While it is true that psychoanalytic theory can be used to help a wide range of individuals, perhaps the most interesting use for this technique comes in attempting to analyze those that have committed crimes so heinous that they are considered to be among society’s most undesirable citizens. Considering those that fall into this category, one immediately recalls the crimes of Charles Manson and his devoted group of followers, “the family.” By using psychoanalytic theory and various other criminal justice theories, one is able to scratch away the surface of famous criminals through research and explication. For example, the following criminal justice theories have been used to explain the crimes and mind of Charles Manson: Strain Theory,
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While the goal is to strive for middle class goals and living conditions, those not able to obtain them due to economic strain or lack of education must turn to unconventional methods to survive. Those not able to succeed and survive through traditional methods of being able to obtain work, seek alternative methods to live. One such example would be that being arrested and having a criminal background often constructs difficult employment opportunities. These individuals feel that in order to live, they must turn to crime because society has made it impossible otherwise. Labeling Theory: one compelling explanation for Manson's actions lay in labeling theory, which posits that “lawbreakers feel labeled as a result of being processed in the criminal justice system for committing a primary deviance” (Atchison and Heide 780). Instead of rehabilitation, these people embrace and embody the label of deviant and commit further actions to cement themselves as different and “become locked into their deviant roles”. Emmons in his 1986 account of Manson's life reports how the young Charlie, due to his financially insecure family situation, received no presents during the Christmas holiday. In a fit of anger, Manson burned all of his classmate's toys and from then on would find himself declared a deviant from society, and …show more content…
Once he was able to establish this type of control over his environment, it seems as if he needed to take his exercise one step further, by forcing those he controlled to kill for him. While this is an extreme extension of his childhood treatment, many psychologists maintain that for those who seek control, killing is perhaps the most incredible form of satisfaction. For Manson it was not only the ability to kill, it was the ability to control those that killed for him. To escape prosecution, Manson attempted to plead insanity at his trial. His defense claimed that Manson had suffered years of abuse at the hands of his mother and various other relatives. Although Manson’s defense did not describe tortuous physical abuse, they did note a long history of neglect and abandonment by his mother: According to her own relatives, Kathleen would leave the child with obliging neighbors for an hour, then disappear for days or weeks
While the goal is to strive for middle class goals and living conditions, those not able to obtain them due to economic strain or lack of education must turn to unconventional methods to survive. Those not able to succeed and survive through traditional methods of being able to obtain work, seek alternative methods to live. One such example would be that being arrested and having a criminal background often constructs difficult employment opportunities. These individuals feel that in order to live, they must turn to crime because society has made it impossible otherwise. Labeling Theory: one compelling explanation for Manson's actions lay in labeling theory, which posits that “lawbreakers feel labeled as a result of being processed in the criminal justice system for committing a primary deviance” (Atchison and Heide 780). Instead of rehabilitation, these people embrace and embody the label of deviant and commit further actions to cement themselves as different and “become locked into their deviant roles”. Emmons in his 1986 account of Manson's life reports how the young Charlie, due to his financially insecure family situation, received no presents during the Christmas holiday. In a fit of anger, Manson burned all of his classmate's toys and from then on would find himself declared a deviant from society, and …show more content…
Once he was able to establish this type of control over his environment, it seems as if he needed to take his exercise one step further, by forcing those he controlled to kill for him. While this is an extreme extension of his childhood treatment, many psychologists maintain that for those who seek control, killing is perhaps the most incredible form of satisfaction. For Manson it was not only the ability to kill, it was the ability to control those that killed for him. To escape prosecution, Manson attempted to plead insanity at his trial. His defense claimed that Manson had suffered years of abuse at the hands of his mother and various other relatives. Although Manson’s defense did not describe tortuous physical abuse, they did note a long history of neglect and abandonment by his mother: According to her own relatives, Kathleen would leave the child with obliging neighbors for an hour, then disappear for days or weeks