Extreme Perpetrators By William Andrew Myers Analysis

As if molded directly from the depths of nightmares, both fascinating and terrifying. Serial killers hide behind bland and normal existences. They are often able to escape being caught for years, decades and sometimes an eternity. These are America’s Serial Killers (America’s Serial Killers). “Even when some of them do get caught, we may not recognize what they are because they don’t [sic] match the distorted image we have of serial killers” (Brown). What is that distorted image? That killers live among everyday life, they are the ones who creep into someone’s life unknowingly to torture and kill them. The serial killers that are in the movies, Norman Bates, Michael Myers, and the evil master mind of SAW, these characters are just that

In the book, “Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice” by Ray Surette he defines the predatory criminality portrait by the media who construct them as “criminals who are animalistic, irrational, and innately evil and who commit violent, sensational and senseless crimes-as the dominant crime problem in the nation”. Research shows that predators or serial killers are few compared to homicides or domestic violence but because of the media and its coverages when a serial killer is uncovered they imply that the serial killer is something other than a human and is everywhere, and in every town.

The actions of ordinary people can be just as evil or wicked as the horrible crimes of a murderer. Sometimes what we see on the outside is completely different from what is really on the inside. No one is perfect, everyone has their faults and some faults are unimaginable.

The reign of fear instilled in the masses by serial killers roaming amongst us has diminished ever since its peak during the 1980’s. Christopher Beam acknowledged in his article, “Blood Loss” (2011), that better law enforcement may have been a cause for the decrease of serial killers and their crimes as well as serial killers becoming accepted in society today as a norm due to greater epidemics. Beam employs pathos with a sympathetic approach towards unfamed serial killers. He utilizes logistical analysis of credible police database reports to portray the decrease of serial killers, and uses it as a calmative for the masses.

In our readings, we Define Visionary serial killers as someone who commits incomprehensible active serial fatal victimization. We described the crime scene as chaotic.

A serial killer is traditional 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.

Everyday an individual encounters an act of cruelty, whether it is physically, emotionally, or verbally. On the other hand, there are those who inflict harm intentionally or unintentionally on others as a result of being dissatisfied emotionally or psychologically. Such individuals become labeled either to be good or bad by society. However, a person as a whole cannot be good or bad; it is their actions that are vile. Similarly, in “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, Miss Strangeworth reveals her cruelty through writing letters while, in “The Snake” by Ervin D Krause, the uncle shows his cruelty through his behaviour towards the boy. Thus, all individuals expose their cruelty through their immoral actions.

In modern society’s media we find solace in the idea that heroes are able to save the day, whether they have some unexplainable powers or are your average pedestrian that does an act of heroism so extraordinary that it has to be covered. When these acts are performed, whether they are in movies or in our own reality, the question is presented whether or not the action was morally just or not. A form of media that truly represents said moral question is Andre Dubus’ “Killings.” For the father of Frank Fowler, Matt, the idea of killing Richard Strout is justified because of the actions committed onto his son. To analyze the killing of Richard Strout one must first assess why Strout deserved to die.

There are many theories of crime, with criminologists, psychologist and sociologists, debating whether criminality is an an outcome of nature, as in genetically inherited, or produced by nurture (Brinkerhoff, White and Ortega, 2011). Even though the debate is ongoing, most criminologists, sociologists and psychologists agree that cases in which criminality is linked to nature, are extremely rare. Instead, they emphasise, criminality as a product of nurture (Brinkerhoff, White and Ortega, 2011). This means that people who commit heinous hate crimes were presumably raised in an environment which expressed extreme prejudice towards a certain racial, ethnic or religious group and truly believed that the world would be a better place without them in it, or, at least, without them living in the United States (Brinkerhoff, White and Ortega, 2011).

In this world, there are people who are able to shoot, bludgeon, or torture a whole family and then sleep peacefully just hours after. Serial Killers have piqued the American public’s interest for generations. In the 1970s, for example, America was enthralled by the danger and fear of Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, famous serial killers who killed a combined number of over a hundred people. Following suit of the popularity of serial killers, they have become ingrained in our culture through art, books, news, talk-shows, and movies. A famous example of this trend is in Flannery O’Connor’s ”A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, where the antagonist, The Misfit, brutally murders a family of six. O’Connor described The Misfit as a calm, polite, analytical, morally-confused, murderer with leadership skills and “strong white teeth.” This archetype, a person who can be perfectly calm while being aggressive and lacks a sense of right or wrong, has also been an interest of study in the medical field. The medical community has come together for patients that are described as lacking a moral conscious, naming their disorder psychopathy (Robinson). In Flannery O’Connor’s ”A Good Man Is Hard to Find” The Misfit exhibits signs of psychopathy, shown from his manipulating control over Bobby Lee and Hiram, and staying calm while he directly and indirectly kills six people.

Defining evil is something we all want to do. We search for the answers to why people do sinister things. As young kids, we grow up watching horror films and wondering what motivates the killer. As young adults, we watch documentaries on serial killers and shows on Investigation Discovery that give us glimpses into the minds of killers. Where are their morals? Why is vengeance wrong? We ask ourselves. In Stephen De Wijze text, “Defining Evil” Wijze core thought is the moral effect evil acts have upon us.

In 14th century mythological creatures like werewolves and vampires were blamed for violent crimes and the cause of the crime was seen as supernatural, beyond human control. In today 's society criminals are still labeled as monsters, little effort is made to understand what influences their actions. However criminals are too average human beings and examining why crimes are committed can help law enforcement better handled and prevented future acts of crimes. Why do we label criminals instead of understanding their behavior? What factors influence people to commit crimes? By understanding the factors influencing the crime can future crimes be prevented? In an article by O’Toole called, “Words Matter and Labels Make a Difference”, she discusses how labels such as monster limit the public from understanding why the crimes were committed. In the article, “An Act of Evil? When Monsters Kill”, O’Toole explains the reasoning behind a father killing himself and his two sons. Janet Reitman discusses the life of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing in the Rolling Stone article, “Jahar’s World”. She interviews people close to Jahar to gain an understanding of what made him execute the bombing.

Nearly every case study that Peck gives, the perpetrators of evil exhibit a lack of empathy. A few examples of such: George putting himself before his son (Peck, Pg. 32), Mr. and Mrs. R and how they raise Roger (Peck, Pg. 103), Angela’s mother’s control over her daughter’s life (Peck, Pg. 137), and Bobby’s parents way of consoling their son (which I will be going into further in the next section) (Peck, Pg. 61). The act of scapegoating is a key virtue of the human

     Hemingway's "The Killers" illustrates that unexplained violence is an integrated part of society.  To acknowledge the cruelties of life is to come to terms with horrifying events that can not be denied.  A person may lack the maturity to cope with everyday life if they do not realize that evil can exist in any given society.

The press’s obsession with violence dates back to 1881 in the small town of Whitechapel, England, where a serial killer terrorized and murdered several prostitutes. This murderer, named Jack The Ripper by the media, continues to transfix people as the case ultimately remains unsolved (Hayes 11). It peaks the curiosity of individuals due to the public’s need to understand what happened and fully comprehend the place in the human mind where this evil comes from (Hayes 39). People are always drawn to the dark side, so the idea of breaking the laws and committing inhuman crimes is alluring to the non-conformists