Several theories, such as critical criminology and developmental theory, help forensic psychologists comprehend the potential motives behind criminal behavior. According to the developmental hypothesis, criminal behavior is produced by social, biological, and psychological processes. Forensic psychologists can therefore examine the criminal’s life experiences leading up to the crime rather than just the crime itself. The Henry Earl case is related to developmental theory. According to Schram and Tibbetts (2017), critical criminology focuses on hierarchies, power imbalances, and inequalities, typically in places of poverty. The Columbine Shooting is one case connected to critical criminology.
Developmental Theory
Definition of Developmental Theory: “perspectives on criminal behavior that highlight the development of criminality across time, with the individual as the unity of study” (Schram & Tibbetts, 2017). This concept has several uses, but let us only talk about the Henry Earl case for clarity. Over 6,000 days of the past decade have been spent behind bars for Lexington, Kentucky’s 71-year-old homeless Henry Earl Earl. He has been apprehended repeatedly; the number is well over a thousand. Henry Earl has been arrested numerous times for public intoxication and criminal trespassing twice, according to McLaughlin (2013).
Because of the early criminal influences in his life, his story perfectly illustrates the concept of developmental psychology. With the death of his adoptive mother, Earl began drinking as a teenager, and theorists assume that he will continue to do so into adulthood. Some theorists would argue that he will have a costly police record because his drinking habits carried over into adulthood, and he was arrested for public intoxication.
Finally, Travis Hirschi’s broad notion of low self-control as a leading cause of his crimes is cited by theorists as relevant to the case of Henry Earls. According to Hirschi, children need to be socialized and taught to manage their impulses by the time they turn ten years old. However, the child’s lack of self-control after age ten will be permanent (Schram & Tibbetts, 2017).
Critical Criminology
Lynch (2010) contends that a political-economic and class study of hierarchies, power differentials, and inequalities is the foundation of critical criminology in a low-income urban milieu. Two high school students, Eric Harris, and Dylan Kleboid, allegedly plotted the shooting. Two tormented high school students decided to exact their vengeance by attacking their school. Schram and Tibbetts (2017) note that these adolescents were called the weird kids that no one wants to be friends with, especially if they are being bullied for not fitting in, making this a critical criminology case. The kids’ preexisting stigma of being “different” gave them the confidence to plot a shooting attack against their perceived social outcasts.
Theorists would use this case to illustrate critical criminology by analyzing the institutional context of the crime, the perpetrators’ motives, and the students’ social stratification. Hong, Cho, Allen-Meares, and Espelage (2011) stated that attitudes and actions were influenced on multiple fronts. The parents had adequate proof to take action for their sons’ inactions, but the article states that they ignored their responsibility. Therefore, the adolescents went ahead with the crime nonetheless.
Finally, the writings of Charles Horton Cooley, William Thomas, George Herbert Mead, and Erving Goffman, symbolic interactionism, are used by researchers to explain the Columbine shooting. According to proponents of symbolic interactionism, “many social interactions entail symbolism,” defined as “the process by which individuals perceive the meaning of each other’s words and gestures and behave accordingly” (Schram & Tibbets, 2017, p. 293). Harris and Kleboid were targets of bullying and hostility from other students at their high school. Harris and Kleboid’s contact with the bullies catalyzed their decision to plot a school shooting.
Conclusion
Researchers, theorists, and forensic psychologists can benefit from the unique insights of developmental theory and critical criminology. Researchers can learn more about the possible influences of a person’s upbringing and social milieu on their offending conduct by employing developmental theory. However, the sociological, economic, and political settings in which criminal behavior originates are the main emphasis of critical criminology. Forensic psychologists can use these two schools of thinking to provide more effective strategies for reducing criminal activity and better understanding the dynamics at work in criminal behavior. Scholars and practitioners may collaborate to make communities safer and promote constructive social change by merging their viewpoints.
References
Hong, J. S., Cho, H., Allen-Meares, P., & Espelage, D. L. (2011). The social ecology of the Columbine High School Shootings. Children and youth services review, 33(6), 861-868.
Lynch, M. J. (2010). Critical criminology. Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780195396607-0064
McLaughlin, E. C. (2013, December 4). Most-arrested man to face judge as friends hope for ‘christmas miracle’. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/us/kentucky-henry-earl-most-arrested/index.html
Schram, P. J., & Tibbetts, S. G. (2019). Introduction to criminology: Why do they do it?. Sage Publications.
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