Essay Sample on Sociological Causes of Crimes

Introduction

The story "Men who allegedly shot neighbor in mattress dispute arrested - again - after video surfaces" recounts the second arrest of John Miller, 67, and his son Michael Miller, 31, of Abilene, Texas. Police rearrested the Millers after a video of the incidents involving the murder of Aaron Howard, 37, was released causing a social media frenzy. The Millers are charged with the murder of Howard on September 1, 2018, following a dispute concerning the disposal of a mattress in a dumpster located on an alley adjacent to the Millers and Howard houses. Howard and his wife Kara Box had dumped the mattress on the alley on August 30. On the fateful day, they saw it back on their property. Howard returned it to the alley again, only for the elder Miller to throw it again on the Howard property. At that point, a Miller and Howard began shouting at each other in the presence of Box and Howard's nieces, nephews, and brothers.

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The Millers had initially been arrested and released on a $25,000 bond each. They were rearrested after the video showing the events that took place during the killing surfaced. The video commences with John and Howard exchanging insults. John and Michael are seen holding a handgun and a shotgun respectively. The elder Miller threatens to shoot Howard if he moved closer to him. Howard, on his part, is agitated that the Millers had pulled guns in front of his kids and threatens to kill them.

Thebault (2018) states that Howard held a bat when the Millers fired the first shots. Howard was seven feet away from them. When the Millers fired the second shots, Howard was unarmed. Howard died of handgun and shotgun wounds on his chest. The article alleges that the Millers had admitted to the killing. The county district attorney had since successfully moved the court to raise the bond to $250,000 each. The Millers were, thus, back in jail as of September 22, when the story was published.

This crime needs an in-depth examination to reveal the reason the Millers would take into killing a neighbor over such a minor dispute. Because the Millers shows up with guns to the scene of what appears to be an insignificant disagreement indicates they may have premeditated about using lethal forces against Howard. It also shows they may be some other factors, such as resentment, pushing them towards violence. As a result, it prudent for the police to conduct a thorough investigation to prove whether the Millers hold some grudge against Howard, thus, proving malice aforethought and subsequently premeditation. The police also need to find out whether the Millers have any mental disorders that pushed them to commit the murder over such a small dispute.

From the video, it is evident the neighborhood where this incident took place is a rural one. Also, the simple old house shown in the video indicates the community is not affluent. The story, therefore, could be used to prove that social and economic factors contribute to deviance and crimes (Little, 2010). The story could show that people living in poverty or low-social classes have a propensity to personal crimes such as homicide, assault, and sexual assault.

Conclusion

The critical theory of sociology, therefore, could explain the reason the Millers killed Howard. Murder is a personal crime (Little, 2010). The possible cause for the Millers' action is the pressures and tensions of living under worrying conditions of insufficiency and deficiency (Little, 2010). The theory also proves the availability of guns in a given society increases the chances of its members taking lethal actions if disagreements arise.

References

Little, W. (2016). Introduction to sociology. Victoria, B.C.: BC Campus.

Thebault, R. (2018, September 22). Men who allegedly shot neighbor in mattress dispute arrested - again - after video surfaces. Retrieved from HYPERLINK "https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2018/09/22/men-who-allegedly-shot-neighbor-mattress-dispute-arrested-again-after-video%20surfaces/?utm_term=.16f4e56d4c0f" https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2018/09/22/men-who-allegedly-shot-neighbor-mattress-dispute-arrested-again-after-video surfaces/?utm_term=.16f4e56d4c0f