The case of Lionel Alexander Tate is a criminal case, in which a teenager was involved. The behavior of this murderer can be explained with the use of different theories. In this paper, it will be proved that Tate’s post-release behavior provides support for labeling theory. The author will explain how the behavior and the labeling theory are related and to what extent the theory supports the real criminal behavior in Tate’s case.
The case of Lionel Tate and Tiffany Eunick occurred in 1999. Twelve-year-old Lionel Tate was left alone with six-year-old Tiffany Eunick by his mother. He killed the girl by stomping on her; however, Lionel Tate argued that he had killed his playmate accidentally when showing her professional wrestling moves he had seen on TV (Murderpedia, n.d.). Besides, it was proved by professional criminals that the actions of Tate were very cruel, leading to various serious injuries, such as fractured skull and broken ribs. This crime can be explained with the concepts of labeling theory.
The labeling theory is applied to analyze criminal behavior and motifs of people. It is often useful to understand and study influential development in criminology (Sanderson, 2015). According to it, the probability of being involved in a criminal behavior for a particular individual depends on how a person looks at himself or herself. In addition, behaviors of people are determined by how other people label them: those with negative labels are more likely to commit crimes (Saydjari, Bunn, Kosloski & Ryon, 2015). Labeling theory also states that relationships and experiences in the childhood may impact the criminal behaviors of teenagers and adults (Abrah, 2018). Thus, children, whose parents committed crimes or were imprisoned, are more likely to commit crimes themselves (Besemer, Farrington & Bijleveld, 2017). The labeling theory may be appropriate to explain the murder committed by Lionel Tate, as well as his behavior during and after it.
In general, Tate’s post-release behavior provides support for Labeling Theory to the high extent. To prove that, it is necessary to analyze the background of the murderer. At school and among his friends, Lionel Tate had a reputation of a bully teenager who was often a severe and cruel in his behavior (Murderpedia, n.d.). This reputation was likely to influence his criminal behavior because he had demonstrated violence before he committed the crime. Tate had a label of a violent teenager, and it influenced his behavior. One more factor that was likely to impact the behavior of the murderer was the fact that he was fond of wrestling and often watched it on TV. Wrestling is often violent sport, because wrestlers can act aggressively and make injuries to other athletes. Tate liked wrestling and, maybe, he associated himself with wrestlers and wanted to be similarly powerful. This self-identification was likely to commit a crime towards a child. It is stated that the behavior of Lionel Alexander Tate was much formed by wrestling experiences. Generally, Tate’s behavior follows labeling theory to the high extent.
The case of Lionel Alexander Tate is a good example of a situation where the behavior of a murderer can be explained with labeling theory. Tate was considered a bully and liked aggressive or even cruel behavior. He was also fond of watching wresting, highly violent sports, and associated himself with wrestlers. Thus, Tate has a label that motivated him for cruelty and a murder.
References
- Abrah, P. B. (2018). Labeling theory and life stories of juvenile delinquents transitioning into adulthood. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63(2), 179-197.
- Besemer, S., Farrington, D. P., & Bijleveld, C. C. (2017). Labeling and intergenerational transmission of crime: The interaction between criminal justice intervention and a convicted parent. PloS One, 12(3). Web.
- Murderpedia (n.d.). Lionel Alexander Tate. Web.
- Sanderson, S. K. (2015). Rethinking sociological theory: Introducing and explaining a scientific theoretical sociology. Routledge.
- Saydjari, Z., Bunn, A., Kosloski, A. E., & Ryon, S. B. (2015). Labeling theory. Web.