ABSTRACT
The debate about crime policy is fueled by a profound disagreement about the causes of crime. The “psychogenic” school is a psychological approach that considers the individual’s propensity and inducement to commit crime. There are many forms of criminal behavior in the United States; the most commonly referred-to categories of crime include violent crimes against persons, property crime, white collar crime, victimless crime, and organized crime. Although public opinion on the use of the death penalty is likely to be a good measure of the public’s mood concerning hard-line policies that fit into the law-and-order tradition, the US Supreme Court nevertheless most directly sets these policies. Federal rulings to expand the rights of criminal defendants in the area of the death penalty have followed a clearly liberal, due process line of argument. Interest groups are active participants in the ongoing struggle concerning the rights of defendants and those convicted of crimes.
