When Sterling Cunio was 16 years old, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As we have discussed in this chapter, criminal behavior is not simple and is rarely easy to understand at first glance. Keeping in mind what you have learned in this chapter about the difference between a criminological perspective and a criminal justice perspective, and also considering possible criminogenic factors, listen to (figure 1.17) or read this poem by Sterling and then answer the discussion questions that follow. Many students find it helpful to read the written words at the same time they are listening to him perform the poem.

https://youtu.be/qUMPfRTH9pc

Human Statistic

by Sterling Cunio

Born to a woman shackled to a hospital bed,

I am the child of the female prisoner seemingly fated to captivity.

I am that baby raised by maternal grandma because every other adult was too dysfunctional for a child, the nephew of alcoholic criminally active uncles, the bastard of an unknown father.

I am the marvelous mulatto who, as a mixed kid, never fit in anywhere I went.

The gifted student who excelled at learning in stifled classrooms.

I am that 12-year-old boy in insufferable pain,

a sudden orphan after the angels called Mama to Heaven where she’s supposed to be as some hope dope pusher preacher man told me.

The traumatized child laying quietly on strange couches

listening to men beat women in chaotic homes.

I am that runaway dropout who found belonging among unloved kids roaming the streets looking for excitement in risky arousals.

The foster child with brown-blonde mixed afro and freckles

picked on by everybody until I started punching.

Then I got whipped by adults for being violent.

Sent to juvenile detention for delinquency,

gave probation instead of therapy.

The short-sighted peer pressured wannabe struggling for identity

quickly learning the maladaptivity of criminality and the productivity of spilling.

The boy feeling like a macho man because of a real gun in hand,

instant mechanicalized power.

No more squirt pump water gun cap and pop for Xbox.

The real deal steel boom pop firepower like every TV hero got.

I was that teenage car thief GTA pedal to the metal fast and furious car crash into ambulance rides and best friends’ funerals.

The teenage boy shooting strangers as self-validation.

Life waster with court appointed attorney.

Juvenile lifer destined to die as it began – in state custody.

One of close to 3,000 men meant to die in prison for their acts as kids

in the only country that allows adolescent death by incarceration.

The cell block scholar and expert survivor and overcomer, the poor man wise in self, complete truth speaker rarely believed, chain romantic saved by love, converted peace activist, rebel against restraint who saw Gamora, subversive to institutionalized othering.

I am one of the 56% who once freed would never return to prison if ever given the chance.

I am indeed a statistic – albeit human.

Discussion Questions:

• How might a criminologist look at Sterling’s story to understand why he committed the crimes he did?
• How is the criminological perspective different from a criminal justice perspective in Sterling’s case?

Sterling Cunio’s story is one of many that show how complicated the phenomenon of crime can be. With human beings involved, things are rarely simple. In fact, Sterling went on to surprise anyone who knew the 16-year-old boy sentenced to die in prison. He faced his own traumas and did the work for his own extraordinary personal transformation. Sterling became a leader inside the prison, helping other men who had also experienced trauma that contributed to them causing great harm. Through a focus on healing and restoration, these men worked together to face the pain they had caused and learn how to live their amends by striving every day to make the world a better, safer place. After serving more than 27 years inside Oregon State Penitentiary, Sterling was granted clemency by Governor Kate Brown for his remarkable transformation. He was released on November 1, 2021. Sterling now works in the community to prevent violence and harm by supporting others who were previously incarcerated to live their amends as well.

Criminology is the study of crime and why it happens. Criminologists look at both individual and societal factors to determine what drives criminal behavior. It is important for criminal justice and criminology to work hand in hand to have a positive impact on public safety. A theory is an attempt to explain what is happening and in criminology, that means explaining what is happening in terms of crime and criminal behavior. A theory begins with a hypothesis that is tested through research. Criminology as a science is dynamic and involves a lot of different perspectives that do not always align. For this reason, we have to always be aware of potential biases that may affect how we see what we think we see. Any claims of a new theory must go through multiple levels of evaluation before they are considered valid. A criminological theory must have logical consistency, scope, parsimony, testability, empirical validity, and usefulness. Theories look at who is biologically predisposed to commit crime (biological theories), what happened to someone that made them commit a crime (psychological theories), or what outside forces led to someone committing crime (sociological theories). These theories help us identify risks (criminogenic factors) that make it more likely for crime to occur. Through criminology, we can also better understand the goals of different laws, the courts, and law enforcement.

Discussion Questions

1. How might a criminologist look at the crime problem during the pandemic in areas outside of Oregon? Look at the crime rates available at Crime in the Time of COVID [Website] or in other sources you may find for comparison. Put on your criminologist hat, and explain why crime may have gone up during this time.
2. Criminologist Craig Pinkney discusses some possible criminogenic factors that cause youth violence in his TEDxBrum Talk “The Real Roots of Youth Violence” (figure 1.18).
   
   

   https://youtu.be/uWNTMmktoCQ

   Figure 1.18. Discuss Pinkney’s recommendations for intervening in youth violence. Transcript.

    

3. Choose a recent local, state, or national news story about crime, and brainstorm some possible criminogenic factors that contributed to the criminal behavior. Is there anything that could possibly have been done to address the criminogenic factors and stop the crime from happening?
4. Can you think of some other examples of spuriousness like the ice cream/murder rate example in the chapter?
5. Looking at the timeline of the most prominent criminology theories, why do you think they are so clustered in the last 150 years? Can you guess any possible trends in the field based solely on the names and dates of the theories in the timeline?

Supplemental Resources

If you want to dig deeper into the topics covered in this chapter, check out the following resources:

• The American Society of Criminology (ASC) offers a lot of resources to its members and anyone else interested in criminology research. Find out more at the ASC website.
• CriminologyWeb [Streaming Video] has lots of helpful videos explaining different theories and important information that are a great supplement to this book.
• Criminology[Website] is a true crime podcast on Apple Podcasts. Every episode takes a deep dive into different crimes, going into great detail to understand what happened.