The Washington Post (2015) depicts the murder of a
transgender woman as a premeditated killing in which the murderer and the victim knew each
other. Apparently, the victim and defendant had a friendship that was revealed
to others in the recent days previous to the shooting (Washington Post, 2015).
The defendant was enraged after the relationship was revealed to others because
he felt humiliated (Washington Post, 2015). His response to the humiliation was
to put on a mask, hide behind a dumpster, and shoot the victim several times
(Washington Post, 2015).
The defendant was described as having a previous criminal
history (Washington Post, 2015). Allegedly he denied knowledge of the location of the
town and mall where the crime occurred, even though he lived just outside that
town for years (Washington Post, 2015). There is mention that the crime
might be considered a hate crime, but so far has not been charged that way
(Washington Post, 2015). As of now, the charge is of first-degree murder and
punishable by life in prison (Washington Post, 2015).
The purpose of the story is to inform the public about the
case facts, so they can make their own judgments. The criminal justice department or
police are portrayed as heroes for getting the defendant on off the streets.
The report made me feel bad for the transgender woman who was killed. I find it
a bit strange that someone would engage in a relationship if they felt so
humiliated about having it. The report mentions that there was a fight before
the shooting in which the victim was being assaulted with a stick in an attempt
to lure her into the alley (Washington Post, 2015). But also mentions that the
shooter was behind the dumpster waiting to shoot the victim (Washington Post,
2015). This makes it unclear to me if there was more than one person involved
with crime.
A psychological theory that could explain this murder would
be “doing gender” which indicates that gender socialization plays a large role
in criminal behavior. This theory would indicate that men are more likely to
engage in masculine scripts when they feel their manliness has been questioned
or they desire to reestablish character (Conklin, 2008, p. 162). Additionally,
this theory suggests that men engage in these masculine scripts to show people
they are not feminine (Conklin, 2008, p. 162). In fact, they desire to exude
contempt for women when they engage in crimes like sexual assault, sexual harassment, and
gay-bashing (Conklin, 2008, p. 162). I
suggest this theory because I got the sense that the killing was because his
masculinity was threatened when his relations with the transgender was revealed
to others. This would account for the public and personal nature of the
shooting, in which the transgender was shot in the genital area.
In addition to this, trait theory could apply to the
causation of this crime as well. That is to say because the defendant had a
previous criminal history this could indicate that the overall lacked
self-control. Self-control is a trait that would inhibit criminal proclivity
through the use of mental restraint (Conklin, 2008, p. 119). Additionally, a
lack of self-control contributes to “impulsive, insensitive, physical (as
opposed to mental), risk-taking, short-sighted, and nonverbal behavior that can
result in criminal and analogous acts (Conklin, 2008, p. 119). Lack of
self-control would also account for the short-sightedness of the defendant's
behavior. People with a lack of self-control reportedly are less likely to
consider the consequences of these behaviors (Conklin, 2008, p. 119).
References
Conklin, J. E. (2008). Criminology,
10th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions.
Schmalleger, F. J. (2014). Criminal
Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century,
13th Edition.
Washington
Post. (2015). Arrest in Murder of 21-Year-Old in Montgomery
County. Washington Post. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/arrest-in-murder-of-21-year-old-in-montgomery-county/2015/10/17/57c431b2-74bd-11e5-8248-98e0f5a2e830_story.html
Whitely,
J. (2015). Man Stabbed to Death on White Rock Trail In
Dallas. ABCNews. Retrieved from
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/crime/2015/10/12/man-stabbed-death-white-rock-trail-dallas/73820196/