The Life of Peter Sutcliffe - Case Study Example

Peter Sutcliffe Name Date Course Peter Sutcliffe Introduction Sociological theories play a significant role in explaining the social relation of the people in the society. The theories are useful in explaining some of the behaviors that are portrayed by the individuals or groups in the society. Crime is a social issue and the sociological theories explain why crimes are committed within certain communities and why they are committed by certain individuals or groups. This is especially useful when it comes to violent crimes that are usually committed in the society (Choo & Ferree, 2010). It is also important to note that it is only a small number of people who can commit violent crimes. Depending on the social conditions violent crimes can be committed by individuals across different social backgrounds. The Western Australia criminal code is the legislation that is usually applied when dealing with criminal activities. Some individuals in the world are well known for their criminal conduct and especially being involved in multiple violent crimes. Peter Sutcliffe is one of the common serial killer that was involved in the murder of 13 women and he also attempted to kill 7 others. He was from Britain and most of his victims were prostitutes although he also killed some women who were not prostitutes. He carried out the murders in a period spanning five years before he was arrested and prosecuted. The paper thus discusses the sociological theories in connection with the life of Peter Sutcliffe. Discussion Background Peter was born in 1946 and his parents were working class citizens and Catholics. He grew up a as a loner and had to spend a lot of time by himself. During his early childhood life, he had a few number of friends and was not social. He left school when he was 15 years old and decide to take manual jobs in order to earn a living. During the 1960s, he also worked as a gravedigger as one of the manual jobs that he was involved in. It is during this time that he met Sonia who later became his wife. In 1971, he landed a job as a line packaging factory worker at Baird Television Limited. He however quite the job in 1973 after refusing to work as a road salesman. He joined Britannia works the same year where he worked as a night shift worker. In 1974, he got married to Sonia who he had met before. He later landed another job as a driver for a tyre company but was dismissed in 1975 for theft of used tyres. He later landed another job as a HGV driver at T&WH Clark Holdings. In terms of his personal life, he had encountered several challenges. At one point he engaged with a prostitute and was conned out of money (Cross, 2014). His wife had several miscarriages and was later advised not to have children. His wife later became a teacher and they used the money she earned to buy a house. At some point w2hen his wife was in college, she had an affair with an ice cream van driver although this did not separate them. His early encounter with crime was in 1969 when he assaulted an older prostitute when he was looking for another prostitute who had conned him out of money. Although he was identified and the police visited him home, he was not charged. This is because the prostitute did not press any charges as her husband was serving a jail term for assault. His second encounter with crime was in 1975 when he attacked a woman who was walking alone. He used a ball-peen hammer to hit her head and slashed her stomach with a knife. The victim however survived after an intensive medical intervention. He then started attacking his victims using the same method and in the same year he committed his first murder and he also assaulted a 14 year old woman. Traces of semen were also found on his first murder victim who was a 30 year old mother of 4 named Conn (Boyle & Reburn, 2014). His next murder was in 1976 when he used the same method to kill the victim who was using her family van to exchange sexual favors for money. In this particular incident, the murder victim name Jackson was stabbed 51 times. In 1977, he committed more murders and he ended up killing two prostitutes. In one of the incidences he went ahead and mutilated the corpse of the victim. This is after he realized that the money that he had given to her was traceable and was thus trying to destroy the evidence that could link him to the crime. Although the police found the note and even interviewed him, he was not investigated as he was disregarded by the ripper squad on several other occasions. In 1978, he committed three more murders and this involved three prostitutes. His mother also died in the same year and it took some times before he committed another murder. In 1979, he killed two more women who were not prostitutes and this sparked public outcry which led to an intensive investigation. At one of the crime scene a tape was found but it later turned out to be a hoax although it has misled the police. By 1979, he had been interviewed 9 times by the police and was even on the list of the people who could possibly have received a 5 pound note. However, he was not strongly suspected of the murder. He committed two more murders in 1980 and also attacked three other women who later survived. He was also arrested for drunken driving the same year. He was arrested in 1981 after being stopped by the police and the murder weapons discovered at the scene of the arrest. He was diagnosed with a paranoid schizophrenia and pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He also pleaded guilty to 7 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and 30 years to be served before any consideration for parole. This is because the judge noted that he was beyond redemption. His sentence was later extended to full life time in 2010 and this means that he will never leave prison alive (Jefferson, 2013). Sociological theories The sociological theories can be used for the purposes of explaining the violent criminal conduct of Peter. According to Anomie theory, the society has a role to play in guiding the individuals. The failure of the society from providing moral guidance to the individuals contributes to their criminal behaviors (Martindale, 2013). Peter came from a working class family that was also religious. The community that he came from was also religious as most of the people were Catholics. However, the society failed in terms of providing him with guidance. This was mainly during his early life as most of the times he was a loner and even dropped out of school. Had the society intervened, he would not have dropped out of school and getting involved in crime. His parents and the society at large provided him with little guidance and hence leading to the criminal behaviors. According to the network theory, the behaviors and norms are usually embedded in chains of social relations. During his early childhood life, he did not have a good relationship with the other children and was a loner. This impacted negatively on his behaviors. The poor social relation with the other people is also a factor that contributed to his criminal behavior. At some point he quit his job after refusing to work as a salesman. This is because of his poor social relation skills. His loneliness also contributed to the criminal behavior as he had few friends to talk to. It is also evident that he had hatred for women since all his victims were women. Most of the victims were also prostitutes and he started killing them for the purposes of revenge after he was conned out of money. On the other hand, his wife was also involved in cheating which is a factor that may have motivated him to have more hatred for women. According to the hate crime theory, some of the criminals usually commit criminal acts on the people or group of people that they do not like (Beechey, 2013). This theory best describes criminal behavior of Peter. He hated women because of what they did to him. His criminal activities were for the purposes of ensuring that the women are exposed to as much pain as possible. He killed all his victims by striking them with a hammer and also stabbing them repeatedly. This is an indication that he hated the victims for who they were and in this case some were prostitutes and all of them were women. Although he was married, he still hated women and did not value them. This is because he was also engaged in cheating with other women and prostitutes. This can also be considered as an act of revenge against his wife who cheated on him. His crimes were mainly inspired by the hatred that he had among the women as he never killed any man in all the murders that he committed. There is also no incident where he attacked any male and hence affirming that he hated women and in particular prostitutes. In one of the incident, he murdered a woman who was using the family vehicle for sexual favors. This is an indication that he hated immorality among the women in the society. This is however not a reason that can be used to justify his actions. At one point he claimed that he was being instructed by God to kill the prostitutes. According to the hate crime theory revenge is a motive for committing a crime. On the other hand, the revenge is mainly because of a bad encounter with a particular group of people (Luhmann, 2013). In this case being the immoral behavior of his wife and being conned out of money by a prostitute. According to the control theory, weak bonds between the individuals and the society are also to blame for the criminal behaviors of the individuals. Peter was a loner in his early life and he had a weak bond with the society. This contributed to his dropping out of school and engaging in manual work. At some point, he was working as a gravedigger. This is an indication that he went to extremes due to his disconnection with the society. This is also considering that very few people will take up the job of a gravedigger as most people in the society always avoided being associated with death. This may have further strained his bond wit the society and hence contributing to his criminal behaviors. The lack of a proper relationship with the society contributes to criminal behaviors. According to Thomas Theorem, the reality that people construct has real consequences in future (Parsons, 2010). Peter dropped out of school and he started engaging wit prostitutes at an early age. On the other hand, he was a loner and started engaging in manual jobs after dropping out of school. This is an indication that his future was not going to be bright as he had no education and he had already started engaging himself in behaviors that are not generally accepted by the society. This may have resulted to low self esteem and he may have realized that his future was not going to be bright and he therefore started embracing crime. His situation was further worsened when a prostitute conned him out of his money and his wife cheated on him. The combination therefore triggered an outburst and hence his criminal behavior. According to the rational choice theory, the individuals who are involved in crimes usually measure between extrinsic and intrinsic values (Calhoun, 2014). The extrinsic values are composed of factors such as costs while the intrinsic values are factors such as guilt. Peter committed the crimes multiple times and he did not feel any guilt. This is because he continued to commit the crimes several times and at one point he went a head and mutilated a corpse. It is also important to note peter could not stay for long without committing the crimes which indicates that he had the urge to commit. This is also an indication that he did not care much about the victims or their families as he was not guilty for his actions. According to the psychopath theory, serious criminals do not have any shame of guilt with regards to their actions (Rex, 2010). Although peter was involved in killing and attacking vulnerable members of the society, he had no feeling of guilt or shame. Serious criminal are not afraid of punishment and they have little or no sympathy for their victims. Peter used to attack and kill his victims by a hammer before stabbing them. This is an indication that he had no sympathy for his victims. At some point he attacked a woman aged 14 years and this is also an indication that he had no sympathy for his victims. The criminals who commit serious crimes usually have little or no affection towards other people. Although he as married, he continued cheating on his wife and hence an indication that he had little affection for her. It is also important to note that he may have been frustrated when he failed to have a child. This is after several miscarriages which led to the advice that they should not have children. The behavior that he portrayed is an indication that he had little value for his life or future. It also indicates that he had given up on in life after encountering various failures. The failure to withstand frustrations is also an indication that he did not have a strong conscious. According to the containment theory, individuals with a strong conscious are more tolerable towards frustrations and are less likely to be involved in crime. The psychopath theory also further affirms that the people with psychological disorder usually have problems in terms of socialization. His was the case with peter during his early life as he was a loner and dropped out of school. During his trial, the psychiatrist diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia. This indicates that he had psychological problems which also influenced his criminal behaviors. He also pleaded guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to his condition although this was rejected by the judge. Despite admitting committing the crimes, he still refused to plead guilty of all the counts of murder. This is an indication that he was not remorseful for his actions. He did not care about the victims and their families by refusing to plead guilty of the crimes despite admitting committing the crimes. It is also important to note that the later wanted to be considered for parole after serving for thirty years. During his jail term, he never apologized for his actions and he even went further to claim that he had been instructed by God to commit the murders. The judge during the trial noted that his behavior was beyond repair and he could not reform. This is based on the fact that he was not remorseful or guilty despite committing the crimes. The sociological theories therefore indicate that frustrations, psychological problems and the desire for revenge was responsible for violent criminal activities among individuals (Scott, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that Peter committed serious crimes that involved the murder of 13 people. All of his victims were women and most of them were prostitutes. It is evident that he started committing the murders due to the desire for revenge after he was conned out of his money by a prostitute. On the other hand, it is also important to note that his hatred for women could be as a result of his wife cheating on him. It is evident that peter also had a difficult early childhood life which forced him to drop out of school and it may have contributed to his criminal behaviors. The sociological theories indicates that the criminal behaviors of peter was due to his socialization problems, frustrations, hatred for women, desire for revenge and psychological problems. It is also evident that he was not remorseful for his activities. References Choo, H. Y., & Ferree, M. M. (2010). Practicing Intersectionality in Sociological Research: A Critical Analysis of Inclusions, Interactions, and Institutions in the Study of Inequalities*. Sociological Theory, 28(2), 129-149. Martindale, D. (2013). The nature and types of sociological theory (Vol. 11). Routledge. Beechey, V. (2013). Women and production: a critical analysis of some sociological theories of women's work. Feminism and materialism, 155-97. Luhmann, N. (2013). A sociological theory of law. Routledge. Parsons, T. (2010). Essays in sociological theory. Simon and Schuster. Calhoun, C. (Ed.). (2012). Contemporary sociological theory. John Wiley & Sons. Rex, J. (2010). Key problems of sociological theory. Psychology Press. Scott, J. (2012). Sociological theory: Contemporary debates. Edward Elgar Publishing. Cross, S. (2014). Mad and bad media: Populism and pathology in the British tabloids. European Journal of Communication, 0267323113516734. Boyle, K., & Reburn, J. (2014). Portrait of A Serial Killer: Intersexuality and gender in the portrait film. Feminist Media Studies, (ahead-of-print), 1-16. Jefferson, T. (2013). For a psychosocial criminology. Critical Criminology, 145. Read More