Case 1. Family Homicide
A devout Christian, married woman living in Florida had 6 children. She suffered from depression for many years. Each pregnancy and the addition of another child added to her stress and depression. Over time her conditioned worsened and her family insisted that she seek therapy. She was prescribed anti-psychotic medications and regular visits with a therapist. Over time her doses of medications doubled but her depression pulled her down into states of psychosis. There were moments of clarity. She admitted to her therapist that she was having thoughts of harming her children. That admission resulted in someone being with her at all times to supervise.
Her husband was not convinced that there was anything really wrong with her other than that she could use a “good swift kick in the pants” to get her back on track. Besides, they both wanted children. They even decided that she would go off her anti-psychotic medication so she could get pregnant again. Besides, he argued, it was God’s will for them that they have lots of children. In truth the woman had actually reported to her therapist that it was her husband who wanted more children and that he convinced her it was the right thing to do and that all would be well according to God’s plan.
The husband soon decided that his wife really did not need constant supervision and, without notifying the therapist, he went off to work leaving her alone with the 6 children. He believed she needed some independence. The wife waited until she knew he was gone and placed the family dog in a secure space so he would not interfere with what she was about to do. She knew that she could never raise her children properly and believed what she was about to do was in their best interests even though she would be damned to hell for eternity. She filled the bathtub and one by one brought in the children and drowned them. The eldest boy who was 11 was difficult because he resisted and tried to escape, but she was stronger and faster. When she was done killing them all she called her husband at work and calmly announced that she had done something very bad to the children.
Prosecutors believed that she had intentionally killed the children. Yet in her defense, her sanity became a key issue. Was she responsible or criminally responsible for the killings?
Case 2. A Child Murderer
Luke, age 12, appeared on the surface to be a normal child who seemed reasonably happy and respectful of others. But there were differences in his appearance that made him a target for his schoolmates. His ears were a bit deformed; he had a noticeable speech impediment, wore thick glasses, and had a hearing impairment. Luke also was struggling in school due to his ADHD, and as a result he was 2 years behind his classmates. Luke struggled to fit in with kids younger than him. He greatly resented the taunting and had no real friends. He was very sad and angry at the recent loss of his grandfather, with whom he had been living since his parent’s divorce. His new stepfather had a violent temper and was very controlling. The tension was so severe that his 17-year-old sister announced one day that the stepfather had molested her and promptly moved out. Luke had also learned accidentally from another student at school that Luke’s real father lived just 30 miles away and that he had met him before. Luke had never seen his biological father. All of these factors deeply affected Luke’s self-esteem and his growing anger toward others.
One day while walking alone in a local park Luke noticed a young, cute little boy by himself. Luke called to the boy and offered to show him some kittens he had just found in the woods nearby. Once inside the wooded area Luke attacked and strangled the boy. He then smashed in the boy’s skull with a large rock and sodomized him with a stick. After making up several misleading stories, Eric eventually confessed that he alone had killed the boy but could not explain his actions, nor did he appear particularly concerned about the killing. What was it that made Luke kill? Was Luke biologically predisposed to violence? Was it lack of parental nurturing? Could there have been other environmental factors influencing Luke? Luke was sentenced to several years in prison.
Case 5. A True Pedophile or Child Molester in Our Midst?
A well-respected college football assistant coach founded a charity organization to help underprivileged youth. Many dozens of youth were assisted over several years, especially young boys. Everyone, including his family, was very proud of the efforts he made to help youth. However, the coach was also grooming these boys for sexual encounters. For 30 years he molested boys at their schools, in his basement, his car, on the college campus, at his favorite golf resort, in locker rooms, and in hotel rooms. Others suspected things were amiss but reports never seemed to go very far. The public scandal would be devastating to any university, and the financial costs would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Eventually, however, a report by one of the football staff became public. Part of the reason the coach’s behavior could be overlooked or dismissed for so many years was because he was a married man with children. True pedophiles are not interested in sex with adults. However, the coach’s children were all adopted. During the trial, one of the adopted boys came forward and admitted that he too was one of the coach’s victims.
In some cases, true pedophiles marry to access children, and they are very good at manipulating members of the family, including their spouses. After many years of grooming, the coach had a system worked out where nobody in his family was willing to report him even if there were suspicions. Besides, he loved these children, or at least that was the public impression. If you were prosecuting this case, how might you explain the coach’s attraction to young boys in order for the jury to understand why it occurred? Was he a child molester, or a true pedophile?
Description
1, Apply a specific theoretical approach to the criminal behaviors displayed in each case.
2. Determine if the crime or crimes presented would be categorized as expressive or instrumental. Explain your rationale.
3. Evaluate whether developmental risk factors and correlates of criminal behavior influence criminal behavior. Evaluate whether the offender in each case scenario is a criminal.
Note:
Although assessment is an integral step in the tasks you complete in this Final Project, for the purposes of this course and Final Project, you will not assess the offenders in the case scenarios you select.