State Crime Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1 (2023)
Martin D. Schwartz, Professor Emeritus and Presidential Research Scholar Ohio University.
Valeria Vegh Weis, Research Fellow, Konstanz University.
David O. Friedrichs, age 78, passed away on 1 December 2022, in Scranton, PA, after a very long struggle with cancer. Anyone who knew David was aware that he was a unique person! He combined a warm heart that made him friends with hundreds, with tremendous scholarship and insight that made him a worldwide leader in critical criminology and the study of crimes of the powerful. How surprised the medical staff were when he announced a trip to the American Society of Criminology Annual (ASC) Meeting in mid-November to host the Presidential Plenary on “The Trump Aftermath—and the Future of Criminology in a Divided Nation”. “A very unusual choice for someone in your condition” they commented at the hospital. That was the scope of David’s commitment to preventing another criminogenic presidency of Trump! His trip to the ASC also shows his commitment. He agreed to do it three years ago, before the pandemic hit the world, and when David made a commitment, David was there, against all odds. David’s most radical period was probably his time in Mississippi doing voter registration in the 1960s when it was dangerous! He was also very proud about walking out of his college graduation as a protest against the Vietnam War. In his 50-year career teaching criminology, sociology, and criminal justice at the City University of New York, Staten Island, and at the University of Scranton, David never abandoned this critical spirit … (read more).
