Beltway Sniper: Criminal Theory Strain and Differential John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo are two murderers that are known as the Beltway Sniper. Muhammad and Malvo killings are known to be random, which categorizes their killings as a killing spree. During the duration of their killing spree, they caused major panic throughout the United States. This notorious shootings that terrorized the United States took place in 2002. The shootings ended up taking the lives of 10 individuals and injuring 3 others (Blades, 2005, para.1). The shooting at the time it took place is considered unique because their weapon of choice to carry out their plan was a sniper rifle. What is unique about this case is that investigators and criminal theorist …show more content…
The theory that best explains this type of criminal behavior is the theory of differential association. According to Sutherland’s (1960) theory of differential association means, “that criminal behavior is learned by interacting with others, especially intimate othersp.136). While, it believed the losing custody drove Muhammad to life of crime, the theory that best explains his behavior is strain theory. Robert Agnew (1992), general strain theory explains how “strain is developed through individual’s negative relationship with others” (p.170). In the case of Muhammad, his negative relationship with his ex wife by taking away his child led to the …show more content…
Malvo was born in Jamaica on February 18, 1985. He grew most of his childhood in Jamaica, but since his father was absent in his life, his mother had to live Malvo in care of others. He constantly moved around and had little to no supervision during this period of time in his life. He eventually made his way to the United States even went to high school for a little bit. He eventually ended up in a homeless shelter in Washington were he and Muhammad began to develop their disturbing relationship. It was during his time at the homeless shelter the enraged Muhammad became attached to Malvo and became a father figure to him. Muhammad began to control every aspect of Malvo life. Muhammad, who was an expert marksman in the military, trained Malvo how to shoot. Muhammad spent hours training Malvo how to
On February 23, 1993, James Swann began his attacks on Washington, D.C area. His first attack occurred on Holmead Place NW. He stuck his 20 gauge shotgun out of the driver side window and started to shoot at a woman walking home. She escaped without being shot. The same night about 15 minutes later on 1400 block of Oak Street NW, a 22 year old man was shot in the face and was partially blinded. His shooting was dismissed because of objectivity. On February 26, 1993, three days following the first shooting a man burst in a barbershop and murdered a customer with his shotgun. This was James Swann’s first slaying. Once again, police brushed the case off assuming it was drug related. James too a very brief rest from his crimes, however, on March 4, 1993, he returned to Washington and his victim was a 43 year old man walking down the street. He was shot in the head, but to be consistent the police assumed it was drug related. Police did not take the previous shootings serious until the drive by shootings continued in an upscale neighborhood in Mount Pleas...
October 2002 was the beginning of what seemed like the longest three weeks in the Washington Metropolitan Area. No one wanted to believe that what was happening would change the lives of thousands. What appeared to be a random killing spree by an enraged lunatic, turned out to be part of a massive plan that claimed the lives of ten innocent people in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. When these shootings first began, they were believed to be linked to a white van or truck. It was later discovered that these shootings were being carried out by a man named John Allen Muhammad, and his teenage accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, in a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice sedan.
Many influences may push young people such as Lee Boyd Malvo to perform violent acts. Psychological, sociological and biological factors play a coexisting role in young adults life. Violence can be caused by disruptions, damage or undeveloped brain or can be brought on by something else such as economic difficulties or social or cultural difficulties. The nature vs. nurture question has been an ongoing debate. It can be argued that John lee Malvo born with predetermined genes or biological factors that played an integral part in creating his homicidal tendencies or that he become murderous through his surroundings partnered by the psychological influence that Mohammed had over him.
Muhammad was finished with army and left to run his own businesses. The first business he tried to run was a Mechanic Shop. After that failed He tried to open a Karate School, which also failed. Mildred, Muhammad’s second wife, divorced him. She then ordered him a restraining order. Muhammad then took off with their three children to Antigua. In Antigua Muhammad met his later accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo. Mu...
On July 20th 2012 a lone gunman later identified later as James Holmes entered Century 16 Movie Theater in Aurora, Colorado to inflict deliberate harms against civilians with no identifiable reasoning. Holmes, dressed from head to toe in body armor opened fire on a crowd of 70 moviegoers, killing 12 thus labeling this event as a mass shooting. Within 60 seconds, James Holmes was able cause anarchy before police apprehend him. Though the events of the shooting were horrific it did spark a nationwide debate on how we look at the security of public places trying to prevent or minimize future incidents.
When horrific crimes occur in large cities, many of them can be chalked up to gang violence or to the larger population of that specific city. But when horrific crimes happen in small cities like Lincoln, Nebraska, people begin to ask questions like who did this and why. In 1958, a nineteen year old man named Charles Starkweather put the entire state of Nebraska and possibly the entire nation in a state of terror. With his murder spree taking only three days, Starkweather had collected a body count of ten bodies, including two teenagers and a young child. Understanding Starkweather’s past and state of mind begins to answer the second question of why.
Ralph Larkin appears into an argument, “Harris and Klebold laid down the “cultural script” for the next generation of shooters, they had a Website, they made home movies starring themselves as hit men, they wrote lengthy manifestos” (Gladwell, Pg 8). With Larkin’s vast knowledge he displays while others tend to imitate Harris and Klebold.
Over the last decade or so, the United States of America has been shaken by an epidemic of terrifying mass shootings, devastating slayings of unexpecting victims, and unnerving annihilations of the innocent. There is no specific target, no explicitly sought-out group, nor definite individual. From a classroom of first-graders, to a crowded movie theatre, to a U.S. Naval yard, the location seems at most, random, other than that it is almost always a public place. The perpetrators responsible for these horrific murders also vary, and often surprise those who thought they knew them. However, while the occurrences of mass shootings are unpredictable and always shocking, most have one thing in common: the use, or rather misuse, of assault weapons-automatic or semiautomatic military style rifles. To ensure the safety, security, and well-being of the people of the United States, the government should ban assault weapons.
The United States will not soon forget the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut that came just two weeks before Christmas last year. This tragic event resulted in the death of twenty students and eight adults. Although the event shocked the nation, rampage shootings are nothing new. Over the years, many families have lost loved ones to these horrific events. As a result, these mass shootings such as the one that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary caught public attention leading to a push to find the cause of these events. Out of this research a variety of possible causes came to light consisting of arguments stating that high school bullying, availability of guns, mental illness, violent movies and video games are the cause of mass shootings. However, these researchers and debaters tend to ignore the role of massive media coverage in the increase of copycat shootings in the United States.
It is a sad time in American history when one can easily recount recent school shootings in their own area. This ease stems from a sharp increase in the number of firearms brought into elementary and middle schools across the country, with an intense focus on the issue beginning after the shooting of 20 children from Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Most school shooters are male, white, and often upper middle class. They are also more, often than not, under some type of mental stress that is causing them to create this type of violence in our communities. In fact, many school shooters are never suspected of doing any harm to their peers and teachers until it is much too late.
Gun violence has been and continues to be one of the major problems in American. The U.S. has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world and consequently the highest rate of gun violence and fatalities compared to other developed countries. In a study by the University of Sydney it is estimated that there are 270,000,000 to 310,000,000 guns in the United States. According to the same study in 2010 there were 31,672 fatalities caused by firearms and on the following year the number went up to 32,163. Homicides resulting from guns are high in the United States and they are claiming more than eleven thousand lives every year (Guns in the United States: Firearms, Armed Violence and Gun Law). According to Vision for Humanity, an initiative for the Economics and Peace, the United States is ranked 99 out of 162 countries in the 2013 global peace index, homicide rates and violent crimes are among the various criteria used to determine the ranking (Vision of Humanity). Mass shootings at work places, schools, shopping malls and places of worship are happening in an a...
Active shooters and terrorist attacks are happening more frequently not only in our nation, but across the globe. According to an FBI study released in 2014, in their website, the average of incidents that happened between 2007-2013 was 16.4 annually compared to the average numbers of incidents from 2000 to 2006 which were 6.4 annually. Active shooters can happen anywhere and at any given time such as at schools, churches, restaurants, etc. 70% of the time most active shooters happen in businesses or educational buildings. The objective of most active shooters is vengeance. The shooters want specific people to pay for any physical or emotional damages caused to them, but to make their point clear they organize mass murders. For example, the
With the media shining so much light upon this topic, it is evident that mass murders in the United States of America are more frequent and deadly. In fact, studies have found that the USA has more mass public shootings than any other country (Christensen). These numbers have only been increasing in the past decades. This is shocking because the USA holds only 5 percent of the world’s population, but as a nation, contributes to 31 percent of mass murders (Christensen). Although these murders continue to be a rare phenomenon, weak gun laws, the need for fame, and issues with societal views are the main causes of the increase in cases.
Serial murder as defined by the FBI is, “[t]he unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events" (Morton Robert J. Ed, & Hilts., Ed, 2005, p. 9). Numerous people disagree with the definition, this researcher included, since it lacks the cool- down period after they murder, which various people feel stands necessary for serial killer status. Serial killers remain a rare phenomenon. The FBI states, serial murder accounts for less than one percent of killings per year (Morton Robert J. Ed, & Hilts., Ed, 2005, p. 2). Nevertheless, throughout the years, countless people have researched serial killers since they commit such heinous crimes. Criminologists and researchers have been attempting to identify various
In today’s society, one will find that there are many different factors that go into the development of a criminal mind, and it is impossible to single out one particular cause of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior often stems from both biological and environmental factors. In many cases criminals share similar physical traits which the general population do not usually have. For example criminals have smaller brains than properly adjusted individuals. However biological reasons cannot solely be the cause of criminal behavior. Therefore, one must look to other sources as to how a criminal mind is developed. Social and environmental factors also are at fault for developing a person to the point at which they are lead to committing a criminal act. Often, someone who has committed a violent crime shows evidence of a poorly developed childhood, or the unsuitable current conditions in which the subject lives. In addition if one studies victimology which is the role that the victim plays in the crime, it is apparent that there are many different causes for criminal behavior. Through the examination of biological factors, in addition to the social and environmental factors which make up a criminal mind, one can conclude that a criminal often is born with traits common to those of criminals, it is the environment that exist around them that brings out the criminal within them to commit indecent acts of crime.