It was a crime that shocked Chicago, that seemingly unshockable city - the murder of 11 year-old Ryan Harris in fall 1998, who had been bashed on the head with a rock, dragged into the bushes and sexually assaulted (Adler and Annin 28). We're used to seeing greed, jealousy and dashed hopes turn adults into murderers. But why would boys of 7 and 8 boldly murder one of their piers? How could such young hearts turn that cold? Any psychologist can recite a litany of good hints, and yet we're still not convinced. "The world has wronged me" Explains 16 year old Luke Woodham after killing two classmates and stabbing his mother to death. Which world is he referring to? Is it possible that the world we live in could possibly turn a teenager into a heartless murderer? It's clear that kids who grow up surrounded by violence – on the street, in the home, on the tube, in electronic games – become less sensitive to it (Cowley 24; Lacayo 38). Society shares the blame on such acts but is not!
             solely responsible; parents, media and even the nature of the person are also accomplices. Such an issue is highly sensitive, and arouses confusion, shock, shame and even pity. Is murder now a child's play? To answer this question I'll mainly deal with the causes of delinquency, mentioning the psychology and girls' share of crime.
             How could we justify such acts? Does it bring attention to youths neglected by their parents or approval by delinquent friends? Or does it solve problems of unhappy home life? Recent studies have revealed a strong correlation between delinquents, and parents with whom they did not get along or who were inconsistent in their patterns of discipline and punishment. Daniel, a 16-year-old African American, portrays gang membership as a substitute for family life: "If you don't got a family, best you gonna go to a gang, because they're just like a family... Some peop...