crime causation the karla faye tucker example

Karla Faye Tucker was born in Texas on November 18, 1959. Karla had two older sisters and a happy home life for a few years with two parents and a family dog. She had a few early memories of vacationing on Caney Creek with her family, Karla’s parents divorced and remarried several times which was hard on Karla and her sisters, the final divorce happened when she was 10 years old. Karla already felt like an outsider and had trouble relating to the neighborhood and school children. During the final divorce proceedings Karla learns that she is not her father’s child but the result of an extramarital affair. From that moment on Karla said she never believed that she belonged to the Tucker’s.
Karla started smoking marijuana at age nine and graduated to the harder drugs by age 10, by 11 she was shooting heroin and participating in sex orgies. Karla’s parents didn’t have much to say about this behavior her mother had turned to prostitution by this time and her father was always working, Karla dropped out of school in the seventh grade. Under the guidance of her own mother Karla Faye Tucker became a prostitute at age 14. Karla traveled from state to state with her mother prostituting herself to rock bands and basically was a groupie.
At the age of 16 Karla met a mechanic named Stephan Griffith and married him that lasted only a short while. After Karla left her husband she met her best friend Shawn Dean. Shawn introduced Karla to Danny Garrett, and Danny became a perfect match for Karla who was still prostituting herself in Quay Point Texas. They lived together in a small house, though Danny was considerably older than Karla. Danny let Karla do whatever she wanted and supplied her drug habits without any questions he was known as the pill doctor. “It is argued that crime is most likely when motivated offenders come together with attractive targets in the absence of capable guardians.” (Felson)
June of 1983, there was a party weekend in full swing that had been going strong for three days already; the reason for celebration was Karla’s older sister Kari’s birthday. The party went on with sex orgies and many different types of drugs and alcohol. Shawn Dean, Karla’s best friend was present at the party emotionally damaged due to the recent beating from her estranged husband Jerry Dean. Karla didn’t like Shawn’s husband to begin with and there was a history of verbal spats between the two of them. There was much idle talk at the part about “making Jerry pay for what he did to Shawn” but it died down and was just talk.
Around two o’clock in the morning June 13, 1983, Karla picks Danny up from work, both still very much intoxicated. Jimmy Leibrant, a fellow partier joined Danny and Karla, Danny suggests that the three of them go steal Jerry Dean’s motorcycle, the three returns to Danny’s home and change into all black clothing and tell Shawn Dean of their plan to get back at her husband by stealing his motorcycle. Shawn wishes them luck, Jimmy and Danny had a shotgun and a .38, Karla later reported she thought the weapons were for protection and there was no plan to kill anyone. Arriving at Jerry Dean’s apartment the three opened the front door and located the motorcycle in pieces inside the living room. Karla then decided they would just steal a few major components from Jerry instead of the whole bike.
A bedroom light is flickered on at the end of the hallway in Jerry Dean’s apartment. Jerry calls out “who the hell is there?” Danny immediately reacts to Jerry by grabbing a hammer lying on the living room floor and charging down the hall without hesitation he begins swinging on Jerry’s head. During the attack Jimmy was positioned outside the building. Karla grabbed the three foot tall pick axe that was in the living room and proceeded in the bedroom. Karla had seen a girl in Jerry’s bed and was outraged that her best friend Shawn was still bruised from her husband and he had the nerve to have another girl in his bed. Karla swung the axe at the girl later identified as Deborah Thornton. Karla swung the pick axe over 28 times plowing it into Jerry Dean’s body.
Jimmy left the scene of the vicious murders and apologized to his friends the next morning. Karla and Danny went about their business and bragged about the murders to anyone who would listen. The pair was arrested and both convicted and sentenced to die in 1984.
“Tucker had no prior convictions. However, the state did present evidence at the punishment phase concerning Tucker's prior violent acts, which included a previous altercation with Dean during which she punched him in the face while he had glasses on, forcing him to go to the hospital to have glass removed from his eye. Tucker also admitted a history of drug use and prostitution.” (Geringer, 2009)
The classical school theory stresses punishment and deterrence, the basis for crime control perspective; humans seek pleasure and avoid pain under this theory. Classical suggests that people have free will and either choose crime or to conform to the rules of society. (Senna&Siegal, 1999) I don’t believe this theory applies to Karla free will is something humans are born with, but I don’t think Karla ever consciously chose a life of crime I believe that was all she saw I can’t find one single positive role model that took an active role in her life.
The choice theory suggests that people weigh the consequences and benefits of their actions; this school of thought suggests that delinquent behavior is a rational choice. (Senna&Siegal, 1999) I do not believe that Karla operated under this theory at all she was not in a rational frame of mind during the commission of her crime.
Differential association theory suggests that criminal acts are related to a person’s exposure to excess amounts of antisocial attitudes and values. (Senna&Siegal, 1999) This theory is applicable to Karla, from an early age she saw antisocial deviant behavior and she received positive attention from her own mother by engaging in prostitution and drug use. Karla was taught from an early age beliefs favorable to criminal activity.
Instrumental Marxist theory suggests that capitalist institutions such as the criminal justice systems have a main purpose to control all the poor people and maintain the dominance of the wealthy keeping them in their place. (Senna&Siegal, 1999) I think Karla may have seen middle class people through her life but never saw herself as being able to do what they do such as become educated or conform.
Labeling theory suggests that society creates deviance through a system of social control agencies that designate certain individuals as deviants. Then society makes those people feel unwanted and outcast as part of the normal social order the individual then assumes this as his or her identity. (Senna&Siegal, 1999) I am sure Karla felt she was an outcast in contrast to other groups of individuals in society.
Self control theory focuses on impulsive personalities, suggesting that people making split decisions engage in criminal behavior. The individual is focused on the short term gratification of the crime at that very moment. This theory also suggests that parental incompetence can play a huge role in the self control issues growing up to be an adult with no self control. (Senna&Siegal, 1999) This theory applied to Karla in the moment of her crime she was in the moment and heavily under the influence of drugs. She did not have a competent parent or model during her youth to instill self control in her at the young age that she should have.
Social learning theory suggests that individuals learn to commit crimes based on their associations with others. Individuals have criminal role models under this theory and are even positively reinforced for their criminal behavior. The interactions that are rewarded and reinforced are copied and the acts that result in punishment are avoided. (Senna&Siegal, 1999) This theory is the one most applicable to Karla in my opinion, she had models from as early as eight years old that were delinquents. Karla was only a child when her protector and mother taught her how to turn tricks for men. The more I study her life the more I realize that all this girl ever knew was social deviance.
Karla Faye Tucker found the power of forgiveness in a Harris county jail cell. Karla had the opportunity for the first time in her life to be sober and think clearly. She was an inspiration to many fellow prisoners and all that she came in contact with. Karla won many souls during her years in prison awaiting her impending death sentence. Some of the victim’s family members were also touched by Karla’s faith and repentance.
Karla was only the second female murder executed since 1976 and the first female murder executed in Texas since 1976. In the end Karla had to pay for her crimes despite the support of religious leaders spanning the country and the recommendation of the pope to commute her sentence to life in prison. George W. Bush had the difficult decision to contemplate as then governor of Texas. “A pardon from a death sentence in Texas reportedly has never been granted to anyone based on a religious conversion. And of the 36 pardons that have been granted to Texas death-row inmates since 1976, not one has been granted solely for humanitarian reasons. In addition, Gov. Bush, who would have had to approve the pardon with a majority vote by the parole board, publicly said that in evaluating Tucker's case, he would only consider whether there was any doubt she committed the crime and whether she had a fair trial.” (Geringer, 2009)
Karla Faye Tucker was put to death by lethal injection on February 3, 1998. The judgment ultimately belongs to God for her crimes, He will decide not our criminal justice system, if you ask me she is forgiven. I don’t generally sympathize with criminals or have faith in rehabilitation, but the good she did in the years she spent in prison counted for something. Studying Karla made me wonder how many other people she may have positively affected to change their own lives had she been given that chance.