Glenn L. Pierce

Last updated
Glenn L. Pierce
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNortheastern University (Ph.D., 1989)
Known for Gun violence research using gun tracing data
Scientific career
Fields Sociology, criminology
Institutions Northeastern University
Thesis Gun control: the long-term impact of the Bartley-Fox law on violent crime in Massachusetts: a dissertation  (1989)

Glenn L. Pierce is an American criminologist and principal research scientist at Northeastern University's College of Social Sciences and Humanities. He is also the director of the Institute for Security and Public Policy at Northeastern. He is known for his research that uses gun tracing data to track the sources and movement of guns used in crimes. [1] [2] [3] With William J. Bowers, he has also studied the putative deterrent effect of capital punishment in the United States, [4] [5] [6] and the effect of the Bartley-Fox Law on violent crime rates. [7]

Pierce has been criticized for receiving $7.8 million from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for doing dual-use technologies research through Northeastern University. [8]

Related Research Articles

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row". Etymologically, the term capital refers to execution by beheading, but executions are carried out by many methods, including hanging, shooting, lethal injection, stoning, electrocution, and gassing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder</span> Unlawful killing of a human with malice aforethought

Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is killing committed in the absence of malice, such as in the case of voluntary manslaughter brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. Involuntary manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent, recklessness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun control</span> Laws or policies that regulate firearms

Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Execution by firing squad</span> Execution by multiple shooters on command

Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading, is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually readily available and a gunshot to a vital organ, such as the brain or heart, most often will kill relatively quickly.

Gary Kleck is a criminologist and the David J. Bordua Professor Emeritus of Criminology at Florida State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electroshock weapon</span> Incapacitating weapon

An electroshock weapon is an incapacitating weapon. It delivers an electric shock aimed at temporarily disrupting muscle functions and/or inflicting pain, usually without causing significant injury.

In the United States, habitual offender laws have been implemented since at least 1952, and are part of the United States Justice Department's Anti-Violence Strategy. These laws require a person who is convicted of an offense and who has one or two other previous serious convictions to serve a mandatory life sentence in prison, with or without parole depending on the jurisdiction. The purpose of the laws is to drastically increase the punishment of those who continue to commit offenses after being convicted of one or two serious crimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prison reform</span> Reform of the prison system

Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes.

In scholarly literature and criminology, gang rape, also called serial gang rape, party rape, group rape, or multiple perpetrator rape, is the rape of a single victim by two or more violators. Gang rapes are forged on shared identity, religion, ethnic group, or race. There are multiple motives for serial gang rapes, such as for sexual entitlement, asserting sexual prowess, war, punishment, and, in up to 30% of cases, for targeting racial minorities, religious minorities, or ethnic groups.

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in China. It is applicable to offenses ranging from murder to drug trafficking. Executions are carried out by lethal injection or by shooting. A survey conducted by TheNew York Times in 2014 found the death penalty retained widespread support in Chinese society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Taiwan</span>

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Taiwan. The long list of capital offences, for which the death penalty can be imposed, includes murder, treason, drug trafficking, piracy, terrorism, and especially serious cases of robbery, rape, and kidnapping, as well as for military offences, such as desertion during war time. In practice, however, all executions in Taiwan since the early 2000s have been for murder.

Execution by shooting is a method of capital punishment in which a person is shot to death by one or more firearms. It is the most common method of execution worldwide, used in about 70 countries, with execution by firing squad being one particular form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun violence</span> Method of violence

Gun-related violence is violence committed with the use of a firearm. Gun-related violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, and suicide, or attempted suicide, depending on jurisdiction. Non-criminal violence includes accidental or unintentional injury and death. Also generally included in gun violence statistics are military or para-military activities.

Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is a legal punishment, with most executions in the country being carried out by decapitation (beheading) – Saudi Arabia being the only country in the world to still use the method. In 2022, recorded executions in Saudi Arabia reached 196, the highest number recorded in the country for any year over the last three decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital punishment in Alabama</span>

Capital punishment in Alabama is a legal penalty. Alabama has the highest per capita capital sentencing rate in the United States. In some years, its courts impose more death sentences than Texas, a state that has a population five times as large. However, Texas has a higher rate of executions both in absolute terms and per capita.

The debate over capital punishment in the United States existed as early as the colonial period. As of April 2022, it remains a legal penalty within 28 states, the federal government, and military criminal justice systems. The states of Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Washington abolished the death penalty within the last decade alone.

James Alan Fox is the Professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy and former dean at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Fox holds a bachelor's degree in sociology (1972), a master's degree in criminology (1974), a master's degree in statistics (1975), and a Ph.D. in sociology (1976), all from the University of Pennsylvania.

Capital punishment in Delaware was abolished after being declared unconstitutional by the Delaware Supreme Court on August 2, 2016. The ruling retroactively applies to earlier death sentences, and remaining Delaware death row inmates had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. Despite this, the capital statute for first-degree murder under Title 11, Chapter 42, Section 09, of the Delaware Code has yet to be repealed, though it is unenforceable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass shootings in the United States</span> Incidents involving multiple victims of firearm violence

Mass shootings are incidents involving multiple victims of firearm related violence. Definitions vary, with no single, broadly accepted definition. One definition is an act of public firearm violence—excluding gang killings, domestic violence, or terrorist acts sponsored by an organization—in which a shooter kills at least four victims.

The Bartley-Fox Law is a Massachusetts law that sets a one-year mandatory minimum sentence for anyone found to be illegally carrying a firearm. It was passed by the Massachusetts General Court in 1974 and took effect in April 1975. Studies on its effectiveness have been mixed, and its strict provisions have been subject to criticism.

References

  1. Butterfield, Fox (1999-07-01). "Gun Flow to Criminals Laid To Tiny Fraction of Dealers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  2. Leber, Rebecca (2014-12-24). "How Did the NYPD Killer Get His Hands on a Gun From Georgia? Because Our Laws Are Insane". New Republic. Archived from the original on 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  3. Taylor, Marisa (2014-12-22). "Gun law loophole could have provided Brinsley's murder weapon, say experts". Al Jazeera America. Archived from the original on 2015-01-11. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  4. Zorn, Eric (1995-04-27). "Bombing, Executions Share A Disregard For Sanctity Of Life". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  5. Press, Robert M. (1983-12-20). "Studies show racial bias may be factor in use of death penalty". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  6. McCombs, Phil (1982-06-15). "America's Inability to Resolve the Capital Punishment Dilemma". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  7. Times, Michael Knight, Special To The New York (1981-01-21). "Studies of Gun Law Divided on Impact". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2017-08-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Gluckman, Nell (2018-07-03). "Yes, Northeastern U. Has Done Research for ICE. No, It's Not About Border Patrol". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-01.