In the majority of states all crimes are divided into two groups: felonies and misdemeanors. The difference between these two groups is in seriousness of crimes. (Hasselm, 2011) If this is a felony, an accused person can get 1 year in prison, life imprisonment without parole or even the death penalty. If it is a misdemeanor, an accused person could be punished by less than 1 year or a year of imprisonment and/or fine.
Crimes are not equal in weight. General public considers some of the crimes more severe than others. (Kappeler, 2014) The majority of people considers the murder of someone as more severe crime than stealing a bag and is expecting a murderer will be punished more dourly than a thief. (Binder, 2012) The examples of felonies are: murder, drug distribution, animal assault, grand theft, rape.
The misdemeanor examples are: simple battery, driving without a license, drunkenness in public, disturbing the peace. There are also different effects on civil liberties. If a person is found guilty of misdemeanor – nothing changes, but if a person is found guilty of felony – this is the loss of the right for the second amendment, to hold a public office, to serve on jury and he/she has no right to vote.
There is also a small nuance. There are cases, where a misdemeanor could turn into a felony. For example, storage of less than an ounce of marijuana in some states is a misdemeanor, but if the same weight, but with the intent to distribute - it is already a felony. Another example is drunk driving - a misdemeanor, but if at the same time someone was hurt or even killed - it becomes a felony.
Very often people underestimate the influence of media on their lives. But a lot of information that we receive every day, we take from a variety of media - social networks, television, radio, newspapers. People do not buy prints to read the news as they used to. Faster and more news can be found through the Internet, and respectively the impact of the Internet and information from there is even more. The media has a great effect on how members of society are aware of events that may affect them in one way or another. Mass media became the only source of news, amusement, and relaxation. Mass media informs many people about news that affect and even change their lives.
Kappeler in his article (2014) states that mass media is saturated with news about the crimes, criminals and victims, but at the same time the level of crime is much exaggerated. He also states that the media is too racist and often presents black people as typical criminals. (Kappeler, 2014)
There are many materials and articles about murder, rape, but much less about such serious crimes as burglary or theft. There are many pictures of street crimes, but not so much about the crimes committed in business by white-collars. (Little, n.d.) These kinds of crimes get a little media coverage, it could be more serious and damaging for people. Economic recessions could be considered as a result of such corporate crimes, and it affected many people. (Little, n.d.) The materials about the crimes are too uncritical, because reporters take information from officials mainly. (Kappeler, 2014)
Media can not be considered as a reliable source of information about the crime, because even the number of crimes, which will be discussed in the release, is edited. These figures do not always correspond to reality. The editor chose what will be interesting for the viewer or listener. An image of the "ideal" criminal and the "ideal" victim are created. (Little, n.d.) Only the most sensational events are chosen for the plot, and even they are embellished.
There are three theories of criminal behavior – psychological, sociological, and biological. The aim of each theory – to explain the criminal behavior of a person. (Helfgott, 2008) Each theory has a different explanation, that could be used in the analysis of certain cases. It is also possible to explain the reasons for felony and misdemeanor.
According to the psychological theory, a person, who commits a crime for his personal need, but he does it because of some abnormal process within his personality. The explanation of such a behavior is in the individual and his desires. (Helfgott, 2008) Psychological theory proposes several methods how to prevent and control the criminal behavior, this theory recognizes punishment and reinforcement, but the punishment needs to be immediate, because another way it would not work properly.
The sociological theory explains the criminal behavior through the impact of society. Just lie psychological theory, it states that such a behavior is caused by some abnormality. It could be the lack of communication, social norms, disconnection with society. (Helfgott, 2008) According to the sociological theory, society “creates” crimes. But such crimes could both – harmful and harmless, with victims, and without, when a person does some harm only to himself.
The biological theory explains criminal behavior as a result of any illnesses, heredity, trauma, incorrect development. It proposes several ways for crime control – psychosurgery and chemical methods. (Helfgott, 2008) The biological methods of crime control are too expensive, and because of that are not widely used.
Felony and misdemeanor have much in common and also misdemeanor could be treated like felony in some cases and according to the laws of different states, but they differ in most cases by the seriousness and subsequent punishment.
Reference List
Binder, G. (2012). Felony murder. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 3.
Hasselm, A. E. (2011). Crime: Causes, types and victims. Hauppauge, N.Y: Nova Science Publishers, 5.
Helfgott, J. B. (2008). Criminal behavior: Theories, typologies, and criminal justice. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Kappeler V. E. (2014, August 26). Ten Facts About the Media Depiction of Crime and Justice. Retrieved from http://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/ten-facts-about-media-depiction-crime-and-justice
Little W. (n.d.). Chapter 7. Deviance, Crime, and Social Control. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontosociology/chapter/chapter7-deviance-crime-and-social-control/
