Atlanta Child Murders

In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the Rational Choice Theory(s) and the Trait Theory(s). We will start with the history of the two theories and progress toward some of the individual principles in the theories. Next step will be explaining how each theory contributes to criminal behavior. My closing paragraph will conclude the essay as well as give detailed information on how society punishes the crimes committed.

On May 16th, 2010 Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a seven-year old Black girl from the east side of Detroit, Michigan was fast asleep at her grandmother’s home when Detroit Police Department’s Special Response Team mistakenly entered the residence during a midnight raid. Officer Joseph Weekley discharged a bullet that entered Stanley Jones’ head leaving her body lifeless. Initially, Weekley was charged in connection with Stanley Jones’ death but prosecutors cleared him in 2015, ensuring he would face no repercussions for his negligence that resulted in the premature death of Aiyana Stanley Jones.

The third of the contemporary sociological theories is rational choice theory. In stark contrast to social conflict theory and social disorganization theory which are macro level theories, rational choice theory is a micro level theory (Kubrin, 2012). Rational choice theory focuses on the individual motivation behind criminal behavior. Specifically the idea that the choice to commit criminal behavior is a choice based on a type of risk reward scenario. The person contemplating a criminal act consciously weighs the risk associated with the crime against the reward they stand to gain from the crime.

During the early nineteen hundreds many people especially in the south were often convicted of crimes for no other reason than their skin color and contrary to many ideas about our court system, we have not always been the most honest and unbiased people. One prime example of this is the case of the Scottsboro Boys and how they were accused of rape and had to go to court numerous times, almost everytime ending in the death sentence. The evidence in the case clearly points towards the innocence of the Scottsboro boys, evidence such as unclear stories from the girls, lack of bruises and marks indicating assault as well as a previous history of prostitution from both of the girls. This evidence helps to prove that Charles Weems and the Scottsboro boys were innocent and wrongly accused and convicted.

The article continues to talk about how African American serial killers receive less media attention than white offenders. There were two examples shown in the article of two similar serial murders. One done by a white man and one done by a black man in Philadelphia. The 3 murders done by the white man received national attention, he had a book written about him and was even mentioned in the movie Silence of the Lambs. The 7-murders done by the black guy was never heard of outside Philadelphia.

One of the reason African-American serial killers which is known as a weak argument is that the commentators who are on social media announcing the killer would be seen as racist if applied to African Americans in a White media. An example, when an official form the Nassau County called serial killer Colin Ferguson an “animal”, many civil rights learned came into play saying that it was not the correct term (432). A second more reasonable reason would be that cops were less likely to take African-American crime serious unless the victims were white. The example for this reason was Jarvis Cote who kill African-American wome,n but then would switch to killing White women. In the beginning they would not focus on the crime, but once the race switch

In a 22 month span, starting in July 1979, 30 African American children and young men were murdered or disappeared in Atlanta, Georgia (Nickell 1 of 2). Due to the various motives that each murder presented, it was believed that multiple individuals were responsible for these crimes. However only 1 person was ultimately charged with these homicides. The person that was found responsible for 2 of the many murders is Wayne Williams. He was suspected and subsequently arrested after police heard a splash in the water under a bridge on May 22, 1981, and Williams was the only one on the bridge during the time frame of the body drop (Plummer 1 of 3). This case was splashed all over headlines both nationally and internationally (Nickell 1 of 2). Due

The rational choice theory gives insight in to why otherwise law abiding citizens would commit crime. Most burglars do not burglarize because they want something specific from the victim's property nor are they saving the cash proceeds for a long-term goal. They burglarize because they need the money right now to pay off bills, buy food and clothes for their family or to purchase alcohol and illegal drugs. Most burglars would turn to making an honest living, but, even that does not meet their immediate desires for cash. Nor would the earned wages support their lifestyles. (Wright & Decker, 1994).

While watching Taken, a criminal justice major can pick out several different examples of criminological theories. However, the theory I found to be the most relevant was the rational choice theory. Several sociologists and criminologists believe that an individual’s decision to commit a crime is determined by several personal reasons. Those who strongly enforce the rational choice theory believe that an individual who is considering criminal behavior first decides whether or not he/she is willing to become

In Criminology, Prof. Boldt has either talked about or brought up a few dozen theories in just a few weeks. However one theory seems to show up more than the others, and is the more dominant explanation in describing criminal behavior. This concept is referred to as Rational Choice Theory. Over time theories have been produced to explain and help understand what leads to criminal behavior. The reason why people have studied these theories so closely is because of the helpful nature it provides to professionals. It allows them to make informed decisions on treatment methods for offenders or victims. This also helps the professionals enforce policy change if need be. I believe in order to start understanding what leads to criminal behavior,

"Rational choice" theory, which is a result from the expected utility model in economics has become a major subject topic in criminology, sociology, political science, and law. Akers (1990), writes that rational choice has become part of modern criminology and has proved to be very valuable. Rational choice encourages realistic work with decision making for certain crimes and criminal activities. Akers (1990) article provides no new ideas towards the rational choice studies. Most of the writings demonstrate how to assess different criminal behaviors and the justice system.

On the morning of May 7th, 2000 the murder of Mary Ann Stephens occurred. She was a tourist to Jacksonville, Florida along with her husband. The two were staying at the Ramada Inn Hotel and had just came from breakfast when they were approached by a young black man who held them at gunpoint, took Mrs. Stephens' purse then proceeded to shoot her between the eyes. When the police first arrived, the elderly woman's body was several inches away from the path on which her and her husband were walking along to get back to their room. Her body was strewn across the grass, covered in blood with the bullet and it's wound being clearly visible to the naked eye. This case became controversial and it is believed that there was racial

Choice theory was born out of the perspective of crime causation which states that criminality is the result of conscious choice. This theory is also known as the rational choice theory. According to this theory, the choice whether or not to commit a criminal act is the result of a rational thought process that weighs the risks of paying the costs of committing a crime, against the benefits obtained. In other words, if the benefits--monetary or otherwise--outweigh the risks of sustaining the costs, such as fines, imprisonment or execution, then according to this theory the individual would be inclined to commit the crime, all other things being equal. In this calculus, the benefits are known. For example, “this diamond that I want to

The Rational choice theory is a belief that children choose to commit criminal acts once they have carefully considered the pros and cons of their actions, and that delinquency is a matter of choice that is made by an offender; who believes that what they can gain from committing a crime outweighs the punishment that may follow. Rational Choice theory is probably the oldest known theory which attempts to explain the link between juveniles and delinquency. The argument was first raised by classical criminologist, Cesare Beccaria. Beccaria, along with other classical criminologists, believed that because people have free will. They have the ability to choose their behavior, and when an individual makes a decision to break the law, it is typically

Rational choice theory, also known simply as choice theory, is the assessment of a potential offender to commit a crime. Choice theory is the belief that committing a crime is a rational decision, based on cost benefit analysis. The would-be offender will weigh the costs of committing a particular crime: fines, jail time, and imprisonment versus the benefits: money, status, heightened adrenaline. Depending on which factors out-weigh the other, a criminal will decide to commit or forgo committing a crime. This decision making process makes committing a crime a rational choice. This theory can be used to explain why an offender will decide to commit burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, or murder.