Running Head: KATHY BOUDIN 1

Kathy Boudin

Student name

Institution

Date of Submission
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Introduction

Kathy Boudin was a member if a far left radical movement by name Weather

Underground. She was born in May 1943 and was convicted of a murder felony due to the role

she played during the Brink’s robbery which occurred in 1981 (Castellucci, 1986). The crime led

to the death of two law enforcement officers as well as two security guards. She came out of

prison in the year 2003 and became an assistant professor at the University of Columbia.

Early life and family

Kathy was brought up in a Jewish family, which had a long history of association with

the left-wing movement. She was raised in Greenwich community, which is in the state of New

York. One of her uncles was a Marxist theorist while her father, Leonard Boudin was an attorney

who was sometimes controversial representing infamous clients like Judith Coplon, Fidel Castor

as well as Paul Robeson (Austin, 2003). She attended early childhood schooling at Little Red

School House and later its high school, Elisabeth Irwin High School, which was located in

Manhattan. Earlier she was interested in pursuing medical professionals, but her interests quickly

changed to politics. Kathy joined the weather underground movement in the 1960s and in the

decade that followed, she was to a great extent involved in its activities. The movement

participated in many criminal activities including the Pentagon Bombing, Greenwich town

Explosion, The New York Police Benevolent Association bombing among other bombings.

1981 Brinks Robbery Crime

When Kathy was only 38 years, together with some members of Weather underground as

well as Black Liberation Army, she participated in the theft of a Brinks Armored car at the

Nanuet Mall in the State of New York. The robbery was well orchestrated and in the shooting
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that ensued, two policemen and two guards died while the four criminals including Kathy made

away with $1.6 million in cash and rendezvoused. According to the officers who arrested them

and later testified in court, Boudin duped them to putting their guns down which allowed an

opportunity for fellow accomplices to come out and orchestrate the crime killing one of the

officers instantly (Hamm & Van de Voorde, 2005).

Differential Association Theory

The theory that explains the behaviours of criminals was developed by Edwin H.

Sutherland in 1939. According to this theory, individuals who commit crimes are influenced to

commit the crimes by people they are interaction with. The rate at which one is influenced

differs from one individual to another and on the intensity, priority and frequency of the message

issued. According to the theory, the learning of crime is not only limited to crime techniques but

also motives, rationalisation as well as attitudes which the criminals possess. The learning

process as per this theory encompasses the same mechanism regardless of whether the person is

learning criminality or conformity (Matsueda, 2001).

Applicability of the theory in the Kathy Boudin crime

In the case of Kathy Boudin, the lady was a member of a criminal movement, the weather

underground movement, which was participating in major criminal activities in the state of New

York. It is in this movement that Kathy learned how to orchestrate criminal activities. As the

theory indicates that criminal behaviour is as a result of interaction with other persons in the

process of communication, this is true in this case as Boudin communicated with members of

this movement and thereby becoming a criminal (Matsueda, 2001). The theory also states that

the learning takes place through intimate personal groups and not only the technique are used but
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also the motives. For instance, in this crime, a technique of distracting the police was used while

the motive was to steal some money and property.

Offender and Crime in detail

During the Brink Robbery Incidence, Kathy Boudin, had just taken her young kid at a

kindergarten before driving off the getaway vehicle, U-Haul truck. Kathy then paused in a

parking bay nearby while her coconspirators who were significantly armed took a different

automobile to a local mall as the Brink’s truck was making a pick-up. The criminals challenged

the guards leading to an immediate gunfire leading to the death of one guard while injuring

another. The four then stole $1.6 million and joined Boudin, who was in the adjacent vehicle.

When the police officers arrived, Boudin feigned innocence and successfully convinced the

officers to drop their guns as her accomplices came and fired at the officer killing one of them

instantly. As she accomplishes escaped on hijacked vehicles, Kathy tried to escape on foot was

apprehended (Castellucci, 1986).

How the Theory Explains the behavior of the criminal

The theory explains the behaviour of Kathy in that her interaction with members of

criminal gangs had taught her some techniques which she applied in deceiving the officers

(Dobrow, 2016). She feigned innocence leading to police officers dropping their guns while her

accomplices attacked them. The motive of orchestrating crime to earn some cash was also

learned from her association with the criminal gangs.

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References

Austin, A. (2003). Family Circle from Hell, A.

Castellucci, J. (1986). The Big Dance: The Untold Story of Kathy Boudin and the Terrorist
Family that Committed the Brink's Robbery Murders. New York: Dodd, Mead.
Dobrow, J. A. (2016). Differential Association Theory. The Encyclopedia of Crime &
Punishment.
Hamm, M. S., & Van de Voorde, C. (2005). Crimes committed by terrorist groups: Theory,
research, and prevention. Trends in Organized Crime, 9(2), 18-50.
Matsueda, R. L. (2001). Differential association theory. Encyclopedia of criminology and
deviant behavior, 1, 125-130.