The Menendez Brothers' Case - Research Paper

Introduction

The Menendez brothers' case is a typical representation of deviant behavior that gives an account of cold blood murder committed by the Joseph Lyle Menendez and his brother Eric Galen Menendez. The duo killed their wealthy parents Jose and Mary Menendez on August 20th, 1989 using a short gun. The duo from Beverly Hills California murdered their parents who were entertainment executives and very wealthy (Julian p.127). After committing the crime they were first not considered as suspects until later when they depicted extravagance in the use of their parent's wealth months after their death. They were convicted of murder but during their trial, the duo claimed that the killings were as a result of child abuse which was both sexually and psychological and in the hands of their parents. During their first trial, they were tried by two different judges who reached a deadlock and the trial was taken over by one judge. The two brothers were then sentenced to life imprisonment without being allowed parole(Julian p.130)

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It is important to note that the crime was first-degree murder whose motive is alleged to be that of monetary gain but the defendants claimed that it stemmed from psychological and sexual abuse. The paper will, therefore, explore the Menendez brothers criminal case by looking into its background and the possible cause of the criminal offense by referring to criminological theories.

Joseph Lyle Menendez was born on 10th of January 1968 and his brother Eric Galen Menendez on 27th November 1970 to Mr. and Mrs. Jose Menendez who got married in 1963 and settled in the New York City. Before then Jose lived in Cuba but moved to America due to the Cuban revolution that caused unrests (Ronald p.237). While their two sons were young they relocated to New Jersey where the children attended Princeton day school. Because of their busy work schedule, Jose family moved again to Calabasas California where their adolescent boys grew(Ronald p.239). Erick the younger son joined high school in Calabasas and participated actively in tennis. He managed to balance his academics with talent as he scored good grades and still managed to be ranked among the top players in tennis. On the other hand, his brother joined Princeton University but his academic grades became constantly poor and led him to be put on probation due to disciplinary issues (Julian p.142). He was eventually suspended when he was found with plagiarism issues in his first year of study. The reason for the case choice is because it gives an account of a crime committed by family members and the allegation is that it resulted from sexual and psychological abuse on the defendants at their childhood days. The subjects are also an ideal topic for study because it falls under deviant behaviors whose trial led to charges of murder and leading to life imprisonment of the criminals without any chances of parole (Ronald p.245). It is also the best choice because the trial process reaches a deadlock and this becomes a good point of study because it helps in knowing the trial path in depth.

The two brothers can be described as deviants because of their involvement in the murder which according to decrees it, as the unlawful killing of another human being without appropriate justification for the course of action coupled with malice. The subjects can also be considered as criminals because their actions are accompanied by malice aforethought. Besides, it involves unlawful act done under sound mind by the offender. Additionally, the two qualify to be criminals because of the improper use of dangerous weapons to cause grievous bodily harm. The act of killing is also under deliberation which is an element of first-degree murder (Ronald p.247). The specific acts done by the subjects make them qualify for crime is because they had deliberate intention to kill with the ill motive of wanting to gain monetary value. In reference to the rational choice theory which encompasses three actors rational, predestined and victimized the subjects fall under the criminal bracket where the act they committed could not be prevented by rigorous punishment (Julian p.157). The theory states that the criminal weighs between the act committed and the reward that follows after the commitment of the heinous act is done. The Menendez brothers weighed between killing their parents and the wealth that they would acquire after killing them. It implies that the subjects become criminals because the actors chose to commit the crime of killing their parents. They have also predestined actors because they could not control their urge of wanting to kill their parents because of the environment of wealth that motivated them to do so, for instance, enjoy the riches. It is evident that they wanted to kill so that they could gain wealth as seen from the lavish life they lived a few weeks after the death of their parents which constitutes the crime because of the malice in the killing (Hopkins p.89). The parents become victims of circumstances as they face the unfair act from their own children

Additionally, deviant behavior from the criminals could be as a result of the conflicting interest between the means of acquiring wealth and the goals of the subjects. The two wanted to acquire riches from their parents but used an inhuman means to acquire. According to the social structure, theory conflict emerges between people's objectives and the means to attain them in this regard the offenders wanted to achieve wealth and they had conflicting interests on how to acquire it from their parents an urge that led them to kill (Hopkins p.92). The theory justifies the course of action for the two offenders. Also, the psychodynamic trait theory explains the deviant behavior of the criminals because it explains the issue of damaged ego. According to the theory, criminals have damaged ego because they want to eat and sleep without working and this indicates that they want to get everything freely just like the Menendez brothers wanted to get wealthy so that they can engage in a lavish life of which entails eating and sleeping without work. The damaged ego is characterized by too much dependence, lack of social skills and low levels of maturity (Hopkins p.95). It defines the subjects because they seem to be so much dependent on their parents that they cannot work to acquire their own wealth. It is a sign of immaturity as explained by the theory and this damages the ego leading to people committing crimes.

The murder was also motivated by the need to acquire what the offenders could not easily get because it needed patience, hard work, and perseverance (Marilyn p. 185). They only had one option to acquire the wealth in an easy way and this was to kill their parents so that they could get access to the wealth. According to the strain theory most people have similar aspirations of succeeding by acquiring wealth and because individuals have different abilities those who do not attain what they what to achieve turn to crime so that they are able to reach their goal (Hopkins p.98). The two brothers seem that they did not achieve their goal and the only way to get what they desired is through killing their parents. Although the defense mechanism for their crime was that their parents put them through sexual abuse and psychological distress and therefore the killing could be an issue of revenge.

Similarly, from the background analysis of the subjects, it is important to note that one sibling had a bad record of poor performance and indiscipline cases in school and this could be a case of influence on his sibling and they ended up killing their parents in order to get wealth. Also if they went through sexual abuse and psychological distress they could be revenging against their parents or it is the lack of guidance and counseling to get over (Marilyn p. 187). The duo killed their wealthy parents Jose and Mary Menendez on August 20th, 1989 using a short gun. The two subjects from Beverly Hills California murdered their parents who were entertainment executives and very wealthy. After committing the crime they were first not considered as suspects until later when they depicted extravagance in the use of their parent's wealth months after their death (Marilyn p. 190). They were convicted of murder but during their trial, the duo claimed that the killings were as a result of child abuse which was both sexually and psychological and in the hands of their parents. During their first trial they were tried by two different judges who reached a deadlock and the trial was taken over by one judge. The two brothers were then sentenced to life imprisonment without being allowed parole (Marilyn p. 193). It is important to note that the crime was first-degree murder whose motive is alleged to be that of monetary gain but the defendants claimed that it stemmed from psychological and sexual abuse

Conclusion

In conclusion is important to note that crime committed because of the desire to achieve something for instance to get wealth, revenge, to gain power among other aspects but there are numerous reasons as to why people commit a crime. The criminals do not deviate from good behaviors at once but it takes a processor it is done as a result of a trigger. The Menendez brothers can be described as deviants because of their involvement in a murder which according to decrees it is defined as the unlawful killing of another human being without appropriate justification for the course of action coupled with malice. The subjects can also be considered as criminals because their actions are accompanied by malice aforethought. Besides, it involves unlawful act done under sound mind by the offender. Similarly, the two qualify to be criminals because of the improper use of dangerous weapons to cause grievous bodily harm. The act of killing is also under deliberation which is an element of first-degree murder. The specific acts done by the subjects make them qualify for crime is because they had deliberate intention to kill with the ill motive of wanting to gain monetary value. In reference to the rational choice theory which encompasses three actors rational, predestined and victimized the subjects fall under the criminal bracket where the act they committed could not be prevented by rigorous punishment. The theory states that the criminal weighs between the act committed and the reward that follows after a commitment of the heinous act is done. The Menendez brothers weighed between killing their parents and the wealth that they would acquire after killing them. It implies that the subjects become criminals because the actors chose to commit the crime of killing their parents. They have also predestined actors because they could not control their urge of wanting to kill their parents because of the environment of wealth that motivated them to do so in order to enjoy the riches. Future studies need to be done in order to find out more details on why people commit crime deliberately.

Works Cited

Akers, Ronald L. Criminological theories: Introduction and evaluation. Routledge, 2013.Burke, Roger Hopkins. An introduction to the criminological theory. Willan, 2017.

McShane, Marilyn, ed. An Introduction to Criminological Theory. Routledge, 2013.

Roberts, Julian. Public opinion, crime, and criminal justice. Routledge, 2018.