Fleetwood, Jennifer and Seal, Lizzie (2017) Women, drugs and the death penalty: framing Sandiford. Howard Journal Of Criminal Justice, 56 (3). pp. 358-381. ISSN 0265-5527

PDF - Accepted Version Restricted to SRO admin only until 5 September 2019. Download (612kB)

Abstract

This article examines the impact and significance of women subject to capital punishment for drug offences. Women are subject to death penalty for drug offences; wherever data is available it describes low-level offenders, primarily drug mules. Sandiford’s death sentence prompts widespread discussion about her, her culpability and the appropriateness of her punishment drawing on drug war discourse, and death penalty tropes. Framing analysis reveals the powerful and persistent nature of gendered binaries. The use of capital punishment against female mules troubles the gendered binaries that underpin US led drug war discourse, and highlights the death penalty as a gendered punishment.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	women, death penalty, drug mules, drug couriers, drug offences
Schools and Departments:	School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Sociology
Research Centres and Groups:	Centre for Gender Studies
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV6001 Criminology
Depositing User:	Lizzie Seal
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2017 10:45
Last Modified:	13 Oct 2017 11:29
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/69518

View download statistics for this item

📧 Request an update