World News and Trends: Criminal activity runs in some families
Crime in America tends to run in families. Nearly half of inmates in state prisons have family members who either are or have been incarcerated.
Crime in America tends to run in families. Nearly half of inmates in state prisons have family members who either are or have been incarcerated.
Three brothers in Louisiana are all convicted murderers serving life sentences in the state prison system. Among the many prisoners awaiting capital punishment in California are six sets of brothers. Texas has already executed six sets of siblings, and two sets of cousins are on death row.
In addition to female partner Bonnie Parker, the 1930s notorious robber and murderer Clyde Barrow also had a brother who occasionally joined him in robbing banks. Brothers Jesse and Frank James made a career of crime in the late 1800s.
Clearly family members influence one another for better or for worse. According to USA Today, "The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says an estimated 2 million children with one or both parents incarcerated face the greatest risk of perpetuating the cycle of crime across generations" (Jan. 29, 2008).
Breaking the cycle of family crime is a supremely difficult, but necessary, national challenge, and one that must start in the home. You can learn many foundational principles in our free booklets Making Life Work and Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension. (Source: USAToday.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: March - April 2008
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
