The choice to kill

Opening

This paper will propose two definitions of crime based on the consensus paradigm and the conflict model of crime. Then it will describe a specific type of crime which is murder. This paper will also apply three high profile cases to my specific crime type. It will talk about how rational choice theory and deterrence theory is consistent within my cases. Last, this paper will

Definition

One of the major problems that persist in our “structured society” is crime. Theorists have two main perspectives that are used to explain crimes which are the consensus and conflict view. From the consensus view, crime is the introduction of deviance in a structured society based around laws. People in society create laws collectively in order to maintain social order. This creates a democracy, which is where “law serves people equally, and persons who violate the law represent a unique subgroup” (Winfree & Abadinsky, 2010, pg4). Crime is whatever the people have agreed on based off of what law was made. From the conflict view, laws are made by the rich, which can cause a lot of bias decisions to occur. This makes the lower and middle class subjected to the standards the wealthy set. Crime is whatever the rich say crime is since they generally make the laws.

The second perspective that is taken into account when explaining the correlation between society and crime is the conflict view. Unlike the consensus view, the conflict interpretation of crime is, “the reflection of power relationships in society and serves the interest of those in control” (Winfree & Abadinsky, 2010, pg5). The diverse groups in society are in competition with one another for power and high position in society in order to create the definition crime. Within the so...

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Violent Crime. (2013, October 23). Bureau of justice statistics (BJS). Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=31

Winfree, L. T., & Abadinsky, H. (2010). Deterrence and Opportunity Theories. Understanding crime: Essentials of criminological theory (3rd ed. pp. 49-52). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

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