Socialization and Criminal Behavior - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages A convicted child abuser and closeted homosexual, John Wayne Gacy kidnapped and killed thirty-three young boys over a six year period. Seeking to understand the particularly heinous crimes of Mr. John Wayne Gacy, this brief research paper will discuss the linkages between socialization and criminal behavior. We begin with an overview of the life and times of this violent murderer with an eye to his early period of socialization. Following this overview of the crimes of John Wayne Gacy, this paper will discuss the linkages between social forces and crime by looking at the sociological theory of anomie (Bell and Bardsley 2009).
What kind of family life did John Wayne Gacy have? How did his early experiences shape the killer he became? John Wayne Gacy was born during the height of the Second World War during the relative tranquility of suburban Chicago and was the second of three children. It was reported that his father was both physically and mentally abusive as the young Gacy grew up in a strict Polish-Danish household. Teased about being overweight and supposedly demonstrating feminine characteristics as a young boy, John Wayne Gacy faced a series of challenges growing up. His scholastic record was shoddy and although he became a somewhat successful businessman, his previous academic record gave no indication that Mr. Gacy would achieve much financial success in life. As a young man who had dropped out of school and ventured to Las Vegas to win a livelihood, John Wayne Gacy married the first woman who paid him any attention, the unsuspecting Marlynn Myers. Despite appearances of normality John Wayne Gacy had a severe attraction to young boys and although reports of his alleged homosexuality surfaced while a member of the Jaycees, he managed to hide this aspect of his life while beginning life in Waterloo. On one side John Wayne Gacy ...Download file to see next pagesRead More