Serial Killer Essay

Have you ever wondered what could cause a person to kill another person? How they could do it time and time again and not feel one ounce of regret? Serial killer Joel Rifkin asked himself this same question after he was convicted of killing 17 women. He wondered why he could commit such a violent act, and he decided to have scientist explore his brain to give him the answers that he wanted. Dr. Daniel Amen examined Joel’s brain scans, “When I looked at Joel Rifkin’s scan, I thought to myself, this is a brain that is vulnerable to violence. He had low activity in his prefrontal cortex that most human thoughtful part of the brain” ("Joel Rifkin - Psychopathic Brain"). Joel is not alone on this, 13 out of every 20 serial killers that have been

With damage to the frontal lobe, someone may no longer be able to distinguish the difference between right and wrong and may no longer think through all of the risks. If someone’s emotions are affected, they may no longer be able to feel empathy for others. ("What Is a Frontal Lobe Injury?"). All of these traits could add up to make the perfect serial killer.

Without the ability to tell right from wrong, a person may kill without realizing that what they are doing is bad. They may not be able to way all the risks that come along with it either. This was the case for Joel Rifkin. He did not realize that what he had done was wrong until after he had murdered his first victim ("Joel Rifkin - Psychopathic Brain"). Without the brain’s ability to think cognitively, Joel wasn’t able to way all of the risks and didn’t think about what was to

The brain scan of a killer often lacks this, meaning that the activity in the frontal lobe is minimal. Without the activity, people often have emotional problems, personality changes, and trouble with their social behavior. Just because a person has frontal lobe damage doesn’t mean that they will grow into a cold blooded killer, there is often other factors that play into it, “Research shows that serial killers have long histories of violence, beginning in childhood with the targeting of other children, siblings, and small animals. They maintain superficial relationships with others, have trouble relating to the opposite sex, and have guilt feelings about their interest in sex” (Siegel 295). Abuse as a child or neglect can also play a role in shaping a killer ("What Creates Serial Killers and Psychopaths: Genetics or Environment?"). With seeing the abuse so much as a child, the person may accept violence into their everyday life and may think that it is