masks and stay a safe distance apart when visiting. (AP) INDIND

Easing of lockdown begs the question: Who's family in Italy?

Her son said his stepdad was sexually abusive. A judge gave the stepdad custody anyway. Then she found the photographs.

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the new edition of <keyword id="9095853" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="insider-today">Insider Today</keyword>. Please <a href="https://www.insider.com/insider-today">sign up here</a>.<h2>QUOTE OF THE DAY</h2>"This harm that Mr. Yoho levied, tried to levy against me, was not just an incident directed at me. But when you do that to any woman, what Mr. Yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters." — <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/aoc-speech-destroying-ted-yoho-suburban-women-polls.html">Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, </a>responding on the House floor to Rep. Ted Yoho's quasi-apology. Yoho had confronted her on the Capitol steps and allegedly called her a "f---ing b--ch." <h2>WHAT'S HAPPENING</h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-records-4-million-covid-cases-2-weeks-3-million-2020-7">The US recorded its 4 millionth coronavirus case, just 15 days after its 3 millionth.</a> (It took 28 days to go from 2 million to 3 million.) Deaths are topped 1,100 for two days in a row, the first time that has happened since may. And <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/7/23/21335549/covid-19-coronavirus-us-hospitalizations-record-florida-texas-california">more people are hospitalized </a>for COVID-19 than at any time since the pandemic began. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-starr-county-hospital-forced-choose-who-sent-home-die-2020-7">This Texas hospital </a>is so overwhelmed that it's sending its sickest patients home to die. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-cancels-republican-convention-in-jacksonville-2020-7">President Trump cancelled the Florida portion of the Republican National Convention.</a> That's the part with the large gathering and crowded speeches. He made the announcement with no notice, acknowledging that the pandemic made the convention too dangerous. <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/07/portland-protest-momentum-continues-on-57th-day-thursday-live-updates.html">Portland protests continued last night,</a> and against federal agents fired tear gas and less-lethal munitions at protesters. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-tells-us-to-shut-consulate-in-chengdu-in-retaliation-for-houston-order/2020/07/24/839108d0-cd62-11ea-99b0-8426e26d203b_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_chinaembassy-1236am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans">China ordered the US consulate in Chengdu to close. </a>Beijing was retaliating for the US closing the Chinese consulate in Houston the day before. <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-dr-anthony-fauci-first-pitch-opening-day-2020-7">Anthony Fauci threw the ceremonial first pitch to start the shortened 2020 MLB season.</a> He threw a short, wide first ball for his beloved, World Series champion Washington Nationals. Taylor Swift dropped a new album, "folklore," at midnight. It's indie, it's emotionally intense, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/24/entertainment/taylor-swift-folklore-reaction-scli-intl/index.html">it's getting rave reviews</a>. <h2>VIEWS OF THE DAY</h2><div type="image" title="Trump/Biden" height="1000" width="2000" msid="77157677" hostid="261"></div>The eight questions that will shape the last 100 days of the presidential campaignThe election is 100 days from Sunday. This has been the weirdest of all presidential campaigns — hardly a campaign at all. Joe Biden, who seemingly has not left his basement since March, has quietly issued extraordinarily vast and progressive policy proposals. President Trump meanwhile has been talking about all kinds of weird things, notably <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-again-brings-up-cognitive-test-in-new-interview-2020-7">the dementia test</a> he took and the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-not-playing-dictator-anymore-orange-man-good-portland-chicago-2020-7">urban invasions he is ordering</a>. The pandemic rages, recession shadows the country, and Americans have scarcely noticed that we've entered a very, very cold war with China. It promises to be a strange and sad sprint to November. Here are the eight things we'll be watching in the next 100 days.<ol><li>How do the mechanics of voting look? Republicans fear a surge in Democratic voters animated by Trump-hatred, and the GOP and Trump campaign are maneuvering to make voting difficult. Is the pandemic hot enough that it will prevent in-person voting? Is mail-in balloting working smoothly, or are there legal and technical obstacles? Electoral mechanics are arguably the most important issue in a year warped by pandemic and<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/putin-american-democracy/610570/"> potential foreign meddling</a>. </li><li>Is Trump's fear message resonating? The president is running a scare campaign about urban chaos and violence — and explicitly trying to create chaos and violence so he can play strongman. Will that work?</li><li>Can Trump maintain this week's pose of sobriety? Cancelling the convention and admitting the seriousness of the pandemic are bare minimum standards of human decency, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-long-will-trump-new-serious-tone-coronavirus-pandemic-last-2020-7">can he maintain that</a>, giving some alienated voters enough hope that he's changed for them to stick with him? </li><li>Is the pandemic easing and can Trump take credit for that? It's pretty clear the government has criminally botched the pandemic response, but perhaps other forces will stop it — herd immunity, better community behavior, an early vaccine. </li><li>Is the economy recovering or staggering? Republicans will be in dire trouble if the economy isn't feeling better in November. </li><li>Has Biden been demonized, or does he remain an inoffensive opponent? One of Trump's biggest problems is that Republicans <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/7/20/21326267/biden-trump-2020-winning-polls-polarization-election">don't fear or dislike Joe Biden </a>they did Hillary Clinton. The invisible nature of the campaign is also helping Biden, since he's just not present enough in voters' minds to make them angry. Can the Trump campaign find a way to attack Biden that makes Republican voters fearful enough to vote for Trump?</li><li>What's the surprise event? The world and the nation are hideously unstable. A war, a terrorist attack, Russian or Chinese mischief, the death of a Supreme Court Justice….the possibilities are endless, and could alter the polls. </li><li>Who's defending the legitimacy of the election?: Will key Republican officials and judges emphasize in advance that they'll accept the results and the integrity of the vote, nipping in the bid a potential Trump challenge? — DP</li></ol>How did Democrats get more unified than Republicans?<div type="image" title="Donald trump mcconnell schumer pelosi" height="999" width="1998" msid="77157681" hostid="261"></div>Talk about weirdness 100 days before election day — if you'd have told me that at this point Democrats would be more unified as a party than Republicans, I'm not sure I would've believed you.As the Democratic campaign began last year, there was concern that a more progressive candidate would secure the nomination, handing <keyword id="6354484" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Donald-Trump">Donald Trump</keyword> a win as moderate voters shied away. Then, when Biden won the nomination, Democrats worried about a Bernie Bro rebellion. And there have long been whispers that the AOC-type progressives in Congress would become the same kind of annoyance to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the Tea Party was to former House Speaker John Boehner during the Obama administration. None of that happened. Biden is staying quiet, and the Bernie Bros don't seem to have much to say about him either. In Congress, Pelosi has her party marching with her in lock step.One cannot say the same for Trump's Republicans. Usually unified to the point of fusion, the GOP right now is engaged in a Dickensian fight over how much to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-trump-coronavirus-relief-bill-us-economy-fantasy-land-2020-7">cut coronavirus unemployment benefits</a> while cases are skyrocketing across the country. In a meeting this week <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/us/politics/congress-coronavirus-stimulus-bill.html?campaign_id=4&amp;emc=edit_dk_20200722&amp;instance_id=20515&amp;nl=dealbook&amp;regi_id=68634207&amp;segment_id=34040&amp;te=1&amp;user_id=718e2ec3a644adacc4c894b15e78911f2ec3a644adacc4c894b15e78911f">reported</a> by the New York Times only 86-year-old Senator Chuck Grassley had the sense to say sending payments to hurting Americans right before an election might be a good idea (if you want to, you know, win). The rest of the party's younger members kept trying to outdo each other with how ideologically pure they could be by cutting spending, <a href="https://www.epi.org/blog/cutting-off-the-600-boost-to-unemployment-benefits-would-be-both-cruel-and-bad-economics-new-personal-income-data-show-just-how-steep-the-coming-fiscal-cliff-will-be/">the economy be damned</a>. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was supposed to present his proposal to Democrats on this matter today, but his party cannot agree, so now his homework is late.And then there are the Senate races. Trump's declining popularity has put the Senate in play. Democrats look likely to hold all their seats except for Doug Jones' in Alabama. Republicans look likely to lose Martha McSally in Arizona. And besides that, <a href="https://cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate-race-ratings">a whopping six Republican-held Senate seats</a> are in play, including Susan Collins in Maine and Thom Tillis in North Carolina. Talk about turnaround. —LLWhat could have beenThe chart below shows one of many differences between having a competent national response to the coronavirus (Germany) and an incompetent one (the United States).The chart, from <a href="https://www.pantheonmacro.com/">Pantheon Macroeconomics</a>, shows the performance of one economic indicator — restaurant diners — from pre-coronavirus times to today. The curves mirror the less-extreme performance of the respective countries' economies as a whole.<div type="image" title="Screen Shot 2020 07 24 at 11.29.31 AM" height="981" width="1600" msid="77157684" hostid="261"></div>The competent country, Germany (blue), locked down fast and took care of its citizens and businesses. After a tough two months, it got the coronavirus under control. Now life and economic activity in Germany have returned to normal.The incompetent country, the United States (black), minimized the threat of the coronavirus, bragged about having it under control, dismissed scientists, made half-hearted attempts to procure PPE and promote social distancing, declared victory too early, and encouraged local governments to reopen too quickly. As a result, the US endured the same brutal shutdown as Germany — and now its recovery has stalled. The chart also includes the UK (gold), which began with a response that was as incompetent as the US's, but then got its act together and corrected its mistakes. Restaurants in the UK stayed closed longer than those in the US, but activity has now recovered to much closer to normal.Competent national leadership matters, especially in a crisis. Germany and most other wealthy countries have it. The United States does not. — HBTrump cancels Republican National Convention, becomes president<div type="image" title="Donald Trump accepts nomination at 2016 RNC" height="1500" width="3000" msid="77157689" hostid="261"></div>"Presidential" is not a descriptor often bestowed on Donald Trump, and I'm not sure he or his supporters consider that a slight. He wasn't elected to carry on the mythology of the Oval Office, he was put there to burn it down. And yet, whenever he does something wholly unremarkable for a US president — like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/05/trump-won-big-with-his-state-union-weve-seen-this-all-before/">read off a teleprompter</a> or <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/327779-cnn-host-donald-trump-became-president-last-night">unilaterally bomb a foreign country</a> — the pundit chorus belts out a collective refrain that this is the moment when Trump truly became president. In an alternate reality where the president is actually seen as the public servant they are, "presidential" would signify a chief executive putting the interests of the country over their own political survival. That's why Trump — certainly unwittingly — became presidential yesterday.After Charlotte refused to allow mass gatherings for the RNC, Trump took his party and moved it to Jacksonville. But now that Florida is the nation's coronavirus epicenter, Trump came to the belated realization that holding a totally unnecessary three-day campaign rally there is dangerously irresponsible and sends the absolute wrong message to a country where the virus continues to spread with abandon.Trump wanted his yuge event to project "strength" compared to the stripped-down Democrats convention-by-Zoom. His aides reportedly convinced him that the negative press he'd attract for hosting a potential super-spreader event would be a net loss. So even though Trump did ultimately act in his own self-interest, there's nothing he's enjoyed more about the presidency than giving rambling incoherent speeches before adoring throngs of registered voters. By willfully giving that up, Trump, for a brief moment, became presidential. — AFThe temporary nickname for the Washington football team is the "Washington Football Team."<div type="image" title="Dan Snyder" height="1000" width="2000" msid="77157692" hostid="261"></div>Having finally dropped its racist nickname, the Washington football team will play this season as...The Washington Football Team. The team, which could be abbreviated WFT on TV chyrons — or perhaps more accurately WTF — will spend the season figuring out the right new name, preparing to rebrand, and presumably buying out competitive trademarks. If it were any other owner, you'd say it makes sense to take time to do the rebranding right. Since the team is owned by Dan Snyder, however, fans can assume that the eventual rollout of the new name will be grotesque, and accompanied by some fan-soaking scheme. (Would Snyder bar fans from wearing their old jerseys to the stadium in order to get them to buy new ones? You bet he would!) Snyder, with his usual Snyderness, has also managed to pick a temporary nickname that people will despise. In this year of misery 2020 is there anyone outside the Beltway who hears the word "Washington" and doesn't shudder with disgust? — DP<h2>BUSINESS &amp; ECONOMY</h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-coronavirus-relief-bill-after-600-weekly-unemployment-benefit-expiration-2020-7">Republicans won't unveil their next coronavirus relief bill until next week.</a> They'd been trying to finish it by yesterday, but infighting stalled them. Expanded unemployment benefits will expire for millions before their relief bill is even considered. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/profile-of-goldman-sachs-trading-executive-ram-sundaram-2020-7">Goldman Sachs agreed to a $3.9 billion settlement with the Malaysian government over the 1MDB scandal. </a>Malaysia agreed to drop criminal charges and to abjure any future charges against Goldman executives. The agreement clears the way for Goldman to settle with the Department of Justice. <h2>LIFE</h2><div type="image" title="paris floating cinema" height="700" width="1400" msid="77157696" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-statue-of-liberty-is-struck-by-lightning-stunning-footage-2020-7">A stunning video shows the Statue of Liberty being struck by lightning. </a>It's a metaphor, if you want it to be. <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-floating-movie-theater-boat-cinema-on-water-photos-2020-7">Paris hosted a floating movie theater.</a> Parisians watched on socially distanced boats, and the photos are lovely.<h2>THE BIG 3*</h2><div type="image" title="5f18a908f34d0554fb29cf3f" height="650" width="867" msid="77157701" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mnuchin-second-1200-stimulus-relief-check-payment-likely-same-people-2020-7">Mnuchin says GOP proposal would send a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks to the same people. </a> Some Republicans want to send checks to a smaller group, or even not send anything. <a href="https://www.insider.com/funny-pet-photos-comedy-pet-photography-awards-2020-7">The Comedy Pet Photography Awards are a real thing, thank goodness.</a> And here are 16 of the best pictures submitted so far.<a href="https://www.insider.com/ss-guard-convicted-in-possibly-last-nazi-trial-2020-7">A concentration camp guard was convicted of 5,232 counts of accessory to murder in one of the last Nazi trials. </a>Bruno Dey is 93 years old, but was tried in a German juvenile court since he was only 17 at the time of the crimes. *The most popular stories on Insider today.

The 8 questions that will shape the last 100 days of the campaign

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53862b38ecad041f184e37de-1200-750/prison-44.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="Prison and Germany" width="800" />The rapid growth of America's prison population over the past 40 years is "<a href="http://www.nap.edu/download.php?record_id=18613#">historically unprecedented and internationally unique</a>," according to a new report from the National Academy of Sciences.
Since mass incarceration <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/30/the-meteoric-costly-and-unprecedented-rise-of-incarceration-in-america/">carries a big price tag</a>, America should try to learn from European countries that have vastly different prison systems and as a result jail far fewer people, the president of the Vera Institute of Justice <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/next-america/perspectives/treating-prisoners-with-dignity-can-reduce-crime-20140522">argued in a recent National Journal op-ed</a>.
Criminal justice officials from Colorado, Georgia, and Pennsylvania went to visit German and Dutch prisons last year to see what they could learn as part of the <a href="http://www.vera.org/pubs/sentencing-prison-germany-netherlands">Vera's European-American Prison Project,</a> according to the op-ed, which was co-authored by the secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Corrections.
Vera issued a report on that visit that highlighted the ways prisons in these two European countries are different from, and arguably better than, those in America.
Of course, America has a much larger population than the Netherlands or Germany, and its prison population has ballooned <a href="http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2109777,00.html">largely because of the War on Drugs</a>. To reduce its prison population, America can't simply have nicer prisons. The U.S. has to stop criminalizing drug addicts, and it has to take a hard look at why it arrests so many <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/20/nearly-half-arrested/4669225/">young, black men</a>. 
Still, America does need to improve its prisons to be more humane and to ensure more people don't keep going back to jail. Here's what America could learn from Europe's prisons.
<h3>A Goal Of Rehabilitation</h3>
Both the German and Dutch prison systems are focused on the ultimate goal of rehabilitating inmates. Germany's Prison Act even states "the sole aim of incarceration is to enable prisoners to lead a life of social responsibility free of crime upon release."
The physical space of these facilities - which feature moderate temperatures, ample light, and wide highways - is conducive to rehabilitation, the report notes. One U.S. participant touring a Dutch facility said the prison "screamed 'therapeutic milieu.'"
The U.S., on the other hand, has focused less on reform in the past four decades and more on a "punitive path," according to the new report in the National Academy of Sciences, which was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice.
"Unlike many other Western countries, the United States responded to escalating crime rates by enacting highly punitive policies and laws and turning away from rehabilitation and reintegration," that report noted.
<h3><img class="center" src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/538622e669bedda32c4e37e0-973-550/screen%20shot%202014-05-28%20at%2010.27.25%20am.png" border="0" alt="Screen Shot 2014 05 28 at 10.27.25 AM" width="800" />Shorter Sentences</h3>
One smart way to reduce the jail population is to get rid of extremely long sentences for nonviolent crimes. In America, you can get life in prison <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/timothy-tylers-mandatory-minimum-sentence--life-in-prison-2013-7">for drugs</a> or <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/patrick-w-matthews-mandatory-minimum-sentence-2013-11">even theft</a> because of harsh mandatory minimum sentences. The average length of stay in America's prisons is 3 years.
The Netherlands and Germany use long mandatory minimum sentences far less frequently than the United States does. The vast majority of inmates in those countries spend less than a year in prison.
<h3>More Autonomy For Prisoners</h3>
Prisoners in the Netherlands and Germany have a "fair amount of control over their daily lives," the Vera Institute report notes. They get to wear their own clothes and make their own meals, and they're required to work and take classes. Guards also give them some sense of privacy by knocking before entering their cells. Prisoners have keys to their cells and separate, walled toilets.
By giving prisoners some independence, these European prisons provide inmates with skills they need to survive on the outside. One American official who visited a German prison with Vera noted, "If you treat inmates like humans, they will act like humans."
America's prisons require inmates to follow a strict routine that takes away most of their independence. They have to wear uniforms, rise and shower at a certain time, and eat food prepared for them in a cafeteria. "As a result ... daily decisions are made for prisoners," the National Academy of Sciences report noted.
U.S. inmates may become so accustomed to having their decisions made for them that they may have trouble adjusting to their freedom, the report notes.
<h3>A Connection To Society</h3>
In Germany and the Netherlands, prisoners get to keep many of their rights while they're behind bars - like the right to vote and to receive some welfare benefits.
Inmates even sometimes get a chance to spend time away from prison. Some inmates in the Netherlands "report" to prison during the week and then go home and spend the weekends with their families so they can maintain those relationships.
In the U.S., family visits usually happen within the confines of a visiting room. The vast majority of states in America <a href="http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/fd_Felony%20Disenfranchisement%20Laws%20in%20the%20US.pdf">don't let felons vote</a> when they're still in prison, and people who have been convicted of felonies are <a href="http://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=994">not allowed to serve on juries</a> in some states.
<h3>Different Treatment For Young Offenders</h3>
While America routinely <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/human-rights-watch-map-on-juveniels-in-adult-prison-2014-5">puts teens in adult prisons</a>, Germany treats young people as a special category of prisoner even if they're over 18.
In Germany, offenders age 18 to 21 are under the jurisdiction of juvenile courts. Those courts are allowed to apply juvenile <keyword id="6355470" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Law">law</keyword> if they find the offender is still "developing" morally and psychologically or if they find the offense was a "typically juvenile" crime, according to the Vera Institute. Here's how Vera described the juvenile justice system in Germany:
The organizing ethos of juvenile justice in Germany is that of minimum intervention, in which priority is given to diversion. When sanctions are imposed, measures such as fines, warnings, community service orders, mediation, restitution, reparation, and social or vocational training courses are preferred. Youth imprisonment is a sanction of last resort, the maximum sentence of which is typically five years, or ten years for certain serious offenses.
The U.S. on the other hand, often does not hesitate to lock up minors. New York and North Carolina <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/20/opinion/when-children-become-criminals.html?_r=0">automatically prosecute 16-year-olds as adults</a>, and Al Jazeera recently reported that 1,200 people around America are serving life sentences <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/features/2014/1/sentenced-young-thestoryoflifewithoutparoleforjuvenileoffenders.html">for crimes they committed as kids</a>.
America may want to follow Germany's lead and focus less on punishment and more on rehab for these kids, Vera noted. "If U.S. jurisdictions want to salvage the potential of these young adults - as contributing members of communities - then attention must be paid to responding appropriately to their developmental needs, with an emphasis on treatment, education, and social or vocational training," the Vera report stated.
<h3>Only Rare Use Of Solitary</h3>
Even though human rights advocates say solitary <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/06/18/us-look-critically-widespread-use-solitary-confinement">can amount to torture</a> (depending on the length of time it's used), American prisoners have in some cases <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/28/damdamon-thibodeaux-solitary-confinement_n_4873485.html">spent years in solitary</a>.
German and Dutch prisons only rarely use solitary, and when they do, it's only for a few hours or days, according to the Vera Institute report.
"This policy implicitly recognizes the deleterious impact lengthy segregation can have on an individual," the report noted, "and acknowledges that there are better, more humane ways to respond to rule-breaking within prison."

6 Reasons Why Prison Is Better In Europe Than America

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e243855cc2190f106883-2400/ah6i9454.jpg" alt="AH6I9454.JPG" /><ul class="summary-list"><li>Meek Mill, Philadelphia 76ers partner Michael Rubin, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, co-founders of the Reform Alliance, hosted a VIP holiday experience on Saturday for families adversely affected by the US probation system.</li><li>The Reform Alliance treated 50 children from families impacted by technical probation violations to a NBA Store shopping spree and a trip to a New England Patriots football game on the team's charter plane. </li><li>Over the course of the day, Business Insider shadowed and spoke to Rubin, a few special guests of Reform, and members of the invited families. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>Onboard the New England Patriots' private charter plane, on its descent into T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, Philadelphia 76ers partner and Reform Alliance co-chair Michael Rubin reflected on the cause behind a remarkable day in progress that he'd helped orchestrate. In less than a week, Rubin had arranged with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meek-mill-interview-lids-investment-jay-z-amazon-series-2019-06">Meek Mill</a>, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Brooklyn Nets co-owner Clara Wu Tsai, his co-founders in the <a href="https://reformalliance.com/">Reform Alliance</a>, to put together a "once-in-a-lifetime" holiday experience on Saturday for families who have been adversely affected by the probation and parole systems in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.Rubin and the Reform Alliance co-founders, a group that includes Jay-Z, launched the criminal justice-reform organization in January following Meek Mill's release from prison in 2018. Meek's release on bail came five months after the rapper and entrepreneur was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meek-mill-attorney-says-judge-biased-prison-sentence-2017-11">controversially sentenced to two-to-four years in prison</a> in 2017 over a technical probation violation. (His case has since been dismissed.)On Saturday, the Reform Alliance treated 50 children from families impacted by similarly non-criminal probation violations to a NBA Store shopping spree in Manhattan and a subsequent trip to a New England Patriots football game on the team's charter plane. Each kid who attended has a parent who is either in prison or has experienced incarceration or a probation extension solely due to technical probation violations."Seeing the stupidity of the system, seeing the many people that need help, this is a great cause and truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of the people on this plane," Rubin told Business Insider. "But at the same, we're going to use this to help change the law."Rubin said that Reform is currently focusing its energy in Pennsylvania, where the group has introduced plans for a bipartisan bill that will put limitations on how long Pennsylvanians can be on probation, prevent non-criminal (and non-repeat-offending) probation violations from sending people to jail, and allow for those with good standing to get time off of their probation. The Pennsylvania State Legislature will soon vote on Reform's bill, which Rubin said he hopes to have passed by the end of January. "In Pennsylvania alone, [the bill] will help tens of thousands of people directly, hundreds of thousands or millions of people indirectly," Rubin said. "So we've just got to keep getting the word out there and keep changing laws.""In America, there's probably a quarter of people that are stuck, that come from upbringings where they're familiar with the system," he continued. "But I think three quarters of the country doesn't understand this, and we need to educate that three quarters about how unfair it is, so we can get their support to change laws and do all this while keeping communities safe."Minutes after Rubin and I spoke, the flight crew prepared for landing. The plane touched down in Warwick, Rhode Island, where two charter buses drove the day's attending children and families behind a police escort to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. <h2>Notable guests at a holiday shopping spree</h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e310855cc21929762ed3-2400/ah6i9314.jpg" alt="AH6I9314.JPG" />The day started off, though, with a shopping spree at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. According to the event's organizers, single children of invited families received $500 gift cards to the store, most families received a gift card of $1000, and larger families received more in store credit.Prior to shopping, the kids and their families gathered on the store's second floor for an introduction from Rubin, Meek, Wu Tsai, and two special guests, DJ Khaled and Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert. "Some of y'all come from my neighborhood, some from New York I know," Meek told the crowd. "I'm just like y'all. In the times of my coming up, I didn't have outlets like this or people who really cared about the issues I went through as a child growing up in a single parent home."Later, as the families started to shop, the Reform co-founders and their guests took turns speaking to the press before joining the families in their shopping."I watched Meek go through the holiday season without his family when he was locked up," Rubin said. "For Meek it was awful to live through, and for me, it was awful to watch. All these kids here have parents that are incarcerated or previously incarcerated for technical violations - again, they didn't commit a crime - and we want to make sure we give them one of the best days of their lives.""There's four and a half million people on probation and parole in the United States," Rubin continued. "We have five times the rate of incarceration of the rest of the world. When we realized how big the problem was, Meek came out of prison saying to me, 'Michael, things happen for a reason. We've got to turn this into something bigger.'"Wu Tsai discussed how her philanthropic work in attempting to increase economic mobility in Brooklyn ties into the larger issues of criminal-justice reform that the Reform Alliance seeks to address and change. "Many people in Brooklyn and urban environments are in this endless cycle of incarceration, probation and parole, and often going back to prison for technical, non-criminal reasons," Wu Tsai said. "Criminal justice-reform, there are so many ways to contribute in this area. Reform Alliance is one. That is a long-term game because it's trying to change laws and policy, and we know that that's not easy. So at the same time, we're also trying to change the narrative, trying to change hearts and minds, so that people are aware of these issues. And that's partly why we're doing this today."DJ Khaled - who would soon, at the event's conclusion, walk into and purposely stop slow-moving traffic in the middle of Fifth Avenue as he got in a car, to the amusement of a crowd in front of the store - spoke to Business Insider about what it meant to him to stand with Reform."This is powerful. This is what it's about," Khaled said. "If you think about it, man, if they weren't putting light to this, it'd be a secret. There's no way to help somebody if you don't know about it. And freedom is a blessing that God has given us. That word freedom, we can't take that word lightly. And to see them help people get freedom - but right now, today - look at the kids' smiles on their faces, and their mothers and fathers who've been through it. Just to uplift them, that's what it's about. I'm getting goosebumps talking about it."<h2>Charter buses to a singular charter plane </h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e377855cc219376f3752-2400/ap3y0081.jpg" alt="AP3Y0081.JPG" />On the charter bus that took us from Manhattan to the Patriots' team plane at Newark Airport, I sat next to and spoke to a man who identified himself as Shahein Allen, one of the parent chaperones for a kid in attendance. Allen, a New Jersey resident by way of Scranton, Pennsylvania, said he brought his step-daughter Sahadii to the event in the place of a parent who's in prison. Currently working in juvenile corrections in Pennsylvania, Allen told me he had seen both sides of the system, as he'd spent 20 years himself in the Pennsylvania state court system on probation and parole due largely to technical probation violations. "I was in Pennsylvania, went on vacation on probation. Once I got there, got violated on multiple dumb things," Allen said. "Having a cell phone. Having three hundred dollars in cash. Being in a place more than six hours. Like stuff they were just making up just to violate me. I did over 20 years in the system, back and forth, and most of it came from technical violations."Allen said he was surprised to see Meek, DJ Khaled, and the Reform co-founders at the NBA Store, and he spoke to the impact of Meek's activism in the face of an unjust probation system."To have Meek step up and be the face of this movement and actually saying something, we finally have a voice," he said. "Before it was just like, you can't beat the system. So we're shining light on it, and it's going to take a little bit, but the [Pennsylvania] system is so corrupt. It's going to take changing the commonwealth. Structural change."We eventually pulled into Newark Airport, where a turn through an airplane hangar offsite of the terminal gave way to what was for the kids and their families a surprise reveal of the Patriots' private jet. "I can't lie. I'm looking to catch a football from Brady, at top speed," Allen joked, before we left the bus for a security line directly in front of the plane's boarding staircase - a one plastic table, one metal detector situation that someone behind me in line referred to as "TSA-Light."The plane contained hundreds of Patriots hoodies and beanies in its overhead bins, which the kids and their families sorted through before and over the course of the 45-minute flight to Warwick, Rhode Island. <h2>The players' experience at Gillette Stadium</h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e3d2855cc21e5012ac22-2400/ah6i0820.jpg" alt="AH6I0820.JPG" />Once off of the buses that took us from Warwick to Gillette Stadium, members of the Patriots staff directed the group through the stadium's inner hallways and into the Patriots' team film room.In the room, Rubin introduced Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and a co-founder of the Reform Alliance. Kraft addressed the crowd to say that he had learned of the unjust nature of the probation system through Meek Mill's imprisonment, and that the two had been close beforehand."It's an honor for me to have you," Kraft told the group. "Because I've learned how unfair this system is, and for you to suffer at the holiday time and not be with loved ones. ... We wanted you to come here and have an experience just like our players. We just want you to have a great day, and I wanted to say I'm sorry for the unfair treatment, and we're really committed to trying to change the system."Kraft introduced two guests of his own, Hall of Fame Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins. Rollins related how she, the "highest-ranking member of the criminal law enforcement community in Boston," had two siblings who had been to prison for parole violations and other circumstances, but that the experience had inspired her run for office and a personal desire to bring representation for black and brown people into the top ranks of Boston law enforcement. <img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e443855cc21958441012-2400/ah6i0553.jpg" alt="AH6I0553.JPG" />We were then led onto the field through the Patriots players' stadium entrance about an hour before kick-off in a game between the Patriots and Buffalo Bills that held playoff implications. The children and their families stood on the sideline and watched the teams warm-up, met Tom Brady, and took a group picture with Kraft and Rubin on the field. <img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e4d5855cc2196368b364-2400/ah6i0911.jpg" alt="AH6I0911.JPG" />The group watched the game on large television screens from inside the Optum Field Lounge, located behind an endzone, over a meal of chicken fingers, fries, macaroni and cheese, and salad that the Patriots staff had laid out buffett-style. At halftime, we left the stadium to board charter buses for the team plane on our way back to Newark and Manhattan.Spirited discussions abounded on the return trip about the impending probation bill in Pennsylvania that Reform had introduced earlier this year, and about the events of the day - a significant day for 50 children and their families that held a greater symbolic significance in the fight for criminal-justice reform.

Meek Mill, Michael Rubin, and the Reform Alliance hosted a holiday shopping spree and VIP trip to a New England Patriots game for families adversely affected by the US probation system

<div class="image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/522ee58becad048f392ac5dd-524-393/40b472c01748b15a19979fa7736beb22-1.jpg" border="0" alt="40b472c01748b15a19979fa7736beb22" />AFP</div></div></div>An Indian court convicted four men Thursday of the gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy student on board a moving bus in a crime that sickened the nation.
Judge Yogesh Khanna said the men, who could now face the death penalty, were guilty of murdering a "helpless victim" as he announced that arguments for sentencing of the four will be held on Wednesday.
"I convict all of the accused," Khanna said.
"They have been found guilty of gang rape, unnatural offences, destruction of evidence... and for committing the murder of the helpless victim."
The four -- Mukesh Singh, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma -- had all pleaded not guilty to the charges, which included murder, gang rape and theft.
The victim's parents, who wept in court as the verdict was announced, have led the calls for them to be hanged, saying that they could only have closure once the four were executed.
Their 23-year-old daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, died of her injuries on December 29 in a Singapore hospital.
Amid emotional scenes outside the courtroom, the lawyer of Mukesh Singh said that his client would launch an immediate appeal.
"My client was simply driving the bus. He confessed fairly that he was driving the bus but he did not know what went on inside," V.K. Anand told reporters.
"We will appeal this verdict in the High Court in a month's time. But we will see what happens tomorrow after arguments and the quantum of punishment."
Mukesh Singh's mother, draped in a beige saree, fell to Anand's feet and broke down in tears outside the courtroom. The lawyer and her husband both tried to pick her up.
A.P. Singh, the lawyer for Akshay Thakur and Vinay Sharma, said both his clients would also appeal.
"We will now go to the High Court with our appeal... This is a political conviction," he told a scrum of reporters.
Any subsequent appeal by the defendants is likely to take years in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>'s notoriously slow legal system.
A juvenile has already been sentenced to three years in a correctional facility, while a fifth adult defendant, bus driver Ram Singh, was found hanging in his prison cell in March while awaiting trial.
"We will not accept anything below the death penalty," the victim's father told AFP from his home in southwestern Delhi in an interview last week.
"If all four are sentenced to death, I can't imagine anything being better than that... We will get closure."
The seven-month trial has been held in a special fast-track court in south Delhi, with more than 100 witnesses called to give evidence, including 85 for the prosecution.
Despite an initial gagging order on the trial, the case has drawn huge interest and about 20 TV trucks were outside the court on Tuesday morning while dozens of journalists queued to get inside.
During the trial, the prosecution produced DNA evidence, the victim's dying testimony and statements from a male companion who was beaten up during the attack.
The victim and her companion had spent the evening watching a movie at a mall in south Delhi when they were picked up by one of the many private buses plying the streets.
But rather than take them home, the group subjected the pair to a horrifying 45-minute ordeal that ended with both of them thrown out of the bus, virtually unconscious and naked.
In an interview ahead of the verdict, the 28-year-old companion told AFP that the assault was beyond a nightmare.
"I never imagined that one human being could treat another so badly," he said.
The student's family were bitterly disappointed with the three-year sentence handed down last month on the youngest defendant, the maximum allowed by law as he was only 17 at the time of the attack.
India has the death sentence for the "rarest of rare crimes", but does not often carry out executions.
The attack sparked weeks of sometimes violent street protests across India with seething public anger about sex crimes against women.
It also led to tougher laws for sex offenders, including the death penalty for rapists whose victims die or are left in a vegetative state.
But savage attacks against women are still reported daily in India's newspapers and the gang rape of a photographer last month near an upmarket area of Mumbai rekindled public disgust.
<div class="nc_footer">
Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.
</div>
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Four Men Convicted In Indian Gang Rape That Stunned The World - May Face The Death Penalty

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/556cb01f69beddc432cba7ad-1200-924/jessica-cadmus-wardrobe-whisperer.jpg" border="0" alt="Jessica Cadmus Wardrobe Whisperer">Wardrobe Whisperer</img></div></div></div>There comes a time in every ambitious Wall Streeter's life when they have to look at their clients right in the face and gain their trust.So when those clients look back, they need to see someone who looks like a master of the universe.Coordinating that look, as we're sure you can imagine, is not a trait most of Wall Street's bankers, hedge fund managers, and other hot shots, are born with.Enter Jessica Cadmus, founder of the <a href="http://www.wardrobewhisperer.com/">Wardrobe Whisperer</a>. What Cadmus does, is figure out who you are for you. If you ask her to, she goes to your house, throws out the things that makes you look juvenile, and recreates your life as a professional - as a boss.After that she'll figure the your actual fit for your body, go shopping with you, and create a look book from the items you now own so you know how to put outfits together. She'll even pack your bags for business trips, vacations etc.And, of course, we say "you" and "your" as in a senior level Wall Streeters - as managing directors, portfolio managers, as CEOs and what-have-you. This is basically, the "you" lots of Wall Streeters want to be.Cadmus met tons of her now-clients during her time at Goldman Sachs. At one point her purpose at Goldman was to cater to the firm's 400 partners. Need a doctors appointment? Cadmus had could get that. Need to plan a vacation? Cadmus was all over it. After a while, people started asking her what they should wear - so she started Wardrobe Whisperer in 2007. After about a year she left Goldman, and dedicated herself soley to helping the most ambitious people on Wall Street look their part."Most of them have the most basic suiting," Cadmus told Business Insider. "They're still in their 40s going to Brooks Brothers because that's where their mom took them."In a world of easy tailoring and stretch fabrics that make a suit feel like a paid of pajamas, Cadmus believes this basic Brooks Brothers-ness is unacceptable (she's right). You don't have to stray too far from traditional suiting to give your look a pop or two.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/556cb75decad04a80f828fea-1200-924/men-product.jpg" border="0" alt="Men Product">Wardrobe WhispererCadmus put these together because they look fantastic.</img></div></div></div>See, at the end of the day it's all about fit. That's why she has shopping events for male and female clients. They can bring their friends, and introduce them to the Gospel that is the seam of your suit's shoulder actually matching up with your body's shoulder."I would rather have a man in a cheaper suit that fits than a $13,000 that's too big," she said, adding that no man she's ever worked with actually knew their true size when they hired her. They think space (a bigger size) = comfort.Here are a few more tips Cadmus likes her clients:<ul><li>For ties and shirts: If you have a big pattern on your tie, you need a small pattern on your shirt (if you have one) and vice versa.</li><li>For socks: The base color of your sock should correspond with your trouser, not your shoe. So if you're wearing navy trousers, your socks have to match that in some way. Not your shoes.</li><li>On shoes: The more correct shoe to wear with a suit is a brown shoe, not a black shoe. "You cannot go wrong if you wear brown, cognac or oxblood," says Cadmus.</li><li>For the ladies: "Don't be afaid to look feminine. There's a power in looking polished in a dress while wielding your mind as a weapon," she said.</li></ul>This whole enterprise has worked out so well for Cadmus that she's bi-coastal now. She's also getting into the home design business. Her greatest achievement so far has been coaching an executive through his 270 lb weight lost. He trusted her the whole way through, which is basically what her clients told Business Insider they all do.A few comments from the Wall Street wardrobe reformed:<ul><li>It's imperative that I appear pulled together as I hold a senior position at my firm. I have the desire but simply don't have the time. Jessica has identified a complete working wardrobe that basically ensures I never make a mistake. She's armed me with a "look book" that I reference daily so I don't waste brain power or precious time selecting an outfit. </li><li>Jess provides a service that goes beyond picking out good clothes. Her read of people and their own personal style is spot on. She prepares before you meet her and adapts on the spot to deliver an outcome that drives confidence and comfort.</li><li>[Cadmus] streamlines the shopping process to remove the pain and in short order helps you to get comfortable with the look that you always wanted but didn't quite have the skill or time to pull off. </li><li>Jess has completely changed my wardrob from boring, black and monotonous to stylish colorful and chic with tons of variety. I now no longer wonder "what am I going to wear today?" or feel drab in my clothes.</li></ul>So here's the thing people. Part of life is looking the part, and if you want to be a boss, you should probably look like one.And if you don't know how to do that, you should ask.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/556cb9b56da811b46aecba1d-1064-798/jessica-cadmus-wardrobe-whisperer.png" border="0" alt="jessica cadmus wardrobe whisperer">Wardrobe Whisperer event</img></div></div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/roar-filmed-with-100-untamed-lions-movie-injured-2015-4">70 people were injured while filming this movie with 100 untamed lions</a></h3> <div> <div> <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Nzc3hmdDr4a5heo3T-j-WFkV1wYM_fEN" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> <script> if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; } RunFunctions.push(function() { var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'Nzc3hmdDr4a5heo3T-j-WFkV1wYM_fEN',{ autoplay: 'false' }); }); </script> <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div> </div> <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script> </div>

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You Searched For "juvenile correction home" and got 13 results

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A Louisiana man shot a teen girl in the head as she played hide-and-seek on his property, the latest in a string of unprovoked shootings

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