Criminological Theory: The Reasonings Behind the Slayings
Madison Abigail "Abby" Collins
The world is a host for traumatic and heinous crimes that are the result of different circumstances, perspectives, and lifestyles. The world and especially the United States has seen a plethora of crime, ranging from misdemeanors to those in the nature of mass or serial killings. There are many complex aspects of different crimes and different perpetrators and victims of those crimes. While murder is a crime that is committed less often than others, it is a crime that is most serious in nature. The Federal Bureau of Investigation publishes articles in the Uniform Crime Report that reflect crime statistics for a given year. As of 2019, there were 14,014 murder or nonnegligent homicide cases reported to police departments (Uniform Crime Report, 2019). It is important to note this considerably low number when compared to different criminological theories and how or why these types of crimes occurred, as they pertain to crimes of less seriousness and punishment as well. Pertaining to this, three true crime genre books (Blanchard et al., 2024, Bugliosi & Gentry, 2001, McNamara, 2019) were examined to designate a specific criminological theory to the perpetrator or offenders as well as the victims. While it is often found that an offender committed a crime because of certain reasons, it is not examined as to how the victim may have victimized themselves as well. Many recent findings place theories in the level of sociopathic or psychopathic tendencies, and fail to match a specific theory as to why the crime occurred. From the initiation of race wars, complex satisfaction from sexual assault, to a plea for help regarding Munchausen’s Syndrome, it is important to explain the reasons behind these crimes and an explanation of why.
Madison Abigail “Abby” Collins is a criminology major at Lander University with a minor in human services, graduating in May 2024. While at Lander, Abby has been awarded for the Dean and President’s list during multiple semesters, is a member of the Honors College, National Society of Leadership and Success, Alpha Phi Sigma, Pi Sigma Alpha, Blue Key Honor Society, works as a student worker for the Lander University Police Department, and has completed an independent study abroad program during the summer of 2023 for five weeks in Greece, focusing on the culture and Ancient Athenian law. Abby hopes to further her education by attending law school a little while after graduation.