Sociology is the science that helps people disclose and understand how individuals are affected by the surrounding communities and how one person can impact the whole society. These processes occur under different circumstances and might raise broad discussions. An example of such a situation is ten-year probation instead of 20 years in prison sentence for a wealthy teenager Mr.Couch who killed four people by driving drunk (Fernandez & Schwartz). This post aims to discuss the approaches of sociological theory that can be applied to the case.
Firstly, the social-conflict approach can be utilized to revise Mr.Couch’s sentence because the affluence of the defendant’s family raises inequality and questions the judge’s decision if the teenager was not wealthy. Society cannot be viewed as a whole in this case because the class played a significant role there (Macionis). Secondly, the symbolic-interaction approach is suitable for the case because it occurred at a micro-level of society. Individuals might contact differently, and the discussed case is necessary to be examined from the involved persons’ perspectives instead of the broader society’s point (Macionis). Lastly, manifest and latent functions can be applied to the judge’s decision on Mr. Couch’s case (Macionis). The demand in making a final decision forced Jean Boyd to choose a manifesting strategy as the nationwide reaction was not expected. There was no sociological perspective in the decision-making process because it did not consider the teenager a social group represented in general.
Sociological perspective includes multiple approaches, and applying them for a given case can help analyze the judge’s sentence. Although society has a louder voice and authority than an individual, several situations require assessing a situation separately from social biases and standards. The probation sentence, instead of prison for killing people, revealed that class inequality and age are the factors that lead to nationwide discussions.
Works Cited
Fernandez, Manny, and John Schwartz. “Teenager’s Sentence in Fatal Drunken-Driving Case Stirs ‘Affluenza’ Debate.”The New York Times, 2013, Web.
Macionis, John J. Sociology, 17th Edition. Pearson, 2019.