Serial Killers And Morality Essay

Serial murder is one of the most baffling crimes that occur in the U.S. and all over the world. Knight (2006) defines serial murder as the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period. The cooling off period may be weeks, months or even years long. Researchers have proposed various psychological, biological and sociological theories that offer a partial understanding of the nature of serial murder. Some propose that the basis for criminal behavior is a predisposition to violence as well as a mix between environment, personality traits and biological factors. Serial killers are predominantly male. Only 3 percent of serial murders are committed by women (U.S. News and World Report,

In an article called “The Traits of A Serial Killer,” by Simon (2004), psychopaths are not “created” over night, but rather their behavior can be connected all the way to their childhood. What trauma a child experiences plays a major role in the rest of his or her life. A serial killer, most of the time,

Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile. Almost every major social, biological, psychological behavioural influence that has been seriously suggested as playing a role in causing crime has been thoroughly thought as potentially

When does a serial killer stop? Is it when they are caught or locked down? Very few have turned themselves in. Other serial killers would love to be caught but they always turn into Casper before the police could even arrive to arrest. The thing that blows my mind is that most serial killers find it very exciting to take the life of an indecent human-being and that fact that they don’t lose any sleep is beyond sad.

In his book Speaking with the Devil: Exploring Senseless Acts of Evil, psychotherapist Dr. Carl Goldberg, claims that “six concepts are crucial for understanding the problem of malevolence: shame, contempt, rationalization, justification, inability or unwillingness to self-examine, and magical thinking..” (xiii). Dr. Jonathan Pincus, a neurologist at Georgetown University Hospital, states that he knows what makes a serial killer. Pincus claims there are three ingredients to the recipe that makes a serial killer. Damage to the area of the brain that controls impulse is one of the key ingredients.

How do the minds of serial killers function? What drives them to commit such violent and horrific crimes? For some serial killers their motive is based on either emotional or physical trauma they experienced throughout their lives. Although for one of America’s most infamous killers of the twentieth century, Jeffrey Dahmer both the physical and emotional traumas he experienced are what drove him to commit some of the most gruesome crimes America has ever seen.

Studies show that traits of a serial killer can be seen in a person at a very young age. Most warning signs go unnoticed which is why the growth of the killer continues. A thing such as animal cruelty is one of many clues inside the growth of a serial killers mind “They often start out their careers by maiming, harming, and torturing small animals.” “In extreme cases, they have been known to spend hours inflicting a slow death on animals...this is a form of control that allows them the power to crave” (Kocsis,2008) . Many future serial killers also show a major interest in setting fires. Even though it is common for most young children to show a slight interest in fire, those with serial killing in their future are somewhat pyromaniacs.

According to Wikipedia, serial killing could be defined as the unlawful encounters of more than two victims by the same person over a period of more than 30 days. It’s a term that American society has become quite familiar with. Basically a serial Killer’s motivation for assassinating is typically based on psychological satisfaction. Most people do not understand what causes a person wants to murder people without having a reason behind it, besides gaining such pleasure. In the past thirty years, there were numerous serial killers having all horrific and filthy ways to eliminate victims including raping, poisoning, burning, drinking their blood etc.

Most tend to assign a negative connotation to the names Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and many of the other infamous individuals similar to them. This is not due to an inner judgment of the person based on solidified evidence; instead, it is because the media has skewed how these people are viewed. The news medias are just perpetrating their role in society as an information source for the public, but they do so through scare tactics. This, they believe, is the best way to get people to be intrigued by and continue watching their product. The other types of media such as movies, television shows, radio stations, and books also portray serial killers as monsters to entertain people (Cooper 203).

Richard Ramirez once said, “Normal, ordinary people do not think like a serial killer. They have no conception of what is going on in a killer’s mind, how he operates.” Psychologists today have begun to investigate what areas of the brain bring about the characteristics of a serial killer to finally have the ability to understand a killer’s thoughts. Our world’s continuous advancement of technology is able to give us a better understanding of why these people do such heinous acts and also continue to become smarter with our 21st century technology. Many show childhood symptoms of these thoughts, while others do not.

Psychology of Serial Killers The act of killing for pleasure goes against human nature. Humans are supposed to feel guilt, mercy, anxiety, and fear when faced with the horrors of murder. Serial killers lack these basic feelings; they experience a perverse sense of fascination and coolness when doing these acts of gruesome violence. Since the very first serial killer documented in modern history, people have wondered how someone could be capable of such horrid acts.

Though serial killer may have a fairly specific definition, there is no single precise profile for the serial killer. Each has a unique identity, set of motives and methods, and a unique psychopathology that would attempt to explain the mens rea, that is, the purpose or intent of the murder. “Psychological profiling is an investigative tool used strictly to answer the how of the crime, not the why” (Severence et al, 1992; Lanier and Henry, 1998). By examining the psychological make-up of the serial killer, it is often possible to explain the behavior, which might make it a useful tool in solving crimes.

Serial killers have been ravaging society for centuries, even before Jack the Ripper. For every effect there is a cause, there always is a reason for why people do things. On the topic of serial offences it will always lead back to what drove the perpetrator there. When any crime is committed it can be a simple reason such as lust or money. When a serial crime is committed it means there is more to it than just an accident, they like what they are doing. To find and catch these horrific individuals, the use of psychology is now an important factor. The book “Mind Hunter” explains in depth how the use of psychology can create a profile and catch a criminal. By psychoanalyzing the criminal, victim, crime scene, and anything other available

go back as far as the fifteenth century, only a few were written about prior to

People in the United states have a one in one hundred and thirteen percent chance of being murdered in their lifetime according to the New York Times in 1985. Albert Fish, Charles Manson, Hugh Morse, Henry Lee Lucas, Albert Desalvo, all serial killers with a history of abuse and addiction.