6.1.2 True Crime Stories: Looking Back to Look Forward

Figure 6.1 Photo collage of Caron Butler with the Washington Wizards, Charles Dutton, Dwayne Johnson, aka “The Rock”, Lindsey Lohan, and Nipsey Hussle.

When someone is famous for what they do well as an adult, it is easy to forget that is not always what their life was like. Quite a few celebrities got in trouble with the law when they were younger and made significant changes as they grew older to become the people they are today.

A young Caron Butler began dealing drugs when he was 11 years old and was arrested 15 times by age 14. He became interested in basketball while serving time in a juvenile detention facility. Working hard on this new passion and path, Butler played in college, then was drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft by the Miami Heat. He played in the NBA for 16 years and is now coaching back with his original team, the Miami Heat.

Actor and director Charles Dutton was better known as middle school dropout, murderer, and career criminal in his younger days. When Dutton was 16, he killed a man in a knife fight, resulting in a manslaughter plea and prison time. While out on parole, he was arrested for robbery and handgun charges. During his second stint in prison, he got in a fight with a guard and was also stabbed by another inmate. At one point, he was sent to solitary confinement for refusing to clean toilets and discovered a passion for theater thanks to his only reading material, an anthology of black playwrights. Since those early days, Dutton has become known instead as three-time Emmy winner, three-time NCAAP Image Award winner, Golden Globe nominee, Yale School of Drama graduate, actor, director, and producer.

Dwayne Johnson, better known as “The Rock,” turned his juvenile arrests for fighting, theft, and check fraud all before age 17 into a career that allowed him to build on his strengths and support others to do the same. Johnson was noticed and recruited by his high school football coach, which Johnson points to as the beginning of his personal transformation. He later followed the professional wrestling career path of his father, then expanded into acting and producing. Perhaps most importantly, he now visits prisons encouraging those in custody to turn their lives around as well.

Lindsey Lohan went from child star and model to county jail and probation. Lohan got her first modeling contract at 3 years old, her first acting job at age 10, and has been in the public eye ever since. She moved to Los Angeles alone at age 15 where she faced several challenging years battling an eating disorder and drug and alcohol addiction. She was repeatedly arrested for driving under the influence, cocaine possession, theft, and driving on a suspended license. Lohan served multiple court-ordered stints in rehabilitation facilities over a span of six years and remained on probation for even longer. After roughly 8 years of legal troubles, Lohan moved overseas to live a simpler, clean life. She has also returned to acting.

Nipsey Hussle became more famous after his murder than he was during his short life. Hussle was murdered at age 33, but before that he had an inspiring career. Hussle joined the Rollin 60’s Neighborhood Crips in Crenshaw, California when he was 14 years old. However, at the age of 17, his focus turned to music and he began his rap career. What made Hussle rise to stardom more than his music was his community activism. After his experience with gang life, he chose to focus on intervening with young black men in his community. He brought opportunities for science, technology, engineering, and math to a new center he created in his old neighborhood and invested in the local schools. His legacy continues.

Each of these celebrities are examples of some of the theories we will discuss in this chapter. As you learn more about these contemporary approaches to understanding crime, consider which theories best fit with their experiences.