More handpicked essays just for you.
Biological and psychological perspectives of crime
Psychological and biological way to understand crime
Psychological theories of crime
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
CONTENTS: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terror Near the Tracks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manhunt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suspicious Angel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Surrender -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Incarceration -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sentenced to Death -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bibliography -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Author -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By the Same Author -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home Angel Maturino Resendez: The Railroad Killer by Joe Geringer Terror Near the Tracks One of the more romantic elements of American folklore has been the criss-crossing rail system of this country – steel rails carrying Americans to new territories across desert and mountain, through wheat fields and over great rivers. Carl Sandburg has flavored the mighty steam engine in elegant prose and Arlo Guthrie has made the roundhouse a sturdy emblem of America’s commerce. But, even the most colorful dreams have their dark sides. For nearly two years, a killer literally followed wheatfield America’s railroad tracks to slay unsuspecting victims before disappearing back into the pre-lit dawn. His modus operandi was always the same – he struck near the rail lines he illegally rode, then stowed away on the next freight train to come his way. Always ahead of the law. Angel Maturino Resendez, 39 years old, was apprehended early this month (July, 1999) after eluding state police for two years and slipping through a two-month FBI net until, after nine alleged murders, he was finally traced and captured by a determined Texas Ranger. Known, for apparent reasons, as "The Railroad Killer," Angel Resendez (who was known throughout much of the manhunt by the alias Rafael Ramirez) has been called "a man with a grudge," "confused," hostile" and "angry" by the police, the news media and psychiatrists. He is an illegal immigrant from Mexico who crossed the international border at will. Most of his crimes took place in central Texas, but he is suspected of having killed as far north as Kentucky and Illinois. Mugshot of Angel Resendez While he fits the mold of serial killers such as David Berkowitz and the Boston Strangler, Resendez killed more meditatively for something he needed: alcohol, drugs, a place to hide out, though usually money. He raped, but "sex seemed almost secondary," according to former FBI profiler John Douglas. Douglas calls Resendez "just a bungling crook …very disorganized," but one whose own disorganization worked well for him. Because his trail was haphazard, because he himself didn’t know where he was heading next, this directionless, drifting form of operation kept Resendez inadvertently ever-the-more elusive. FBI special agent Don K. Clark says that the manhunt was complicated by the fact that Resendez had "no permanent address" while continuing to travel unchecked "throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.
There are many ways in which we can view the history of the American West. One view is the popular story of Cowboys and Indians. It is a grand story filled with adventure, excitement and gold. Another perspective is one of the Native Plains Indians and the rich histories that spanned thousands of years before white discovery and settlement. Elliot West’s book, Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado, offers a view into both of these worlds. West shows how the histories of both nations intertwine, relate and clash all while dealing with complex geological and environmental challenges. West argues that an understanding of the settling of the Great Plains must come from a deeper understanding, a more thorough knowledge of what came before the white settlers; “I came to believe that the dramatic, amusing, appalling, wondrous, despicable and heroic years of the mid-nineteenth century have to be seen to some degree in the context of the 120 centuries before them” .
Name of serial killer: My serial killer is named Richard Chase. He was also known as the “Vampire of Sacramento” or the “Dracula Killer”.
book, and by the end of the book we feel like we know exactly how Perry feels, and we have a understanding of some of the hardships that the soldiers faced in Vietnam. In this book, Perry kills
Jonas decides to leave and change the lives of his people so that they can experience the truth. “The Giver rubbed Jonas’s hunched shoulders… We’ll make a plan” (155). Their plan involves leaving sameness and heading to Elsewhere, where Jonas knows the memories can be released to the people. He has a connection with Gabe, a special child who has experienced the memories, unlike the rest of the community. Jonas has a strong love for Gabe, and he longs to give him a better life. “We’re almost there, Gabriel” (178). Even with a sprained ankle, Jonas keeps pushing forward because he wants everyone to experience what The Giver has given him. He wants them to have a life where the truth is exposed. His determination allows him to make a change for a greater future in his community. This proves that Jonas has the strength to change his community for the
Throughout all of American history there have been those who are well known for committing what are classified as deviant or criminal acts. Most of those who are well known by the public for their actions have committed deeds seen as extremely controversial such as being cult leaders, gang or mafia members, terrorists, rapists, or killers. The lists of members for each topic is numerous, however, there are a certain few that are more prominent than others. One criminal that stands out when speaking of killers in particular is Gary Ridgway, or as he is better known, the Green River Killer. Gary Ridgway is the nation’s most abundant serial killer, with the highest murder rate in America’s history (Gibson).
Dubbed the “Baton Rouge Serial Killer” Derrick Todd Lee was only one of two serial killers working the Baton Rouge area during the time between 1992 and 2004. Lee is a black male, who lived with his wife and children St. Francisville, LA. Lee had avoided being caught for many years because an eye witness had told authorities the suspect was a white male (Mustafa, Clayton & Israel, 2006). This information was very believable because most serial killers do not cross racial lines when choosing their victims and all of Lee’s victims were white except one (Mustafa, Clayton & Israel, 2006). Lee was eventually named as the suspect in 2002 when DNA tests revealed the killer was a black male (Stewart, Boyd, M., & Nunnally, D. (2002). He was arrested in 2003 and now lives on death row in Louisiana State Penitentiary.
Seavoy, Ronald E. "Railroads." An Economic History of the United States: From 1607 to the Present. New York: Routledge, 2006. 188-200. Print.
Esteban Santiago was born in 1991. Before Santiago Killed 5 and wounded 6, the local agency had taken the rare step of cutting law enforcement position at the bustline facility. He was an iraq war veteran until he took the chance to kill 5 people and wounded 6. Santiago was a pleasant man until October 6 when some issues began to develop. His neighbor said he started to park in her parking space that she owns.
Over the years, the idea of the western frontier of American history has been unjustly and falsely romanticized by the movie, novel, and television industries. People now believe the west to have been populated by gun-slinging cowboys wearing ten gallon hats who rode off on capricious, idealistic adventures. Not only is this perception of the west far from the truth, but no mention of the atrocities of Indian massacre, avarice, and ill-advised, often deceptive, government programs is even present in the average citizen’s understanding of the frontier. This misunderstanding of the west is epitomized by the statement, “Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis was as real as the myth of the west. The development of the west was, in fact, A Century of Dishonor.” The frontier thesis, which Turner proposed in 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition, viewed the frontier as the sole preserver of the American psyche of democracy and republicanism by compelling Americans to conquer and to settle new areas. This thesis gives a somewhat quixotic explanation of expansion, as opposed to Helen Hunt Jackson’s book, A Century of Dishonor, which truly portrays the settlement of the west as a pattern of cruelty and conceit. Thus, the frontier thesis, offered first in The Significance of the Frontier in American History, is, in fact, false, like the myth of the west. Many historians, however, have attempted to debunk the mythology of the west. Specifically, these historians have refuted the common beliefs that cattle ranging was accepted as legal by the government, that the said business was profitable, that cattle herders were completely independent from any outside influence, and that anyone could become a cattle herder.
As December approaches Jonas feels apprehensive because this year his group will be given their assignments (Lowry 9). He is chosen as the receiver of memory. While this position holds high honor it is also a painful load to hold. Jonas will hold all memories of the past. Receiving memories is not like watching a movie, as Jonas soon expe...
After Machado was identified as being responsible for the email hate crime, and after he denied any involvement he disappeared, and his roommates’ car was stolen. Machado was believed to have stolen it. Machado was caught early in 1997 trying to sneak back into the U.S. from Mexico where he had fled to. He had hoped to work and continue with life in Mexico. However when he didn’t succeed he came back and got caught by the border security.
Lopez claimed to have killed over 300, but the police only unearthed 57 of his victims. Eventually the police apprehended Lopez and got a confession of him killing 110 victims. Lopez grew up in Santa Isabel, Colombia. He was the seventh child of thirteen. His mother, Benilda was three months pregnant with Lopez when his father was killed. While growing up, Benilda was severely abusive to Lopez. She was also a sex worker who was reported to be sexually assaulted by her clients. Eventually his mother kicked him out of the house after catching him fondling his younger sister. He joined a gang and got addicted to cocaine. While on the streets, a man approached Lopez and offered him a place to stay for the night. He took Lopez to an abandoned building and raped him. At the age of 21, Lopez stole a car and was sent to prison and was raped, again, by at least two fellow inmates. Lopez killed his attackers soon after. Later, Lopez will fulfill his new desire to kill by murdering 110 known victims. Most of them looking eerily similar to his own mother. It would be difficult to attempt to make an argument for this man to be born a serial killer. His childhood shaped him for a road with two paths: catch a killer, or become
The person I chose to research was Gary Ridgway. He is also known as The Green River Killer. Gary was a serial killer in Washington. He has been convicted of murdering 49 women, he has confessed to around 60 killings, but is estimated to have killed closer to 80 women. All the women that he had killed were prostitutes that he had picked up, had sex with them, and then strangled them. He says that he never raped or tortured any of his victims, he just killed them. Gary started killing prostitutes in 1892 and is confirmed to have killed till 1998, but is thought that his last kill was around 2001. He was called the Green River Killer because his first victims’ bodies were found around the Green River.
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