This case is on Gary Ridgway who went on a twenty year killing spree. “The man whom cops would call the Green River Killer was to murder at least 49 women. Some investigators think he killed as many as 90, which, if true, would make him the biggest serial murderer in U.S. history. At his peak in '83, he was murdering as many as five women a month” (Mcarthy, 2002). This case happened throughout the eighties but he wasn’t caught until 2001 because of new technology with DNA testing which connected him to them in which he then admitted to the rest of the murders. This man was charged with forty-eight murders in which turned into forty-eight consecutive life sentences without the chance of parole. He agreed to show them where all the bodies were …show more content…
This theory has roots from the classical theory which was developed by the Italian social thinker Cesare Beccaria. His approach to utilitarian powerfully influenced the criminal justice system and was extremely enfulencual and accepted in the United States and throughout Europe. Throughout the 1960s Nobel prize-winner Gary Becker along with the political scientist James Q. Wilson who wrote Thinking About Crime helped evolve the classical theory into a more modern theory based on the intelligent though process and criminal decision making. Which in the end formed what we know today as the rational choice theory Of course this theory is based upon “the view that crime is a function of a decision-making process in which the potential offender weighs the potential costs and benefits of an illegal act” (Siegel, 2001). But also with this theory personal factors were figured into his actions such as thrills and just the sere entertainment of raping and killing these women. Ridgeway clearly seen both sides of his choices, from being a suspect in the beginning then dropped as one then years later, returning to be the Green River killer convicted of the 48 murders. Also something else that is measured before the act is committed is the target availability and of course during this time in Seattle was ruff. From what Battistoni says “‘the most rampant juvenile prostitution in the country,’ during the 80s according to the National Association for Missing and Exploited Children” also according to the Seattle Police department “reported more than 2,000 prostitution arrests in a single year, an all-time record” which shows the availability of the girls. From the begging to the end of the Green River Killers spree, which strung over decades, he had plenty of girls that were desperate but the key factor in which no one would be looking for them for a while (Battistoni). So from this high era of
The psychological abuse that the four suspects were exposed to made them make a wrong confession. In addition, being in an environment where the interrogation room is tight and dark increased the suspect’s anxiety. Moreover, the Frontline documentary stated that the suspects were held in custody for long hours with Robert Ford who used threatening language in order to make them confess. Not only that the suspects made a false confession, but they also told Ford different stories on how they murdered the victim. The coercive interrogatories, led Joe Dick to accept the label Ford put on him and the others. Although Ford was supposed to act just, he acted upon his self interest. Thus, he denied all facts because of fear of embarrassment of being wrong. However, after serving many years in prison, the four suspects were released to face stigmatization and labeling from the society. Indeed, this case proved that there is a malfunction in the justice system and that there’s a need for an immediate
The book Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?, written by independent journalist and private investigator Ethan Brown, tells the horrific true story of the bayou town of Jennings, Louisiana located in the heart of the Jefferson Davis parish. During the four year duration between 2005 and 2009, the town of Jennings was on edge after the discovery of the bodies of eight murdered women were found in the filthy canals and swamps. The victims became known as the “Jeff Davis 8.” For years, local law enforcement suspected a serial killer, and solely investigated the murders based on that theory alone. The victims were murdered in varying manors, but when alive they all shared many commonalities and were connected to
You’re woken up by police officers one morning. They say that they are taking you to be questioned for the murder of Hae Min Lee. That’s what happened to Adnan Syed, a young man sentenced to life in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend. This would be any old hear-it-and-forget-it case, except that there were multiple problems with the case. The evidence that the State used was flawed.
...found were, various pills, syringes, rubber dildos, homosexual literature, as well as explicit sex videos. The only thing Gacy was originally arrested for was possession of marijuana. Soon after his incarceration, the police were back at his residence. They wanted to search his crawl space beneath his house. He was quick to admit to killing one person in self-defense, and that the body was buried under his garage. They still felt it necessary to search the crawl space. Upon their search they discovered nearly 30 bodies that had been there a varying amount of time. The first killing had taken place in 1972, and currently the year was 1976. Upon conviction by authorities, Gacy was charged with the murder of 33 young men, and was sentenced to the death penalty. He was sent to Menard Correctional Center, where after years of appeals, he was killed by lethal injection.
In February 1998, Watertown, SD, was not bursting with riveting activity. Watertown had a population of 20,127 people in 1998, which is not much less than the 22,000 residents it has today. Brenda Barger was mayor of Watertown, SD, during the years of some of the worst flooding ever in Watertown. Although the little town of Watertown seems like the perfect rural town to raise a family, it’s not all butterflies and rainbows. On February 1, it was reported that two teenage girls were accused of beating a 47 year-old man to death in his home. David Paul Bauman died of a head injury caused by the girls. Bauman was currently unemployed and mildly disabled due to a car accident a number of years earlier (“2 Teen-agers Arrested in Watertown Killing”
Montaldo, Charles. “Gary Ridgway: The Green River Killer.” Crime/Punishment. About.com. 8 Feb. 2012. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.
To support their conclusion the board tells the story of two men who were exonerated after spending thirty years in prison for a crime they did not commit. Days after the rape and murder of eleven year old Sabrina Buie, half-brothers Henry Lee McCollum and Leon Brown confessed to the crime. Not only were their confessions made under pressure without parents or an attorney present, but the prosecution failed to present multiple pieces of evidence to the defense lawyers, DNA evidence that proved McCollum and Brown were not responsible for the murder. In fact, the DNA belonged to a Roscoe Artis, who was a suspect all along and was convicted of a similar crime just weeks later.
Forensics has changed the way our criminal system works now. A lot of cases are being solved because of the development of forensics. Even cold cases are being brought up to the light to be investigated again and a good percentage of the cases are being solved and criminals are being brought to justice. The green river killer is one case that really got me intrigued into forensics and I got mesmerized by the techniques that are being used to catch murderers and other crimes being committed. The green river killer had an interesting childhood that led him to be a serial killer. He committed multiple murders on prostitutes and left there families with agony and pain. But advances in DNA ultimately led to his demise, police officers were able to capture and arrest him and bring justice to a lot of family’s mourning for their sisters, mothers, and daughters. His story is intriguing and is one that I would like to tell.
Convicted for the murders of his wife and two kids, thirty-four years ago, Dr. MacDonald still endures the agony of being accused of killing his family. Even after twenty-four years of imprisonment and several unlawful court hearings, additional documentation continues to up hold Dr. MacDonald’s testimony.
“How the Death Penalty Saves Lives” According to DPIC (Death penalty information center), there are one thousand –four hundred thirty- eight executions in the United States since 1976. Currently, there are Two thousand –nine hundred –five inmates on death row, and the average length of time on death row is about fifteen years in the United States. The Capital punishment, which appears on the surface to the fitting conclusion to the life of a murder, in fact, a complicated issue that produces no clear resolution.; However, the article states it’s justice. In the article “How the Death Penalty Saves Lives” an author David B. Muhlhausen illustrates a story of Earl Ringo , Jr, brutal murder’s execution on September ,10,
Ted Bundy is one of the most infamous, sadistic serial killers known to man. During his tenure as a killer, Bundy confessed to the murders of 30 women, though the official number of kills is unknown to this day. Bundy’s sadistic habits began at an early age due to his rough upbringing and abusive parents. His tactical methods of killing left miniscule amounts of evidence, which remained undetectable by the “still rudimentary forensics techniques of the 1970s” (Crime Museum). Bundy also managed to uphold an impressive “clean-cut appearance” and portrayed characteristics of an “upstanding character” (Crime Museum). Ted Bundy, through the course of a troubled childhood and keen wit, managed to successfully become known as one of the most infamous
On July 5, 1978, Robert Harris took the life of two innocent teenage boys that were just trying to enjoy their burgers in a car. Robert, 25 premeditated the ending to these innocent teens by stealing and then driving the car into a canyon where he repeated shot the boys as they tried to escape from this monster. On top of everything that Robert did to these boys, the most sickening part is when he took their burgers and laughed about the murder well eating it. Robert Harris was sentenced to death row for the murder of John Mayeski and Michael
In Green River, Running Red, author Ann Rule describes a killer without remorse, who is the product of both personal and social influences, in effect forcing him to murder women and to continue to do so for over a decade as a fulfillment of his fantasies. When endeavoring to rationalize the causes of such a mind, theories of deviance, when separated into two distinct categories, positivist and constructionism. Positivist theories, such as the general theory of crime, allows for individual's to piece together events in the life of Gary Ridgway, the Green River killer which would undeniably lead him to a twisted sense of reality, combined with sexual fantasies and a tendency to justify perverted acts of murder. Constructionist theories, specifically conflict theory, are able to shed light on the lives and decisions made by the victims, who were all led to such lifestyles through outward sources. In determining the causes and motivations behind both the offender and the victims, theories of deviance leave little to be speculated on when placing blame on either psychological or social factors.
Ted Bundy was one of the most vicious serial killers in American history. He confessed to 28 grotesque murders in the 1970’s but the actual number of his victims remains
It was midnight when it all happened. Tom Peterson was sleeping in bed next to his wife after a tiring day at work, while his two little daughters slept in the next room. Suddenly he was violently awakened by the terrified screams of his wife only to get a glance of a huge man standing over him with a butcher's knife. Tom was stabbed thirteen times, one of his daughters was killed and his wife was severely injured. Now, the Peterson family has just exited the supreme court of justice in which the judge has condemned the murderer of their little girl to the death penalty, for as it turns out the Peterson family had not been the first victim of this murderer.