Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Genetics vs environment criminal behavior
Effect of abuse on child development
Psychological theory on genes and crime
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Genetics vs environment criminal behavior
A serial killer has a very deranged way of thinking. They truly believe that “the power to cause pain is the only power that matters, the power to kill and destroy, because if you can’t kill you are always subject to those who can”. The only way they feel they can achieve this is by murdering the “innocent”, for in their eyes the victim is not always so innocent. The victim is usually picked at random or has no personal ties with the killer. But, in most cases, the victims have similar patterns. Some killers produce a hate for women throughout their years because of a past trauma they had with a woman (usually their mother), and so they target women. This can be seen with ________. (TRIGGER PARAGRAPH) http://twistedminds.creativescapism.com/psychological-disorders/motives/ http://twistedminds.creativescapism.com/psychological-disorders/psychopaths/childhood/ (SERIAL KILLERS JOEL NORRIS) …show more content…
A psychopathic serial killer has such a distinct pattern when it comes to their background. How is it that a personality disorder that can grow into shaping a dangerous murderer, discriminate against certain classes, colors and ages? Only the surroundings could affect such issues. One may be born with genetic or chemical imbalances and have the antisocial disorder found in most serial killers, but can research ever prove that a child may be born a societal monster? A psychopath can be shaped into becoming a serial killer, but can a newborn actually be brought into this world with the initial diagnosis of it being an antisocial murderer? Events and disturbances occur in the childhood or later years of these victims of psychopathy. These are called
Serial killers are people who kill three or more people. They don’t have a close relationship with their victims. They are mostly white, younger males, but this might not always be the case. Many serial killers have specific childhood experiences that contribute to their urge to kill. Genetics can play a role, for example; specific patterns of genes found in serial killer’s brains. Many serial killers do at least one of these things as a child: wet their bed, set fires, and torture animals. Child who have problems; for example, being abused either physically or sexually, parent troubles, and school problems can lead to someone being more likely to be a serial killer.
In a study conducted by Hickey, he discovered that out of thirty-four female serial killers, almost one in two had a male accomplice committing murders with them (Holmes et al., 1991). He also revealed that 97% were white and the average age the women started committing murders was thirty-three (Holmes et al., 1991). Women serial killers differ from men in that most women kill for material gain, such as money or insurance benefits, and they usually commit murder with pills or poison. Stephen Holmes, Ronald Holmes, and Eric Hickey developed a typology for female serial killers similar to the one developed by Holmes and Holmes, discussed earlier. They begin with visionary serial killers, who are compelled by some force, such as God, or spirits, to commit murders. The second type is the comfort killer, who usually kills acquaintances and does so for a material gain, money or real estate (Holmes et al., 1991). The third category is hedonistic female serial killers, which is similar to the earlier typology in that the offender connects murder with sexual gratification. This is the least represented category for female offenders, but evidence for this type of killer can be seen in the case of Carol Bundy (Holmes et al., 1991). Bundy allegedly helped her husband kidnap, murder, and decapitate the
The sentencing of underage criminals has remained a logistical and moral issue in the world for a very long time. The issue is brought to our perspective in the documentary Making a Murderer and the audio podcast Serial. When trying to overcome this issue, we ask ourselves, “When should juveniles receive life sentences?” or “Should young inmates be housed with adults?” or “Was the Supreme Court right to make it illegal to sentence a minor to death?”. There are multiple answers to these questions, and it’s necessary to either take a moral or logical approach to the problem.
There have been many theories over the years about how a person becomes a serial killer, and how does having an unstable childhood effect a person. It has been proven by psychologist and stated by serial killers that their childhood is one of the many problems they faced that led them to become a serial killer. The childhood of a typical young boy would consist of loving parents, a stable home and having friends. As for serial killers this is not typical at all. During the childhood of a serial killer it is not uncommon that he or she was abused, raped, or even attempted suicide along with many other harmful acts that a child should not be faced with. There have been many studies on the childhood of serial killers, and how they grew up compared to other young children. Some of the traits most male serial killers have as a child would include killing animals, auto-erotic activities, physical head injuries, and even bed wetting.
Whether it is Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and person of the like, you may have a bad feeling about them due to their ill past. This is not due to an inner judgment of the person on your part, more than likely it is the media that has skewed your views of a serial killer. The news media is just playing their role in society and that is to inform people but they do so in a way that frightens people into coming back to view the media that they produce. The other types of media such as movies, television shows, radio stations, and books also portray serial killers as monsters to entertain people. Although it may be a great way to entertain and inform people, it is not the least bit true and gives serial killers a worse image by labeling them as monsters.
In order to understand the common traits of female serial killers, one has to know the meaning of what a serial killer is. According to a federal law passed in 1998 by the United States Congress, titled: Protection of Children from Sexual Predator Act of 1998, the definition of serial killings is “a series of three or more killings...having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors” (Seria...
The way a child is raised can affect their mental state as adults proven by Nannie Doss’s history. Since we never caught the Zodiac Killer we can’t compare their childhoods, but in the Zodiac Killer’s psychological profile he grew up in an abusive home. A person can also become a psychopath/ serial killer due to traumatic brain injury. As you can see, a serial killer can be born or raised a cold blooded
The FBI has defined serial killing as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s) in separate events” (Farrell, Keppal, & Titterington, 2011, p. 231). While individuals who partake in such activity do receive a large amount of attention, the female parts of this population are vastly under recognized. Female serial killers receive little academic attention, even though they are a complex and dynamic group to study (p. 229). Women make up 15% of American serial killers, with 36 known to be active in the last century (p. 230). It is speculated that at any given time there are 50-70 serial killers in the United States, and approximately 7-8 of them are female (Schurman, 2000, p. 12). Moreover, females acting alone manage
Of course as a society we condemn people for being serial killers. But what we forget is that there’s still a human being behind that thick shell. We as a society think that serial killers are horrible, so we put them on trial; we put them in jail, death row. But would you think of them any differently if it were father, your neighbor, or some one you went to school with? Robert Maudsley was a British serial killer born in Toxteth, United Kingdom. There are a few nicknames that you might know him as, some called him blue, then others began to know him as spoons but the one that stuck was Hannibal Cannibal. You are probably wondering how I got these nicknames. They called Maudsley blue because that was the color John Farrell’s face turned as he slowly strangled him, he was Robert Maudsley’s first victim
The Zodiac Killer was directly linked to at least five murders in Northern California in 1968 & 1969 even suspected for at least 5 more. He taunted police and made threats through letters sent to area newspapers from 1969 to 1974, before disappearing along with the absence of his murders. Despite investigations, no one was ever arrested for the crimes and the case remains open. On August 1, 1969, the first letter was sent to the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle and Vallejo Times-Herald. When compared they were identically handwritten in an envelope with no returning address. Each of them began with “Dear Editor: I am the killer of the 2 teenagers last Christmas at Lake Herman,” the letter continued with details only the murderer
Serial killers have many frightening facets. The most frightening thing about them is that experts still do not know what makes a human become a serial killer. Many experts believe serial killers become what they are because they have a genetic disposition or brain abnormality while other experts believe that a serial killer is created by childhood abuse; and some other experts believe that it is a combination of both brain abnormalities and abusive childhood experiences that creates a serial killer. A murderer is considered a serial killer when they “murder three or more persons in at least three separate events with a “cooling off period” between kills” (Mitchell and Aamodt 40). When defining a serial killer, their background, genes, and brain are not mentioned; perhaps one day those aspects of the serial killer can be included.
In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that makes up this type of criminals. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even sexually abused by a family member, or relatives from unstable families who have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories, or tend to have hate for their parents and people in general which makes them have antisocial personality disorder. They have conflicted pain or tortured animals at a young age and most are highly interested in gaining control over things. Even though not every serial killers posses these characteristics, but most share these characteristics the same way they share the psychological need to have complete control and power over people.
Who Was the Zodiac Killer? The Zodiac killings of the late 60s were some of the most horrific criminal acts in American history. Only five of the horrific murders were directly linked to him, but the Zodiac claimed the murders of 37 people. The first two victims were the teenage couple, Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday, on their first date.
The question of whether or not man is predetermined at birth to lead a life of crime is a question that has been debated for decades. Serial killers are made not born; it has been demonstrated that a man 's initial years are the most vital years. A youngster 's initial couple of years is a period of experimentation, a period to make sense of things for themselves, a period to set up the bits of the riddle. Like a newborn child, the mental health is reliant on its environment. A youthful youngster 's mind resembles a wipe; it gathers data through perception. The surroundings of a serial killer as a little child can enormously impact the way he or she will go about his or her life and his or her style of murdering. Certain experience, for example, youngster misuse, divorce, liquor misuse, tyke disregard, as well as medication misuse, can be negative to the advancement of a little child. Numerous serial killers were illegitimate kids. Due to their childhood and early backgrounds, serial killers swing to crazy murdering frenzies.
A: A mysterious man who was never found committed 37 horrifying murders in the late 1960’s and early 70’s, and earned the title of the Zodiac Killer. He was constantly seeking the attention of the public by sending taunting letters to the police, as well as blood curdling phone calls to the station after each stabbing. Many of his letters were written as cryptograms or ciphers that were eventually encoded by the police; one of the messages translated to say “I like killing people because it is so much fun”. He struck so much fear into the people of San Francisco, and even though to much of the cities effort to catch this cold blood killer was never found. (“The Killer Called Zodiac”10)