Lonnie Athens

Lonnie Athens
Born Lonnie H. Athens
Richmond, Virginia
Citizenship US
Fields Criminology
Institutions Seton Hall University
Alma mater University of California at Berkeley,
University of Wisconsin at Madison,
Virginia Tech

Lonnie Athens was senior research criminologist at Georgetown University Law Center and now teaches in the criminology department at Seton Hall University.[1] Athens developed a theory called The Process of Violentization that supports the nurture argument of Nature vs. Nurture when it comes to serial killers.

Contents

Life

Early life

Born in Richmond, Virginia, Athens lived with his parents, Irene and Pete Athens. He was educated at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, where he started majoring in political science but later changed his major to Sociology and Criminology. After graduating from Virginia Tech, Athens continued his criminology studies at the University of Wisconsin.

Career

After college Athens continued to interview inmates about their criminal lives and social experiences. He based his study on George Herbert Mead, a philsopher who tried understanding how organisms acquire different traits. Athens focused on the areas of Iowa and California for his interviews. He also worked as a probation and parole officer in northern Virginia in 1986. He took all of his findings and his studies and put them together in the book, The Creation of Dangerous Violent Criminals, in which he discusses his theory and the cases he had to look at along the way. Athens now teaches criminology at Seton Hall University.[2]

The Process of Violentization

Athens developed a theory known as "The Process of Violentization" which describes four stages in the development of serial killers.

Academic distinctions

Publications

References

  1. ^ Book catalog, The Creation of Dangerous Violent Criminals by Lonnie Athens, University of Illinois Press
  2. ^ Rhodes, Richard, Why They Kill; The Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist, Vintage, 2000, ISBN 0375702482
  3. ^ Curran, Jeanne, Takata, Susan R., "Why They Kill: The Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist Review and Teaching Essay", The Process of Violentization, California State University, Dominguez Hills, May 13, 2001