HIGH POINT, N.C., Feb. 24, 2012 – High Point University students recently collaborated with criminal justice and mathematics faculty members to publish an article in “The Original Law Review,” examining the relationship between sentencing practices and geographic region.
“We were specifically looking for differences between the southern states and other geographical regions,” says Dr. Heather Ahn-Redding, assistant professor of criminal justice at HPU. “Our findings indicate that southern states are more similar to other geographical regions in their sentencing practices, and in regard to how they handle criminal offenders in the areas that we examined.”
The paper was written by Ahn-Redding, in collaboration with Dr. Ron Lamb, associate professor of math; Colleen Ehatt, a senior majoring in psychology and criminal justice; and Bonnie Caster, a recent HPU graduate who majored in biology with a criminal justice minor.
Among the sentencing practices analyzed, the paper examined regional differences in the sentencing practices, including life with parole, juveniles sentenced to life without parole, sex offender registries, disenfranchisement laws and juvenile waivers.
“Through this research opportunity, my students learned about different sentencing practices that are seen throughout the United States, and became familiar with the literature that discusses regional differences in attitudes toward punishment,” says Ahn-Redding.
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.℠ HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with over 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report at No. 3 among Regional Colleges in the South. Parade Magazine lists HPU in the top 25 private schools in the nation. HPU was selected in the 2010-2011 list of “Colleges of Distinction,” as well as one of the top green schools in the country by the Sierra Club. The university offers 44 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and 10 graduate degree programs. It is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at highpoint.edu.
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Pam Haynes
Communication Specialist
336-841-9055
[email protected]