em in society by acting. For example, many kidnappers have a long history of criminal activity. Being labeled an ex-con makes many individuals feel pressured to remain clean or act appropriately by others. When the pressure becomes too great, they act bad to prove to others they cannot be controlled. As Katz (2002:3) explains, ôChoosing deviant behavior at that point gives the individual an edge, meaning that it is one way of regaining self-esteem in this situation. In helps the individual to think he is putting one over on those who are stifling his life.ö
Many times rape is carried out as a means of sexual abuse. Many kidnapped children and adults are typically sexually abused, rape or murdered. In a recent kidnapping case, Darrell Payne, by all accounts the perfect family man, was convicted of the kidnapping, rape and murder of 22-year-old Samantha Maher. Psychologists testified that Payne suffered from major depression, obsessive/compulsive disorder, and childhood trauma as motives for the act, but the prosecution portrayed him as a purposeful deviant: ôA man who made conscious choices to progress from window peeper to rapist to murdererö (Orr 2002:1). PayneÆs wife said she was completely unaware of his pattern of deviant behavior.
Such attempts to sociologically explain the formation of the kidnapper demonstrate that deviance theories in sociology argue individual choice is a key factor in acting out deviant behavior. We saw this in the example of the ôpurposefulö ex-con and in the above example of PayneÆs ôconsciousö actions. The conscious and purposeful choice to kidnap underlies another sociological theory about its cause. Intense media scrutiny accompanies kidnappings, especially when the one kidnapped is a child, college student, politician, celebrity, athlete, or wealthy individual. The Lindbergh, Patty Hearst, and John P. Getty IIÆs grandsonÆs kidnappings al
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