Background Research on Criminology
More than five centuries millenniums ago first criminal codes were created. However, for a long time, no science considered crimes. Criminology – “the scientific approach to studying the nature, extent, cause, and control of criminal behavior” appeared only 200 years ago (Siegel, 2014, p. 1). It focuses on the crimes and their elements, victims, criminal law, justice, etc. Criminologists (people who work in this sphere) are generally interested in crime as a social phenomenon, the process of making and breaking laws, reaction to it, and development of verified principles.
Even though this science is relatively new, there are many criminological theories. Among the most common ones is the rational choice theory. Such scientists as Stafford and Warr supported it and believed that people commit crimes because they want to get some benefits as soon as possible. They realize that they will be punished when caught but are ready to take such risks. Social disorganization also presupposes that a person is aware of one’s future. However, this individual makes such decision being influenced by the environment. People around maybe not joint enough to control the situation or may be engaged in crimes themselves. Strain theory seems to be connected with this one, as a person also makes a decision under the influence of society, but it focuses on the individual’s inability to reach them. Social learning theory presupposes that the attitudes of the environment towards criminal conduct make a person act in this or that way. The focus, in this case, is not on the expectations but on the views that are shared among a particular group of people. In this way, when the representatives of a criminal subculture believe that it is normal to threaten people they do not like, all other individuals who will join it will have the same view. Such ideas can be also supported by the control theory, as the absence of control leads to the creation of such groups. Labeling presupposes that people who have more power can label a person as a criminal for any crime, even for the minor offense. Then one will be deprived of the opportunities that all individuals have (decent job, etc.), which is likely to cause more criminal behavior. Another view on the reasons people become criminals is presented by Glueck, Gaspi and other scientists who supported individual trait theory. According to it, biological and physiological characteristics can make a person inclined to criminal behavior. Lombroso had similar views in the framework of positivist theory but considered only biological peculiarities. Developmental theory tends to gather several views on the reasons people commit crimes and states that it is a “process that starts before birth and continues throughout the life course” (Criminological theory summaries, 2002, p. 3). It is often associated with integrated theories that combine different ideas.
All mentioned criminological theories can be divided into three major groups, as they focus on:
- Biological factors: genetic predisposition and impact of other biological elements make individuals commit crimes. Size and shape of body parts, as well as some diseases, are considered by the scientists. People are claimed to conduct crimes because of such things as high levels of testosterone.
- Physiological factors: human mind and psychological disorders are in the focus. Inner conflicts and defective traits make people perceive a situation in a wrong way and become involved in crimes. Individuals may be too impulsive and aggressive because of some disorders. Psychological and personality tests are often used to make sure that the person has such problems.
- Sociological factors: society influences people so that they become criminals. Today this view is often discussed, and a large number of criminological theories refer to this subgroup. The scientists believe that people who have no biological and psychological disturbances conduct crimes under particular social conditions.
Criminology refers to both qualitative and quantitative research methods:
- Participant observation: the researcher can be fully involved in the process of interaction with the group or individual to evaluate behavior or remain a complete observer. When the communication appears, this method can be treated as a one-visit interview.
- Intensive interviewing: the researcher interviews a person to find out what one feels, how perceives the occurred situation, and what experienced some time ago. It can be conducted in the criminal’s natural environment or at any other place.
- Focus groups: a group of people is gathered by the researcher to discuss particular topics. He/she notes the received information and observations.
- Case studies and life histories: the researcher discusses particular situation in relation to the analysis of biography, letters and other sources of information.
- Survey research: the researcher gather the information related to different topics (crime, employment, health care, etc.) sending (e-)mails, calling or meeting in person.
- Experimental and quasi-experimental research: they are mainly used to see if the treatment works. At least two groups of participants are needed to investigate the connection between the cause and effect.
- Cross-sectional research: the researcher gathers a group of people to discuss one particular topic. This method allows receiving generalized results in a short period of time.
- Longitudinal research: one person or group of people remain in the researcher’s attention for a long period of time to see how the sample changes over time.
- Time-series designs: one variable is studied during several observations (Crime and law, 2011).
Serial Killer Profile
Charles Manson is an American criminal who founded the Manson Family, “a hippie group, involved in several high-profile murder cases like Hinman murder case, murder of film actress Sharon Tate and supermarket executive Leno LaBianca” (Charles Manson, 2015, par. 3). He was born in 1934 in Cincinnati. His mother was only 16 years old, and she did not care about Manson much. When she was convicted of robbing, Charles had to live with his aunt and her husband who treated him badly. Soon he was put into the boy’s school but ran away from it and reported to be raped there repeatedly. His mother was reluctant to take him back, so he had nothing to do but to live on the streets. Having no income, the boy committed petty crimes and was considered to be dangerous. When Manson became a teenager, his life did not change much. He was a waif engaged in robberies and stealing cars. Being 17 years old, he was put in prison for the first time and spent there more than ten years. In 1955, Charles got married. As he was soon convicted again, his wife left with their child. Twelve years later, his “family” that consisted of the “followers who shared his passion for an unconventional lifestyle and habitual use of hallucinogenic drugs, such as LSD and magic mushrooms” (Charles Manson, 2015, par. 8). At the end of the 1960s, Manson turned out to be engaged in more serious crimes than previously. It was proved that his “family” killed several people. He was active till 1970 and now is in Corcoran State Prison.
Several incidents might have influenced Manson’s life and his criminal behavior. Starting with his early childhood, Charles did not feel that he was loved, which affected his attitudes, but the first critical trigger is likely to be the imprisonment of his mother and necessity to live with the aunt and her husband. During this time, he experienced abuse and was not able to defend himself. Manson was sent to the boy’s school and claimed that he was repetitively raped in it. Such events make people vulnerable, and if they are not able to get through, they are likely to be afraid all their life and live in a role of victim or to become criminals themselves. Manson’s claims are not proved, but his behavior tends to support his words. Another incident is the mother’s refusal to accept him and the necessity to live on the street. Under such circumstances, Charles entered the group of people for whom a petty offense is not a crime. Further imprisonments and communication with other criminals just worsened the situation. Addiction to drugs was mainly caused Manson’s occupation, but it also affected his life adversely. It made his behavior more impatient and made his mind vulnerable. Even the song “Helter Skelter” was considered by him as a guideline for actions.
During his life, Charles Manson committed a range of crimes different in their severity. Being a little boy, he was claimed to be engaged in minor offenses just because he had no support and home. Charles stole things for survival and was sentenced. Being 13 years old, he stole a car and committed several robberies on his way to the relatives. He sodomized several boys in the prison. With his “family”, Manson beat people to death. Some were also strangled. They stabbed a teen-actress and hacked Charles’s grandfather. Another friend of the “family” was beaten and shot. Moreover, he was run down with a car. Still, no one from this group of people was churched. Except for that, they hacked Gary Hinman. A musician was murdered, and his blood used to make graffiti. Manson’s “family” killed actress Sharon Tate and went to “the Los Feliz address of wealthy supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, and the couple was murdered” (Charles Manson, 2015, par. 18).
Being a child, Manson robbed a grocery store and was placed in a juvenile detention center, from where escaped. Being caught for other administrative offenses, he was sent to the School for Boys located in Plainfield for three years. However, he escaped from it almost twenty times. Next episodes of burglarizing led to the restraint in the National Training School for Boys, from which he was put in Federal Reformatory for sodomizing. When Charles got married, he did not stop committing criminal action and was put on probation for five years but soon was imprisoned for three as violated it. Even though Manson was arrested for numerous robberies, he was released on parole. Still, it did not make him change his life. That time he was not caught for being a pimp, but one forgery gave him a ten-year suspended sentence. New indictments and arrest led to ten-year imprisonment. It is claimed that he even asked officials of an opportunity to remain in prison but was released. That was the time when his “family” was created. This group of people committed a range of terrible crimes but was not arrested on suspicion of them. They were caught for vandalizing “a portion of the Death Valley National Park while they were hiding out in the Mojave Desert” (Charles Manson, 2015, par. 19). During the trial in 1970, Manson was thought to conduct his actions because of different motives. It was concluded that “Manson’s pathological ego, insanity, and belief in Armageddon were influences that led him to leave behind a trail of destruction” (Charles Manson, 2015, par. 20). The “family” believed him to be the Messiah, who led them through the race war. He controlled the vision of his followers and their attitudes. Ronald Hughes was an attorney for Charles and one of the “family” members, but he decided to drop Manson. Waiting for a sentence, Charles tried to get some money to be able to defend himself in the court. He released an album “Lie”, which attracted media and the general public. Once he appeared with “X” on his forehead, some followers started to do the same. With the course of time, this symbol changed greatly and turned into a swastika. All this time, the criminals showed no remorse and seemed to have fun.
On January 25, 1971, Manson was convicted of first-degree murder for directing the deaths of the Tate/LaBianca victims. He was sentenced to death, but this was automatically commuted to life in prison after Californian’s Supreme Court invalidated all death sentences before 1972 (Charles Manson, 2015, par. 29).
Manson was not active for more than forty years already, but he is still attracting the attention of many people. Women claim to be in the relationship with him while media write numerous articles about this person.
When analyzing the figure of Charles Manson and his criminal actions, one can refer to various criminological theories as many of them allow to understand him better. In this way, the rational choice theory can be used to investigate Manson’s first crimes. He knew that robberies will be punished but wanted to have the things he could not buy. In the prospection of the strain theory, the influence of the environment on Charles should be discussed. He lived in the conditions that differed much from those that are typical for children and teenagers. Trying to be like others, he might have committed several crimes. Still, social learning theory looks more appropriate in this situation, as being sent out of his home, Manson adapted to people around him and did the things that were common to them. It can be applied to different situations. Homeless individuals steal things because they have nothing, and Charles learned from them how to do it. Being arrested, he had an opportunity to see the relations between the supervisors and criminals and started imitating them. It is also possible to consider the control theory. As Manson was able to escape dozens of times, it can be supposed that the absence of controlled to the repetition of crimes. Maybe if he were punished and treated in the very beginning, his life would have changed. Except for that, he was labeled as a dangerous person is a child. Such claims might have encouraged him to act accordingly and made others afraid of him. Being arrested once, Charles was not able to start a new life, as he was already known as a criminal. Still, considering the conclusions made by doctors, an individual trait theory might be more appropriate. His mother was an alcoholic, which might influence Charles on the biological level and increase a chance of having physiological disorders. As several theories can be used to explain Manson’s actions, an integrated approach seems to be the most suitable one. Along with the developmental theory, the events that influenced Charles from different sides can provide a rationale for such behavior in different periods of life.
To gain such information several methods were mainly used. Survey research allowed to receive the data about Manson’s crimes and his life contact with different people from his environment, including officials, victims, and followers. During numerous interviews, professionals gathered the information directly from Charles and others. They were targeted at his life history and used case study method, as it provided an opportunity to relate the crimes to particular periods of Manson’s life.
Taking everything mentioned into consideration, it can be claimed that there was a range of internal and external factors that predisposed and influenced Manson to commit his crimes. Barlow and Decker (2010) see internal factors as “personal characteristics of individual, such as an antisocial personality, lack of remorse, refusal to admit guilt, or refusal to cooperate with officials” (244). They also include one’s biological characteristics. It is critical to mention Manson’s mother when discussing such things. She was an alcoholic, which means that she was likely to drink when was pregnant. Such actions are claimed to affect children greatly and cause behavioral problems along with a range of other deviances (Babycentre, 2013). As it was stated in the court, his mental state was not normal. There was no concrete answer of whether his insanity and pathological ego were the result of his mother’s alcohol abuse or some other trigger. Still, their existence cannot be denied. Moreover, Manson took drugs, which worsened the situation and made his psychological state even less stable. In this way, Charles might have not controlled himself and possibly considered his behavior to be normal.
Considering external factors, Barlow and Decker (2010) mention “factors within the environment, such as delinquent peers, a dysfunctional family, drug or alcohol use, or poverty (244). It is known that Charles was born when his mother was only sixteen years old. She was a prostitute and preferred to spend time with her boyfriend but not with her son. Manson’s aunt and uncle treated him badly. He used to live on streets having no home and no food. Being arrested, he was abused by supervisors and influenced by other criminals. When the “family” was created, he was also affected by his followers. Charles took drugs and got involved in the race war.
As it can be seen, several theories can explain Manson’s actions. Both environmental and internal factors influenced him, which proves that it is better to use an integrated theory with emphasize on the life course. The chain of events made Charles Manson a person we know now as a serial killer. His behavior perfectly matches the theories that were discussed. Even though there seem to be more external factors that triggered his action, the attention was attracted to the internal ones. It might have happened because people who committed criminal actions under the influence of internal factors are treated more severe than those whose actions relate to external factors and they are less likely to improve their behavior (Barlow & Decker, 2010).
Reflection on Criminology
This research focused on criminology and Charles Manson. It was meant to show what can influence a person so that one will become a criminal. Manson committed numerous crimes during his active years. His life seems to be a mess if it is observed in all perspectives at the same time. Criminological theories provided an opportunity to investigate his case deeper and to do a thorough research. Different theories focus on particular aspects of human life and the world around us so that each intention can be discussed separately. They are used by professionals to find out what is happening in the current situation and what led to it. Such connection often allows to understand what a criminal did or will do in future, which increases chances to catch one. Moreover, some crimes cannot be explained using one theory, which may lead to misunderstanding. For example, labeling theory cannot provide a rationale for the first crimes committed by Manson. In this way, it is critical to differentiate among criminological theories when decent evaluation of one’s actions is needed.
References
Babycentre. (2013). Alcohol during pregnancy. Web.
Barlow, H., & Decker, S. (2010). Criminology and public policy. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Charles Manson.(2015). Web.
Crime and law. (2011). Web.
Criminological theory summaries. (2002). Web.
Siegel, L. (2014). Criminology: Theories, patterns, and typologies. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.