Case Stuudy 1

Case Study: Eric Smith

Student’s Name

Institution

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Psychoanalytical Perspectives

Eric Smith was often bullied throughout his childhood. People made fun of him because of his physical appearance or look. This could have him to start to believe that he can hurt someone as well because he has been hurt all through by his colleagues. It seems hurting someone became no issue and it seems he argued that if he can be hurt then he can hurt someone else as well. The nature of crime was very brutal, since Eric battered and assaulted Derrick Robbie and sodomized the 4 years old with a branch of a tree. According to investigator, Smith spent a lot of time near the body of Derrick, which clearly indicates that he enjoyed it. It is also clear that Smith did not tell the family or the police about Derrick and he volunteered to search for the child. He showed no remorse when during the search a clear indication, he never felt any different and he lied to people regarding the whereabouts of Derrick Robin.

It is possible that Eric Smith was suffering from mental problem and nobody knew. It was revealed that a day before he committed the crime, he approach his father and his father brush him off. The mental problem could be development as a result three aspects. First, the drugs his mother was using when she was pregnancy could have been the cause of mental disorder. It is stated that his mother used powerful drug for epilepsy and this could have caused the problem. Eric had no friend and this could have been an issue, which affected him Teenkillersorg (2011). He was lonely both at school and home and this could have affected his mental leading him to be violence. Eric was also bullied in school, which made him to feel being hurt without any help. This could have made him to believe that hurting someone is not bad and therefore, he found no difficulty in hurting Derrick Robin. And therefore, his mental problem could have been as a result of abuse, bully, loneliness and the epilepsy drugs, which his mother took when she was pregnant.

The behavior of Eric Smith could have been caused by three factors. First, Eric being bullied in school by his classmates and insult regarding his physical appearance might have made him too violence. According to Listversecom (2011), being bullied affect children psychological and the fact that Eric was bullied and he received no help changed his behavior. And therefore, he found violence as a comfort to his soul and this could be the reason he did not feel bad of killing Derrick. The investigator revealed that he stayed next Derrick copse for a while after murdering him. This indicates soul search which relates to mental problem of comfort. It is therefore, important to point that the behavior of Eric could have been caused by his mother’s drugs, being bullied and loneliness.

The theory of positivism could be best used to describe the situation of Eric Smith. According to Neulaworg (2017), the theory of positivism is related to biological factors which lead an individual to commit crime. It is noted that the problem of Eric started a long time before, the insult and bully became a factor. It means that his violence behavior is biological and he could not control it. He had abnormalities in growth, which left him less prepared to deal with cruelty and this made it impossible for him to deal with bully at school. He was left lonely and therefore, became more violence and used it as a way to comfort or appease himself.

Smith case could have been addressed through psychological evaluation. Smith wanted mental treatment solve the problem. He could have helped at an early without being ignored. It was noted that he approached his father and he was brushed off. He wanted to peaceful and friendly environment, mental and medication to treatment to solve his condition.

References

Listversecom. (2011). Listverse. Retrieved 31 July, 2017, from

http://listverse.com/2011/05/14/top-10-young-killers

Neulaworg. (2017). Neulaworg. Retrieved 31 July, 2017, from http://neulaw.org/1034-blog/class-blog/1627-a-child-murderer

Teenkillersorg. (2011). National Organization of Victims of Juvenile Murderers. Retrieved 31 July, 2017, from http://www.teenkillers.org/index.php/memorials/york-victims/derrick-robie