A Closer Look at Serial Killers
Jessica Simpson
Writing in Criminal Justice: Dr. Crank
Appalachian State University
A Closer Look at Serial Killers What comes to mind when you hear the words “Homicide in American”? For most in society, an image of a bloody crime scene or a smoking gun comes to mind. However, there is a form of homicide that, due to its individuality, society has put it into a category of its very own; this is known as serial murder. Serial murder is the rarest form of homicide, although it has become widely popular (Haggerty & Ellerbrok, 2001). From the very beginning society has been fascinated with serial killers and how their minds operate, but what is a serial murderer? There have been many definitions used
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Another part of this paper will also discuss motives and look into the argument of whether serial killers are born or made.
Myths about Serial Killers
The phenomenon of serial killers has attracted immense attention from the public, to the media, and has even crawled its way into Hollywood. Unfortunately because of their glorified fame, many myths about serial murderers have surfaced. It is important that the facts are known instead of incorrect information that backslides the understanding of the problem itself. The following list is that of the more popular myths about serial murderers and the facts that correct these myths. 1. Everyone is at danger from a serial killer. The problem with this myth is that serial killers have a specific victim typology that they target. They do not just target victims at random, there is always some method to their madness. For example, the elderly is not normally targeted by serial murders and serial murders are known to be more prevalent in urban areas rather than in rural areas (Holmes & Holmes, pg. 10). 2. The FBI is involved in a serial murder cases. This myth can be attributed to television and the many shows that air showing the FBI and their specialized division, the Behavioral Analysis Unit, helping to solve serial murder cases. In truth,
Serial killers, we have all heard of them and most of us are petrified of them. They commit horrendous crimes that many people cannot even begin to wrap their head around. Unfortunately, for those of us who are afraid of them it is likely we have encountered at least one if not multiple in our lifetime. That last sentence really puts the “be nice to everyone” quote into perspective, doesn’t it? It is not known how many serial killers are actually walking around among us however most studies conducted reviled we may not want the answer. Chances are the number is higher than we would have thought and definitely higher than we had hoped. Although I highly doubt we will ever get an actual number. It is not likely that a survey will be given to see how many serial killers are actually walking free. Even if this hypothetical survey was given I do not think an actual serial killer is going to put a checkmark in the are you a serial killer box. Although if they did mark the box they would save a lot of lives. Answering yes to such a question would land them in a psych ward. We may not know how to identify a serial killer simply by looking them up and down but we do have theories that help predict why they choose to commit unspeakable crimes. One of these theories that will be discussed is the biosocial theory. Throughout the report, the biosocial theory of crime will be thoroughly explained and applied to this topic to better understand serial killers. Anyone who has some time to
This shift affected the way sexual killers were categorized. When killers try to understand and talk about their actions they use these categories to fall on. By doing this, a killer can be defined as a ‘discursive construct through which certain acts are made intelligible and meaningful’. In this summary of “The Social Construction of a Serial Killer,” it will analyze ten murder confessions of Dennis Rader by using a special type of psychology. It will determine if Rader drew upon common discourses and understandings of serial killers to justify his
The crime of serial murder is not just one that in the United States it is a problem that happens globally. In the US we have the help of the Behavioral Analysis Unit as well as the FBI when working a case in any
Serial murder is one of the most baffling crimes that occur in the U.S. and all over the world. Knight (2006) defines serial murder as the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period. The cooling off period may be weeks, months or even years long. Researchers have proposed various psychological, biological and sociological theories that offer a partial understanding of the nature of serial murder. Some propose that the basis for criminal behavior is a predisposition to violence as well as a mix between environment, personality traits and biological factors. Serial killers are predominantly male. Only 3 percent of serial murders are committed by women (U.S. News and World Report,
“We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere. And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow.” (Ted Bundy). Serial killers are not always those people that look like monsters or behave in strangeous ways. Sometimes they are the successful people, the ones that have a family and a job. The term “Serial Killer” was first coined by Robert Ressler, former director of the FBI’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. Serial killers are often defined as people that kill two or more people over a period of more than 30 days with “cooling off” periods between each kill. Many historical criminologists suggest that serial killing has been a component of society since the beginning; suggesting that old stories
Serial killers represent a social problem in many ways. Many innocent lives are taken away by these serial killers. We as a society should care if serial killers or spree killers operate within our culture because we never know that we or a family member could be next on the list. People’s lives are taken away by these criminals; people who have a whole life ahead
Serial murder crime though rare, is not a a new phenomenon. This crime has been committed for centuries and will continue to be a crime that is committed throughout the world. It is unfortunate and scary that this is probably one of the most serious of crimes that cannot be prevented. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, serial murderers commit their crimes because they want to. Rehabilitation is not obtainable for serial killers due to their inability for remorse and empathy, or to see people as people and not objects(Knight 2006). This research paper will focus primarily on serial murder within the U.S. First and foremost, a legal definition provided by the U.S. Department of Justice will be presented to set forth the discussion of this research paper. As follows will be a detailed discussion explaining serial killer typologies with the use of examples of known serial killers in the U.S. Types of serial killers are: power oriented, mission oriented, visionary, and hedonistic, each typology will be clearly defined and explained. Some serial killers can have a mixture of each typology’s characteristic. Serial killers that will be discussed and used as examples to represent the content of this research paper will be, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Robert Berdella, Jeffery Dahmer, and lastly the most prolific serial killer in American history, Gary Ridgeway. Problems with studying serial killing, are that because of rarity and access. Most of what we think
A serial killer is traditional defined as the separate killings of three or more people by an individual over a certain period of time, usually with breaks between the murders. (Angela Pilson, p. 2, 2011) This definition has been accepted by both the police and academics and therefore provides a useful frame of reference (Kevin Haggerty, p.1, 2009). The paper will seek to provide the readers with an explanation of how serial killers came to be and how they are portrayed in the media.
Serial killers are a relatively rare, yet commonly publicized, part of our society. The media portrayal of serial killers skews the opinions and creates a stereotype of murderers for the public. James Knoll, MD states in his article, “Serial Murder: A Forensic Psychiatric Perspective”, that no evidence supports the idea that serial murder is a “growing epidemic” as people believe it is (qtd. in Johnson-Sheehan & Paine, “Writing Today”, pg 332). This misperception of serial killing was exhibited in the way the media portrayed the “Hillside Strangler”, a murderer who was killing women in the Los Angeles area by strangling them and leaving them nude in the hilly areas in 1977. The articles reporting the
Throughout history, serial killers and murderers have received a significant number of news articles dedicated to them and have attracted audiences all around the world; however, the question that nobody can seem to answer is, “Why?” What causes people to grow up with the desire to kill and what can we do to prevent others from becoming serial killers in the future? “All serial killers are murderers, but not all murderers are serial killers,” as stated on The Undergraduate Times. A serial murder is defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as “the unlawful homicide of at least two people, carried out in a series over a period of time,” while mass murder is the
There are many myths that describe, or stereotype a serial killer. You may have heard that serial killers are all dysfunctional loners or that all serial killers are white males. One might also hear that
Serial murder, which is defined as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims, by the same offenders, in separate events”(Lubaszka & Shon, 2013, p. 1), is a term that American society has become quite familiar with. At a ripe age, parents begin teaching their children not to talk to strangers in hopes of shielding them from the potential evil our world has to offer, but what if I told you the serial killer may not always be the scary man driving a van and offering candy? Our society, like it does most things, has placed a stigma upon serial killers. Although not all implied labels are untrue, this stigma makes us vulnerable to the hidden deviance lurking behind us, dressed in sheep’s clothing. Over the course of this analysis, I will
The stereotype that exists for individuals who commit serial murder is one that mainly includes males of a specific race. However, it is now known that white males are not the only individuals who commit serial murder. Men and women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic statuses have been found to be serial murderers. Although this information has been presented to society, the cultural schema of the white male serial killer is still prevalent. The assumptions that involve serial murderers often include two aspects, the serial murderer is male and the serial murder is a type of “lust murder”, often involving sexual crimes by a sadist (Keeney and Heide, 1995). Keeney and Heide (1994) define serial murder to be the
Have you ever wondered why people do the things they do? Everyday we question ourselves about activities we see others performing and wonder what could possibly be their reasoning behind it all. Asking more questions is something we should all be doing. Some researchers have taken this curiosity to the next level and have asked themselves “Are serial killers born or created?” Are the actions of these psychopaths brought on by different events, or are they simply born with the ability to take another person 's life? These are the million dollar questions that everyone should be asking about serial killers. Something is different about those who are capable
Nature versus nurture is an ongoing debate on whether people are born with a wickedness that causes them to commit crimes, or if the surrounding environment of their early life causes them to become evil. People are born with an unrighteousness that is the root of their iniquity, this natural evil comes from their genetics. Psychologists that have studied serial killers find that they often times have no vendetta, and are simply committing these acts because they have some outlandish desire to hurt others. These killers are not like a normal murderers, “serial killers are driven by the instinct from within and their desire to kill” (Fox 102). Serial killers do not commit the crimes because of the natural desire that comes from a natural flaw in the person’s genetics and chemical imbalances in the brain.