On March 17, 1942, John Wayne Gacy was born in Chicago, Illinois. When he was younger, he was involved with activities such as boy scouts and odd jobs around his neighborhood. It is said that while Gacy wasn’t popular, he was well-liked by those people who knew him (Taylor, Troy). Gacy’s father was an alcoholic and would often abuse Gacy and his siblings if they were thought to have made trouble. His father would also abuse his mother. When Gacy was playing on a swing set at age 11, he was hit in the head with a swing. After this, Gacy would suffer from blackouts. However, when Gacy was 16, the doctors found that blood clots in his brain were the cause of his blackouts and, with medicine, they were able to stop the blackouts. When he was about …show more content…
The Murder Book describes three things that are required in order to commit a crime. These three things are “a motivated offender, the availability of a suitable target, and the absence of effective guardians” (page 92). First, John Wayne Gacy was obviously a motivated offender. Not only did he keep the bodies of the victims underneath his home, he killed at least 33 young men, if not more, and only stopped because he was caught. If he had not been motivated, he would not have been able to kill so many young men before being caught. Second, he had an abundance of suitable victims. As stated earlier in my paper, he became a well-known figure in his community. He held neighborhood parties and was incredibly active with those people around him; people thought that he was a caring, respectable man. There would be no reason to hide from him. Not to mention, he ran a successful construction company that of course young men would work for because it was a job they could get. He basically had an endless supply of young men that he could have taken advantage of and murdered. Third, being a respectable member of his community allowed people to let their guards down around him. Of course there was an absence of an effective guardian. He literally killed at least 33 people, in order to do that there obviously was not an effective enough guardian for these victims. He was able to kill these people for years without detection. He buried them underneath his house without anyone noticing anything suspicious. So, while it may not be exactly what the Routine Activity Theory had in mind, I think it completely fits John Wayne Gacy’s
The article, “The Power of Habit” (chapter 9), by Charles Duhigg, is about Angie Bachmann who was addicted to gambling. It all started one day when she felt so lonely that she decided to go out and play in the nearest casino. Angie started by setting rules just so she would not become addicted. As days went by Angie slowly started to break her rules and gambled more than what she should of have. Angie lost a lot of money. Although, Harrah’s casino would send her free stuff and vacation trips to get Angie to play more. Angie realized that she had a problem with gambling and went away for a time, but she went back to Harrah’s casino when her parents inherit her money. Angie lost all the money that she inherited and started to get loans
Some times in life there are events that happen so horrific that it shocks the whole nation. Sometimes individuals that commit murderous sprees gain the attention of a whole community or country with a common unanswered question of why? John Wayne Gacy was one of those individuals that gained the attention of the mid west of our nation just outside of Chicago Illinois, with the murders of 33 young men and boys.
Addiction is something that may seem inevitable, but at the end it’s entirely the fault of a person who is addicted. In the article, “the power of habit” by Charles Duhigg, it states how Angie Bachmann became addicted to gambling and how it was entirely her fault because she kept accepting the offers from casinos and many other reasons. Both the casino and Angie knew what they were doing by Angie letting herself get into the situation and the casino encouraging it. She started out as a well-settled housewife. When everybody left the house, she ended up all alone without having much to do. Because of this, one day, as she was passing through the streets, she decided to visit a casino for a change. “She knew gambling could lead to trouble, so
The United States is responsible for 67.41% of the entire world’s serial killers on record, approximately 2,743 killers. One man who is a part of this statistic, named John Wayne Gacy, was born on March 17th, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. Over a period of six years, Gacy murdered over thirty young men. For the first few years, police were not suspicious of Gacy, and he was only investigated for a few months before his capture. Due to the severity and nature of his crimes John Wayne Gacy was categorized as an organized, power-oriented serial killer.
John Wayne Gacy | Crime Profiles | Crime & Investigation Network. CITV.com.au | FOXTEL. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.citv.com.au/crime-profiles/58/john-wayne-gacy/3/the-crime
Based upon the evidence provided on the six elements of a good theory, the Routine Activities Theory is a sound theory. These elements provide that the theory is scientific. The theory has brought together its three elements to help determine why crime occurs. Through research by multiple detached researchers, its hypotheses have been confirmed through tests and empirical evidence.
Gacy had lured several young men and children into his home by offering them money for perform sexual needs for him, dressing as a police officer of the law, or offering them weed, alcohol, and jobs. When he lured these young men and teenagers into his home, he had sexual assaulted them and then killed them off. A total of twenty-eight bodies were found in and around John Wayne Gacy’s home of which many of the bodies were found in the forty foot crawlspace below his house and garage.
John Wayne Gacy Jr. is one of America’s infamous serial killers, who is known by most people as the killer clown. From being beaten by his alcoholic father to murdering and sexually taking advantage of teenage boys, the general strain theory and social bond theory will be applied to Gacy in explaining the strengths and limitations of each theory, along with empirical evidence. This paper will discuss the background characteristics of Gacy, containing relevant information for the purpose of applying the general strain theory and social bond theory to Gacy. Each theory will describe the conceptual basis, address empirical evidence for and against the theories, and identify the limitations. Explicit connections between Gacy and the theories will
John Wayne Gacy was a U.S. serial killer who was found guilty of killing 33 boys and young men (McCormick, 1998). Gacy was born on March 17, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois (Sullivan, 2013). John Wayne Gacy had two sisters, Joanne and Karen and had a difficult relationship with his father. His father was an auto repair machanic and World War I veteran (Jones, 2012). Whenever his father came home from work, he would go to the basement and drink. His father was an alcoholic and used physical punishment on all of his children (Jones, 2012). He would even beat the children with a razor strap if they misbehaved (Sullivan, 2013). Gacy’s mother tried her best to protect the children, but Gacy’s father physically assaulted her as well (Jones, 2012). Additionally,
John Wayne Gacy, Jeffery Dahmer, Henry Lee Lucas, Charles Manson, Timothy McVeigh, Ann Rule, Angel Resendez, David Berkowitz, Albert DeSalvo, Ottis Toole, Eddie Gein, and Herbert Mullin, what do all of these serial killers have in common and why did they kill? This is the question I am going to answer in my paper. I am going to examine several killers and their childhoods, mental disorders, and types of killings they performed.
Routine Activities Theory includes elements from deterrence and rational choice theories. Routine Activity Theory provides a simple and influential imminent into the sources of crime problems. The main idea is that in the lack of valuable controls, offenders will prey upon attractive targets. In order for crime to occur, a motivated offender must come in contact directly or indirectly with a target. The target is a thing or an object if it is a property crime. The target is a person if it is a personal crime. If a target is never in the same place as a motivated offender, the target can never be a victim of crime...
...ther names, so growing up and while killing victims in his adult hood, he called his victims names and proceeded to kill them. Gacy raped, sodomized,tortured and strangled thirty three men over ten years. Referencing his past by calling his victims what his father called him proves that his childhood left an emotional scar and is a prevalent reason as to why he’s committing these crimes.
In countless homes and numerous cultures, drinking morning coffee is a staple routine. One can drink it alone at home, in a car en route to work or school, or stop at a coffee shop or café and enjoy it among other people. In developing my routine this year, I chose the latter practice. Every morning I arrive at a local coffee shop, smell the same aromas, order the same drink, sit in the same chair, and observe the same people who continue their morning customs as well. For several months now, my mornings have consisted of this, and every morning, I would mainly observe one person; an old man who has become somewhat of a fixture at this coffee shop and who has not changed his routine as far as I have witnessed. He is already there when I arrive every morning, sitting alone at the small table for two in the corner by the window, drinking his small cup of black coffee, and reading the newspaper. He is on a first-name basis with the workers and owner, and often chats with some of the other regulars. After months of polite smiles, quiet “good mornings”, and creating a background of this old man in my own mind, I finally get the courage to approach him. I start the conversation with him about our similar morning routine, and it gradually develops into a soft and informal interview.
The world was starting to be viewed in a more scientific term and realized the world is a complicated place. People started to see factors beyond the individual’s control that may cause their behavior. Also began to view criminal behavior as a defeat that is beyond the individual’s control. Now that the world was starting to be viewed in a different manner, crime started to take place badly. Between the 1960’s and 70’s the crime in the United State was at an all-time high rate. During that time the Classical Criminology had renewed their interest. People also were tired of criminals trying to blame the society and not taking their punishments for committing the crimes. The Social process theory also explains how a person can get involved in crimes from their surroundings. Being social is great but sometimes the wrong company can cause a lot of problems. Not all the time a person is involved in a crime cause of their social life. Committing a crime is by choice no one can make a person do anything he or she does not want to
The study of leisure and recreation exist to improve the quality of people’s lives. Leisure is a key part of our lives. When we involve ourselves in leisure activities that satisfies us. We improve in creativity and self-control through these activities. We also get the sense of freedom, achievement and confidence. Leisure gives us the opportunity to enjoy new experiences and develop new skills. In the field of study of leisure and recreation, it focuses on the variety of recreational activities. Those activities that are involved in leisure tend to be rewarding to one’s health and the community. Leisure activities are chosen by every individual, the activities can be done where people feel more comfortable with people you enjoy surrounding