Esteban Sotelo's Neutralization Theory

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Source: Man shot 6 times while shielding toddler in car seat; http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-29/news/chi-prosecutors-man-shot-6-times-while-shielding-toddler-in-car-seat-20130728_1_car-seat-gang-initiation-little-village-man
Synopsis: In Chicago, Esteban Sotelo, 19, and a 14 year old boy shot a man six times. The victim was a 29-year-old man; he was trying to put his 20-month old daughter in her car seat. Sotelo was a member of the Latin Kings gang, and the shooting was the younger boy’s gang initiation. Sotelo and the young boy set out to shoot a member of the rival Satan’s Disciples gang. The two men approached the victim, because they thought he was a Satan’s Disciples member. Sotelo shot the victim six times as he tried to shield …show more content…

The neutralization theory is the view that people commit crimes because they use techniques of neutralization to defuse their guilt. There are five different techniques, however the one portrayed in this case is appealing to a higher loyalty. This specific technique says that people commit crime because the act has a greater purpose and that the act is important to a certain group of people. In this case, Esteban Sotelo and the juvenile go out on the streets to shoot someone. Sotelo is in the gang, Latin Kings, and the juvenile is trying to get initiated. For the initiation, they planned to shoot someone of the rival gang, Satan’s Disciples. This act of shooting someone is honoring the Latin Kings gang. These boys are committing this act because it is what the gang members requested them to do. So in order for these boys to eventually go back out on the streets and commit more crimes, they must justify their actions. The boys will justify the act by saying it was for the good of the gang. Justifying the act will result in their guilt disappearing, which will end in them being able to commit more crimes. The neutralization theory is clearly seen in this case because these two boys committed this shooting to

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