Based on an empirical quantitative study, the paper examines the sentencing trends and individualisation of probation conditions in domestic violence cases. The study sample included 577 Lithuanian court verdicts for moderate bodily injury in a domestic setting between 2015 and 2019. The study results suggest that the length of the probation period imposed by the courts may depend on the offender’s conviction history but is not related to the offender’s socio-demographic characteristics and the mitigating or aggravating circumstances. Such characteristics as employment and marital status, mitigating and aggravating circumstances may relate to the type of sentence decisions. The study revealed a discrepancy between the main characteristics of the offender and the nature of probation conditions imposed by courts. Based on study results, the authors of this paper presume that Lithuanian sentencing practice lacks evidence-based individualisation of probation conditions.
This article focuses on the structure of female and male crimes and gender disparities in sentencing in Lithuania, which present a significant gap in criminological research. Using Lithuanian court decisions on five types of offenses—murder, grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm, drug distribution, and theft—we attempt to answer whether women are punished more leniently than men. Our research demonstrates that gender is a significant factor only in some sentences. Only the length of a prison sentence showed a statistically significant difference. When the importance of legal and extralegal factors in imposing prison length is compared, legal factors are found to be more significant predictors. The prison sentence length was mainly affected by the presence of a prior conviction, additional charges, and mitigating and aggravating circumstances. Although the average prison sentence for men in cases of grievous bodily harm and drug distribution was significantly longer than for women, the regression models developed for each offence type revealed that neither gender nor other extralegal factors appeared to be significant in determining the length of the prison sentence. The results allow us to argue that future research should focus more on analyzing extralegal factors and judges’ motives in discretionary sentencing decisions.
According to the official statistical data, in Lithuania, female offenders make up approximately 10% of the convict population and 5% of the prison population (Department of Statistics, 2022). Due to rather small numbers of women drawn into the criminal world, female offenders and their specific needs are often hardly visible to the representatives of the law enforcement and correctional system. Therefore, the punitive practices applied to female offenders as well as the social context of their criminal behavior remain understudied topics in Lithuania. The main purpose of this study is to uncover the individual characteristics and the offending circumstances of the women accused of illegal posession and distribution of drugs. Also, this study includes the analysis of the sentencing trends for female culprits of drug-related crimes. The analysis of court practice and the interviews with the sentenced women has shown that, compared to males, females had no stable source of income and had to take care of the children and other family members more often. In addition, unlike males, females did not distribute drugs in the organized criminal groups, while the additional offences were mostly related to drug abuse rather than any other complicated criminal scheme. Finally, the comparison of sentencing trends has shown that Lithuanian courts tend to be more merciful towards women as they where imposed with shorter prison sentences. This study is one of the few attempts to explore the social context of female criminal behavior which will hopefully encourage to individualize the sentences imposed to female offenders.
Stalking is considered a serious public health problem as well as a harmful form of victimization often leading to severe consequences for the victim. Although there is still little agreement on the exact definition of stalking, it has been recognized that the core elements of stalking include deliberateness and recurrence of the stalker’s actions as well as victim fear and concern for safety. The main purpose of this article is to debate on the definition of stalking as well as provide the rates of stalking in Lithuania. Authors conclude that stalking refers to a constellation of a diverse range of actions and may include both direct communication with the victim and the use of cyberspace technologies. A rapid development of modern digital technologies leads to a wide variety of complex stalking behavior patterns that makes it complicated to generate an adequate legal response to this phenomenon. The results of a public survey conducted by a research group from the Law Institute of the Centre for Social Sciences in 2021 show that the rates of stalking in Lithuania are comparable to those reported in foreign studies as 17.5% of Lithuanian population have experienced stalking at least once during their lifetime. Stalking by the current or former intimate partner was the most prevalent stalking category, as it comprised nearly 39% of all stalking cases in the state. The article also covers some aspect of court practices in stalking-related cases during the period from 2016 to 2020, before anti-stalking legislation was introduced in Lithuania. By year 2021, when stalking was criminalized in Lithuania, 23 European Union member countries have managed to develop criminal anti-stalking legislation. Another aim of this article is to discuss the way criminal anti-stalking legislation was introduced in Lithuania and compare Lithuanian approach to the legal provisions enacted in other countries. Authors conclude that although the introduction of criminal anti-stalking legislation in Lithuania was an important step towards ensuring victims’ safety, it still may possibly lead to some practical issues during the criminal investigation of stalking cases.
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