Criminalogical Theories Applied to Monster The Autobiography of an LA Gang Member

Lawrence Friedman, “Crime and Punishment in American History,” BasicBooks, 1993, p. 109-111. Print. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/property-crime/burglarymain Larry J. Siegel, “Criminology,” Cengage Learning, 2012, p.236-40.

Shakur greatly details his early years, his time as one of the leaders on the streets, and his transformation in prison. Kody Scott first became involved with the Crips at the age of eleven (Shakur Preface xiii). From the beginning of his time in the Crips, Scott seemed to naturally fit into the life of a gang member. He quickly gained notoriety for his numerous acts of violence and he was given the nickname "Monster" as a result of a vicious beating he gave a man that left him permanently disfigured and in a coma (Shakur 13). Scott became very well known around the community and was feared by rival gangs, as he quickly rose to the top of his own gang.

As the attacks became more gruesome, pressure started to rise for the Phoenix police department. The Phoenix police put up multiple different billboards across the area, “showing a sketch of a dark-skinned man with a mustache, wearing a fisherman’s hat. A team of veteran detectives assembled a special taskforce, spending thousands of hours patrolling in an effort to capture this elusive killer. On July 14, 2006, a tip was received on the Phoenix police’s Silent Witness hotline referring Mark Goudeau. Suggesting that he resembled one of the sketches of the suspect.”(Hogan, Shanna) It was the first time Mark Goudeau’s name had ever popped up in the investigation.

Is the American Approach better than Canters? The American approach to offender profiling according to Webber (2009, p42) is a method based on interviewing convicted serial killers, to see how they describe their offending. They then use that information to look at crime scenes to see what type of person might have committed the offences as mentioned previously. This style of offender profiling is associated with that of the FBI’s behavioural science unit (Webber 2009, p42). Holmes and Holmes (2002 cited in Webber 2009, p42) assert that serial killers tend to be white males, between 25 and 34, intelligent or ‘street smart’ charming and charismatic with an interest in police work.

Short, James F. Jr. The Level of Explanation Problem Revisited- The American Society of Criminology, 1998 p. 36 Sullivan, Mercer L. “Getting Paid” Youth Crime and Work in Inner City. Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press 1989. Williams, Terry. The Cocaine Kids: The Inside Story of a Teenage Drug Ring.

4. 5. Chapter 2 1. 2. 3.

32-33. 5 ll. 38, 45, 122. 6 ll. 45-46.

Blood Letter and Bad Men). Soon Cappone was helping another gangster who went my Torio; He helped mange his bootlegging business. Cappone’s most notorious killing was the St. Valentines Massacre (Bowettiger, John. Lake Jingle: Chicago on the Spot) On February 4th 1929 four of Cappone’s men entered a garage at 2122 North Clark Street. Because two of Cappone’s men were dressed like policemen the victims put their hands up, dropped their weapons and were immediately shot.

Over the course of the next two years, Kody made it his only ambition to fight for the gang and promote the superiority of the Eight Tray Gangsters. Kody’s end goal was to ultimately achieve the status of “Ghetto Star”, a title given to a individual who is known throughout gang because of the barbaric acts they have committed in the name of their own gang set.

Being charged with adult sentences is a very harsh punishment considering their age. Andrew Medina was fifteen when he got sentenced to life without parole because of a murder that he possibly did not commit. Officers also alleged that he was part of a gang and sent him to spend the rest of his life in a very strict prison. Trevor Jones also got sentenced to life without parole at the age of seventeen because of reckless manslaughter. Even though it was an accident, the victim’s death occurred while Trevor intended armed robbery and was accused of felony murder and will spend the rest of his life in prison.