Deviance in court and jail

1.       The courtroom was actually small and it was definitely not like the ones you see on TV where it looks all cool and official.  Instead it just looked more like a classroom type.   The trial was about a murder case that took place in Addison on February 26, 2006.  Gary Schuning a Caucasian man allegedly got into an argument with his mom, pushed her down the stairs, then stabbed her with a kitchen knife in her chest 40 times then dragged her body into her room and placed a comforter to cover the body.  Schuning then took his mom credit card and hired three escorts, only two left and when the last one noticed a bloody knife in the bathroom she called her pimp and then was also killed.  The pimp called the police department and found Schuning on a bed with cuts and stab wounds to his hands and chest and the escorts body on the floor next to the bed.  The defendant claims his hands were injured because he tried to stop a murderous group that killed his mom. Garys case was a criminal case because of the crime he committed being a felony crime.  The court starts exactly at the time its scheduled and then everyone stands up even the judge when the juror comes in, once seated the first witness is called in this case the sergeant/ supervisor for the evidence technician which they document the scene, ID and collect evidence.   From all the theories we have learned I would say that all of them would pretty much apply to him.  Some examples are the control theory because he is placed in jail to control his behavior and keep him out of society so he won’t go off killing more people.  The shaming theory would also go with this case.  Disintegrative of the shaming theory would show how he is being punished and rejected not only from his family (most likely) but also from society alone.  He is also being rejected in a way in jail because they separate the criminals depending on the crime they committed and for him to be placed with all the other killers tells the other inmates what he did and some of them would maybe hurt him because of the crime he committed.  Recidivism was also a HUGE part of his case because not only did he do it once but he did twice and in one day. 

2.       When walking into the jail and taking a glance at some of the inmates I did notice that the most dominant was young Hispanic males.  The others were mostly old or in their middle age Caucasian males.  As looking at their lifestyle and the conditions of the jail I would say that there would be more of a retribution because taking away for completely all their freedom and privacy for a long time because of their acts would serve as a punishment for them which for some they would not commit the same crime.  I think that in jail the shaming theory would apply because they are isolated from society and seen as criminals inside and even outside even if for some they weren’t.  The control theory would also apply because the jail control every aspect of their behavior and do their best to keep them out from society.  I don’t think that jail alone is the best way to prevent deviancy because with that there has to be other components that help.  I think that with jail there should be more rehab help and other things that would actually help the wrongdoer understand that what he did is not good and that they can always better themselves and succeed.  Better classes like schooling and anger management would also be helpful to prevent deviance.  Overall jail is worst than what I had imagined it to be.  The fact that everything is controlled and even the air you breathe is not air makes me feel bad for the inmates.  No light whatsoever was going through any walls inside the jail, they are kept like animals in a cage and they are not even allowed to do much.  Its was pretty scary just to see the reaction of some of them when they actually saw someone different in gender, age, and occupation because you notice the comments made and the looks of some of them like if they gained some type of freedom.  I kind of do understand them because they are always used to seeing the same people, same police officers, and same genders without even being allowed to go anywhere, so for them to react the way they did would perfectly be normal.

Deviancy

I found myself thinking sociologically when my cousin was in ISS.  She got into ISS because of tardiness, she was definitely not looking forward to ISS because she had never been there so she didn’t know what to expect.  Before she even went in there she was kind of nervous because ISS is always seen as bad.  That day after school I asked her how it went, her response was not that bad.  She said she actually liked it because you have time to do your work, they take your lunch, and its quiet.  For her ISS was more of a good thing than a bad thing.  The next day when people asked her where she was in the morning during gym and she told them, they seem very shocked and they were kind of seeing her like a deviant.  I think she liked being seen a deviant because the next day she was late again and this time she had to finish her ISS plus a Saturday school.  Every time people ask her where she was or why she wasn’t in class she just laughs and thinks its funny instead of actually trying to work something out and end the school year all clean she doesn’t seem to care.  I think that in this situation the labeling theory takes effect.  The labeling theory says that if you are labeled as something you will do it more. She was labeled as a deviant and because of that it seems like she is being more deviant than before just so she can get to ISS.