Introduction to Crime and Causes

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Carolyn Gotay

Introduction to Crime and Causes

PSY303 A01

Instructor:  John Walsh

April 13, 2013

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In the articles, I have read about Adam Lanza, the 20 year old who shot his mother four times in the head and then proceeded to go on to shoot 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and then turn the gun on himself. I would have to say that there are both sociological and psychological factors.

I perceived the story to both sad and horrifying only because more should have been done to help Adam prior to the shootings, and it does not seem that his parents nor teachers helped much, but did help in creating a monster that killed 26 people. From reading the articles it is said that he was diagnosed with certain disorders but there does not seem to be a true diagnosis that can actually give a possible reason for his actions.

What angers me about this case that no one really stepped in to help Adam and 26 people paid the price for the neglect. What also angers me is the lack of paternal guidance from the father whom I can only assume felt as long as he keeps providing monetary support that that’s all his children needed and 26 people paid the price for his decisions. Most of my anger is directed to the mother Nancy Lanza who felt the need to have a gun collection in the home and introduced guns into a boys life knowing that he already had mental and emotional issues and taught him that it was okay to play with guns.

Genesis’s are conducting an analysis of Adam Lanza’s DNA hoping to get answers about his genetic behavior and if genetics were the cause of his criminal behavior. There is one unknown person working on Adam Lanza’s DNA and if discovered that Adam had a unusual genes or neurotransmitters than that would open...