When one pictures an excavation, that may call to mind pictures of an archaeological dig of sorts, perhaps for some ancient organisms. However, recently in Florida, an excavation uncovered something quite different: remains of human bodies.
Recently, investigators discovered in the land surrounding the notorious Florida Dozier School for Boys approximately 49 unmarked gravesites, some containing more than just one deceased child, for a total of 55 bodies so far. These were located outside of the school cemetery. There may be more to come, however; the school recorded 85 total deaths at the school.
The cruel school opened in 1900, and it remained open until June of 2011. Over the course of the school’s run that lasted over a century, crimes of violence and assault – as well as murders – accumulated at the hands of the staff members. These crimes were not committed to just anyone. Boys as young as 5 years old were sent to this school if they were either criminals (sometimes falsely accused) or orphans. Instead of being reformed, they were tortured, raped, and some even killed. However, stories of the corruption of this reform school were not in the picture until more recent times, when the White House Boys – a name given to the boys that suffered through this school and its torture house called the White House – finally started to speak up.
This can lead one to seriously question the educational system in the United States. This school was open for approximately 111 years – quite a long time for such evil and unwarranted abuse to persist. There is no telling whether this is the only school where evil is the motto; it is merely the only one that has been in the spotlight. One may also question parental relations with children. One may wonder, “Are we giving up too easily?” It seems doubtful that any parent looking out for the wellbeing of their child would choose to send their son to this school rather than try their hand at parenting for just a bit longer.
On that note, in a study conducted in the last few years by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, though there has been a decrease in homicides in school crimes since the 1990’s, crimes such as assaults have increased within the last decade. Parents have reason to worry even without the Dozier School for Boys to worry about.
(For more on this study, visit http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/may_2011/school_violence.)
On a more psychological, scientific, and philosophical level, one may also question what put this story into the spotlight in the first place. Using Katz’s approach to what makes certain crimes noteworthy, this crime portrays the idea as an issue of primarily collective integrity. This crime represented the corruption of a place that should a center of reformation, where misbehaving boys learn the hard way – the hard way certainly not being as hard as torture, rape, or murder – to become disciplined men while it instead was a center of evil and suffering. Young boys, left in the hands of tough yet nurturing adults, were left to die.
Another approach to this is with the Bio-Psycho-Social model of violence, which applies to this crime most certainly. This crime was committed by an all-male staff, thus concurring with the biological aspect of this model. Though not much is known about the staff of the school who committed the crimes, one can infer that these men may have been exposed to violence in their early lives, and that this violence they became accustomed to carried over to their profession. This also could have lead to the men becoming antisocial, lacking in morality, and more. These examples would thus support the sociological and psychological aspects of the model as well.
One additional approach to what makes crimes such as this large scale abuse and murder is on a different level of reality – was it the way these criminals were raised or can they blame it on their genes? While there has been evidence that between 37 and 57 percent of aggressive behaviors – which factor into one’s likeliness to commit a crime – are genetically influenced, this still does not excuse the committers of crimes like the many committed at the Dozier School for Boys. Everyone has choices, including the parents of future criminals. The parents of the facilitators at the Dozier School for Boys are no exception. They could have raised their children correctly or directed them in the path for crime. One can infer that they made the wrong choice.
One more approach to the analysis of the concept of crime is using Durkheim’s thesis on civic morals and homicide. Durkheim proposed that humans have interest in crimes that are committed by the average Joe or the normal man that could have been their neighbor, this as opposed to most wanted criminals. This is present in the Florida reform school crime in that these men were just the facilitators of a reform school; not world class schemers or criminal masterminds. It makes people wonder who they are entrusting their child’s safety to at schools.
For more information on the Dozier School for Boys incidents, try these sources: (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/07/florida-exhume-remains-dozier-school and/or http://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162941770/floridas-dozier-school-for-boys-a-true-horror-story).
Friday, February 14, 2014
To Be or Not to Be a Crime
When one pictures an excavation, that may call to mind pictures of an archaeological dig of sorts, perhaps for some ancient organisms. However, recently in Florida, an excavation uncovered something quite different: remains of human bodies.
Recently, investigators discovered in the land surrounding the notorious Florida Dozier School for Boys approximately 49 unmarked gravesites, some containing more than just one deceased child, for a total of 55 bodies so far. These were located outside of the school cemetery. There may be more to come, however; the school recorded 85 total deaths at the school.
The cruel school opened in 1900, and it remained open until June of 2011. Over the course of the school’s run that lasted over a century, crimes of violence and assault – as well as murders – accumulated at the hands of the staff members. These crimes were not committed to just anyone. Boys as young as 5 years old were sent to this school if they were either criminals (sometimes falsely accused) or orphans. Instead of being reformed, they were tortured, raped, and some even killed. However, stories of the corruption of this reform school were not in the picture until more recent times, when the White House Boys – a name given to the boys that suffered through this school and its torture house called the White House – finally started to speak up.
This can lead one to seriously question the educational system in the United States. This school was open for approximately 111 years – quite a long time for such evil and unwarranted abuse to persist. There is no telling whether this is the only school where evil is the motto; it is merely the only one that has been in the spotlight. One may also question parental relations with children. One may wonder, “Are we giving up too easily?” It seems doubtful that any parent looking out for the wellbeing of their child would choose to send their son to this school rather than try their hand at parenting for just a bit longer.
On that note, in a study conducted in the last few years by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, though there has been a decrease in homicides in school crimes since the 1990’s, crimes such as assaults have increased within the last decade. Parents have reason to worry even without the Dozier School for Boys to worry about.
(For more on this study, visit http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/may_2011/school_violence.)
On a more psychological, scientific, and philosophical level, one may also question what put this story into the spotlight in the first place. Using Katz’s approach to what makes certain crimes noteworthy, this crime portrays the idea as an issue of primarily collective integrity. This crime represented the corruption of a place that should a center of reformation, where misbehaving boys learn the hard way – the hard way certainly not being as hard as torture, rape, or murder – to become disciplined men while it instead was a center of evil and suffering. Young boys, left in the hands of tough yet nurturing adults, were left to die.
Another approach to this is with the Bio-Psycho-Social model of violence, which applies to this crime most certainly. This crime was committed by an all-male staff, thus concurring with the biological aspect of this model. Though not much is known about the staff of the school who committed the crimes, one can infer that these men may have been exposed to violence in their early lives, and that this violence they became accustomed to carried over to their profession. This also could have lead to the men becoming antisocial, lacking in morality, and more. These examples would thus support the sociological and psychological aspects of the model as well.
One additional approach to what makes crimes such as this large scale abuse and murder is on a different level of reality – was it the way these criminals were raised or can they blame it on their genes? While there has been evidence that between 37 and 57 percent of aggressive behaviors – which factor into one’s likeliness to commit a crime – are genetically influenced, this still does not excuse the committers of crimes like the many committed at the Dozier School for Boys. Everyone has choices, including the parents of future criminals. The parents of the facilitators at the Dozier School for Boys are no exception. They could have raised their children correctly or directed them in the path for crime. One can infer that they made the wrong choice.
One more approach to the analysis of the concept of crime is using Durkheim’s thesis on civic morals and homicide. Durkheim proposed that humans have interest in crimes that are committed by the average Joe or the normal man that could have been their neighbor, this as opposed to most wanted criminals. This is present in the Florida reform school crime in that these men were just the facilitators of a reform school; not world class schemers or criminal masterminds. It makes people wonder who they are entrusting their child’s safety to at schools.
For more information on the Dozier School for Boys incidents, try these sources: (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/07/florida-exhume-remains-dozier-school and/or http://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162941770/floridas-dozier-school-for-boys-a-true-horror-story).
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