Saints and the Roughnecks - William J.

Saints and the Roughnecks - William J. Chambliss

In his seminal essay "The Saints and the Roughnecks," William J. Chambliss studied how a community's differential perceptions led to preferential treatment of a group of juvenile delinquents from upper-middle class families over another gang of delinquents from lower-class families. The main determinant for a community's reaction to a juvenile's deviant behavior was socioeconomic class.

Since this essay's publication in 1973, the idea that people get treated differently according to their class has become widely accepted. Based on Chambliss's thesis, poor people who engage in deviant behavior - ranging from shoplifting to murder - are still more likely to be prosecuted and to receive harsher punishment. They are also more likely to be perceived as guilty by the public.

The more recent research on other determinants of social stratification allows us to expand on Chambliss's original thesis. Thus, in addition to class, a community's perceptions of a person's deviant behavior is also colored by a nuanced intersection of race, gender and class.

The recent shoplifting trial involving actress Winona Ryder is a case in point. The affluent Caucasian actress was convicted of grand theft, for having stolen $5,000 worth of merchandise. Despite the conviction, prosecutors for the case say they are leaning towards probation and community service and will probably not seek any jail time.

A poor young African-American man who steals an old car, however, will most likely receive a jail sentence. This is a probable result, even if the car is worth far less than $5,000. This is also indicative of how society gauges danger stemming from deviant behavior. A person who steals a $1,000 car is seen as a greater danger to society than a woman who steals $5,000 worth of clothes.

The death penalty is another, more disturbing example of how an intersection of race and class affects how society punishes deviant criminal behavior. Majority of the inmates on death row are Black or Latino. Studies have shown that African-American and Hispanic men were more likely to receive the death penalty. In drug cases, these men were also more likely to receive stiffer sentences than Caucasian males convicted of the same crime.

The lens of gender also colors how society views deviant sexual behavior. The crime of rape, for example, is gender-specific. By definition, rape can only be committed by a man against a woman. Many states do not have any laws to bring charges against accused women rapists.

Despite the recent sensational cases involving female teachers having sex with male students, charges are seldom brought against women accused of statutory rape. Part of the problem lies in how society stigmatizes the young victims.