Introduction Mass murder is defined by the FBI as the killing of three or more people in a single event or in the same day (Petersen & Farrington, 2007). Mass murderers are complex and can be examined by the many factors that regularly appear among them, such as violence precipitating events, weapon of choice, and mental illnesses. The motivations and methods for committing mass murder are easily broken down into specific groups, and through the examination of these definitions and specific cases there is much to learn about the mind of a mass murderer. History Throughout history mass murder has not been a problem to the same level and in the same sense as it is today. A related occurrence that is seen in history, which can be studied for its similar preparation and organization, is genocide. Genocide, an international crime, is a large-scale form of mass murder, in which many people are killed in a string of independent events because of prejudices or war (Reisman, 2008). Killing a large group of people takes a high level of organization. The logistics of how to do it, where to do it, where to dispose of the bodies, among other things must be examined before killing begins (Reisman, 2008). The only similarity to the 21st century version of mass murder is the predatory violence involving extensive planning and little to no emotion involved in the killing (Meloy et al., 2004). However aside from that it is difficult to compare the two events because genocide has many killers and can take place over extended periods of time. For example, during the Holocaust Nazi Germany systematically exterminated millions of Jew over a period of three years (Reisman, 2008). This trend is relevant due to the death of more than three p... ... middle of paper ... ...ontrol. American Behavioral Scientist, 52 (10), 1447-1464. doi: 10.1177/0002764209332557 Hamamoto, D.Y. (2002). Empire of Death: Militarized Society and the Rise of Serial Killing and Mass Murder. New Political Science, 24 (1), 105-120. doi: 10.1080/07393140220122662 Reisman, W.M. (2008). Acting before victims become victims: preventing and arresting mass murder. Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, 40 (1), 57-85. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.clemson.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=34239668&site=ehost-live Without exception, confidentiality trumps duty to warn, court rules (2004). Mental Health Law Report, 22 (6), 53. Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=GRCM&docId=A120474886&source=gale&userGroupName=clemson_itweb&version=1.0
The media effects coupled with predisposers, precipitants and facilitators can have dire consequences on their own, but the last subject for mass murderer that demands attention is mental illness. In order to distinguish between the various kinds of mental illness and criminal culpability, this paper will analyze the criteria for ‘insanity’ developed by Cohen and Coffin. The victim is innocent and there is no reasonable way the perpetrator should consider them an enemy. The motive is unintelligible, delusional, unrealistic, and inappropriate for the nature of the murder. The method is ill-planned and often requires a situational weapon such as a blunt or sharp object. No attempt for secrecy, concealment, to avoid guilt, or to evade capture. And there should be queer behaviour illustrated before and after the fact such as depression, suicide attempts, etc. This point does not mean to convey that mass murderers and serial killers are insane by the same definition for they are usually calculating, patient, pursue the most prolific and in some cases sadistic methods, and realize their actions are wrong. However, it is important to recognize that they are clearly exploring sociological deviance and their mental instability is a contributing part. Teams of socio-scientists researching Jonesboro and Paducah cases found the shooters were: socially marginalized from bullying/teasing, had family problems, failed to attract attention from authority figures, had an availability of guns, and suffered from mental illnesses making them more vulnerable than other youths. Perhaps the media would not have such a far reaching and tight grip on people’s lives if it were not for the culture where children are reared. The weapons that are ...
The media generally portrays the prototypical serial killer through the lens of two extremes. They can either have an incapacitating mental illness or be brilliant, but severely troubled, geniuses. Yet, neither of these two stereotypes are accurate, as serial killers generally display signs of psychopathy, which is not considered a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. Despite the erroneousness of Hollywood’s movies and television shows, many psychologists and lawmakers are still considering the degree to which psychopaths can be considered responsible for their actions. In “Psychopathy and Culpability: How Responsible Is the Psychopath for Criminal Wrongdoing?” researchers Adam R. Fox, Trevor H. Kvaran, and Reid Griffith Fontaine attempt to draw conclusions from evidence on whether or not psychopaths meet the criteria for full criminal responsibility. Other researchers, such as Scott E. Culhane, Sage M. Hilstad, Adrienne Greng, and Matt J. Gray, use a case study to demonstrate that psychopathy is not synonymous with serial killers and that mental illness cannot necessarily be used in criminal cases to justify murder in their research paper titled “Self-Reported Psychopathology in a Convicted Serial Killer.” In the remaining two articles
SAINATI, TATIANA E. "Toward A Comparative Approach To The Crime Of Genocide." Duke Law Journal 62.1 (2012): 161-202. Academic Search Premier. Web. 25 Nov. 2013
Ever wondered if there is a serial killer in your community? The characteristics of a serial killer may shock you or be surprisingly familiar to some of you. It is important for society to get informed about the various types of serial killers that are out there. It is essential for families to educate their children about strangers, to be careful with everyone they encounter on the streets, store, and even in their neighborhoods. A serial killer is defined as a person who murders three or more people in at least three separate events, with a "cooling-off period" between the kills. The big question is, what makes a person do these atrocious killings? We will analyze personal histories, categorized serial killers,
If a mass killer’s murders are committed in more than just a single location, then they are part of a continuous action (Murder 1). Their victims are usually chosen at random, not just killed at first sight. Their targets may also come in specific groups. More than occasionally, a mass murderer will take his own life after his urge to kill is over. This is possibly because authorities recognize the killer is unstable and are likely to shoot the killer in order to protect themselves. A typical mass murderer uses a semi-automatic weapon and plots his murders to be made in a school, university, or restaurant (murder 1).
...ed United States. U.S. Government Accounting Office. Capital Punishment. Washington: GPO, 1994 Cheatwood, Derral and Keith Harries. The Geography of Execution: The Capital Punishment Quagmire in America. Rowman, 1996 NAACP Legal Defense Fund . Death Row. New York: Hein, 1996 "Ex-Death Row Inmate Cleared of Charges." USA Today 11 Mar. 1999: 2A "Fatal Flaws: Innocence and the Death Penalty." Amnesty International. 10 Oct. 1999 23 Oct. 1999 Gest, Ted. "House Without a Blue Print." US News and World Report 8 Jul. 1996: 41 Stevens, Michelle. "Unfairness in Life and Death." Chicago Sun-Times 7 Feb. 1999: 23A American Bar Association. The Task Ahead: Reconciling Justice with Politics. 1997 United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Report. Washington: GPO, 1994 Wickham, DeWayne. "Call for a Death Penalty Moratorium." USA Today 8 Feb. 1999: 17A ILKMURPHY
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 premeditated murder of three or more victims committed over time, in separate incidents, in a civilian context, with the murder being chosen by the offender.
Violence marks much of human history. Within the sociopolitical sphere, violence has continually served as a tool used by various actors to influence and/or to control territory, people, institutions and other resources of society. The twentieth century witnessed an evolution of political violence in form and in scope. Continuing into the twenty-first, advances in technology and social organization dramatically increase the potential destructiveness of violent tools. Western colonialism left a world filled with many heterogeneous nation-states. In virtually all these countries nationalist ideologies have combined with ethnic, religious, and/or class conflicts resulting in secessionist movements or other kinds of demands. Such conflicts present opportunities for various actors in struggles for wealth, power, and prestige on both national and local levels. This is particularly evident in Indonesia, a region of the world that has experienced many forms of political violence. The state mass killings of 1965-66 mark the most dramatic of such events within this region. My goal is to understand the killings within a framework of collec...
Dr. James L. Knoll director of forensic pshchiatry in University of New York Upstate Medical University said “ People want an easily graspable handle to help understand this, to blame somenthing or scapegoat.” This can be describe as a serious mental illnes, this suggest that it is a prime drive in a minority class abouth 20 percent. Experts have sugested that typical personality attribute in mass murderers is one of paranoid, plus disgruntlement.(Knoll) Another expert Dr.Micheal Stone of New York pshchiatry said “They want to die, but to bring many others down with them, wether co-workers, bosses, fammily or just plain folk who are in the vicinity. It is saied that this massmurders features is there belief that they had been
On the other hand, planed violence geared toward a group of induvilas rather than a single person must be penalized. Most murders that are seen today come on the mass scale. News reports are full of stories such as the “Oklahoma City Bomber”, who killed over one hundred people by bombs. One more recent story was the “Sniper” story, wher...
A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Most people do not understand what can make a person want to kill multiple people for no reason other than own satisfactional gain. In actuality serial killers have been studied for over hundreds of years, and the information that has been documented continues to grow. The research that I have gathered about serial killers focuses on their childhood development, the differences and similarities between men and female serial kills, and finally general information on how their brains operate and their motives for committing such harmful acts.
Creeping around the shadowy house, the predator found its prey waking to strange sounds. The victim lay facedown, with a sweating forehead pressed fearfully into the pillow, silently praying the noises would just go away. Suddenly the victim found himself straddled and pinned to the bed. He was unable to scream for help due to the pressure of the handle of a pick-axe against his throat, preventing any breath from escaping, much less any sound. The victim struggled beneath the weight of the assailant. The scant light from the sodium-arc street light outside cast a peculiar silhouette on the walls of the darkened room, projecting an image that looked oddly like that of a cowboy saddled upon a bucking bull at a rodeo. Struggling to dismount the attacker, the victim felt the piercing blows of the sharp point of the pickaxe, succumbing to death only after receiving eleven stab wounds to the chest and throat. The thrill of the kill was stimulating enough that, when interviewed later, the murderer reported “popping a nut,” that is, becoming so sexually aroused by the event, to the point of having an orgasm (Pearson, 1998).
2. Berns, Walter. “Crime and the Morality of the Death Penalty.” For Capital Punishment. New York: Basic Books P, 1974.
---- World Book Online Americas Edition. Ed. Franklin E. Zimring. Capital Punishment. 17 Apr 2002 14 Apr 2002.
“Let Death Be My Dominion.” The Economist. Oct 16, 1999. 353 (1999): 89-92. Proquest. Online. 19 Nov. 1999.