Criminal Profile

Criminal Profile

Offender:

Name: Barrington Wesley

Gender: Male

Age: 42

Ethnicity: African American

Gang affiliation: None

Home: Austin

Employment: Travis County Sheriff's Office, and USAF Reserve (Security Forces)

School: Bachelor's Degree

Criminal Record: No prior record. Currently being held on charges of first degree murder.

Family Structure: Raised by father and mother until age 12, when parents divorced. Ten siblings, five brothers, 40, 43, 47, 50, and 53, and five sisters, 30, 44, 45, 46, and 48. Strong family ties. Mother was church musician. Father worked road construction most of childhood and was away from home most of the week. One brother was an alcoholic. Three brothers experienced drug addictions along with one sister. One brother was a career criminal, committing mostly property crimes.

Case History

Barrington had a rather normal childhood. He had no criminal record and was rarely in any sort of trouble outside his home as a child. He had a strong religious upbringing. His mother required all of her children to attend Sunday school and Sunday worship services. He had a reputation for being unpredictable when angry. He was known in his neighborhood as one who would resort to violence to protect the reputation of his family members, especially his sisters. He once went on a man hunt to kill the neighborhood bully who disrespected his sister at a nightclub. His father was known as a man who would have fits of violence, especially when drinking. As a student he kept himself to only two friends. He was a very quiet child outside his circle of friends. He was very athletic and gained popularity through athletic achievements.

Elementary School Years (Grades K-6)

He was not a problem child. He was respectful to his teachers and quiet. He made fairly good grades. He only had one friend. In his sixth grade year he checked out of his hometown middle school and left town to move with his mother due to a violent split with his father. He left his only friend and mourned for months. At his new school he was a loner. He had no friends.

Junior High and High School Years (Grades 7-12)

During his 7th and 8th grade years, Barrington's propensity for violence escalated according to school records. He was involved in several fights, all of which resulted in injuries to his opponents. His PE coach placed him in weight lifting due to his success against larger persons, and to help re-direct his aggression. He was very successful, and was a fair student. He became a star athlete by his freshman year and began gaining popularity. It was in his freshman year that he finally gained some friends. He began experimenting with marijuana and skipping class. His grades suffered and he redirected his efforts and focused on academics. By his senior year he was among the top students in his school

His mother found it difficult to care for the nine children who were still at home. They lived on an income which was far below poverty level. The family is receiving government assistance in the form food stamps, and Medicaid. His mother worked as home aide and a church musician. Her income, however was not sufficient. The ten of them lived in a two bedroom home in the worst part of town known for drugs and gangs.

REWARD DOMINANCE THEORY

Brief Theory Explanation

Reward Dominance Theory is a neurological theory of psychopathy and criminal behavior based on the proposition that behavior is regulated by two opposing mechanisms, the behavioral activating system (BAS) and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) by Ruden. (Walsh pg 34) This theory identifies the criminal as law abiding and relatively fearless. It describes them as unresponsive to fight or flight systems and are drawn to such careers as a "police officer or firefighter (Walsh pg 35)." In this theory the fight/flight systems are thrown off and are restored to equilibrium by the dismissal or erasing of antisocial thoughts.

Barrington and Reward Dominance Theory

Barrington, like many of us, would not have entered the criminal arena had he not been prepared by a life time of forming and molding. He began his life with a solid family picture, a father and mother and siblings all under one roof. He had a solid moral base being reared in church. He isolated himself from negative influences outside of his home. Somewhat fearful of not being accepted and not fitting in. According to Reward Dominace Theory a small number of people who are very fearful "become conditioned very easily because fight/flight system arousal produces punishing visceral feelings associated with anxiety, guilt, and fear (Walsh pg 35)." This gives insight to his dieing devotion and loyalty. He was afraid of those he cared most about having a negative opinion of him. Walsh states that persons subject to this theory "are very law-abiding because even the contemplation of nonconforming behavior arouses theses uncomfortable feelings (pg 35)." However, his isolation and upbringing gave him a positive negative. For, the exact qualities gained from his isolation and religious background--deep commitment to those in his circle, unyielding sense of obligation to defend his friends and loved ones, and a sense of justification of all actions in a case of righteous indignation. Thus, Barrington could easily excuse himself to exact revenge on one who unjustly caused the death of his fiancee.

Furthermore, the Bible teaches that man should only fear God. Barrington's fearlessness and deep loyalty propelled him into the military as a security forces specialist, and then into a law enforcement career. This is in line with Reward Dominance Theory as an individual with hypo-arousable fight/flight system, where the individual is relatively fearless and difficult to condidtion. Outside his circle of influence, Barrington was precicely that. It is in this state of the theory that one engages in such prosocial activities as firefighting and police work. (Raine, 1997) In his crime he acted with the loyalty of policeman.

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