John Wayne Gacy Jr. free essay sample

Classical Theory originated at about 1764 and it involves Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism, which means that people choose to act when they believe their actions will bring an increase in pleasure and a decrease in pain. This theory was also founded by Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794). Beccaria applied this reasoning to criminal behavior. He agreed that people want to achieve pleasure to avoid pain. Beccaria stated his famous theorem: In order for punishment not to be in every instance, an act of violence of one or many against a private citizen, it must be essentially public, prompt, necessary, the least possible in the given circumstances, proportionate to the crimes, and dictated by the laws. This is the core of what today is known as classical criminology. Crime can only be deterred or prevented if the punishment of a crime inputs fear into the mind of the potential criminal before he or she commits the crime. We will write a custom essay sample on John Wayne Gacy Jr. or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It must be proven that â€Å"crime does not pay† (Siegel 6). Positivist Theory originated in the early 19th century (1810). This theory involves Auguste Comte’s (1798-1857) way of applying the scientific method to the study of society. Positivism is based on facts that are obtained through observation and not through belief. Unlike other theories that imply external factors as the cause of crime, this theory implies that crime is committed because of one’s biological features, or internal factors. Some people are crime prone because they have biological and mental traits that are inherited. For example, positivist believed the shape of the skull can determine whether a person was a criminal (Siegel 7). Marxism / Conflict Theory originated about 1848. Karl Marx’s observation convinced him that the character of every civilization is determined by its mode of production, such as materialism. A Marxist-based criminology indicates that the capitalist economic system produces the conditions that support high crime rate (Siegel 9). The core idea of this theory is that crime is a function of class struggle. Although Marx’s theory originated about 1848, its impact was not realized until decades after. A fine example of this theory can be explained in the Patty Hearst incident of 1974. Sociological Theory originated in 1897. This theory explains that the origin of a person and where they are brought up in life determine their behavior. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), one of the founders of Sociology, defined crime as a normal and necessary social event (Siegel 8). Disorganized urban areas and places of low income are breeding grounds for crime. It makes sense that crime is inherently a lower-class phenomenon (Siegel 49). These social factors increase the need for a potential criminal to commit crimes to obtain what they do not have. Someone who lives in the suburbs or in a high class environment does not resort to crime because they have better means of getting what they want. This theory has led to what today is known as Social Learning Theory and the Labeling Theory. Multifactor / Integrated Theory originated in about the 1930s. The founders are Sheldon (1896-1980) and Eleanor (1898-1972) Glueck. This theory implies that crime is a function of environmental, socialization, physical, and psychological factors. Every single one of these factors contributes to shaping behavior patterns. Where someone grows up, who they grow up with, how they look, and how they think all lead understand crime causation. This involves the Classical, Positivist, Marxist, and Sociological Theory all together. This theory is the most likely to be recognized in today’s time. Each of these theories had led to many new theories used today, such as the Rational Choice theory, Biosocial and Psychological Theory, Critical Theory, Cultural Deviance Theory, Life Course Theory, and many more. The one thing in common with every theory is that they all explain at least one behavioral factor that leads to crime. Today, all these theories, and more, are researched and taken into account when trying to understand why a criminal does what they do. John Wayne Gacy was born on May 17 (St. Patrick’s Day), 1942 to Marion Elaine Robinson Gacy and John Wayne Gacy, Sr. at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago. He was the second of three children. His older sister Joanne had preceded him by two years and two years after his birth came his sister Karen. The Gacy children were raised as Catholics and attended Catholic School (Taylor 2003). The neighborhood where Gacy grew up was a middle class neighborhood. Gacy, along with many of the children in the neighborhood, had part-time jobs after school. He got part-time jobs doing newspaper routes, bagging groceries, and Boy Scout activities. Gacy was not much popular in school but he had no trouble having friends and fitting in with others. He had friend in school and among his Boy Scout troops and he was liked by his teachers and his co-workers. With some exceptions, Gacy seemed to have had a normal childhood (Bardsley Bell n. d. ). At age 11, Gacy was playing at a swing set and was hit in the head by one of the swings, which caused a blood clod in his brain. This blood clod in his brain caused him to suffer series of black outs. Despite his symptoms, the blood clot was not treated until the age of 16, when he was given medication to dissolve the blood clot. At age 17, he was diagnosed with a heart ailment and he was hospitalized several times in his life, but no one ever found the source of his suffering (Taylor 2003). Gacy had a strong relationship with his sisters and his mother, but it was not the same for his father. Gacy’s father wanted him to be like all the other children who played stick ball and went out fishing. Gacy, instead, would rather cook with his sisters or do gardening with his mother. According to Barry Boschelli, a childhood friend of Gacy, Gacy loved his father but he wanted his father to accept him the way he was. During his late teens, Gacy suffered some chaos with his father. John Wayne Gacy, Sr. was an alcoholic that abused his wife physically and his children verbally. His father would ridicule in front of his sisters and his friends. His father would call him a wimp and told him he wouldn’t become anything in the world. â€Å"What are you, one of the girls? † is what he would hear from his father. He would then kill them by pulling a rope against their throats. According to the film, Dear Mr. Gacy, he would not want to kill them after raping them, but he had to because they were witnesses to what happened. He also admitted to not burring the bodies soon after killing them. According to his confession, he would keep the bodies under his bed or in the attic for several hours (Bardsley Bell n. d. ). On the first day of digging, two bodies were uncovered. One of the bodies was that of Butkovich and the other was found in the garage where Gacy said it would be. The body count continued to grow as they dug more and more. Over the days, they found that some of the bodies still had a sock or underwear in their mouths, as Gacy described. Some of the bodies were so close together that it led authorities to believe that Gacy killed several victims at the same time; Gacy agreed. Gacy also confessed to stuffing them together because he was running out of room to stuff the other bodies (Bardsley Bell n. d. ). On December 28, police had uncovered 27 bodies from underneath Gacy’s house. Police also found the body of Frank Wayne Landingin at the Des Plaines River but did not connect the murder to Gacy until they found his Driver’s License inside Gacy’s house. They also found the body of James Mazzara with underwear in his throat at the Des Plaines River. Gacy told authorities that he began dumping bodies at the river because he ran out if room underneath his house (Bardsley Bell n. d. ). A couple months had passed by when workmen breaking up concrete had found a well preserved body inside the concrete of Gacy’s patio. This victim was different than the others in the fact that he was married. Soon after, they found another body in the Illinois River. This 31st victim found was identified as Timothy O’Rourke. Around the same time, there was another body found under the recreation room in Gacy’s house. This would be the last body found in Gacy’s house. The house was demolished, but there was still one body that was still not yet found; the body of Robert Piest (Bardsley Bell n. d. ). In April, 1979 the remains of Robert Piest were found in the Illinois River. It seemed as if there had been paper towels stuck down Priest’s through. Although the bodies had been recovered, investigators were still trying to uncover the identities of all the victims. Overall, nine of the bodies could not be identified (Bardsley Bell n. . ). John Wayne Gacy’s murder trial began on February 6, 1980 in the Cook County Courts Building in Chicago, Illinois. Bob Edgan, prosecutor, explained to the Jury in detail about the murder of Robert Piest and of the other entire fallen victims to Gacy’s murders. The Jury were shocked to hear of it, especially the ones who learned of Gacyâ⠂¬â„¢s crimes for the first time (Sullivan Maiken, 1983). Robert Motta was the defense attorney for John Wayne Gacy. He agreed to Gacy committing the crimes but because of him being insane. Motta’s intentions were to put his client in a mental health system. In many cases where an offender is sent to a mental facility, they are let free when they are seen capable of returning to society, but an insanity plea is a very difficult one to prove (Bardsley Bell n. d. ). In the attempt to prove Gacy was insane, they tried to explain his childhood life drove him mad. His defense consisted of his friend’s testimonies, including his mother’s, that Gacy’s father would verbally and physically assault him. These ridicules from his father could be known as the external factor that led Gacy to commit the crimes. Gacy never had the opportunity to impress his father or even say good bye before his death so he felt he was never good enough to be someone good. Friends also mentioned how Gacy was a kind and generous man who loved to participate in community events and loved to help those in need (Taylor 2003). Soon after, witnesses were brought up to the bench. One of the witnesses was father of John Butkovich, Marko Butkovich. Other witnesses that were brought up were Gacy’s employees from PDM who had survived the sexual assault. The testimonies extended and continued for weeks. In total, there were 60 witnesses that were called to the bench (Bardsley Bell n. d. ). The defense then called Thomas Eliseo, a psychologist who studied Gacy many times before the trial. Eliseo told the court he found that Gacy was an extremely intelligent man, but he suffered from borderline schizophrenia. Other medical experts concurred and gave similar findings such as, Multi-personality disorder and anti-social behavior. Personally, I believe that many of his physical, or internal factors, such as the blood clot he had when he was a child could have been a reason why Gacy began to kill.