Biography of Charles Lucky Luciano Essay

Salvatore Lucania was born on November 24, 1897 in Sicily, Italy; almost ten years later, he began a new life of crime and prosperity in New York City’s lower east side. Upon arrival, he could not speak english; he bullied the other kids into paying him for protection and participated in drug dealing. One day, Lucania was abducted, beaten, stabbed, and left for dead; miraculously, he survived. This rather fortunate recovery led him to become known as Lucky Luciano (“Lucky Luciano Biography.com.” Edited by Biography.com, The Biography.Com website, A&E Television Networks, 17 June 2015, www.biography.com/people/lucky-luciano -9388350). In 1916, he became the leader of the Five Points Gang and continued to make a name for himself. During these early years, Luciano was in and out of jail-- mostly for getting caught dealing drugs.

One of the greatest films and novels of all time, The Godfather by Mario Puzo is the book that I chose to write my report about. This book falls under the drama and crime fiction genres, due to its dramatic story of people being shot and murdered. The Godfather takes place in New York during the years 1945-1955, right after World War II. Most of the story is written from a narrator 's perspective, save for two points in the book in which the story becomes a first person point of view. One of the themes portrayed in the novel is that family always comes first, even if it isn’t a blood-related family, but a crime family. The novel’s theme is primarily that of loyalty, which is a crucial plot device because some of the Corleone family

While a biological constraint implies that as an offender ages during their incarceration period, they will grow out of the need to commit illegal acts, this is especially true for those with lengthy sentences (Galtung, 1958).

If ever there was an incubator for crime it was the Italian Harlem tenements of the South Bronx. In one of those crowded dirty apartments, a young John Gotti seeked an impoverished existence with his parents and eleven sisters and brothers. His father rarely worked and then, only at menial jobs, risking the money that the family did have on gambling.

The statistical analysis on recidivism is constantly expanding. The psychology of criminal conduct (PCC) has a positive and secure promise of an effective program, and is gaining attention for its ability to predict, influence and explain criminal activity. Researchers also deny that the past and future criminal activity can be separated by

Kocsis, R. N. (2004). Profiling the criminal mind: Does it actually work? Lancet, 364(1), 14-15.

In the movie City of God, it differentiates the progression of individuals and their life choices based on their history and what path one ultimately decides to take. Many researchers have examined the importance of one’s life-course such as the work of John Laub and Robert Sampson, who hypothesize that those who engage in criminal behavior may have trajectories’ and turning points. Individuals that experience certain life events may help them to make the decision to engage in criminal activity, such as growing up in a very underprivileged environment, such as the City of God. Terrie Moffitt offers a dissimilar interpretation of the theory. Moffit posits that the basis of crime rests in environmental factors and separates offenders between those with temporary and those with persistent anti-social behavior. Temporary for this purpose is to mean, behavior that does not extend past adolescence. Moffit suggests that those who have temporary anti-social behavior only commit offences when they deem it advantageous thus; it seems likely that they should continue their delinquent

When looking at criminal activity and the direct connection to the criminal behavior we see that there have been many research trials that have taken place over the history of humankind (Mishra & Lalumiere, 2008). Two of these research areas that have been developed to attempt to understand the causes of criminal behavior are known as biological and psychological perspectives of crime causation. These two sectors have their principles that are held in their theories as a standard scientific understanding of the basics that each evaluation of criminal behavior is built on (Dretske, 2004).

The causes of crime seem to be indefinite and ever changing. In the 19th century, slum poverty was blamed; in the 20th century, a childhood without love was blamed (Adams 152). In the era going into the new millennium, most experts and theorists have given up all hope in trying to pinpoint one single aspect that causes crime. Many experts believe some people are natural born criminals who are born with criminal mindsets, and this is unchangeable. However, criminals are not a product of heredity. They are a product of their environment and how they react to it. This may seem like a bogus assumption, but is undoubtedly true.

In the United States, juvenile delinquency is becoming a major problem in the communities across the country. Because of the actions that these juveniles engage in on a regular basis, taxpayers across the country are having to shell out hundreds upon thousands of dollars to rehabilitate these children in order to help them make better choices. This leads citizens to wonder what factors actually cause juveniles to live a life of crime rather than success. In short, there are three main factors that often cause children to live a life of crime. These three factors are social influences, psychological characteristics, and academic potential.

Terrie Moffitt’s Dual Pathway theory is based on a longitudinal study of a New Zealand birth group (Walsh & Hemmens, p. 344). The data for this study was collected by scientists of various professions, allowing for testing of both psychosocial and biosocial hypotheses. Moffitt divides offenders into two categories: Adolescence-limited (AL) offenders, who largely cease offending later in life, and Life-Course-Persistent (LCP) offenders, who demonstrate stable levels of criminal activity and are characterized by “neuropsychological and temperamental deficits that are manifested in low IQ, hyperactivity, inattentiveness, negative emotionality, and low impulse control” (Walsh & Hemmens, p. 344).

Terrie E. Moffitt’s theory argues that antisocial behavior can be 1) life-course persistent offenders who spend the majority of their life exhibiting antisocial behavior and 2) adolescence-limited offenders who grow out of the antisocial behavior as they age. (Cullen & Agnew, 2011, Pg. 477) While it may be disputed that there are only two categories of antisocial individuals, Moffitt’s theory is supported by our other course readings. For example, Patricia Brennans study concluded that a lack of cognitive abilities due to

Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behavior. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes. These theories represent part of the classic psychological debate, nature versus nurture. Are individuals predisposed to becoming a criminal or are they made through their environment. There are various theories within the biological explanation as to why individuals commit criminal behavior, these include: genetic theory, hereditary theory,.

What makes people want to commit crimes? Are criminals any different than us? Does committing a crime mean there is something wrong with you, such as a psychological problem? Do all criminals have the same kind of personality? Is a criminal born or made? Questions like this and many more will be elaborated on throughout this paper.

It is possible to consider the notion that some people may be more predisposed to committing a criminal behaviour or could become a criminal by committing an offence (Gottfredson, Hirschi 1990). For example, people in certain areas have a higher rate of crime. This higher crime rate in those areas seems to remain constant over time (Hayes, Prenzler, 2009). There may be many reasons influencing this phenomenon including socio-economic, and the limited resources associated with this (including less money and fewer services). This may be a factor contributing to the reason people living in these areas become a criminal – that is, to survive (Baumer & Gustafson, 2007).