Essay Example on Mary Bell: A Notorious Child Killer

Delinquency in children is an occurrence that has been on the increase of late. Child delinquency is where a child is seen to be engaging in extreme anti-social behavior (Vladimir, 2016). Usually, the impression a child presents is that of innocence and harmlessness. However, there have been cases of children killing other children and others killing adults, including their parents.

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One of the top ten young killers in history is Mary Bell, who in 1957 was found guilty of having murdered two boys (Calin, 2011). One of the boys Brian Howe had wound marks on his legs, his genitalia was skinned, and Mary Bell had made a mark ('M') on the dead boy's belly. At the time, Mary Bell was only eleven years of age, and her act was shocking to society(Calin, 2011). Several questions as to why children would end up committing such gross murders have led to various research on the subject.

Mary Bell's background and upbringing have been thought to have contributed to her actions. The man she thought was her father Billy Bell, was a criminal who got arrested for armed robbery. Her mother lived a life of prostitution. At one time Mary's mother attempted to kill her with sleeping pills, and as from the age of four, Mary was forcefully engaged in sexual acts with her mother's male clients(Calin, 2011). Research has shown that children have their parents as the first educators and character shapers. The role of a parent is to ensure that the development of their child is wholesome, that is mentally, physically, and morally. They are supposed to provide love, support, and security for their children. Lack of these qualities in a family may lead to delinquent and defiant behavior.

One of the theories that may explain Mary's delinquent behavior is the Social Control Theory. The theory propagates the idea that the reason why people break the law is that they have a weak connection or bond to society (Vladimir, 2016). The theory suggests that when an individual lacks social ties that would typically frown on criminal activity, there is a likelihood that the individual would engage in such illegal activity.

There are four elements of the social control theory: Commitment, attachment, involvement, and belief. The attachment has to do with how an individual internalizes standards, conscience, and superego (Vladimir, 2016). According to Hirsch, this is determined by how a person is attached to others. One of the most critical factors of a child's development is the creation of a lasting emotional bond between the child and the person closest to them, their parents, or guardian. The bond is created where the parent is able is to meet the needs of the child. When the bond is formed, such a child is able to develop excellent and safe relationships with others. Where the bond is lacking, delinquent behavior is expected in the child's relationship with others (Children Welfare League Of America, 2003).

Attachment to parents gives children a sense of security and helps the individual to face life better. A child is mostly affected where there is a negative relationship between them and their parents. Their sense of security, protection, understanding, care, and concern is inhibited, leading to reactions by being delinquent (Monika, Tatiana, & Kachlik, 2011). Mary Bell must have found herself in this situation. With a father who was a habitual criminal and was in prison for robbery with violence, there was little or no bond between them. Worse still her mother who was supposed to provide a safe environment for her to grow up instead sold her to her male clients who wished to engage in sexual activities with her as from the age of four. This kind of emotional torture may have given rise to disordered emotions. She must have felt alone, uncared for, and sought violence to numb her pain. Studies have suggested that undesirable behavior may also be the result of neglected care, harm by parents as is the case in Mary Bell's Case.

The other element of the Social bond theory that may relate to Mary Bell's case is the Belief. This refers to the values and norms that an individual is taught in their formative years on what rules should be obeyed in society (Vladimir, 2016). It is the understanding of an individual on what constitutes right or wrong. Such an understanding affects how a child fits in society and what they do. For instant where a child grows up with parents who are involved in drug abuse, the child grows up with the understanding that drugs doing drugs is not morally wrong and will in most cases engage in drugs as they grow. What a child sees they will most likely do. For Mary Bell, her formative years were characterized by violence. Her parents never modeled any right or wrong for her. In fact, she was sexually abused. For her, there was little to choose from that is whether to obey any rules or not. According to this theory, if the principles of right and wrong are not formed, the individual grows up to make the decision they think best.

One of the strategies that the theory suggests that may assist in preventing delinquent behavior is involvement. Hirsch suggests that young people who take part in other social activities such as participating games, music, or other activities have no time to engage in anti-social or other delinquent behavior(Vladimir, 2016).On the other hand, those who engage in other activities that are delinquent are likely to increase their delinquent behavior. The peers the young person surrounds themselves with also shape their behavior.

Mary Bell seemed to surround herself with girls who had similar behavior as herself. One of the activities they engaged in includes vandalizing the nursery. On being reported, the police had thought it was a prank and took no action. Mary and Norma would go farther to strangle Brian Howe after having killed Martin Brown. The involvement strategy is, however, not foolproof as there have been findings to the effect that some youngsters still practice delinquent behaviors right before or after these social activities.

There needs to be more research into other practical strategies to curb crime in young children. Outreach programs that meet the needs of the children who already have messed up backgrounds need to be established to ensure their behavioral outlooks are corrected before it is too late.

References

Calin, M. (2011). Top 10 Young Killers. Retrieved 25 July 2019, from https://listverse.com/2011/05/14/top-10-young-killers/

Children Welfare League of America. (2003). Parent resources for information. Pride.

Monika, n., Tatiana, k., & kachlik, p. (2011). Disruption of social bonds as a cause of delinquency of adolescents. School and health, 233-241.

Vladimir, g. (2016). Effects of social bonding on crime and delinquency: a review of hirschi's social control theories. Research Gate, 43. Retrieved from researchgate.net.