Opinions on the Death Penalty – Quantitative and Qualitative

People are demanding the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and criminal defense attorney, Judy Clarke, has been appointed to represent him.  Fox News conservatives railed against him, saying he should get capital punishment and even be tortured.  How does the overall population feel about the death penalty?  To generate an impression from the populace, I gathered data from the comments section of four websites with articles discussing James Holmes and his fateful trial. 

The justice system takes years to reach a verdict on a death sentence, and James Holmes’s death trial is currently being processed and is scheduled to begin in February 2014.  James Holmes was the man who went on a shooting spree in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring at least 24.  With his infamous crime being known for nearly a year, there is more data to collect regarding people’s feelings on the death penalty.

In a recent poll on the Los Angeles Times website, 33.84% are positively in favor of capital punishment, 30.72% are in favor but the prosecutor should have the freedom to be against it, and 35.43% are completely against the death penalty.  This gives a general idea of what people think, but only from one website.

From the four websites, I took the first 50 clearly stated opinions regarding capital punishment.  The exception was Reason.com.  I could only collect 39 opinions because I ran out of comments.  I excluded repeat commentators, spam, and comments that seemed unclear on the specific issue of death sentences.  Table 1 shows a summation of all comments in each category.  Table 2 shows the proportions of people within each stance regarding capital punishment.

Table 1

Website	For	Against	In the Middle	Total
Huff Post	19	18	13	50
Reason.com	23	7	9	39
The Daily Beast	21	18	11	50
The Daily Kos	11	33	6	50
Totals	74	76	39	189

Table 2

The Qualitative Aspects of the Results

The two tables only measure the quantitative aspects of what the populace feels regarding the death penalty.  The reasons for the people’s feelings shows a deeper perspective.  Both “For” and “Against” sides have financial concerns on which is cheaper, to execute a murderer or to support the murderer through life in prison.  Also, they both harbor violent wishes to be more creative than the death penalty.  In the next sections, the comments from all three stances, For, Against, and In the Middle, illustrate the reasons for their opinions.  No usernames are disclosed, and typos are included.  Only websites are cited.

In Favor of the Death Penalty

The people who were in favor of capital punishment had five general reasons or reactions:  Straight forward, Deserves a worse death penalty, Tax dollar concerns, Letting him live would endanger others, and Death penalty is not murder.

Straight Forward

Some people simply and vehemently believed in capital punishment.

“Off with his head, or at least a muscle relaxant when he's strapped to gurney.” – Huff Post

“His next move will be to find God and repent . . . I think he should do it in person.” – Huff Post

"Some things are worth the price and having this sack of shit cease to exist is one of them." – Reason.com

"This guy is a poster child for the death penalty. You can't put his face up there and expect to have a sober debate." – Reason.com

"He should plead insanity and then be put down like a rabid dog." – Reason.com

"The man needs to die. The best closure for all the victims families is a very speedy trial and a speedy execution. Tomorrow." – The Daily Beast

Deserves a worse death penalty

Then there were other people who not only believe in the death penalty, but they wish to be more creative in the level of brutality.  Others want to literally reciprocate Holmes’s act by recreating the murder scene, placing him as the victim.

“The execution should be held in the city square. The authorities should then strip him naked and dismember each and every part of his body slowly starting with his fingers. If he passes out from the pain, stop and wake him up.” – Huff Post

“I vote for Impalement!” – Reason.com

“Defenestration.  Sears Tower in Chicago would be about right size for it.” – Reason.com

“A trip through the wood chipper at half speed. Feet first, of course.” – Reason.com

“I say off with his head, and use a very dull blade!” – Reason.com

“Let him watch a movie in a theater, then go in with guns blazing” – Huff Post

“Good. And do it while he's watching a screening of the Kilmer or Clooney Batman.” – Huff Post

Tax dollar concerns

The idea is why should people pay for a murderer to keep living?  Some believe execution is cheaper in the long run.

“How much money do you think it will take for those of us in Colorado to support him for the rest of his natural life? I'm not up for that.....thanks so much,” – Huff Post

“Also, where is the calculation of a lifetime in prison? It's probably more than a million bucks, with food, healthcare etc.” – Reason.com

“Exactly, and why pay to keep him alive for the rest of his life. Free room, board, and healthcare for the next half century or so. Close the door on his life and let the families move on.” – The Daily Beast

“A hole in the ground will free up a cell for someone else.” – Huff Post

Letting him live would endanger others.

The ideas expressed were that execution insures that the person can not kill another person ever again, and that even in prison the murderer could kill inmates and prison guards.

“Ah, yes, the LWOP dodge (Life With Out Parole). Inmates can still kill guards, other prisoners, and arrange to have their co-conspirators in or out of prison kill people even outside prison. What's to stop JH from joining a prison gang & causing more havoc on the inside?” – Reason.com

“..... Moral tone has no effect on the deaf ear of murderous evil, but with the death penalty, at least they will never get a second chance to steal another life.  ......” – The Daily Beast

“I'm playing Devil's Advocate here, but what about the safety of the other inmates? You mentioned the "general public," but what of those who are caged in with a lunatic? Is their protection not more of a state responsibility than that of the general public?” – Reason.com

Death penalty is not murder.

The idea is that killing and murder are two separate concepts.  Here is one example.

“Because we don't firmly believe killing people is wrong.  There are always exceptions.  War.  Self-defense.  In the defense of others.  In some states, death with dignity for the terminal.  There are others.  This can be one, too....” – The Daily Beast

Against the Death Penalty

The people opposed to execution express eight general reasons or reactions for their opinions:  Immorality, Financial concerns, Societal problems, False positives, Life Without Parole is worse, Study them, Giving him what he wants, and Death penalty does not deter murder.

Immorality

They believe the death penalty is vengeance or hypocritically committing the same crime the killer did.

“That is not justice, that is revenge.” – Huff Post

“They might be sending a clear message to James Holmes but they are also teaching your kids, your brother / sister that violance is the answer.. How do they expect the kids of today take the right road and make something of themselfs, when the state is doing the same thing that James Holmes did. Take a life for a life. What message is that giving the kids?  So what the state is saying that violence is acceptable, and that the can give just about anyone the death penalty.  Yeah great work people.” – Huff Post

“The cost and time, the wishes of the victims, and society's desire for vengeance are irrelevant. The way I see it, the state just doesn't have the moral authority to kill somebody that it has rendered harmless.  ….” – Reason.com

“In a society where we firmly believe that killing someone is wrong... How does it make sense for the punishment to be killing someone?” – The Daily Beast

“I disagree. It makes society no better than the criminal.” – The Daily Beast

“Why do we kill people to show that killing people is wrong?” – The Daily Kos

Financial concerns

They feel that execution costs more, affecting tax payers.

“From a 2009 article on Yahoo.  "To execute a prisoner costs about $3 millions dollars.  To keep a prisoner in jail for a lifetime without chance of parole costs about $650,000.Recent studies have indicated that the death penalty costs 70% more than lifetime incarceration, in Tennessee 48% more, and in Maryland, the death penalty costs 3 times as much. In 2008, a California Commission found that a system without the death penalty would cost 11.5 millions dollars, compared to 137 million with the death penalty. Even with no appeals, the death penalty is still more expensive.” – The Daily Beast

“I've been involved with three, one went all the way through and we spent approx $1M.  The other two resolved pre-trial for LWOP and probably cost $50k together.” – The Daily Kos

Societal problems

Others believe that society helped shape the mind of the murderer.

“People like this can only exist in our society because we create them and ignore them after their creation. We waste billions on the military industrial complex when we should be investing billions into mental health programs. Society failed this man, and society paid the price for that failure. We could kill him, but we are only doing so to avoid taking responsibility for that failure. It takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a village to save a person from drowning in their insanity and despair. Compassion could have prevented this whole tragedy.” – Huff Post

False positives

Not everyone who is executed is guilty.  Later evidence proves their innocence when it is too late.

“To that I would play Devil’s advocate and answer that we kill people to punish them for doing something they knew was wrong when they did it. Death penalty advocates have a point when they say that murderers give up their right to live by taking life, and that they know it was wrong to murder because they try to cover up the crime. Of course death penalty advocates go silent when you show them the rising statistics of death row inmates being exonerated when new evidence of innocence comes to light.” – The Daily Kos

Life Without Parole (LWOP) is worse.

The conditions of prison make life unbearable, and the criminal has his/her whole life to contemplate their actions.  Plus, the liberal side also likes to get creative with punishments.

“And how is locking a person in a cell 23 hours a day for decades any more humane or less depriving of rights than killing that person. Yeah, murder is bad. But there are fates worse than death. And living your life in a supermax is probably one of them.” – Reason.com.

“The death penalty is such a waste. I could think of much more creative and useful punishments. Organ harvesting and human experiments come to mind.” – Reason.com.
“Capital Punishment is too easy.  What should really happen is that he should be woken up daily, forced to watch home videos, birthday and baby pictures of the people he killed, along with photos of the aftermath, Clockwork Orange style.  Once a year, force him to sit in front of any family member that wishes to describe to him in whatever level of detail they choose how his actions impacted their lives.  Having a guard kick him in the nuts on the way back to his supermax cell every day would be nice as well, but that's negotiable.  Now that's punishment. Death? bah.  Also, it's wrong for the state to kill people.” – The Daily Kos

Study them.

Instead of killing the killer, analyzing the murder’s mind and life could answer questions about what caused him/her to become a societal monster.

“That mass murderers should not be put to death, but rather be put under the microscope... lab rats if you will. Then perhaps we could narrow down what causes people to snap and so these things... Thoughts?” – The Daily Kos

“Studying them with the next decade's technology could easily save more lives than executing them.” – The Daily Kos

“I agree.  We know there is something wrong with these people.  I believe the most rational response is to attempt to learn what causes these violent outbursts and see what can be done to prevent these tragedies.” – The Daily Kos

Giving him what he wants.

The idea is that the killer desires notoriety and to die a “martyr,” so executing him is appeasing him.

“By executing him you fulfill his dream(he probably wanted to die via suicide by cop).  Also for those other twisted minds, you just enable the myths that other twisted minds will somehow use to idolize him.  Life in prison is a far better punishment, because he will eventually be forgotten about, or at a minimum be rendered a minor footnote in history.  When/if he is executed you will have a media circus that will do no favours for the victims or their families.” – The Daily Kos

Death penalty does not deter murder.

The death penalty has been around throughout the history, and it has not stopped murder.

“If it isn’t a deterrent, it isn’t worth it.” – The Daily Kos.

In the Middle

The people who were in the middle either believe in the death penalty with exceptions or they have other interesting views where blame is shifted to the pharmaceutical industry or racial discrimination is mentioned.

I am against the death penalty, but…..

“I'm against the death penalty, but I understand those who want revenge.” – Huff Post

“I'm sorry, but the guy clearly did it.  I'm against the death penalty in 99% of cases, where there could be doubt and when there is only a single murder (so as to give criminals a reason not to murder more than one person).  But in this case, there is no doubt whatsoever, and he killed a bunch of people.” – Reason.com

Other interesting views

“No matter what they do to this monster - they will never get "justice" for the victims. The victims are dead, sadly, and nothing will bring them back. No amount of vengeance, revenge, "justice", or whatever you want to call it will ever be just or fair. The innocent victims are gone.  …………The victims have the right to have their loved ones back - but that's never going to happen - just like "justice" for anyone is ever really going to ever happen in this case. I wish there was a better answer than that...............” – Huff Post

“When are we going to start punishing the Dr. Frankensteins who dole out medications that turn the James Holmes in the world from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hydes?  ........” – Huff Post

“If we don't push for the death penalty for James Holmes, we should get rid of it altogether.  So sick of having these mostly white, mostly privileged young men skate off with a life term while we all know what happens to the poverty stricken minority youth that goes on trial for 1 murder (let alone 10+).” – The Daily Beast

© 2013 Caroline Friehs

Originally posted: May 9, 2013 

References

Chapman, S (2013 Apr. 4).  Why Prosecutors Should Push for Life in Prison – Not the Death Penalty – for James Holmes.  Reason.com.  Retrieved from:  http://reason.com/archives/2013/04/04/why-prosecutors-should-push-for-life-in#comment

Daily Kos Member (2013 Apr. 1).  Does James Holmes, the Aurora Killer, deserve the death penalty.  The Daily Kos.  Courtesy of user:  Michael012.  Retrieved from:  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/04/01/1198514/-Does-James-Holmes-the-Aurora-killer-deserve-the-death-penalty

Donaghue, E (2013 May 2).  Defending Dzhokhar Tsarnaev:  Renowned attorney Judy Clarke will fight for bombing suspect’s life.  CBS News.com – Crime Sider.  Retrieved from:  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57582573-504083/defending-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-renowned-attorney-judy-clarke-will-fight-for-bombing-suspects-life/

Dow, D.R. (2013 Apr. 2).  Death Penalty Is the Wrong Punishment for James Holmes.  The Daily Beast.  Retrieved from:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/02/death-penalty-is-the-wrong-punishment-for-james-holmes.html

Huff Post (2013 Apr. 1).  James Holmes Death Penalty:  Prosecutors To Seek Capital Punishment For Accused Aurora Theater Shooter.  Huff Post – Crime.  Retrieved from:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/james-holmes-death-penalty_n_2978900.html?utm_hp_ref=crime

McGough, M (2013 Apr. 12).  Poll:  James Holmes and the death penalty.  Los Angeles Times – Opinion LA.  Retrieved from:  http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-aurora-victims-deserve-respect-but-not-a-sayso-20130412,0,57620.story

Williams, R (2013 April).  It’s Official – Fox News Just Hit Rock Bottom.  Hard and Repeatedly.  [video].  Upworthy.com.  Retrieved from:  http://www.upworthy.com/its-official-fox-news-just-hit-rock-bottom-hard-and-repeatedly-3

Examining the Public's Reaction to Judy Viger's Crime

In late February, Judy Viger, 33, ordered two strippers to perform for her son’s 16^th birthday party at the Spare Time Bowling Center in South Glen Falls, NY.  Some of the party goers were as young as 13.  The dancers gave lap dances, and although they were not completely naked, they were clad in thongs and bras.  Viger was arrested and is being charged with child endangerment.

People did not file complaints until racy photos were uploaded on the internet.  The photos depicted a stripper doing a 69 position-type lap dance on a minor.  The dancers allegedly did not know the boys were underage, however their managers should have known the age of their customers.  Another disturbing picture found in the Smosh.com article shows a semi-nude woman pole dancing in the presence of toddlers.  I learned that this picture was not taken from Viger’s party, yet where ever it occurred, that woman was wrong and should be arrested.  If a woman wants to be an exotic dancer, she should at least dance for adults, not babies!

Viger’s corruption of her underage son was very low, and so were the predominantly positive reactions from the internet which favored the mother and her actions.  Looking through the comment sections of six websites, I accounted the reactions into the following table.  Positive indicates that the commenter sympathizes with Viger’s crime, encourages it, disagrees that it was a crime, or finds amusement in the incident.  Negative means that the commenter protests Viger’s actions as criminal, inappropriate, immoral, or bad parenting.  Middle signifies indifference or sees the incident as both good and bad; a shade of gray.  Unclear statements are indeterminate of which stance the commenter is taking, or the comment was unrelated to the article.  In the Weekly Vice comment section, two users knew Judy Viger personally.  They denounced her actions and relayed past information unrelated to her present crime.  Since they hated her, I marked them as unclear, due to bias.  They may condemn her because they already hate her.  However, if the perpetrator were a stranger, their judgment may differ, even slightly.  All other users could make an objective reaction to her crime, and no repeat comments were included in the data.

Table 1

This table shows the percentages of users who were for and against Viger’s crime, also including those who were in the middle.  Positive favors the perpetrator, and negative is against the illegal actions.  Values were derived from the respective values from Table 1 divided by the Total Minus Unclear column.

Table 2

Positive Comments

There were reoccurring themes in the comments favoring Ms. Viger:  Amusement, Agreement/Encouragement, Undermining the crime, Distortion through comparison, Asserting sexual culture, Tax money, and Sexual orientation politics.  Please note that all quotes’ user names are omitted and typos are included.  They are cited by resource only.  I had to abbreviate some of the comments, because this entry is so long.  If you want a full comment, let me know.

Amusement

Numerous people found humor in this birthday party idea.  Moreover they expressed sarcasm, downplaying any harm done.

“oh noez.. (mostly covered) bewbs.. Call tha kops.” – Huff Post

"Endangering the welfare of a child" The stripper was hanging upside down off of one of the teens, and caused a slipped disk in his vertebrae?” – Huff Post

“Where do I sign the adoption papers? I want to be this woman's son! Can I call you “Mommy?” – Daily Mail

Agreement and Encouragement

Users repeatedly cheered with comments saying, “Coolest mom ever!” and “Best mom ever!”  These one liners were too many to count.  People cyber-cheered, “Give her a medal!” – Huff Post; “Oh man, just look at that lucky boy between the legs XD” – The Weekly Vice.

Three people on Smosh.com wanted strippers at their parties.  The youths were not alone.  On other websites, grown adults (most likely) wished they were there, or wished they had a mother like that promising good academic behavior past or present.

“My 16th birthday is actually next week, hope my mother does the same thing. :)” –Smosh.com

“I wish I was invited. These complainers need a life. The kunt that called the cops will call a lawyer next so she can cash in.” – The Weekly Vice

“She looks like a stripper/dancer herself I'll give her $10 for a lapdance! BTW If my mom would have hired a stripper for MY 16th BD in 1974 she'd STILL be my uber hero today!” – Huff Post

“Damn if I had a mom like that growing up I would had made sure I kept getting only A's in every class.” – NY Daily News

“Future strip club patrons in training! Mom better save up, 18th birthday is now less than two years away. How do you top this!” – Daily Mail

A few commentators were down right creepy.  A few not only agreed with the crime, but thought the mother should have incestuously performed for her son.  “Why didn't mom do it, she looks like she got her look together?” – NY Daily News

Another person suggested a way to get away with it.  “If she wanted to gift her son a lap dance, she should have hired them for a private party, meaning, her son, her and no one else.” – NY Daily News (abbreviated. for length)

Undermining the Crime

Some commentators did not believe that any crime occurred, or do not know laws against corrupting minors.

“If there was no nudity whats wrong” – CBS

“I'm curious exactly what the 'crime' involved here is. Is there actually a law on the books against youngsters seeing a woman nude, or a 'legal age' for getting a 'lap dance'?” - NY Daily News (abbreviated for length)

“How about if this were a beach or poolside party with scantily clad girls, all minors? Sorry, but if I were on the jury I wouldn't see a case for child endangerment; just poor judgement and an immature mother. What's the danger - that this mother might make a man of her own son? ROFLMAO!! If there was alcohol served, then fine. Punish her for that. At least they were chaperoned.” – Daily Mail

Really?  You want your kid to be around scantily clad female strangers at a pool?  Plus chaperones are not allowed at strip clubs, why should chaperoning matter in this case?  That just means the parent is witnessing her son’s sexual experience.

Distortion through comparison

Users were comparing the crime to other issues, such as guns, violent video games, and horror movies.  Basically what they mean is, sexuality in youth is not as bad as some other problem in society.  Really, it is attempting to excuse sexual corruption of minors.

“So.........i could buy a machine gun for my son but i cant buy him dancers to dance on a pole then go home.........society......... society......what is wrong with you.” – Huff Post

“……What would be worse, watching a couple of strippers dancing partially nude or a marathon os "Saw" films where people are beheaded, tortured and eviscerated?” -

Huff Post  (abbreviated getting to the point.)

“Hell, the video games these teens play show more nudity than bowling alley "strippers". Lighten up!” – CBS

Asserting Sexual Culture

Sex is ubiquitous in American and European culture.  Children are learning earlier about sex, and storks are a ludicrous myth.  Turn on the TV, flip through the channels, and you will likely find something sexual.  Women’s magazines are covered with sexualized headlines.  Porn is common enough to have a Broadway song about it.  In the age of the internet, information is a click away, and sexual content is no exception.

Just because sexual information and experiences are easily accessible does not mean it is alright for a parent to provide their child with the sexual experiences.  The following comments show what some people think is acceptable.  Some male commentators see restricting laws as emasculating to our culture, hence the term, “sisification.”  Others speak out against prudes who do not sympathize with their looser lifestyles.

“Oh for crying out loud. He's 16. You don't think he's already seen 100 times worse on the internet or at the movies. loosen up people” – CBS

“16--old enough to handle a mild lap dance---loosen up--take off the puritan hats and enjoy the good stuff” – NY Daily News

“Prudes. Get a life.” – The Weekly Vice

“This is just more sisification of the American male in order to achieve gender equalization. An older woman with a younger man was not considered a dangerous crime when I was a kid.” – Huff Post

“watever man this society is turning everyone into a bunch of pussies.” – The Weekly Vice

Sexual Orientation Politics

Due to the ongoing issue of gay rights, some users brought up sexual orientation.  Some feel disciminated as if homosexuals are more privileged and would not be targeted for a similar crime.  Another person intentionally supported Viger possibly because s/he hates gay rights.

“Had he come out, we should encourage the kid. But hetero fun, is wrong now?” – Daily Mail

“Anything that promotes heterosexuality these days I support.” – Daily Mail

Tax Money Issues

A handful of users undermined the crime while mentioning that tax money should be contributed to catching people for “real crimes.”

“Drop the charges and stop wasting tax payers time and money !” – NY Daily News

This quote is a combination of Undermining the crime, tax issues, sexual culture, and gay rights issues:

“My two cents. Son 16, according to the story. There were other adults there. The boys mother was there. The boys mother hired the strippers.
Under an adult parents supervision this was allowed to happen. No laws were broken. Taking your 16 year old son to R rated movie these days is an adventure into graphic sex and violence. Some parents take their teenagers to NC17 movie theaters. Bad parenting? Yes. Arrest? No. Waste of taxpayers money. I am sure if the boy said he was gay and the mother hired 2 male strippers there would be protesters and signs picketing the police station and the bowling alley from the gay communities outrage.” - CBS

This is not an issue of sexual orientation.  This is an issue of age.  If the boy were gay with Chippendales, the mother would still be arrested.  If LGBT members protested, they would look like pedophile advocates, and gay men have been trying to break that misconception for decades.

Negative Comments

The patterns in the negative comments were simpler.  People protested the crime itself or denounced its grotesqueness as trashy and inappropriate.  Multiple users brought up parenting issues.  Two comments mentioned, this is the problem with “Kids having kids,” since Viger was a teenage mom.  People said women are more than just “sex objects,” supporting gender equality.  A few noticed the cross around the boy’s neck in the beach picture and pointed out his religious hypocrisy.

“She's an unfit and ignorant mother who needs to be charged and fined.” – CBS

“This woman is just another form of white trash. You think the young boys at this party will ever respect women for more than just sex objects?” – CBS

“What get me the most was there was 80 PEOPLE not just kids, and not one of those people tryed to stop this. I think anyone over the age of 18 should be in court with her for not stopping it.” – NY Daily News

“1 year isn't enough for that ignorant woman. And that stripping company should be put out of business! They had to know that they were minors!” – NY Daily News

“And good parenting would be when you tell your child "I'm not your friend, I'm your parent!"- Kid's probably going to end up a dirtbag. Nice role model, mom.” – Daily Mail

“I don't think my kids are little angels (their far from it) but I'll be damned if some "cool" parent is going to satisfy their "yearnings". – The Weekly Vice

Middle

A few had both negative and positive feelings about this incident, while others were indifferent.  Indifference was most expressed by attitudes saying, “It’s not my kid – not my business.”  Others say the boy must be happy but the mother was being stupid.  On Smosh’s Facebook page, users commented, “Epic win for the son.  Epic Fail for parenting.”  That post was removed.  That site showed a younger people’s reactions whereas the other five websites were marketed for older age groups, thus adding variety to the data.  From the other sites, commented prefaced with “I would not choose this for my child, but, (insert condoning statement).”  There was a long comment that shifted blame from the parent to the business that should have known the age of the clients.  This comment is the middle of the shades of gray; a fusion of disgust and indifference:

“Tacky, poor taste, inappropriate, stupid? Yes. ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD? No.”  Daily Mail.

Bottom Line

Due to the predominance of positive comments favoring her illegal actions, it is more than likely that similar parties and events are continuing to happen.  Parental support of these actions is possible to be repeated just like in Viger’s case, since her crime is sociologically supported.  The real harm is that an adult is providing an underage boy with sexual entertainment.  Worse is that society supports this.  In the future, there may be more cases of pedophilia, due to a reduced sense of discretion among certain groups of people regarding sexual conduct.

©2013 Caroline Friehs
Originally posted: March 27, 2013
Last updated upon blog renovation completion.

References:

Associated Press (2013 Feb 19).  Cops:  Mom Hires Strippers For Teen’s Birthday.  ABC7.  Retrieved from:  http://abc7ny.com/archive/8997895/

Associated Press (2013 Feb. 19).  Judy Viger, New York Mother, Arrested For Buying Strippers For Underage Son’s Birthday Party.  Huff Post – Crime.  Retrieved:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/19/judy-viger-new-york-mother-arrested-buying-strippers-sons-16th-birthday_n_2718279.html

Crimesider Staff (2013 Feb. 19).  Judy Viger, NY mom, hired strippers for son’s16th birthday party, police say.  CBS News.  Retrieved from:  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57570091-504083/judy-viger-ny-mom-hired-strippers-for-sons-16th-birthday-party-police-say/

Ratliff, J (2013 Feb 20).  Judy Viger arrested:  Cops say mom hired strippers for 16-year-old’s birthday party.  WPTV – West Palm Beach.  Retrieved from:  http://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/water-cooler/judy-viger-arrested-cops-say-mom-hired-strippers-for-16-year-olds-birthday-party

Sources used exclusively for comment data collection:

Dominiquez, D (2013 February).  Mom Gets Son Strippers For His 16^th Birthday.”  Smosh.com.  Retrieved from:  http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/articles/mom-gets-son-strippers-his-16th-birthday

Knowles, D (2013 Feb. 19).  New York mom charged with child endangerment after hiring strippers to perform lap dances at her 16-year-old son’s birthday party, police say.  NY Daily News.  Retrieved from:  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/cops-mom-hired-strippers-son-16th-article-1.1268136

Satherley, J (2013 Feb. 19).  Mother who hired strippers for her son’s 16^th birthday party is arrested and faces up to a year in prison for endangering the child’s welfare.  Daily Mail.  Retrieved from:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2281324/Judy-H-Vigor-arrested-hiring-strippers-sons-16th-birthday-party.html

The Weekly Vice (2013 Feb. 19).  Judy Viger – Jailed After Hiring Strippers For 16-year-old Son’s Birthday Party.  The Weekly Vice.com  Retrieved from:  http://www.theweeklyvice.com/2013/02/judy-viger-jailed-after-hiring.html