UOPX Crime and Biological Abnormalities Project

1.Choose a criminal offender from the list below, or one of your choosing, whose criminal behavior was connected to a biological abnormality (physical, psychological, or chemical):

Andrea Yates and the documented evidence of psychiatric issues, including postpartum depression and psychosis, prior to murdering her five children.

Jeffrey Dahmer and the documented evidence of psychiatric issues prior to murdering 17 men.

John Wayne Gacy and the documented evidence of psychiatric issues prior to murdering 33 young men and boys.

• Charles Whitman murdered 16 people, including his wife and mother. An autopsy suggested Whitman had a brain tumor pressing on his amygdala, a region of the brain crucial for emotion and behavioral control.

Create an 8- to 10-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation with speaker notes in which you:

• Summarize the case.

Discuss the genetic or physiological evidence that supports the notion that biology played a key role in explaining the offender’s criminality.

• Research the behaviors that constitute psychopathy, and discuss in detail the specific behaviors demonstrated by the offender that align (or not) with behaviors indicative of a psychopathic individual.

Identify if the positivist perspective applies to your chosen example. Explain your answer.

• Identify if the punishment rendered in your chosen example best supports the classical or neoclassical perspective of crime. Explain your answer.

Include at least 2 academic references and cite your sources according to APA guidelines.

2.In this assignment, you have the opportunity to examine the theoretical principles associated with sociological perspectives of crime. 

Watch “Why They Kill” from the University Library. This is a comprehensive overview of the criminal mind. To gain the most from this assignment, you are encouraged to watch the video in its entirety before you begin working on the assignment.

Select two of the following video segments:

• Introduction: Why They Kill
• To Fully Appreciate the Outcome, One Must Experience the Process
• Did You Hear That?
• Stage 1: Brutalization

Stage 2: Belligerency

Stage 3: Violent Performances

• Stage 4: Virulency

Violentization Interrupted

Consider the following theories as they relate to the video segments you selected:

Social structure theories view societal, financial, and social arrangements or structures as the primary cause of deviant and criminal behaviors.

Social process theories view deviant and criminal behaviors as evolving mechanisms learned through societal interaction.

Social development theories view deviant and criminal behaviors as part of a maturational process.

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper in which you:

Summarize the subject or content of each video segment chosen.

Identify what major principles of sociological theory are addressed in the video.

Explain how each of the video segments you selected aligns with the three theories outlined above.

Explain what social issues are raised in the video based on the three theories.

Explain the role of sociological theories on crime causation on policy implementation.