Makeup of A Serial Killer: Crime and Heredity Theory

“Dime con quien andas, y te dire quien eres.” This popular spanish phrase translated in english states “tell me with whom you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are.” The question is, can you? Does a persons surroundings play a role on who they become and their behavior in life or is it innate? Since philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Hermes, and even Socrates there has been great debates about whether we as humans are born wired a certain way versus becoming products of our environments. This argument, commonly referred to as Nature versus Nurture continues today to be a topic of debate amongst us today. Most recently, the concept of nature versus nurture has been used in the gay, homosexual, bi-sexual community. While many argue that sexual preference is a decision one makes based on sexual exposure and experiences, others argue that people are actually born that way. The idea is that they were born with the “gay gene” and have no control over their sexuality. While sexuality is currently the “hot” topic within the nature versus nurture concept, the makeup of killers and mass murderers has long been a part of this back and forth debate. Are people born to kill? If you believe in the theory on evolution, then as animals, it is quite possible that we are born to kill by nature as killing is a survivability trait. On the contrary, if you are a believer of the church and the idea that man was created by God, then that would mean we must be creatures of our environment. In this paper I will be discussing a variety of theories and ideologies often used by scientists and psychologist alike when arguing their views. I will also discuss and compare different cases involving serial murders trying to find similarities as well as diffe...

... middle of paper ...

... eventually leads us to become who we do in life, I also believe that our environment plays a significant role as well. In life we have choices, it is up to us to decide which paths we will walk in life. As long as we have decisional capacity, then it doesn’t matter to whom or what environment we are born in.

Works Cited

"Aileen Wuornos: Killer Who Preyed on Truck Drivers." Drifting into Life of Crime — — Crime Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

"Aileen Wuornos." Crime and Investigation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014

Curran, Daniel J., and Claire M. Renzetti. Theories of Crime. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001. Print.

"The Adopted Child Syndrome: Controversy and Reality." Suite. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

"Killer Couples." Gerald & Charlene Gallego — — Crime Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.