Week Four Blog

In this weeks lectures and readings, we discussed the idea of the predator criminal icon in the media, as well as criminology theories of why criminals go bad in the first place.

In Ray Surette's article, the whole notion of the predator icon in America was discussed in depth. In our class discussion we also talked about how the media portrays criminals in a menacing light and that there are evil criminals out there preying on innocent victims. This image of the predator that is depicted in media narratives (including TV, News, and Movies) is not representative of the actual types of crime that occur in the real world. The amount of predatory crime that occurs is actually very rare. However, because the media has portrayed the criminal landscape in this way, Americans feel like they should fear for their lives on a daily basis. Most people do not feel safe walking around a big city at night. Granted, innocent people do fall victim to violent crimes, but very rarely does it make up the total percentage of criminal activity. In the article it was also discussed how the criminal justice system and the media blames the criminal for their wrong-doings and puts the responsibility on them to fix their own problems. We live in a very individualistic society where people think that you have complete control over your actions, and anything that you do is solely your own fault. However, this completely disregards the whole host of other factors that come into play when assessing the criminality of an individual. Policies and program reform are also some factors that might contribute to the criminal behavior in some people.

In Chapter two of Rafters book there were different theories discussed that try to explain criminal behavior and how people become criminals. The notion of the "born bad" criminal was brought out in our class discussion, but many criminologists today do not rely solely on this theory, because there can be a whole host of other factors that come into play when investigating the source of ones criminal behavior. In some ways, this theory has been trumped because we don't have any conclusive evidence for people who are simply born bad because of their unfortunate genetic inheritance. Environmental theories are more widely accepted as valid and useful in explaining crime, because it makes more sense. Your family life growing up, the people you are around, the Socio-economic status you are born into, are all determinants of your likelihood to live a life of crime, or to be a law-abiding citizen. Peer groups also have a huge influence on criminal activity in youth. Rational choice explanations were also discussed in the chapter as well as in our class discussion. There are many people who choose a life of crime, because they do not have as many opportunities and see crime as the rational choice. The benefits of committing the crime outweigh the costs of committing the crime. There were also psychological theories of crime that were discussed. There are criminals in the media that are depicted as psychotic for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they become that way after going through hard experiences, or they might have a chemical imbalance in their brain that makes them more prone to commit crime.

After watching Menace II Society, I couldn't help but think of Cane and how unfortunate it was for him to grow up in that kind of environment. It seemed like he could have been a decent person, if he had been given more opportunity, or was able to get out of the bad environment he was in. He knew what was right in most situations, but instead, he went along with his buddies and engaged in criminal activity because he saw it as the only option. He also made some rational choices. When he decided to steal the rims off of someone else's car instead of paying for them, he saw that as the best option because he didn't have that much money. Clearly he was thinking things through. In the case of his friend O-dog, he seemed like the type of criminal that was a thrill seeker, and didn't think about the consequences of his action. He chose a life of crime not just because of the environment, and the opportunity he had to commit crime, but it seemed like he enjoyed committing crime more than cane. This movie goes right along with the theories of crime we discussed in the Rafter reading and how the environment and the rational choices they made in the movie let to a life of crime.

I was browsing the CNN news channel and stumbled upon an article about a death-row inmate in Georgia who is sentenced to lethal injection after being convicted from murder of a police officer 22 years ago. There are supporters all over the world that believe he was wrongly convicted and he has his last chance to defend himself in an appeal this Monday. The police officers mother who was shot believes he should be executed, and wont have closure unless he is executed. However the death-row inmates family and many supporters believe he is innocent. This article made me think of the idea of the predator criminals in the media and how the criminal justice system deals with these criminals. Clearly, the mother of the deceased cop thinks that he is the one who shot her son. She thinks he is a predator and should be executed in order for her to have closure, but did he really commit the crime? The media would like to portray him as a violent killer, but there are many people that believe he was wrongly convicted. If he is innocent, this just goes to show that there are not as many violent predators in the world than the media would like us to believe.