A serial killer is a person who commits multiple murders without any type of motive and develops predictable behavior patterns. When you Google “serial killers,” the names that pop are “Luis Garavito, Javed Iqbal, Anatoly Onopriyenko, Dean Corll, Carl Panzram, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy…” What do all of these serial killers have in common? They are all men. So, if Aileen Wuornos is categorized as a serial killer, why is her name irrelevant to this list of names? Based on the evidence that has been presented this semester, I do not think that justice was served in the Aileen Wuornos case. I believe that she had acted with self-defense, she was executed because she had bad representation and she is categorized as a serial killer …show more content…
She was raised by her grandparents but her grandmother was an alleged alcoholic and her grandfather was said to be abusive and had been molesting her. She was forced out of her home at a young age and became a sex worker. “Aileen reported that she would fight with her victims about sex and that when they became abusive, demanding that she have intercourse with them, she endeavored to protect herself from being raped” (Arrigo, 2004, p. 386). Living a dangerous life in order to survive, Wuornos had said that she murdered seven men because they had raped her. In the film, “The Selling of a Serial Killer,” it shows Aileen Wuornos testifying on her behalf. In the particular scene she describes on of the times where she felt forced to kill a man in fear that he would kill her if she did not defend herself. She had said he had been raped, choked and then he had threatened to hill her. So, in order to protect herself she felt the need to kill a man before he ended her life (Broomfield, …show more content…
The media had described Wuornos as a monster and portrayed extremely aggressive. I think that Wuornos’ case shocked society so much because she was a women killing men. But since she was seen as such an aggressive and monster-like individual, it was not believed that she acted on self-defense. If this same case happened in today’s time, I think the outcome of the trial would be extremely different. Most recently in the media, sexual assault is been taken extremely seriously and not brushed off or covered-up. If Wuornos committed these crimes in 2017 and then stated that she was in fear of her life and acted on self-defense, I think that society would view her as a woman in fear of her life, rather than a murderous animal. If Wuornos really kill men because she was afraid they would kill her, this case would have been taken way more seriously. In my opinion, the #metoo movement would applaud her, not for killing men or the murderous aspects of her crimes, but for taking a stand and for fighting
La Donna Beaty clearly States in her argument, ?What Makes a Serial Killer?? her opinion and different theories on what causes a human being to become a serial killer. Beaty states that there are many serial killers and victims of them, but she is unsure about what causes a person to become a serial killer. Furthermore, she asked many questions, but there was no definite answer. For example, using examples of serial killers including Jeffery Dahmer and Ted Bundy, but only to draw up more questions. However, she wrote many expert opinions too, using them to her advantage in proving her argument, and giving a statement from a respected author and expert on serial killers named Ann Rule (pg315). Rule states that 3,500 to 5,000 people become victims of serial killers. She also states that 350 serial killers are at large in our society (pg315). Additionally, Beaty also presents an early theory that was completely incorrect. This was about how to identify a serial killer by looks. Beaty then gave her expertise by stating that a serial killer could look like or be anything they choose to become. They are most likely to be males and 92 percents are white (pg316). No doubt, that she appeals to logos by providing evidence about general characteristics of serial killers she quotes that in 1911, an Italian criminologist Cesare Lombrosco concluded that ?murderers as a group [are] biologically degenerate [with] bloodshot eyes, aquiline noses, curly black hair, strong jaws, big ears, thin lips, and menacing grins?.
...ced to life in prison on March 14, 2001, for killing her five children. I agree that Andrea was sane, but the right punishment should have been the death penalty.
As the years goes by, Wuornos life was becoming unstable and a nightmare. As a result, Wuornos childhood is well defined on how and why she became a criminal and killed those seven men victims. Her life consists of abandonment, mental and physical abuse by family, peers and neighborhood. While her mother was a teenager when she gave birth to Wuornos. Her father was absent in her life and abuse her mother. After he absent father was in jail for the rape of an underage child. Wuornos was abandoned by her mother as a teenager and left with grandparents. On the video stated she was emotional, sexually and physical abused by both grandparents. She became a prostitution to earn a living in the street of Florida. The life of Wuornos could be associated in with a diverse of theories of crime behavior. There are three various theories that could describe the life and subsequent in crimes of Aileen Wuornos. These three theories consist of biological/biosocial theory, self-control theory, and social control
The term serial killer was created in the 1970’s by a man named Robert Ressler. He chose serial killer as the name to describe a killer that murders three or more victims over a period of time because the FBI were always studying a series of cases created by the killers (Freeman, 2007). Serial killers have been around for centuries, since ancient times. There have been many studies done to try and figure out how the minds of serial killers work, so the FBI can catch them and find a way to stop them. Not all serial killers are the same, this makes it hard to figure them out and provide a clear definition of how their minds work. Most serial killers have similar character traits and can be classified into different categories to make it easier to find patterns and reasons as to why they are killing.
She had a low self-esteem, felt abandoned, sexually abused by those that were to care for her. As a child she was sexually promiscuous and having sex with other children to obtain cigarettes, drugs, and food, which is how she came to learn that she could make money in prostitution. When she was 14 she was forced to give up a baby to adoption. She never got to meet the little boy that was born on March 23, 1971 who was born at a home for unwed mothers, (“The Child of A Serial Killer: Aileen Wournos’s Son,” 2017) another issue of abandonment. After her brother passed away, she once again felt abandoned, which helped fuel her fire for the hatred of
This in turn led the child to hate his father for leaving. Although fatherlessness plays a role in some of the serial killers’ lives, abuse occurs more often than not among the soon to be mass-murderer's childhood. Physical abuse does not present itself as the only form of abuse that a child endures, sexual abused occurs most often among them. Some of the most notorious serial killers possess an abused childhood. John Wayne Gacy, ‘who killed thirty-three people which consisted of mostly of teenage boys, had an alcoholic father who abused his whole family. At the age of nine, Gacy’s neighbor also molested him multiple times (Be a Stoic – 24 Brutal Life Advice Quotes from Ancient Rome). One of the most famous woman serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, suffered sexual abuse from her grandfather after her parents abandoned her (Be a Stoic-24 Brutal Life Advice Quotes from Ancient
The FBI defines serial killing as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s) in separate events” (Farrell, Keppal, & Titterington, 2011, p. 231). While individuals who partake in such activity do receive a large amount of attention, the female parts of this population are vastly under recognized. Female serial killers receive little academic attention, even though they are a complex and dynamic group to study (p. 229). Women make up 15% of American serial killers, with 36 known to be active in the last century (p. 230). It is speculated that at any given time there are 50-70 serial killers in the United States, and approximately 7-8 of them are female (Schurman, 2000, p. 12).
Often considered America’s first female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos was neither first nor the worst. She had been suspected of committing at least seven murders and was sentenced to four of cases she had confessed to police. All the while, she maintained her innocence claiming that some or all of the killings were in self-defense.
She claimed self defense stating in the documentary duing a court order, “first female serial killer is not what I am and I am not even near it and my confessions prove it” (CITE). From the learning theory comes a term deemed “Neutralization”. Neutralization is an attempt by the offender to buffer the severity of their actions. It’s a learned behavior and thus is categorized under the learning theory which has been adopted via observation of their surroundings. This neutralization is an attempt to redistribute blame away from the offender. While all claims of rape Aileen mentioned are valid ( we can never know for sure because her victims are dead) a pattern of blame starts to form through her dialogue. According to the FBI, “The term ‘serial killings’ means a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.” (CITE). By definition of the word, Aileen was in fact a serial killer. However, while in the end admitting to the crimes, Aileen held strong to the idea that she was in fact not a serial killer, “Lee Wuornos insists she is not a serial killer and did not stalk her victims or plan her crimes” (DOCUMENTARY CITE). We see Aileen used neutralization in 2 main forms,
Serial killers have many frightening facets. The most frightening thing about them is that experts still do not know what makes a human become a serial killer. Many experts believe serial killers become what they are because they have a genetic disposition or brain abnormality while other experts believe that a serial killer is created by childhood abuse; and some other experts believe that it is a combination of both brain abnormalities and abusive childhood experiences that creates a serial killer. A murderer is considered a serial killer when they “murder three or more persons in at least three separate events with a “cooling off period” between kills” (Mitchell and Aamodt 40). When defining a serial killer, their background, genes, and brain are not mentioned; perhaps one day those aspects of the serial killer can be included.
So what makes a serial killer? Levin points out that contrary to popular belief, serial killers don't just 'snap'; or 'go crazy'; (Douglas, p. 137). Many of the serial killers have been the victims of childhood abuse. Jack Levin stated 'Research shows many serial killers suffered abuse, incest or neglect as children and develop poor self images'; (Douglas, p. 137). Serial killers often have a childhood marked by the absence of any nurturing relationship. 'They often come from families where the parents were absent or ineffective, where authority was not defined, and where they could engage in destructive behavior undeterred-violent play, cruelty to animals, and incidents of arson being some of the childhood behavior patterns noted among many serial killers'; (Clark, p. 206).
Serial killers are everywhere! Well, perhaps not in our neighborhood, but on our television screens, at the movie theaters, and in rows and rows of books at our local Borders or Barnes and Nobles Booksellers” (Brown). When people think of serial killers, names such as Dahmer, Gacy, Bundy, and Gein are cited. During the time Jack the Ripper was executing his victims in London, Holmes began his gruesome career in Chicago (America’s Serial Killers). “Despite being America’s first serial killer, Holmes is hardly a familiar name and until now we haven’t had any popular visual record of his crimes: (Spikol). Why is it that people only think of the more popular killers with higher known profiles? They are all very similar to one another because they share characteristics. H.H. Holmes was a successful serial killer because he was well educated, cunning and charming. Those are just a few traits Holmes ...
In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that makes up this type of criminals. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even sexually abused by a family member, or relatives from unstable families who have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories, or tend to have hate for their parents and people in general which makes them have antisocial personality disorder. They have conflicted pain or tortured animals at a young age and most are highly interested in gaining control over things. Even though not every serial killers posses these characteristics, but most share these characteristics the same way they share the psychological need to have complete control and power over people.
Hernando was convicted of robbery, abduction, rape, and murder to Sarah Gould. (McIntyre 1999) McIntyre (1999) tells the series of events leading up to the crime. As I was reading the story, I was definitely not using a sociological imagination. I wondered how someone could commit such crimes and think that it was acceptable. McIntyre (1999) used sociological imagination to explain how to look at the story differently and changed my overall opinion about Hernando Washington. In McIntyre’s (1999) mind, and in my mind after reading her point of view, it may be true that Hernando honestly did not know the difference between right and wrong. He grew up on the South Side of Chicago, where crimes were common and often disregarded as jokes to authorities (McIntyre 1999). Hernando’s sister had been raped, the rapist being charged with nothing, and his brother had been shot and killed, the murderer also not charged (McIntyre 1999). When Hernando robbed, abducted, raped and shot Sarah, he may have thought that he would be in the clear, as these other criminals had been. He surely didn’t think he would be sentenced to death from his actions. Further, McIntyre (1999) informs us that one year prior to the murder, Hernando had been arrested with charges of kidnapping and rape. His parents had bailed him out and hired a lawyer, so he had suffered no consequences (McIntyre 1999). In addition to this, it was