Crim101 - Johnnie Jordan Case Study

Andre Hall

Juvenile Justice

10-27-18

Introduction: Johnnie Jordan was a fourteen year old kid who murdered his foster mother. Johnnie had a rough childhood suffering from neglect and abuse which caused him to burst into rage and kill Mrs. Johnson. Johnnie was gifted with two foster parents that genuinely cared for him after all he’s been through in the past. Johnnie then killed his foster mother for no apparent reason but his brain was so messed up from the past neglect and abuse that he couldn't accept the love from the Johnson’s. I think social services caused this death on this lady because they didn't even know what type of past Johnnie had before he got with them. Johnnie is a case of how child neglect and abuse can damage a child mentally.

Brief Summary: The main character of the chapters was still Johnnie Jordan and we were mostly reading about the psychology behind him killing Mrs. Johnson. From what I understand about this case, he murdered Mrs. Johnson because of his past. He didn't plan on killing Mrs. Johnson, he even had a whole mental argument with himself before he attacked her. Johnnie had a terrible experience in the social system from the start of his life. Before he could talk both of his parents had drug habits and left Johnnie at a doorstep. It was a time in Johnnie’s life that he wasn't even enrolled in school. The book talked about how Social Services wait to late to help a kid who’s struggling in the system. The system didn't even look at his record and take notice to whats going on in these children lives, their just tossing these kids from home to home in hope that they will be sane enough to made it a perfect fit. But in some cases like Jonnie Jordan’s, some children have just been pushed to their limits.

2

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson didn't know about the past of Johnnie Jordan. I think that should be information given to the parents trying to adopt. That alone can alter a decision. These children are going into this system that isn't stable and it’s messing up their lives. As they get older they start to question why they are going through what their going through and that mental process is damaging. Before Jonnie Jordan killed Mrs. Johnson he said he saw a devil on one shoulder and a angel on the other, one telling him to do it and the other one told him not to, but he just couldn't stop hisself from killing her. I think if you can't stop yourself, the issue is bigger than you. The issue is that nobody tried to help this kid, or make sure he was okay. He had a case worker but case workers have a lot of other cases just like him. Johnnie needed to be rehabilitated, I think the system is responsible for this murder. They created a monster and then he destroyed a innocent family’s home.

Class/Text Material: In this class we read a lot about Juveniles and what causes them to become violent or commit crimes. I went back to chapter two to understand the nature of delinquency and when I came across the Jamesetta story it reminded me of Jonnie Jordan. Both parents suffered from drug abuse, poverty, and unemployment, both suffered abuse, both placed in the foster system at a young age, but Jamesetta assaulted her foster mom and Johnnie killed his foster mom. In chapter nine it talks about the importance of education in a humans development and Johnnie barely went to school. In my first paper I talked about chapter seven and how it outlines the affect families have children, research shows that children growing up in a put together house hold have a better chance to