CHAPTER TWO THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section discusses the theoretical framework for the study and the second section discusses the literature review. 2.1 Theoretical Framework This section considers the theories that aid a better understanding of the causes of kidnapping; these include Anomie theory (Merton, 1957), Aggressive-Frustration Theory (John Dollard, 1939) and Routine Activities Theory (Cohen and Felson, 1979). 2.1.1 Anomie Theory An Anomie theory has been used to describe a social context in which the moral order has been broken down for an individual or group in a society. An anomic is a condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals
A few years back, an incident arose with a two of my friends at a corner store. Through detailing this story, it will be illustrated how Merton’s (1938) strain theory and his concept of ‘anomie both has applicability and limitations. According to (BOOK), anomie arises when there is disconnect between one’s wants and one’s means. More specifically, Merton (1938) states that for anomie to occur, it must first consist “of culturally defined goals, purposes, and interests,” which “are related to the original drives of man, but they are not determined by them” (p. 672) and a social structure, which “defines, regulates, and controls the acceptable modes of achieving these goals” (p. 673). It is when there is a lack of congruence between one’s individual cultural aspirations and the acceptable modes of achieving them that anomie occurs, exerting “a definite pressure upon certain persons in the society to engage in nonconformist rather than conformist conduct” (p. 672).
Offenders are punished because they deserve to be punished. Crime offsets societal balance and punishment restores this balance. The view is that human beings have free will and capable of making rational decisions. An individual who makes a rational decision to upset the balance of society must be punished (Mishra, 2016). The deterrence theory of punishment justifies punishment as a necessary measure to prevent people from committing crimes.
In order to understand Cloward and Ohlin’s Theory of Differential Opportunity we must go back to its roots and by that I mean a brief look at Merton’s Anomie Theory which was its starting point. Merton stated that all societies have values, goals people must achieve and that in the USj the main goal is to have financial success and so all Americans have as top aim being rich. Besides values, all societies have norms, social rules that are the means of achieving the goals. Sometimes, people have the goals and the means, other times they don’t have one or both of them, and so Merton identifies different modes of adaptation to that social pressure: conformity, when people have the values and the means; ritualism, having the norms but not having the values; innovation, having the values but not the means; retrealism, not having either the norms or the values; and rebellion, rejecting both the norms and the values and trying to exchange them into other ones they find more suitable. The most important one for crime is the innovation, when people have the values, they want to succeed, want to become rich and fulfill the American Dream, but don’t have the means to get to that, have barriers and lack of possibilities that won’t let them achieve the goals they and all American society wants.
Capital punishments needs to be enforced because crimes are happening every day and people needs to be punished for the things they have done to other people. If people knew the law, then they should not have a reason to make those horrible crimes. When someone kills someone the police needs evidence to make what they need to prove the crime that has or had happened. People that are in prison is still living with a happy life because they are alive and they think that no one can hurt
The government works to ensure the guilty receive adequate justice for their crime, and the act of pursuing justice granted to the state by the will of the governed ensures that “[executing] a lawfully condemned prisoner” defies the label of murder (Koch). The common misconception of characterizing the death penalty as murder rejects the rights of the state which supersede those of the individual. In the government’s efforts to ensure justice to criminals for crimes committed, they have a wide variety of options available to them, and it is the job of the judge and jury to confirm that the punishment meets the crime. If the average citizen executes those they believe culprits of heinous crimes, they willfully choose the path of manslaughter over specious justice because only the government has the power and ultimate responsibility to condemn the
In addition, the purpose of punishing offenders is to ensure they will not commit any crimes in future. However, putting all kind of criminals in a prison may not accomplish the goal, but boost the possibility that prisoners will come under the negative peer pressure. Furthermore, many offenders find it difficult to rehabilitate into the society because of their prison records. Thus, social training is believed to benefit them better as they will absorb conventions and codes of conduct after the activities.
After all, no one person wants to be treated as a tool. The greater good is all fine and good, but a person’s individual good is also as important. However, arguments notwithstanding, if people solely follow this punishment theory, then yes, their actions can be justified. Of course, many immoral acts can be justified under this theory which makes it a very dangerous theory, if it is the only theory society is
This is one of the basis of society and it always do the most of its efforts to apply it in the society. When a murder kills someone it is duty of the society to punish murder. When someone is killed, victim’s family suffer and nothing can heal those even punishment of murder by capital punishment or by vengeance. However, it can be considered from another side. If convicted person to execution was innocent and capital punishment apply for he or she, where is the justice?
Stopping human beings from committing crime is a very difficult task but we could use many different approaches to help reduce the number of crimes which are committed. Punishment has being the greatest deterrence to commission of crime. Classical theory say for punishment to be effective it should be swift, severe and certain. If people believe that the legal penalty will inflict more pain that the produced gain in committing crime them they would refrain from crime. Uniform police officers on patrol are also another form of preventing crime.