Deviance, Essay Example

The article I’ve been working with tells about how Patrick Burris, 41, a serial killer who had terrorized South Carolina society by committing five murders for six days, shooting innocent people to death, was eventually killed by police officers. The curious thing about the whole story is that officers investigating the case can’t find out the motives of Burris’ behavior. It is known that after serving almost eight years for larceny, felony breaking and entering in North Carolina prison, he was finally allowed to leave the place of his previous confinement. It didn’t take him long to come back to his usual activities. “Burris had a long rap sheet filled with convictions for larceny, forgery and breaking and entering in states across the Southeast, including Florida, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland” (CBS News).

So why was a man of 41 having such a great thirst for committing crimes? And why did he finish violently killing innocent people? It seems like whatever he did, whatever law he broke, it was not enough for him to feel satisfied. He took the path of a criminal, starting with petty crimes and ending up murdering people. From the article it is clear he have had no particular goal when he committed all those murders. Moreover, he had just left the prison. A person, acting in own interests, wouldn’t be that imprudent and careless.

The motives of Burris’ behavior could be those rooted in deviance. He just wanted to break the law, and that was all. According to the Psychological Theory that is focused on Individual Blame, person’s behavior is a result of some psychological disorders. According to the theory, the profile of a serial killer often has a feature that implies distress caused by either parent(s), other family members, or significant others in childhood and during adolescence. Burris’ incautious behavior after being paroled from prison looks like a challenge. It seems like he did nothing to prevent himself from being caught again. Probably he is a representative of the one category of people proposed by Freud, who are so revolted by their own fancies or emotions that they commit deviant acts in order to be caught and penalized.  It is a psychological conflict that provokes them to search for punishment and to act in a deviant way without a fear of overstepping the mark.

Works Cited

“Cops Gun Down S.C. Serial Killer Suspect.” CBS News.  July 6, 2009. July 17, 2009. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/06/national/main5137493.shtml>.