Luis Francisco: a Biography

Luis Francisco is the leader of the Almighty Latin Kings and Queens gang. He started his life in crime from a very tender age of 9 years. This could be attributed to the fact that he was neglected from a tender age as his mother was a prostitute in Havana, which means that he got exposed to the street and hustle life from an extremely young age. He did not stop once he got in school and as a matter of fact, he even got worse that he dropped out of school and went to the United States to join a gang. It show that he has lived his entire life in crime to the point of leading one of the largest criminal gang in America while in prison. On analysis of his escalating criminal activities, the most appropriate theory to explain this would be the life course approach.

Life course theory is also known as life course perspective. It studies an individual’s life from a multidisciplinary point of view analyzing various aspects that may lead to the current behavior of a person. It examines the structural and social context of a person’s life in terms of demography, development and psychological context in order to identify the connection between a person’s current life status and historical and socioeconomic context, which the person’s life unfolds. However, these events and roles in persons do not have to occur in a certain sequence, but they aid a person's overall experience, which brings rise to character and behavior (Elder, 1998). This means that life course theory suggests that the experiences encountered in a person's lifespan shape his or her overall view of life and the behavior of the individual in time. Lifespan means the duration of a person's life that that develops the characteristic of the person though they vary with time and geographical location. As such, the life perspective theory highlights the importance of time in human development and relationships formed with time.

According to this theory, human development and aging is a lifelong continuous process that is greatly influenced by social and historical factors, which shape the persons overall character. In his case, Luis was subjected to poverty and displacement since birth. His mother was a prostitute meaning that he was the victim to crime since he was a kid. This means that he grew up experiencing crime. Historical overview of Luis' life shows that he has been subjected to criminal life ever since he was a young boy. He grew up in a life surrounded by criminals meaning that he was very vulnerable in joining crime. In the social analysis of Luis life, it is clear that he lacked parental guidance as a child.

Luis did not have a family nor friends that he could share his troubles in life or the difficulties that he faced. As such, he lived as a loner that is why he had problems in school. He did not find value in friendship, as he grew up alone. This is why he disregarded human relationship to the extent of shooting and killing his girlfriend. Therefore, on analyzing the historical and socioeconomic context of Luis life shows that his way of life made him extremely prone to crime (Lussier et al., 2015). It is the reason he ended up becoming a criminal to the point of being the gang leader of a very large criminal organization that he controlled behind bars. For him, crime was a way of life that is why he was very fearless of the law since he has been used to that life since he was a small boy aged nine years.

The life course theory is a broad approach that establishes the relationship between an individual’s life pattern and current behavior or living condition. The life course theory is an approach used to examine people’s lives from a social, cultural and structural perspective. It analyses a person’s life history and investigates how an individual’s past life experiences influence his current and future decisions in life such as involvement in crime (Emler, 2005). It can be described as a string of social events that play a significant role in shaping the life of an individual in future through the choices made. It mainly focuses on the historical and socioeconomic factors that influence his life. In this case, the life course theory will be used to analyze the criminology life cycle of Luis Francisco. Luis has been in crime since he was young having been arrested while he was only nine years for robbery due to absent parents.

In life course theory, various principles characterize its approach. The first principle is the socio-historical. In this principle, an individual’s growth and development is dependent on the social and cultural issues that a person’s perception and choices in life. Behavior and choices made in life are affected by peoples’ interaction (Lussier et al., 2015). Analyzing the history and experiences of an individual will help in understanding the reason for particular behavior or choices made. Luis lacked parental guidance as a child as he was neglected which is the reason why he started his life in crime at a young age. Lack of parental love also made him cold which is why he shot and killed his girlfriend in cold blood. Linked and social tie is a crucial principle in life course theory. It stresses that people are interdependent creatures across all levels.

They are related through family and friendship relationships, which enable them to share their issues and concerns and get the necessary aid. However, it is evident from Luis’ teachers that he was trouble, which prevented him from having friends, which made him vulnerable to crime as it was the only place that he could fit and seek solace. The other principle is how the past shapes the future. Early life conditions and experiences affect an individual’s later outcomes in life (Pratt, 2015). The timing under which certain life events occur in a person's life such as school dropout or childhood poverty that made life extremely difficult could significantly contribute to an individual's outcomes in later life. Luis had social inequality early in life due to poor upbringing. He faced poverty and chronic predatory delinquency at a young age, which led to his involvement in crime later on in life.

Another principle is the timing of lives. According to life curse theory, there are various stages in an individual classified as childhood, adolescence and ultimately adulthood. Factors occurring in each stage have the potential of shaping the life of a person. They are also responsible for an individual’s participation in a crime. In Luis’ case, he was neglected in his childhood, which is a crucial phase in a person’s development. Lack of parental guidance as a child meant that he was at a higher risk of joining crime as a means of fending for his live hood. This is the main reason why he was arrested at nine years for robbery. During his life as an adolescent, he faced difficulties adapting to social bonds and institutions. This is why teachers in his high school described him as having attention problems.

Luis did not excel in school to the point where he dropped out of school. This meant that he had nothing occupying his time making him susceptible to crime. This is why he migrated to the United States, and the only thing he could do was join a gang to survive. As an adult, Luis did not have a family to take care of, and he was unemployed as he lacked the necessary qualifications (Settersten, 2002). These experiences throughout Luis’ life explain why he got involved in crime since such a tender age to the point of being the gang leader. His life experiences made him very prone to the life of offense. He was born to a prostitute mother who neglected him. His interactions with the surrounding since he was young created a lifestyle that led him to the life of crime, as they were negative. According to the life course theory, negative factors that occur at a young age in life to an individual are very influential in leading to crime later on in life.

Life perspective theory assumes that behavior in people is significantly affected by nurture as compared to nature. According to the theory, human beings are different meaning that the experiences encountered in life are important in shaping persons’ behavior and life approach. These experiences are obtainable through social interactions and passages that one goes through. As such, it can be seen that social institutions such as families are important in the development of a person. However, when they face challenges like Luis' lack of parental guidance, there are higher chances of the child engaging in criminal activities. There is an enormous negative impact on the lack of parental care and guidance when growing up as a child. According to life course theory, the majority of criminals were neglected in their childhood, which made them susceptible to street life thus resulting in crime.