Serial Killers Born or Made?:
The Nature vs Nurture Debate in Regards to Serial Killers
Sierra Runion
Fountain Central Jr./Sr. High School
Serial Killers Born or Made?:
The Nature vs Nurture Debate in Regards to Serial Killers
He shook his head like I still didn’t get it. It was raining harder now. He glanced to the side, directing my attention to the car’s window. ‘You see those two raindrops?’ He pointed. ‘I’ll bet you the one on the left gets to the bottom of the glass before the one on the right does. We don’t need the Super Bowl. All we need is two little raindrops. You can’t stop us, John, no matter what you do. It’s what we are.’... It’s what we are. There was something inherent, deep within the criminal’s mind and psyche, that
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He had previously discovered a large amount of murderers in his family tree and wanted to get his own brain tested after hearing about Raine’s findings. Fallon discovered that he had a lot of genes that had been linked to the violent behavior of psychopaths. The only thing is that Fallon never became a ruthless killer. He instead became a well respected professor and a family man. The difference is that even though he has the genetic makeup to be a heartless psychopath, Fallon grew up in a loving family and can’t remember a time that his parents ever laid a hand on him inappropriately. This disproves the previous theory that all born with the murder gene will grow up to be serial killers. Fallon became someone who studies the brain of psychopaths. He chose to follow his desires and gained important information about himself in the process. He now uses this information to deepen his research and express to others that a serial killer or a murderer is not naturally born. There is a high percentage of them who typically have the common traumatic childhood. This all leads into the territory of Nature versus …show more content…
Ramirez grew up in El Paso, Texas to an immigrant couple. He sustained multiple head injuries at a young age. One of them being knocked unconscious by a swing at the young age of 5. This injury triggered a series of epileptic fits that he fought through growing up. Ramirez was most likely born with the murder gene, and it just so happened to be triggered by the multiple head injuries. If he did not withstand so many injuries and was not influenced by his cousin, who had just returned from the Vietnam war, he could have had a chance at a normal life. While smoking pot together, Ramirez’s cousin, Miguel, told him stories of how he had raped and tortured multiple Vietnamese women. He even provided photographic evidence of stories. At age 13, Ramirez witnessed Miguel rape and kill his own wife. Ramirez grew up with a hatred for women and went off to kill 14 of them ranging from various
Forensically speaking there is no evidence that proves that Ramirez had any mental disorders. Although he does have the characteristics of someone who is a sociopath, such as compartmentation . However, what intrigued me about Ramirez wasn’t just the murder himself, but what motivated him to commit his murders and the theory of nature versus nurture. Richard did not have a strong foundation as a child because he was being raised by an abusive, alcoholic father and a mother who appeared to not protect Richard from the father, this is the perfect foundation in creating a serial killer. The pivotal moment when Ramirez became a serial killer was when he watched mike murder his wife because he associated murder with sex. Who knows what would have happened to Richard if Mike was not in his life. He could have still had psychological issues but he could have turned out not to be a
Nature versus nurture has been argued in attempt to understand how criminals behave. The theory of what influences psychopath and serial killers’ violent and destructive pathways has not been agreed on till this day. Criminals such as psychopaths and serial killers have been researched for the past two decades. Scientists have found that genetics is a determining factor of who becomes a serial killer. It is important to understand the determinants involved within a serial killer, because if these social and environmental causes are discovered, they can be altered and controlled to reduce crime (Lykken, 1993). With more studies, we would therefore prevent mass murders and could assist in significant reductions of crime within society.
In a Google search of “serial killer memorabilia”, approximately 135,000 results would appear. While the U.S. produces over eighty-five percent of the world’s serial killers (“Why do Americans Idolize Serial Killers?” 11), Americans still tend to treat these murderers as icons and celebrities. As defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a serial killer is expressed as the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events. While it is no secret that serial killers have a different mindset than that of a normal person, do these murderers have genetically different minds? Although there is no exact answer as to what causes certain people to have the urge to kill, studies from the “Minnesota Study of Twins
The question of whether or not man is predetermined at birth to lead a life of crime is a question that has been debated for decades. Are serial killers born with the lust for murder, or are their desires developed through years of abuse and torment? Many believe it is impossible for an innocent child to be born with the capability to commit a horrible act such as murder. But at the same time, how could we have corrupted society so much as to turn an innocent child into a homicidal maniac? Forensic psychologists have picked apart the minds of serial killers to find an answer as to what forces them to commit such perverse acts. Their ultimate goal is to learn how to catch a serial killer before he commits his first crime.
Due to crime-inspired shows that air on television, fascination with serial killers presents itself more and more. People want to learn what makes a person break to the point of taking another’s life. Some suggest that killing releases a sexual desire, while others suggest that revenge may be the motive. A serial killer has the stereotypical look of a white male who tends to act socially awkward, not easily approachable, and possesses a mental illness. While the accuracy of this look tends to be true occasionally, the majority of the time a serial killer looks no different than anyone else and appears rather social. Some experts believe that a serial killer has codes in his DNA which causes him to kill; nonetheless, other experts believe environmental
The media generally portrays the prototypical serial killer through the lens of two extremes. They can either have an incapacitating mental illness or be brilliant, but severely troubled, geniuses. Yet, neither of these two stereotypes are accurate, as serial killers generally display signs of psychopathy, which is not considered a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. Despite the erroneousness of Hollywood’s movies and television shows, many psychologists and lawmakers are still considering the degree to which psychopaths can be considered responsible for their actions. In “Psychopathy and Culpability: How Responsible Is the Psychopath for Criminal Wrongdoing?” researchers Adam R. Fox, Trevor H. Kvaran, and Reid Griffith Fontaine attempt to draw conclusions from evidence on whether or not psychopaths meet the criteria for full criminal responsibility. Other researchers, such as Scott E. Culhane, Sage M. Hilstad, Adrienne Greng, and Matt J. Gray, use a case study to demonstrate that psychopathy is not synonymous with serial killers and that mental illness cannot necessarily be used in criminal cases to justify murder in their research paper titled “Self-Reported Psychopathology in a Convicted Serial Killer.” In the remaining two articles
...r that creates serial killers, but that perhaps the answer lays in an individual examination of each one. Though the theories cannot predict and prevent, it is certain that childhood and development is an important indicator.
Serial killers are defined to “be driven by instinct and desire to kill.” In a study done in 2000, Dr, Richard Davidson says, “people with a large amount of aggression – in particular people who have committed aggressive murders or have a social disorder – have almost no brain activity in the orbital frontal cortex or the anterior cingulated cortex while activity in the amyglade continued perfectly. The orbital frontal cortex and the anterior congulated cortex control emotional impulses while the amyglade controls reactions to fear.” Davidson concludes his research claiming that although environment can and will affect a serial killer’s thoughts, it is a killer’s genetic makeup that inevitably creates murderous thoughts.
Countless serial killers have had an abnormal childhood; many people believe this is where the catalyst of events starts. It is proven, that more often than not, serial killers have either lived in an inhabitable home, had lackadaisical parents, or could have a different frame of mind. This being said, when one hears about mass murderers or serial killers, the first question that pops into a person’s head is, “What were they thinking?” For all a person knows, this could be the killer’s normalcy.
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 contributing to the behavior of serial killers (Levin, 2008). The time period and amount of killings fluctuate depending on the individual committing the crimes. Usually, the murders happen in different geographical areas. A mass murder has a separate definition than a serial killer, because a serial killer has a “cooling off” period, where mass murders kill several individual in a single event.
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.
Ramirez was born in 1960 to his Mexican immigrant parents Julian and Mercedes Ramirez. He was the youngest out of his five siblings of 3 boys and 2 girls. He grew up in El Paso, Texas, where he had a relatively normal childhood to start off with. Even though Ramirez seemed to be on a down hill spiral, his father always maintained that Ramirez was a "good boy". At the age of 12 he started to spend a lot of time with his cousin Mike, a Vietnam veteran, his cousin would show him pictures of women he had raped and tortured during his time in Vietnam. Mike would sometime take Ramirez out to the desert at night to show him how to sneak up on animals and kill them. Ramirez was taught how to use a knife and where the vital spots were on the animals. Some believe that the turning point in Ramirez's life may have been when he witnessed his cousin murder his wife. At the time Ramirez was 13 and was smoking pot with his cousin Mike when his wife came in and allegedly started to "nag" him on getting his life together and getting a job. Mike then took out a gun and shot her in the face. The blood of Mikes wife spattered onto Ramirez. After Mikes conviction Ramirez became fascinated with the photos that Mike had showed him. From being a bright young stude...
The question of whether or not man is predetermined at birth to lead a life of crime is a question that has been debated for decades. Serial killers are made not born; it has been demonstrated that a man 's initial years are the most vital years. A youngster 's initial couple of years is a period of experimentation, a period to make sense of things for themselves, a period to set up the bits of the riddle. Like a newborn child, the mental health is reliant on its environment. A youthful youngster 's mind resembles a wipe; it gathers data through perception. The surroundings of a serial killer as a little child can enormously impact the way he or she will go about his or her life and his or her style of murdering. Certain experience, for example, youngster misuse, divorce, liquor misuse, tyke disregard, as well as medication misuse, can be negative to the advancement of a little child. Numerous serial killers were illegitimate kids. Due to their childhood and early backgrounds, serial killers swing to crazy murdering frenzies.
Although many serial killers have almost certainly committed their crimes as a direct result of bad childhood experiences, this is by no means always the case. In many instances it seems that an unfortunate combination of factors, including head injuries, heredity and mental deficiency, have combined to create a monster. Perhaps society as a whole should be blamed for not spotting such individuals before they commit these horrific crimes, and ensuring they receive proper treatment and counselling. Bibliography "Whoever Fights Monsters" by Robert K Ressler "Dead Men Do Tell Tales" by William R. Maples Ph.D. "Unnatural Death" by Michael Baden M.D www.crimelibrary.com www.the-fbi-files.com/criminals
Murder, robbery, prostitution, rape; what exactly makes people partake in these crimes? The debate of Nature vs Nurture has never failed to raise questions about people’s personalities and actions. Whether a person commits a crime because of their innate character vs the way they were raised is something that people have been trying to understand for years. Due to this fact, the biosocial perspective of criminology does the best job at explaining criminal behavior because it combines the aspects of nature vs. nurture through various types of family, twin, and adoption studies and studies of the brain.