On December 6th, 1989, the Ecole Polytechnique engineering school in Montreal would – unbeknownst to everyone in the building – become the backdrop for one of the worst mass murder incidents in Canadian history. 14 women were shot and killed at the hands of a shooter named Marc Lepine, and 13 others were gravely wounded in the process (Maser, 1987). No outright reason was apparent other than the letters left on his suicide note, but it marked a troubled life that began from his troubled childhood. Factors that may have led up to this incident needs to be examined in further detail, using a psychological explanation and a criminological theory. This paper will use the social learning theory to analyze the behaviours that led up to this event, as well as the general strain theory to determine why he committed the crime.
Case Details
It has been made clear through police investigations, that this killing spree was premeditated and carefully planned out by Marc Lepine long before it was carried out. He had purchased a lightweight rifle from a store and claimed that it was for hunting purposes (Maser, 1987). It was the last day of the fall semester and most students were looking forward to the Christmas break, unsuspecting of what was about to transpire. Marc walked into the school and sat near the registry office for a while before moving on to a classroom on the second floor. He walked in and divided the students according to their gender, then ordered the men to leave the room. Most students thought it was a prank initially, until he fired his gun and repeated his order in a more authoritative manner. He proceeded to shoot the women left behind as he declared his hatred for feminists, despite protests from the students (Maser,...
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The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg), "Two Brothers Charged in Ammidown Murder." March 16, 1972. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19720316&id=iqlWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0ucDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7421,2169052 (accessed April 11, 2012).
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This could explain the effect of strains on crime by taken this theory into account. Once strain causes bonds to weaken amongst conventional groups and institutions such as family, school, and peer networks will open up doors to delinquent behaviors, because by being in these social roles causes the person to regulate by role expectations.
Strain theories of criminal behaviour have been amongst the most important and influential in the field of criminology. Taking a societal approach, strain theories have sought to explain deficiencies in social structure that lead individuals to commit crime (Williams and McShane 2010). Strain theories operate under the premise that there is a societal consensus of values, beliefs, and goals with legitimate methods for achieving success. When individuals are denied access to legitimate methods for achieving success, the result is anomie or social strain. This often leads an individual to resort to deviant or criminal means to obtain the level of success that they are socialized to pursue. This is the basic premise of strain theory. This paper will explore the evolution of strain theories by first examining their intellectual foundations which laid the foundation for Robert Merton’s theories of anomie and strain. Merton’s strain theory will be discussed in detail including the modes of adaptation that people use when faced with societal strain. Finally, the paper will conclude with the strengths and weaknesses of Merton’s strain theory and an examination of the criminological theories and social policies it has influenced.