Charles Manson and Criminal Activity

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses Charles Manson's criminal activities and background information and considers how the various theoretical schools of crime causation would explain Manson's criminal behavior. The paper looks at the social structure theory, the social disorganization theory, the social learning theory, the strain theory and finally, the culture deviance theory. The paper shows how Manson's life of continual crime can be considered a textbook example of the social causes of criminality.

From the Paper:

"In 1969, two brutal murders shocked the country. First, actress Sharon Tate and her unborn baby were brutally murdered along with several friends of Tate's that were visiting her home at the time. Shortly thereafter, the LaBianca family was also brutally murdered. Both crimes took place near each other in Los Angeles, and both were especially gruesome, creating public outrage. When the murderers were caught, it was discovered they were a "family," living together in a commune on a deserted motion picture set called the Sphan Ranch. Manson's followers committed the murders, but they were under the spell of "Charlie," an itinerant "hippie" who had the ability to hypnotize or so entrance his followers that he could convince them to do almost anything. What made Charles Manson such a destructive and deadly force? Like many criminals, the story begins in his childhood."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bardsley, M. (2002). Charles Manson and the Manson family. Retrieved from the Crime Library.com Web site: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/manson/charlie_5.html 26 June 2008.
• Calderon, M. (2005) Crime causation. Retrieved from the Anai Rhoads Web site: http://www.anairhoads.org/calderon/crimec.shtml 26 June 2008.
• Furio, J. (2001). Team killers: A comparative study of collaborative criminals. New York: Algora.
• Popper, M. (2005). Leaders who transform society: What drives them and why we are attracted. Westport, CT: Praeger.

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