James, E. M. (1998). Surviving The Social And Emotional Impact Of Homicidal Loss Through Local Community Intervention. Unpublished Master Thesis; Lincoln University, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania
...in the city morgue of Philadelphia, PA. The existing homicide group at G.A.P. was utilized to gauge what methods would help the relatives and friends of a homicide regain their emotional equilibrium. The word murder according to J. Thiroux in his book Ethics Theory and Practice describes murder as "the unlawful killing of one human being by another, especially with malice aforethought" (Thiroux, 1995, p.103). Corey (1992) states that bereavement groups provide helpful counseling, a safe environment for their self expression of grief, the capacity to adjust to new environmental stimulus, and to better assist group members to realize a new purpose and reason for living. The suddenness of a homicide does not allow for the remaining family members to process the bereavement experience in a timely fashion, therefore the grief experienced becomes severe and acute (Silverman, 1994). A key informant survey helped identify secondary victimization of the target population as the Judicial system exhibits apathy towards the surviving relatives. The surviving relatives and friends had identified one of the major problems as the method of notification of the demise of their loved one that traumatized them. The method of notification used by the judicial system is to contact the surviving relative by a either police officer, coroners office staff member, or District Attorney's staff member. Judicial system apathy was defined by the target population as the insensitive treatment of the surviving relatives and friends by the aforementioned entities, in addition to the print and visual media, employer's, co-workers, and friends. Due to the overwhelming nature of this problem the judicial system officials must detach themselves as much as possible as a defense mechanism to safe guard their personal emotional equilibrium. While this situation may be a perception that is...
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