Charles Whitman Research Paper

Charles Joseph Whitman was a twenty-five year old male living in Austin, Texas and enrolled in the University of Texas. He was married to Kathleen Leissner and had three younger siblings by his biological parents Charles Adolphus and Margaret Hodges Whitman. He grew up in a very authoritarian style household and his parents had marital problems brought on by the physical and emotional abuse of Charles Adolphus. Charles Whitman was a part of the Boy Scouts at a young age, joined the United States Marine Corps in 1959, was awarded a scholarship through the corps to attend the University of Texas, and held many leadership positions throughout his life. Records show poor grades through his senior year of high school up until his second enrollment …show more content…
In the case of Charles Whitman it is clear that the type of household he grew up in could have greatly contributed to his actions, much more so than other developmental risk factors. The way a parent interacts with their children can have a strong impact. Studies have shown that certain parenting styles can put a child at higher risk of committing crime and partaking in antisocial behavior (Bartol,2011). As stated earlier, Whitman grew up in a very authoritarian style household under an abusive father. Authoritarian style parenting entails high levels of control and a will to shape a child as the parent sees fit. Disobedience, retaliation, and failure to meet set standards can be met with very strict punishment including both verbal and physical abuse. This kind of parenting can put children under a lot of stress which can carry with them throughout their life. It can also set an undesirable example of violence and a fear of failure. Whitman’s father reached such extremes that when Whitman helped his mother move to Austin he had police there to standby in case his father acted out (Midd, 2000). While this is not the highest risk form of parenting, Whitman’s father reached an extreme that could have contributed to Whitman’s mental state, abilities to cope …show more content…
The biggest red flag in Whitman’s case in the presence of a brain tumor that was pressing against his amgydala (Midd, 2000). The amgydala is a small structure in the frontal lobe of the brain that helps to regulate emotions. There are close ties between the amgydala, psychopathy, and lack of emotion (Bartol, 2011). This concerns Whitman because to shoot down your loving wife and mother along with bystanders had to have taken an absence of emotion and is similar to acts that a sociopath may commit. In multiple mass murder cases it has been found that the perpetrator had something wrong with their brain, suggesting a pattern between defects in the brain and this specific type of crime. The tumor was aggressive and pressing up against a key part of the brain. He had complained of headaches and in his suicide letter seemed to be very confused about his own actions in his suicide note (Midd, 2000). This all suggests that even if it was not the main cause, his brain tumor may have been a large contributor to his actions and may have been what pushed Whitman over the edge and commit such an act of violence. The combination of factors placed on Charles Whitman put him at a high risk to engage in criminal behavior. What took place on August 1, 1996 was an unfortunate compilation of Whitman’s environment and biological