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Schizophrenic serial killers
Schizophrenic serial killers
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The Shotgun stalker is a serial killer who terrorized the Washington, D.C area for two months in 1993. He would do random drive-by shootings using a 12-gauge shotgun. His name is James Swann Jr., was African American he was born in 1964. James was a New Jersey native. He moved to Oxon Hill with his sister a few years prior to the shootings. He worked as a security guard; however, Swann was fired because he insisted on walking backward while patrolling the aisles of a drugstore. In the 1980’s mental illness began to show in James. He did not try to find professional help for his mental disorders. In 1993, James Swann Jr., attempted to kill 14 people, and murdered 4 on Washington, D.C.
On February 23, 1993, James Swann began his attacks on Washington, D.C area. His first attack occurred on Holmead Place NW. He stuck his 20 gauge shotgun out of the driver side window and started to shoot at a woman walking home. She escaped without being shot. The same night about 15 minutes later on 1400 block of Oak Street NW, a 22 year old man was shot in the face and was partially blinded. His shooting was dismissed because of objectivity. On February 26, 1993, three days following the first shooting a man burst in a barbershop and murdered a customer with his shotgun. This was James Swann’s first slaying. Once again, police brushed the case off assuming it was drug related. James too a very brief rest from his crimes, however, on March 4, 1993, he returned to Washington and his victim was a 43 year old man walking down the street. He was shot in the head, but to be consistent the police assumed it was drug related. Police did not take the previous shootings serious until the drive by shootings continued in an upscale neighborhood in Mount Pleas...
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...wann no longer hears the voices of Malcolm X in his head. He earned associates degree and is seeking to earn his bachelor’s degree. James is still at Saint Elizabeth hospital, where he will spend the rest of his life for the crimes he committed.
References
Alexander, K. L. (2011, February 16). The Washington Post: Victim testifies as 1993 shotgun stalker seeks 12-hour release. Retrieved from The Washington Post : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2011/02/16/ST2011021600164.html?sid=ST2011021600164
Duggan, P. (1994, September 27). Retrieved from The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/15/AR2011021501898.html
Murderpedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from Murderpedia: http://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/swann-james.htm
Tsuang, M. T., Faraone, S. V., & Glatt, S. J. (2011). Schizophrenia. New York: Oxford University Press.
“William Henry Furman, a twenty-six-year-old black man with a sixth grade education, was not what most people called a “bad” man,” (Herda 7). Furman was just laid off of his job and was struggling to find work. But there was none. Every job did not pay enough, or was a short term job. Eventually, depressed, hungry, and broke, Furman turned to breaking and entering and to petty thievery by means of survival. Furman was caught a few times and was given a light sentence. He was also examined by a psychiatrist and was determined to be mentally impaired, but not enough to go to a mental institution. But on August 11, 1967, Furman went to rob the house of twenty-nine-year-old William Joseph Micke, Jr. with his wife and five young children. When searching through the house, Furman made too much noise, which alerted Micke. Furman heard Micke walking down the stairs and pulled out his gun that he used for scaring people away. But Micke kept walking downwards. Not wanting to be caught, Furman tried to run away and tripped over an exposed cord. His gun discharged. The bullet ricocheted to the back door. On the other side, a body fell to the floor. William Joseph Micke Jr. was dead. “The police responded to the call quickly and, within minutes, they had apprehended Furman just down the street from the scene of the crime. The murders weapon was still in his pocket,” (Herda 9). Furman tried to plead guilty by insanity and the psychiatrists described him as legally insane. But then, several days later one of the psychiatrists revised their medical opinion. Because he was not insane, the case would go on. The state of Georgia charged him with murder and issued the death penalty. This was because Georgia state law stated that any form of murder is...
On October 20, 2014 a young male teen was fatally shot in Chicago, Illinois. The shooting occurred in the middle of the road and the suspect that was fatally shot was named Laquan McDonald. McDonald was just 17 years old and was the suspect after initial reports placed him in the scene of a possible car jacking. It was reported that Laquan McDonald had a knife and was also seen slashing tires of a police cruiser. When police had finally had him surrounded in the middle of the road, one officer opened fire and released 16 shots into his body. Another deputy on hand said the use of force was not needed because Laquan was not in any way trying to attack the officers present. The officer who fired the 16 shots into Laquan is named Jason D. Van
In recent years, the media have increased their coverage of crime reporting, more specifically, in suburban neighborhoods. Although violent crime rates are low, the covering of these stories has increased in the last few decades. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that several media platforms have been closely following up with the Scarborough crossbow killings.
October 2002 was the beginning of what seemed like the longest three weeks in the Washington Metropolitan Area. No one wanted to believe that what was happening would change the lives of thousands. What appeared to be a random killing spree by an enraged lunatic, turned out to be part of a massive plan that claimed the lives of ten innocent people in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. When these shootings first began, they were believed to be linked to a white van or truck. It was later discovered that these shootings were being carried out by a man named John Allen Muhammad, and his teenage accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, in a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice sedan.
John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo are two murderers that are known as the Beltway Sniper. Muhammad and Malvo killings are known to be random, which categorizes their killings as a killing spree. During the duration of their killing spree, they caused major panic throughout the United States. This notorious shootings that terrorized the United States took place in 2002. The shootings ended up taking the lives of 10 individuals and injuring 3 others (Blades, 2005, para.1). The shooting at the time it took place is considered unique because their weapon of choice to carry out their plan was a sniper rifle. What is unique about this case is that investigators and criminal theorist
Schizophrenia: From Mind to Molecule. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Kalat, J. (2004). Biological Psychology.
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 conduct. Analysis also shows that the paths of serial killers have a tendency to converge.... ... middle of paper ... ...
O'Driscoll, P. (2005, Jun 28). 'BTK' calmly gives horrific details ; serial killer who stalked wichita enters guilty plea. USA TODAY. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/408976968?accountid=10244
Duckworth M.D., Ken. “Schizophrenia.” NAMI.org. National Alliance on Mental Illness, Feb. 2007. Web. 28 March 2010.
A serial killer is traditionally 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. Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile.
Not only was Perry Smith a male who massacred a family of total strangers, but he also had obvious signs of mental illness (Capote 366), a common characteristic of even the best serial killers (Forensic Science 563).... ... middle of paper ... ... Detroit: UXL, 2005.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Arasse, Daniel. Complete Guide to Mental Health. Allen Lane Press,New York, 1989. Gingerich, Susan. Coping With Schizophrenia. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, 1994. Kass, Stephen. Schizophrenia: The Facts. Oxford University Press. New York, 1997. Muesen, Kim. “Schizophrenia”. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1998. Young, Patrick. The Encyclopedia od Health, Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment. Herrington Publications. New York, 1991.
Beasley, James. 2004. “Serial Murder in America: Case Studies of Seven Offenders.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law 22: 395-414
A week after James Neaville left the Missouri State Hospital’s psychiatric ward in April 1987, he told authorities that he was hired as an assassin by James Beckman to shoot President Reagan with an Uzi submachine gun. Later, he would t...
Mental illnesses are diseases that plague a being’s mind and corrupts one’s thoughts and feelings. Schizophrenia is one of the many disastrous illnesses that consume one’s life, is known as a real disease that deserves much attention. Experts believe that what causes the illness is a defect in the gene’s of the brain, and little signs of schizophrenia are shown until about one’s early adult years. Some effects of schizophrenia can either be negative or positive, but even if the effects could be either one, people should still be aware that there is something puzzling and alarming happening in the mind of a schizophrenic patient.