Holmes: A Brief Summary And Analysis

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.

Serial killers represent a social problem in many ways. Many innocent lives are taken away by these serial killers. We as a society should care if serial killers or spree killers operate within our culture because we never know that we or a family member could be next on the list. People’s lives are taken away by these criminals; people who have a whole life ahead

James Eagan Holmes, a 26 year old male from San Diego California, is the accused perpetrator of a mass shooting that killed 12 and murdered 70 people at a Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20, 2012 during the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises (Wikipedia, n.d.) On March 12, 2013, a Colorado judge entered a plea of not guilty when Holmes’s attorney

Mass murderers are a diverse group of people. They are a danger to society and it is important to understand the wide variability among these people. The kinds of mass murderers revolve around two central types that branch off to several subtypes. The profile of a mass murderer generally contains a specific set of traits. These people are often driven by one of a series of different motives. In order to achieve their goals, mass murderers have plenty of different methods and weapons at their disposal. Inevitably, the discussion of punishment always ensues when the subject of dangerously destructive killers arises. The study of mass murderers is one that requires analyzing and profiling all of the components that make up a killer, from

The chances of being a victim of a mass shooting are a little less than your odds at being struck by lightning (Fund, 2012). If you take a look at our nation’s history you will see that the rate at which these killings take place are on the decline. This fact begs the question then what are the similarities with all these mass murderers? Is it the mental-health aspect of these murderers that link them all together? Is there a connection between the mass murderers that somehow will allow us to find these people before the acts? Finally, what is the reason that these mass murders are taking place? Are they doing it for fame, love, revenge or power? All of these questions have sparked several studies about these murderers in order to figure out

The proposal to the problem focus on mass shootings specifically, not gun violence in general, although the potential solutions to mass shootings would do much to prevent gun violence as a whole. Mass shootings represent a mere 2% of gun-related deaths, yet the sheer horror, shock, and scale of carnage tend to capture the public’s attention so much more so than the typical shooting homicide or suicide, which are seemingly ubiquitous in news reports these days. The big issue with solving the problem of mass shootings is the variety of factors involved with the shooters’ motivations to kill.

On July 20, 2012 James Holmes enter a theater in Aurora Colorado and shot and killed 12 people. Attorneys tested Holmes and called for a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist stated that Holmes was so crazy that he could not distinguish what’s right and what’s wrong during the period he committed the crime. Dr Jonathan Woodcock interviewed Holmes during the time he was in jail on July 24 just four days after the shooting occurred for two hours duration. Holmes’s testimony drew questions from prosecutors that doubted his analyzation of Holmes being severe delusional during the mass shooting. Doctor claimed that they found Holmes suffering from severe mental illness and because of that it made him act violently. Holmes thought that if he snitch and went on and told the public of attempting to kill strangers he would be obligated to pay for the consequences. Doctors testified that one of Holmes delusion was to go out and do what he had to do. Woodcock was a witness by the defense to purpose the idea that Holmes was indeed crazy the moment he shot and killed people dead. Before the shooting occurred Holmes had already symptoms of mental illness disorder which made him anxious and stress and committed the crime.

Throughout history, serial killers and murderers have received a significant number of news articles dedicated to them and have attracted audiences all around the world; however, the question that nobody can seem to answer is, “Why?” What causes people to grow up with the desire to kill and what can we do to prevent others from becoming serial killers in the future? “All serial killers are murderers, but not all murderers are serial killers,” as stated on The Undergraduate Times. A serial murder is defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as “the unlawful homicide of at least two people, carried out in a series over a period of time,” while mass murder is the

Over the last decade or so, the United States of America has been shaken by an epidemic of terrifying mass shootings, devastating slayings of unexpecting victims, and unnerving annihilations of the innocent. There is no specific target, no explicitly sought-out group, nor definite individual. From a classroom of first-graders, to a crowded movie theatre, to a U.S. Naval yard, the location seems at most, random, other than that it is almost always a public place. The perpetrators responsible for these horrific murders also vary, and often surprise those who thought they knew them. However, while the occurrences of mass shootings are unpredictable and always shocking, most have one thing in

Due to today’s advanced media technology, we as a society are more aware and instantly informed about mass murders and serial killers. There is a difference between a mass murderer and a serial killer, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, statistics Bureau. (“Mental Floss”, 2008). A “mass

A current most spoken issue among the public media is gun violence or mass shooting however the crime is not as many as it was twenty years ago. The term mass shooting does not have an official set of definition yet, but the term indicates crime which is killing as many people as possible in a short time frame. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines it as “actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area” (Sam Brock, Rachel Witte, and Joe Rojas). A mass shooting can begin due to several reasons: it could be background history, media, despair, or something else. Nico Lang, the author of America’s White Masculinity Complex and The Myth of The “Senseless” Mass Shooting says, mass shooting can also be related to mental “functions like the specter of ‘mental illness.’” A number of mass shooters have serious, often undiagnosed mental problems. Are the mass media addressing the basic issue clearly? Of course, the media address the issue more than the violence expects to be addressed, but it is not overt enough. ….. By examining a variety of news media coverage on the subject of mass shooting, this essay concludes that when choosing stories to cover, the news media must take the general audience into consideration. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the media exaggerate the crime and report it disproportionally, and the distortion of reality can have variety of effects on the viewer or the general audience.

On July 20, 2012, a major tragedy happened in Aurora Colorado during a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises. James Holmes willingly without showing no remorse entered the movie theater Century 16 at Town Center. He was resembling the Joker with red hair wearing a gas mask and body armor murdering 12 people and wounding 70 people. A jury found Holmes guilty on 24 counts of first degree murder, two counts for each of the 12 victims. Also, he was found guilty of 140 counts of attempted murder for the 70 people wounded (Biography, 2016). James Holmes’ life, upbringing, and behavior preceding the massacre, the significance of the case from a behavioral and security management perspective, the response time by the theater staff and law enforcement, the legal and ethical considerations in this incident and what learning outcomes are relevant to this case study will be some of the highlights covered in this case analysis.

There is an assumption that if you understand the minds of serial killers, or persons who commit mass shootings, that it may help prevent mass shootings. “Mass shootings are not on the rise, but have held steady over three decades, randomly clustering in time to trick our brains into finding a pattern of increase where none actually exists” (Shermer 3). Mass shootings happen at varying times without rhyme or reason. Some think that a psychological disorder or some genetic defect could be the reason people commit these crimes. Although we cannot prevent mass shootings, we can educate on how mental health issues can be a precursor to such a tragedy, and how better laws can create a safer environment.

On October 1, 2017 America was, yet again, devastated when Las Vegas suffered the United States worst mass shooting. One man killed over 50 people and injured 527. After he was finished firing from the 39th floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort, he committed suicide. His name was Stephan Paddock (Yan and Park). When most people think of a mass shooting, they think of a terroristic act or someone shooting at a large group of innocent citizens, like Columbine High School or Sandy Hook Elementary School. In actuality, most people do not realize that whenever two or more people are injured or killed by a gun, it is considered a mass shooting. These “mass shootings” happen every day in America and they are one of the leading causes of death in

This paper examines the act of mass murder. If society can find a valid answer as to what causes a person to commit mass murders, then the possibility of preventing the act would be great because it would be probable to recognize the psychotic behavior that is associated with mass murder. Occurrences of mass murder for instance the shootings at Sandy Hook, Aurora Colorado theatre; Columbine and Virginia Tech over and over again dominate much of society's attention not only for weeks but often for months following the incident. The research question I have selected is: ‘What are the sociological and psychological causes for unforeseen criminal actions of Mass