NCJ Number
114223
Date Published
1988
Length
375 pages
Annotation
This analysis challenges conventional explanations of deviance and criminal behavior by focusing on offenders' emotions, attitudes, values, and subjective experiences of committing violent or property crimes.
Abstract
Youths' and adults' descriptions of murders, robberies, shoplifting, burglary, vandalism, school truancy, and other acts form the basis of the argument that sensual attractions and feelings of moral restorations are the essence of the criminal's immediate experience and must be included in explanations of crime. The case examples show why impassioned murders are not the result of temporary insanity. Instead, the murderer uses an emotional logic and believes that the act has a moral basis. Similarly, juvenile shoplifting, burglary, and vandalism offer the adolescent a magical way of concealing and testing censored desires and are not just a source of material gain. Moreover, persistent robbers know that their profits are often small and expect to spend long periods in prison. However, they are caught up in the allure of action, chaos, and control. Finally, killers like Gary Gilmore, who was regarded as being cold-blooded and senseless, are aware of the sufferings of others, while being preoccupied with moral questions and seduced by evil. Thus, each type of crime can be examined in terms of three types of factors: the immediate situation, the offender's interpretation of the act, and the emotional process of seduction and compulsion. Chapter notes and an index.