Michael Devlin case
Introduction
Michael Devlin was charged with various crimes which included kidnapping, attempted murder, sexual abuse and engaging in child pornography. Police were serving unrelated warrant in an apartment when they saw a pickup truck which resembled the description of the truck used kidnapping Ben Ownby teenager, 4 days earlier (Potosi, 1). After obtaining the search warrant, the police discovered another boy Shawn Hornbeck who had been missing for 4 years. The culprit stated that he had not planned to harm Shawn but decided to kill him after a month which he didn’t do after the boy pleaded for his life in exchange for silence. Devlin had abused the boys sexually and even made pornographic materials of Shawn. He pleaded guilty fall the charges against him and was sentenced to 71 years in prison (Potosi, 1).
The state and federal laws define kidnapping as taking an individual from a given place to another against their will or confining them to a certain controlled place (Brody, David, James Acker and Wayne, 467). There are various issues represented in this case which borders on child safety and law on child abuse and exploitation. These issues could be traced back to why Michael Devlin committed the heinous crimes, the vulnerability of the victims and why Shawn Hornberk did not run away from his abuser. Other issues presented in this case include sexual exploitation of minors who are the most vulnerable group in the society. As for the victims, the issues related their vulnerability which makes it possible for psychopaths to commit crimes against them. Children are among the major vulnerable groups and innocent victims of criminal activities. Due to their vulnerability they are exposed to abuse, fear and threat which makes them cow and cope with their tormentors. Since children like Shawn are, they are normally hard wired to do anything in order to survive. When such children are taken against their will while their lives are being threatened, they find ways of coping mentally and staying alive physically. When they are relieved to be alive, these victims start to do things which will please their captors so as to receive more kindness to continue surviving (Carll, 64). Hence, Devlin threats to kill Shawn was had him plead for live and keep silence in order to spare his live. Eventually, the captive’s mind starts having positive feelings towards their abusers or captors and this becomes a copying strategy for coping.
A significant issue is the motives of children kidnappers where their intention leads to specific criminal acts which they cover up by committing more crimes. The culprit in this case wanted to kill Shawn after having sexually abused him so as to cover his track of child abuse and exploitation. This plays into the culprits’ psychology so that committing such crimes no longer becomes a concern for them since they do not really care about the suffering of the abused individuals. In this case, Devlin had become fed up exploiting and abusing Shawn to the point that he had to kidnap another child and this time Ben Owny is his victim. It is easy for such criminals to control the mind of their victims so through threats, the victims are unable to raise alarm or escapes since they perceive compliance as the only choice they can continue surviving. A major challenge in this case is for the law enforcement officers to identify the culprits given that they are mostly society members who are least expected to be perpetrators of these heinous acts. In such instances, the victims will continue suffering since the perpetrators are hardly recognized and the judicial system.
This case engaged the society in debate on how safe children are when left on their own without the supervision of their parents or guardians. It portrays the mental turmoil that confined children go through in the hands of their captors and that psychological barriers are of significant weight as physical barriers. It is possible for a captor to confine a minor psychologically so that they are not able to rescue themselves from such bondage (Carll, 64). In this case, Shawn had many opportunities for running away from his captors but he proceeded to live an independent life so that he could hang out under no supervision and still not escape. This shows the extent of metal bondage where one is not able to set themselves free, and it has to take the help of another person to do so. When a child is taken from their family, threatened and isolate, this plays a big role in silencing them. The culprit was sentenced to total about 71 years which will be served the same as a life sentence but the issue left many in the society wondering about the kind of punishment that should be meted on such a person. In fact, after this case, some politicians emerged to support and sponsor legislations which would make rape and kidnapping of children to be a capital offence. This means that the case had significance implications in Missouri country and across the entire United States. The issue became a constitutional question of whether enforcing a death penalty for a crime that is not human murder could violate the ban against unusual and cruel punishment spelt out in the eighth Amendment (Vile, 157). The advocacy for death penalty can be attributed to the fact that violently abusing children sexually adds up to unspeakable crimes that are so horrendous that no compensation can measure up and hence, demands harsh punishment. Due to this case, it occurred to the society that, it is the responsibility of adults to take care for children and not to entrust their care to strangers no matter how innocent they appear. Though the verdict of sentencing the offender to 71 years imprisonment did not impact on the whole society in regard to the best form of punsiment, it raised an important legislative issue across board.
There are various lessons which can be learnt from this case and mostly relates to the safety of children, their experiences, the law and the culprits of kidnappings. Those people who commit these crimes are mostly members of the particular community and who cannot be easily suspected. Moreover, children can be kidnapped anywhere and be abused by people who cannot be suspected of carrying out such crimes. There is more than can be seen in the kidnapping cases and this situation calls upon the society especially children parents or guardian and the law enforcement officers to obtain knowledge on fundamental elements of abduction and kidnapping. There should be no assumption on hotspots for kidnapping and people who carry out such crimes since no one can be ruled out from doing so regardless of how they carry them out in public. No one, even Devlin colleagues could have suspected that he could be holding a kidnapped person in their apartments. As such the kidnapper could be the next door neighbor who appears not to be a social path. Another lesson learnt is that the law should take its course in dealing with pedophiles, and should offer the maximum possible sentence to serve as a deterrent to other criminals who may be considering abducting children. As discusses above, captivity can be both physical and mental as seen in this case, where Shawn could not escape from his captor even where he had an opportunity to so. This shows the extent of mental captivity that the kidnapped children can be subjected to due to threats and violent abuse. The captives can be psychologically constrained which is informed by fear and threat of being harmed if they failed to escape. An important lesson is that kidnapping of any kind can lead to a life sentence behind bars.
Conclusion
The verdict on this case was very appropriate since it offered a life sentence which does not contravene the provisions in the Eighth Amendment. However, giving a life sentence could not have essentially gone against these provisions considering the mental, physical and sexual abuse that the two victims underwent in the hands of Michael Devlin. If the judges of Supreme Court were to exercise their independent judgment which validates death penalty for a non-homicide crime, it should have been rape or sexual abuse against children. These children are defenseless and hence they are the most vulnerable victims whose safety should be guarded maximally under the law.
Works cited
Brody, David C, James R. Acker, and Wayne A. Logan. Criminal Law. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers,
- Print. 467
Vile, John R. Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2015. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2015. 157
Carll, Elizabeth K. Violence and Disaster. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Praeger, 2007.64
Potosi, Mo.Kidnapper pleads guilty to dozen of charges. 2013.1. Available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21206715/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/kidnapper-pleads-guilty-dozens-charges/#.WM_g2zho1LM
