Serial Killers Committed By Nancy Hazle

Many acts of delinquency have often been explored and researched. Sociologist have created theories in order to explain the crimes and why they have occurred. These theories can be applied to the convicts in order for sociologist to fully comprehend the absolute motive to the crime. The crimes committed by Nancy Hazle, known as Nannie Doss and the “Giggling Granny,” can be interpreted and scrutinized using theories that have been developed by well-known sociologist. Including Robert Merton’s strain theory and Walter Reckless's control theory. These theories can be used to explain the reason these crimes have occurred as serial killers pose a serious threat to society in this day in age. They have continuously disrupted peace in calm environments.

She lived a harsh adolescent life. Nancy Hazle was the daughter of two hard-working farmers. Her father was an abusive man who often forced her to work in the fields and not receive an education. According to Jones (2007) “At seven, Nannie suffered a head injury that plagued her for life and, she said, eventually contributed to her murderous impulses” (p. 1). Nancy later married Charles Braggs who was a co-worker at a textile company. They had four daughters. The death spree unexpectedly began as her two middle daughters suddenly died of food poisoning. This was in her first marriage, she later married four other men, Frank Harrelson, Arlie Lanning, Richard Morton, and Samuel Doss. In these following marriages, her husbands all died of the same cause...food poisoning. She is also thought to have killed her 2 young grandchildren, mother-in-law, and sister. She was caught after the mysterious death of Samuel Doss. He was poisoned by Nancy but survived and was taken into the hospital. He was released after several weeks but died hours after being released. Doss’s physician became suspicious and investigated the real cause of Doss’s death. She was questioned and respond with unusual laughter. She was caught in her lies and condemned to life in

The strain theory says that those who are not able to obtain socially accepted dreams often feel a strain and turn to deviant behavior to feel normal. This also happened to Nannie Doss. Nannie Doss turned to murder to feel normal. Doss was pressured to find the love her life and live a happy life with her family. She spent her life searching for the perfect husband but often felt unsatisfied with the results of searching. She longed for the idea of a perfect marriage. Her first marriage failed after “both parties began to escape their demons through drinking binges and extramarital affairs” (Jones, 2007, p. 1). This marriage luckily ended in divorce. Her next four husbands did not help with the strain. She felt unsatisfied with Samuel Doss because “he would not let her watch her favorite television show or turn on a fan during hot summer nights” according to Jones. Nannie continuously saw the faults in her “perfect husbands”. Nannie Doss was not only pressured by society to have a perfect prince, but pressured by society with the idea of a perfect family. This can explain why Nannie felt compelled to kill her two middle daughters after their youngest was born. Nannie picked the path of innovation in order to reach her goals. She picked the goal of finding the love of her life but she found a different path to obtain. Nannie decided to murder her unsatisfactory husbands and murdering them to reach her