Magnotta's Theory Of Criminality

The theory used in this journal pertains to the race, age, and gender of a serial killer; how they kill, the race, age, and gender of the victim; and how the killer lived before and during the killings. Before beginning his own study, Pakhomou (2004) found that “Serial (sexual killers are believed to be mostly white males in their twenties and thirties (at the time of the crimes) with above-average intelligence who commit intra-racial (within the same racial group) murders of strangers” (p. 220). Approximately half of them never had consensual sex with another adult, some joining the military, about half did not finish high school, and they had a history of burglary and sexual offenses prior to murders. There is no set reason or evidence that explains why people commit sexual homicide; however, there are many theories. One set factor that all researchers agree on is that “the most monstrous and most perverse sexual acts are usually committed by persons of sound mind, who are functionally rigid (in terms of a number of activities that they carry on), obsessed with fantasy and who have a determination to do what they want” (Pakhomou, 2004, p. 221).

A case study of twenty year old, Adam Lanza, who committed a mass shooting in December 2012, killing twenty-seven people, including his mother, before shooting himself will be investigated. The psychological reasoning of Lanza in these unforgiving events can be effectively explained through a key psychological paradigm; trait theory. In order to formulate an educated reasoning for Lanzas’ actions particular focus on essential trait theory domains including, the big five model, Hans Eysenck’s theory of crime, and personality disorders will be explored.

The decay of these offenders’ personalities begins at infancy for many and continues through childhood and into adulthood. The serial killer tends to be neglected during significant stages of infancy, where in which the development of the human personality begins. As these offenders enter childhood they are still at a disadvantage socially, often as a result of abuse and parental issues. Serial killers often lack self control, as well as other critical characteristics of a law abiding citizen. It seems as if socialization plays a large roll in the formation of these monsters. A number of other criminological theories can be applied to the serial killer in some form, however there are still anomalies. The Biological Trait Theories, Psychodynamic theory, and the Organized/Disorganized theory all attempt to explain the inexplicable actions of serial killers. The biological trait theories apply as there is great emphasis on infancy and childhood emotional growth. The psychodynamic theory applies as well as these men display actions that seem to be driven by their id personality. Lastly, the organized/disorganized theory attempts to conclude personality and behavioral characteristics from crime scene

On July 28, 1999, Lionel Tate murdered Tiffany Eunick while Kathleen Grossett-Tate was sleeping in the upstairs bedroom. Kathleen Grossett-Tate became aware of Eunick’s critical state when her son came upstairs to tell her that Eunick was not breathing. According to the medical examiner, Eunick suffered from fatal injuries due to Tate’s rough house playing (Grimming, 2008, 29). The learning theory explains why Lionel Tate began and continued with his aggressive behavior plus learned violent behaviors through wrestling shows.

Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski was viewed as a normal man by society for much of his adult life. This man was far from normal. Kuklinski was a psychopath and a sociopath who was driven to kill by his troubled childhood and his lifestyle as a paid hit man. This paper will focus on the criminological theory of why Kuklinkski committed these murders.

Between the mid-late 1970s and the early 1980s, Dennis Nilsen began mass murdering young men in Great Britain that had at least 15 men through strangulation (Crime Investigation, 2014). In analyzing his life, many of contributions throughout his life could have influenced his criminal behaviour when committing his crimes. Many theories such as broken home hypothesis and schema therapy theory use psychological explanations that determine how the individual resulted into committing their crimes. With schema therapy theory, not only does it discuss the justification for criminal behaviour, but suggests how to reduce the relapse of criminal acts by identifying the cause or the trigger of the individual’s criminal behaviour (Vos et al., 2016). In Dennis Nilsen’s life, there are several indications such as the abandonment of his family members, the termination of a past relationship, and the reclusiveness from society that could have resulted

In this paper, I will be comparing two similar cases of serial killers, for example, how was their own early life, the method the murder was committed, and their response towards the crime. First of all, these two individuals have a similar type of child abuse in their early years that might have triggered something sooner or later in years. There’s a time difference between these two individual when they committed the crime. Secondly, the method in killing their victims which is by, strangulation. The final reason would be their own reaction after conviction was no remorse. Both of these cases have a similar early life, the method the murder was committed, and their respond towards the crime.

Deviance is defined as "any violation of norms, whether the infraction is as minor as driving over the speed limit, as serious as murder, or as humorous as Chagnon 's encounter with the Yanomamo" (Henslin 194). One statement that stuck out to me was sociologist Howard S. Becker 's definition of deviance: "It is not the act itself, but the reactions to the act, that make something deviant" (Henslin 194). One reaction that acts as a punishment for a deviant or minor criminal is the criminal justice system. On page 211 in our book, it is stated that "the working class and those below them pose a special threat to the power elite" (Henslin). As a result of this threat, the law and punishment comes down harder on the lower class than it does on the upper class.

In “What Makes a Serial Killer”, La Donna Beaty aims to provide an evidence regarding the most vital characteristics of a serial killer. Mainly, the information given in the article is based on eight different sources with the help of which the author supports her primary argument. There are four essential characteristics that the author distinguishes as being the most influential in terms of becoming a serial killer. Concretely, according to the presented theories, these characteristics include the impact of society, the general atmosphere within one 's family, the heavy use of alcohol and mental illnesses. Beaty 's essay is fairly an informative piece as suggesting what might form a serial killer, she does not say what she thinks may

The general strain theory of crime, which was developed by criminologist Robert Agnew, would be best to explain this type of offense. Most stressors in daily life can be seen as easily solvable with money. Rather than working for financial gain, some people find it easier to commit crimes because it is a faster way to get what they want. This encompasses the reason for counterfeiting money because it involves the 3 main ingredients for the strain theory.

Many acts of delinquency have often been explored and researched. Sociologist have created theories in order to explain the crimes and why they have occurred. These theories can be applied to the convicts in order for sociologist to fully comprehend the absolute motive to the crime. The crimes committed by Nancy Hazle, known as Nannie Doss and the “Giggling Granny,” can be interpreted and scrutinized using theories that have been developed by well-known sociologist. Including Robert Merton’s strain theory and Walter Reckless's control theory. These theories can be used to explain the reason these crimes have occurred as serial killers pose a serious threat to society in this day in age. They have continuously disrupted peace in calm environments.

Ultimately, the behaviours executed by the group of policemen is suggested to be replicable, as some aspects of the consequences of the behaviours of the policemen and the results of both Zimbardo’s and Milgram's experiments paralleled. The Stanford prison experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo yielded similarly chilling results:

Social process theory depends on the interaction between individuals and society as an explanation and is also known as interactionist perspective. This theory assumes that everyone has the potential to violate the law and that criminality is not an innate human characteristic but is instead a belief that criminal behavior is learned by interaction with others (Schmalleger, 2012). Social process feels the socialization process that occurs because of group membership is the main way through which learning occurs (Schmalleger, 2012). Social process theory views criminality as people’s interactions with various organizations, institutions, and processes in society (Siegel, 2000). This theory feels that people from all areas have the potential

I agree with your point on how the Strain Theory shows how America really does push people to do crimes. When you think and it no reasonable person wants their family to go hungry or lack shelter, so they commit crimes to which they believe is there only hope in order to provide some type of living. But, I do think it's more than the economy that pushes people to the streets. I believe it has to do more with the society as a whole that needs to understand why people commit crimes. More so, instead of just being about punishment we need to be more about rehabilitating people rather than punishing people for mostly non-violent

To me, the arguments made by Beccaria, Howard, and Diderot against the mistreatment of absolutely anyone offered a new concept toward the perspective of conservative members of society to the marginalized population they condemned and exploited. In Beccaria’s On Crime and Punishments, he asserts that the method of torturing people accused of crimes is neither necessary nor ethical, because no one is aware if they are either guilty or innocent. I found it interesting that he mentioned the accused who are weak and succumb to the torture and confess to a crime they did not commit because it emphasized the insufficiency of this method of determining guilt. It seemed as if a prosecutor during their time would employ this strategy to quickly convict