People say that Asperger’s disorder causes people to do things that are deemed unnormal and immoral in society and they apply this logic to serial killers too, such as Jeffrey Dahmer’s case where he murdered and dismembered seventeen innocent victims during the 1980’s to the 1990’s. Asperger’s disorder is a common theme that serial killers have, but it’s not a cause as to why they committed the act(s) they did. Most times, people need something to blame or explain why an individual that seems normal does such heinous acts and then those disorders are further misinterpreted and misrepresented by other people who continue to emphasize that blame. Dahmer suffered from many disorders and without knowing exactly what they all meant, people couldn’t get an accurate representation of him and thus thought that they were the cause of his disturbed mind. Those misinterpretations led to our culture now where people may deem an individual with a disorder, more specifically Asperger’s disorder or another disorder within the Autism Spectrum Disorders.
When taking a look at the information regarding Dahmer and Asperger’s, people need to keep in mind that it is only a possible diagnosis and not a true diagnosis. Asperger’s wasn’t discussed as a possible diagnosis until after his death. It’s only a possible diagnosis because psychologists and psychiatrist weren’t able to study Dahmer extensively when he was alive. Several sources discuss the views of people and why they also believe that he had Asperger’s disorder. One forum had several people discuss how Asperger’s was connected with many criminals who have committed heinous acts, such as school shootings, mass murders, psychopaths, and serial killers (Brother Percy 1). Many people share the sam...
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...& Stoughton, 1993. 176-77. Print.
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The present paper intent to enquire into a female serial killer. It shall describe and analyze the theories behind the occurrences and sequent offer explanations. The studies of criminology theories it is important to recognize why humans decide on living a life cycle of crime. Wikipedia.org defines serial killer as, “a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant break (a “cooling off period”) between them.” Precisely of this, humans who tend to be a serial killer are prone to developmental and physical characteristics. Several of these trends could fit into a model standard of a crime. A good example of analyzing the life and crimes of Aileen Wuornos, an American female serial killer who killed
The article Serial killers: II. Development, dynamics, and forensics by Lawrence Miller dives in into the many aspects that encompass the psychological, neurological, and sociocultural elements that underline the average serial murderer. The elements involve childhood upbringing, types of aggression, typical neurochemistry, and subcultural theories. The article manages to include descriptions of the statistical patterns that involve the demographics, and motives that follow serial killers. It also discusses the validity and rationality of the insanity defense in prosecuting these extraordinarily vicious offenders. Serial murderers are an atypical occurrence in the criminal justice system. The uncommon and horrific nature of these crimes are
Where does the name Asperger's Syndrome come from? Over fifty years ago, a Viennese pediatrician,...
Mass Murderers and Serial Killers are nothing new to today’s society. These vicious killers are all violent, brutal monsters and have an abnormal urge to kill. What gives people these urges to kill? What motivates them to keep killing? Do these killers get satisfaction from killing? Is there a difference between mass murderers and serial killers or are they the same. How do they choose their victims and what are some of their characteristics? These questions and many more are reasons why I was eager to write my paper on mass murderers and serial killers. However, the most interesting and sought after questions are the ones that have always been controversial. One example is; what goes on inside the mind of a killer? In this paper I will try to develop a better understanding of these driven killers and their motives.
Countless serial killers have had an abnormal childhood; many people believe this is where the catalyst of events starts. It is proven, that more often than not, serial killers have either lived in an inhabitable home, had lackadaisical parents, or could have a different frame of mind. This being said, when one hears about mass murderers or serial killers, the first question that pops into a person’s head is, “What were they thinking?” For all a person knows, this could be the killer’s normalcy.
Beasley, James. 2004. “Serial Murder in America: Case Studies of Seven Offenders.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law 22: 395-414
An analysis of the most famous murderers and serial killers in the Chicago area shows varying degrees of psychopathy or mental illnesses, which ultimately contribute to homicidal comportment. Analysis also shows that...
Serial killers are the byproduct of many different things: trauma, death of loved ones, abuse, neglect, adoption, and even witnessing abuse (Are Serial). Serial killers have had to endure a massive amount of something such as trauma or abuse to an unimaginable extent to become what they are; the extent of the abuse, the trauma, the psychological damage they endure is incomprehensible to many. The destruction of one’s innocence can occur at any given time in his or her life, but he or she is more impressionable in his or her youth by the negativism of someone else’s actions (Scott, Shirley L. What Makes Serial Killers Tick ~ Childhood Event). People are susceptible to what they endure in their adolescence, and cruel upbringings, such as that of a serial killer’s, are possibly the determinant of their future.
Schechter, H. and Everitt, D. The A-Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. Pocket Books. N.Y. 1996
Miller, Laurence. "The predator's brain: Neuropsychodynamics of serial killers."Serial offenders: Current thought, recent findings, unusual syndromes (2000): 135-166.
Simons, C. (2001). Antisocial personality disorder in serial killers: The thrill of the kill. The Justice Professional, 14(4), 345-356.
Most serial murderers have been deprived of any control over their home, their body, and their entire life. “Psychokillers take their fantasies and make them a reality living their dreams” (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture 2). Both physical and especially emotional abuse is the consistent, reoccurring factor among a majority of serial killers. Traumatic abuse in childhood has long been viewed as a primary cause of violent behavior in adulthood (Dolan 24). Abusive parents do not generally vent their anger equally on all their children. Such parents tend to unleash the anger and negative emotions on their more difficult children; this potential aggression and physical and emotional abuse of the child shapes the future criminal. “Most serial murders are not classified as psychotics, but rather as psychopaths- their perception of reality is clear except that they feel no social or moral obligations” () Killers are taking control of their own lives through their fantasies in the only way they know fit, through
Dahmer was an American serial killer who killed 17 boys and men over the course of 13 years and he suffered from Sociopathy/ ASPD after a medical procedure to correct a double hernia. “He was described as an energetic and happy child until the age of 4, when surgery to correct a double hernia seemed to effect a change in the boy. Noticeably subdued, he became increasingly withdrawn following the birth of his younger brother and the family's frequent moves. By his early teens, he was disengaged, tense and largely friendless.” (“Biography of Jeffrey Dahmer,” 2017) Before the procedure Dahmer was a normal and happy kid. He was social and enjoyed life, but something happened and the surgery and he was a new child and was not the same happy kid. He was antisocial and did not have many friends if any. These are signs of Sociopathy. The interesting part is that Dahmer was not born with this condition, but it was brought on by a mistake in a