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John Wayne Gacy

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John Wayne Gacy Edward Low Criminology Fall 2013 Professor Ortiz INTRODUCTION On March 17, 1942, John Wayne Gacy was born into an Irish middle-class family. His parents were Marion Gacy and John Gacy Sr. Gacy Jr. had enjoyed a uninteresting childhood until he suffered a head injury at a playground when he was 11. Up until age 16, Gacy had suffered blackouts due to the injury. After all he was put through, he worshipped his father like a hero, despite the fact that his father was an abusive alcoholic with a bad temper and an intense hate for homosexuals. Gacy was often accused and beaten by his father for being sickly. In the year of 1964, he married his co-worker …show more content…

Involvement is the idea that an individual is too busy with things like work or family to commit acts of deviance. The argument is that, because the person is so busy, at the end of the day, the individual is tired and just wants to rest comfortably. Using this logical reasoning, the individual is too exhausted to commit any type of crime. Belief is the idea that if an individual is committed to a society that upholds good virtue and morals, then that individual will most likely not engage in deviant behavior. If the individual believes that murder is wrong, then that individual will not commit murder due to his/her belief. Looking at Gacy’s childhood, he lacked these elements. His attachment to his parents were one-sided. Gacy had still loved his father even when he was often severely beat for having congenital heart disease, His attachment to his peers were skewed as well. His peers teased him for having the disease. The only relatively good attachment he had were with his teachers. His teachers said he was smart and a good student. Gacy’s commitment to the community during his earlier years was not so good.. During his teenage years, Gacy attended four different high schools, but still was not able to graduate. He dropped out and moved out to Las Vegas to find work. Some time after, he moved back to his hometown and attended a business college. He found his first job at a shoe company after graduating and excelled in his positions. Around that

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