Taking sides : clashing views in crime and criminology / selected, edited, and with introductions by Thomas J. Hickey.

Includes bibliographical references.

Is crime beneficial to society? -- Is criminal behavior determined biologically? -- Is a person's body type clearly linked to criminal behavior? -- Does the United States have a right to torture suspected terrorists? -- Is racial profiling an acceptable law enforcement strategy? -- Should juvenile courts be abolished? -- Is exposure to pornography related to increased rates of rape? -- Are supermax (control unit) prisons an appropriate way to punish hardened criminals? -- Do three strikes sentencing laws and other'get tough' approaches really work? -- Should private'for-profit' corporations be allowed to run U.S. prisons? -- Is capital punishment a bad public policy? -- Should serious sex offenders be castrated? -- Do strict gun control laws reduce the number of homicides in the United States? -- Should the police enforce zero-tolerance laws? -- Should marijuana be legalized? -- Should juries be able to disregard the law and free'guilty' persons in racially charged cases? -- Does the U.S. Constitution protect the right to possess a firearm? -- Is the death penalty an unconstitutional punishment for juvenile offenders? -- Does confining sex offenders indefinitely in mental hospitals after they have served their prison sentences violate the Constitution? -- Does an imprisoned individual have a constitutional right to access the state's evidence for DNA testing?