On June 17th, 2015, 21-year old Dylan Roof walked into the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. He spent an hour listening to bible study, then opened fire. This accumulated ten injuries and nine fatalities. Roof was later found and arrested in Shelby, North Carolina the morning after the brutal attack. Roof’s website, called “The Last Rhodesian” contained photos him aiming a .45 caliber Glock, burning the American flag while posing with the confederate flag and several rants giving hints about why he chose the Emanuel Church for his slaughter grounds. In the hate filled rant Roof claimed that the recent news of the Trayvon Martin case gave him the inspiration to shine more light on black on white murders. After the rant he claimed that “Someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me.” Roof plead guilty to nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. What sets off a violent person such as Dylann Roof? Criminologist form a variety of opinions on this subject. Some state that violence is a function of genetic makeup. Others put the blame on improper upbringing and destructive social values. Throughout this essay I am going to explore the various causes of group and individual violence (Criminology The Core).
Believe it or not mental illness is only partially related to violence, other personal and psychological traits have a greater impact. Over the years research has shown that most people who commit violent crimes suffer from some sort of mental abnormality. It has been found that teenagers convicted of murder show signs of neurological impairments, low intelligence, psychotic relatives and psychotic outbursts. Recent brain scans conducted as an experiment to determine if there is a linkage between violence and mental processes found that men who engage in domestic violence have a brain structure that made them very sensitive to threat stimuli in different parts of the brain. Hypersensitive men are hard-wired to respond with violence during mild provocations because they are neurologically predisposed to commit spousal abuse (The Nature of Trauma).
There are also indications that children who are exposed to forms of childhood emotional and physical abuse are more likely to use violence themselves. Research conducted by Murray Straus was found that the more a child is disciplined with harsh punishment, the more likely they are to engage in antisocial behavior. This is because when kids go through physical punishment they feel angry and unfairly treated which causes them to defy their parents. Abuse has long term effects: physical abuse can lead to childhood antisocial behavior which later turns to adult criminality and emotional abuse has a direct correlation related to adult antisocial behavior. In a recent study conducted by criminologist Cathy Widom it was revealed that kids who were abused are then more likely to grow up to be abusers themselves. This creates a never-ending cycle of violence and abuse. Making them likely to be arrested for violent crime throughout their life course. The abuse-violence link can take different forms. There are some violent offenders who have lengthy histories of abuse and neglect, and that is the direct cause of their personal involvement in violence. Others may develop post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the years following their abuse; causing their violence to be linked to the emotional upheaval brought on by their personal traumas. Whichever form it takes the abuse-violence connection is very significant. With this being said it is clear to keep in mind that not all abused children become violent criminals. There have been many cases where it was found that the violent youth came from a model home. In conclusion, Cathy found that most abused and nonabused kids do not and will not engage in antisocial behavior. This leaves us with the conclusion that more research is needed in order to clarify the violent association between abused and nonabused kids (Criminology The Core).
Some anthropologists trace roots of violent back to the time when our ancestors lived in social groups that required you to fight for your dominance. Looking back in history it is clear that the earliest humans would not hesitate to retaliate violently against an aggressor, and it was very common for families to protect each other if they were attacked. Due to the fact that our ancient ancestors were so violent suggest that violence is instinctual and is even a part of the human condition. Neurologist Sigmund Freud theorized that human aggression is produced by instinctual drive. Throughout Frued’s career he maintained that we humans possess two opposing instinctual drives that interact to control our behavior: eros, the life instinct, which impels people to ensure self fulfillment; and thanatos, the death instinct, which drives us towards self- destruction. Numerous biologist and anthropologists have speculated that instinctual violent traits are common in the human species. One view is that violence is the result of instincts present at birth in all animals, humans included. Unlike other animals, humans will kill their own species. In turn this allows humans to kill their own kind in war or because of interpersonal conflicts (Human Violence). However, not all social scientist believe that humans have an instinct for violence.
People who are constantly being exposed to violence at home, at school, or in the environment may take on violent methods themselves. In disadvantaged neighborhoods people of all ages are exposed to violence on a every day basis. Many of the racial differences in crime rates can be explained by the fact that African American citizens are more likely to be forced to live in poverty stricken areas where they are exposed to violence more frequently. Research throughout the years has concluded that a single incident of exposure to firearm violence doubles the chance that a youth will engage in violent behavior later on in life. Children who are living in areas surrounded by extreme violence may eventually become desensitized to the constant neighborhood brutality and conflicts that they witness, which will eventually turn to them committing violent behavior themselves. This leads us to believe that the children who are exposed to violence at home and in the surrounding areas are the ones most likely to participate in violent crime themselves (Effects of Domestic Violence).
Substance abusers are also among the many who have higher rates of violence, neighborhoods with a higher level of drug and alcohol usage have higher rates of violent crime than the average. Substance abuse has been found to encourage violence in three ways. The first way is a psychopharmacological relationship, which is the direct consequence of taking mood altering substances. Binge drinking is an example of this because heavy drinking has been found to reduce information processing skills, cognitive ability, and even alters your reaction and processing ways. This causes miscommunication and the availability for rational dialogue is compromised. It isn’t surprising that males involved in sexual assault cases claim they were drinking and simply misunderstood the victims intentions. The second way is through economic compulsive behavior, which is where the drug user states that their violence is used to support their habit. Studies have been conducted in both the US and Europe show that addicts commit hundreds of crimes each year. The third way is through a systemic link, this occurs as violence escalates when drug dealers try to dominate their territory to drive out rivals. Drug dealers are also more likely to carry a firearm while doing daily activities, leaving them more vulnerable to commit a violent crime. (Relationship Between Drug Addiction)
Although firearm availability alone does not cause violence, it is a factor we need to consider. A simple argument can quickly escalate into a deadly encounter if one party has a gun. In recent news we have seen an escalation in school shootings and now we ponder if a contributing factor could be the fact that firearms are more readily available. Research has shown that a large number of kids carry guns to school routinely and those that have been victims of a crime themselves and those who are surrounded by peers who readily have weapons available are more likely to bring guns to school. The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) shows that about forty percent of all robberies, seventy percent of all murders, and 24 percent of assault involve firearms. Firearms have been found to kill two-thirds of all police who pass during their line of duty. It has also been concluded that firearms in an adolescents household increase the risk of suicide, regardless of how secure the guns are stored (Criminology The Core)
The shooting left the Charleston community in crumbles. Dylann Roof has been deemed as unfit to make his own decisions as he suffers from an undetected mental illness. He has waived his appeal numerous times which accuses him of wanting state-assisted suicide. In conclusion, we may never be able to pinpoint what causes people to act out in a violent manner but we can get closer to understanding it as time goes on, technology improves, and research gets deeper.