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Nature vs. nurture in serial killers
Nature vs. nurture in serial killers
Nature vs. nurture in serial killers
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The Double Life of John Wayne Gacy John Szyc, Gregory Godzik, Sam Stapleton, and Robert Peist; what do all of these names
have in common? These four young men and twenty-nine others lost their lives because of Gacy.
John Wayne Gacy raped and murdered thirty-three young men in the timespan of six years.
Throughout John Wayne Gacy’s double life as a rapist and murderer, he exhibits the traits of a
human monster that can only be developed through both nature and nurture, as well as a
camouflaged personality that justifies a greater fear in human monsters, rather than fictional
monsters such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde.
Gacy’s complex story began on March 17th, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. Even though it
seemed that Gacy had
Due to his character, the police knew that Robert Peist did not run
away from home. Peist had gone missing after talking to Gacy about a construction job and his
parents reported it to the police. After a connection with Gacy was made and a background check
was completed, Gacy was under twenty-four hour surveillance. Shortly after the investigation
began the police were able to conduct a search throughout Gacy’s home for any evidence of Rob
Peist. Two key items were found during the first search, a receipt that belonged to Robert Peist
and a class ring that belonged to a missing highschool boy. The push for a second search warrant
came when one of the detectives who had been inside of Gacy’s home recognized the odor of
decaying bodies. Gacy was followed by the detectives for several days, and it was believed that
he “decided that he was going to commit suicide and go around and say his goodbyes”(World
wide). While following Gacy one of the detectives found marijuana that had been in his
possession and arrested him on December 21, 1978. While in police custody, the second search
of Gacy’s home was conducted. When Gacy found out that the bodies had been found during
The nurture argument is based on how a person was raised and nature is the argument
that a person was born that way. Gacy’s father was an abusive alcoholic with unreachable
expectations. Gacy Sr. would often become furious with Gacy when he would not live up to
expectations. According to Gacy’s sister Karen, “he wasn’t the nurture”(Killers Tv). This led
Gacy to seek out acceptance throughout his life and it also created a fascination with being in
control. Gacy’s need to be in control was found to be a huge factor in the crimes he committed.
John Wayne Gacy had no sympathy for his victims either; he instead blamed them for what he
had done. Even though Gacy tried the insanity plea and the psychologists found no psychosis,
there is evidence of nature in how Gacy thought and acted. Gacy had problems facing his
sexuality while growing up; he even learned to suppress his emotions. However, later on all that
Gacy had suppressed throughout his life became a problem when he could no longer control it.
This is believed to be the reason as to why all of his victims were teenage boys. It is argued
The nature versus nurture theory is a way to distinguish whether certain traits or characteristics of individuals are impacted more by biological means or environmental means. What the “nature” part signifies in the the theory is that we are more impacted by heredity and biological effects of our personality and what defines us as a person. What “nurture” signifies is that environmental factors have a more powerful impact on our lives and personality. As we mostly know, most things aren’t black and white, and so it’s hard ro determine which type of factors is more effective. Most people believe that it’s a blend of both nature and nurture that makes us who we are.
2. Law Enforcement tried to find evidence of how he just vanished and got the FBI involved.
he was crushed. He then began his killings by luring women in with his looks and by
He killed women in several different states. The number of victims he had is still unknown to day but some believe it ranges from 30 to 100 women. Also, no one knows exactly why he began his killing. Psychologists have a few leads and theories of what may have set him off. They believe maybe it was because of the way he was raised and the environment he grew up in. Another, reason he could have become such a prominent murderer in the US is because of his broken relationship he had with a girl in college. The most possible motive he had may have been his obsession for
...s interesting, then, that by removing one puzzle piece, a person could unveil a new picture formed by the pieces, one that is disturbingly similar to the pictures formed in so many other lives. In one foul swoop, a man held in such majesty, with enough hopefulness to inspire readers for a hundred years, is brought to his knees and is forced to reveal himself as an average man with dreams far taller than the any redwood and failures as biting as the coldest wind. The final result of a Gatsby claimed victim by normality is simple what you would call a normal man. The contrast between the real Gatsby and our Gatsby is shocking. From his beliefs to his actions, there is no doubt that a Gatsby stricken by the hard, cold fist of real life acts more subdued than a battered spouse. It is pitiful to imagine and begs the question, does being normal really just mean giving up?
desperately did not want to end up like his mother so he felt the only way his problems or to may be what he thought could make him happy would be to end his life. Yet, it is a well-known fact suicide is not the answer nor will it solve anything.
near St. Louis. It was there that he met Julia Dent. They fell in love and soon
Since the beginnings of psychology the debate of nature verses nurture has been going on. Certain psychologists take the position of the nature perspective. They argue that people are born with predispositions towards certain personalities, traits and other characteristics that help shape them into the people that they become later in life. Meanwhile multiple other psychologists argue the nurture perspective. They believe that people are born as a blank slate and their experiences over the course of life help shape their personalities, traits, and other characteristics.
Upon his arrest he had confessed to 5 burglaries and several violent sexual assaults, including the two unsolved murders and sexual assaults of Barbara Krlik, 15 and Annie Mae Johnson, 24. He had also admitted to have attempted sexual assaults on more than 4 women, all of which failed because he preferred to be a necrophilia stating that “He got no thrill with the living women he raped” (Gado, 2004).
The positivist view of deviance places emphasis on individual's behavior being manipulated by outside forces (Goode, 2007, p. 23). Individual's are unable to contend with these outside forces which are beyond their control. Criminals and other deviants are created through biological defects which were responsible for their behavior, as it was something inherently organic and passed on through birth. The self-control theory of crime was developed by Travis Hirshi and Michael Gottfredson, two famous criminologists. Self-control theory, also known as the General Theory of crime, portrays deviance as stemming from the criminal's lack of ...
This paper is talking about “The Serial Killer,” but focus on Gary Ridgway- “The Green River Serial Killer.” He earned his nickname because the first five victims that he killed were found in the Green River. He was one of the most famous serial killers in the United States. Ridgway raped, chocked, killer and discarded 48 women, including many teenagers as young as 15 years old (Silja J, 2003). In Ridgway’s mind, he even believed that he was helping the police out, as he admitted in one interview with investigators (Silja J, 2003).
...ther names, so growing up and while killing victims in his adult hood, he called his victims names and proceeded to kill them. Gacy raped, sodomized,tortured and strangled thirty three men over ten years. Referencing his past by calling his victims what his father called him proves that his childhood left an emotional scar and is a prevalent reason as to why he’s committing these crimes.
...er continue living in an unjust and cruel world, even though they are capable of taking the easy way out. He brings the question of the afterlife for the main reason why humans don’t commit suicide.
In 1874, Francis Galton said, “Nature is all that a man brings with him into the world; nurture is every influence that affects him after his birth”. The human body contains millions upon millions of cells and each of these cells contains hereditary information and DNA. However, there is no proof that the information carried in these genes predetermines the way in which we behave. I believe it is our life experiences and what we see and are told that shape the way in which we behave. Therefore, it appears to me that nurturing plays a far more governing and dominant role in a human being’s development rather than nature.
One of the hottest debates is and has been nature vs nurture for years, but what is the difference between the two? Nature is what people think of as already having and not being able to change it, in other words, pre-wiring (Sincero). Nurture is the influence of experiences and its environment of external factors (Sincero). Both nature and nurture play important roles in human development. Scientists and researchers are both trying to figure out which is the main cause in development because it is still unknown on which it is. The best position to side with is nature. Nature is also defined as genetic or hormone based behaviors (Agin). Regardless of the involvement in everyday life, or nurture, this argumentation centers around the effect genes have on human personalities. Although it is understandable on reasons to side with nurture, nature is the better stand in this controversy. Reasons to side with nature is because of genes and what genes hold. Genes is what