A mass murderer is a person that kills three or more people at once in the same place. Most of these killers are adult males that have suffered a humiliating phenomenon, like being fired or thrown out of their own house ( "Mass Killers-Characteristics"). They generally act on a whim and attack random people, usually with the use of firearms. After the attack, they will usually end their own lives or surrender, putting their fate in the hands of the state government. In some cases, mass murderers are not even sentenced for life in prison; they are institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital or serve time in prison despite the vile crime they have committed. Mass killers are a danger to society and do not deserve to live after what they have …show more content…
The most common motivation is revenge. This could be revenge on the killer 's boss or someone who emotionally hurt the offender, like a bully ( "Mass Killers-Characteristics" ). Another motive to kill is a physical, psychological, or social feature of the victim that attracts the killer, for example, people of a certain race or sex might attract a killer if the criminal dislikes that certain feature (O 'Connor). Some mass killers also have a "desire to lash out against the world which is 'not right ' in some way" ( "Mass Killers-Characteristics"). Other killers just want to please their cult or gang leaders. For example, the members of the Peoples Temple Group committed mass suicide because the cult leader, Jim Jones, instructed them to do so (Ignacio Blanco). It is also possible that the killer commits the crime because of a moral obligation. Andrea Yates drowned all five of her children because she believed they were going to become murderers and pedophiles. She believed it was her responsibility protect her children from going to hell by killing them while they were still young and innocent. Just like mass murderers have their own reason to kill, they also have their own …show more content…
The most common method of mass murder is with the use of firearms. Adam Lanza shot his way through a locked glass door at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He proceeded to walk through the whole school, stopping in several classrooms and killing twenty students between ages six and seven, eight staff members, and finally, killed himself when enforcements arrived (Ignacio Blanco). Another method of mass murder is stabbing. In 1996, Richard Speck broke into a South Chicago townhouse and took eight women hostage. He beat and raped them before finally stabbing them to death (Ignacio Blanco). Drowning is strange method that is not commonly used for mass murder. However, Andrea Yates used a bathtub in her own home to methodically drown all five of her children, one by one. She placed four of the children on her bed and left the oldest floating in the tub (Ignacio Blanco). Poisoning is also a strange method for mass murder, but is what was used in 1978 to kill the members of Jim Jones ' cult. Jim Jones forced over nine hundred of his followers to drink purple Flavor Aid laced with cyanide(Ignacio Blanco). Every murderer needs to be punished for what they have
John Wayne Gacy, Jeffery Dahmer, Henry Lee Lucas, Charles Manson, Timothy McVeigh, Ann Rule, Angel Resendez, David Berkowitz, Albert DeSalvo, Ottis Toole, Eddie Gein, and Herbert Mullin, what do all of these serial killers have in common and why did they kill? This is the question I am going to answer in my paper. I am going to examine several killers and their childhoods, mental disorders, and types of killings they performed.
Imagine yourself going out to a neighborhood party trying to relax after a stressful week. You might want to socialize, drink, or watch television. Now try to think about the penalties that can occur when the party gets out of control such as loud outbursts, fighting, and physical behavior. Depending on the setting of the party, there could be a possible chance of violence happening. In this case, the violent actions can result to homicides, shootings, and suicides. Homicides can vary based on age, gender, race, and methods of killing the victim. Shootings are quick reactions to dealing with victim. Suicides result to choosing to kill one’s life. Overall, there are different reasons to why individuals feel the need to kill someone else. It
As years go on so will the research on serial killers and hopefully we as a society will fully understand them and one day be able to cure whatever inside that makes them have the urge to kill. Works Cited The Electronic Journal of Sociology, published by the University of Guelph, Ontario. http://www.scribd.com/doc/167086215/How-Serial-Killers-Work. According to the article “10 Most Common Traits of Potential Serial Killers By Hestie Barnard Gerber. According to Comrade Chikatilo: The Psychopathology of Russia's Notorious Serial Killer.
A serial killer is defined in Webster's Dictionary as someone who murders more than three victims one at a time in a relatively short period of time. There is no one generic profile to identify a serial killer. They usually are people seeking for a sensation, a lack of guilt or remorse, a need for control, impulsivity, and predatory behavior. These traits make up a psychopathic personality disorder. Psychopathy is a disorder manifested in people who use a mixture of charm, manipulation, manipulation, and occasional violence to control others, in order to satisfy their own wants and needs. There are four main types of serial killers; thrill seekers, mission-oriented, visionary serial killers, and power and control killers. There may be other
A serial killer is a person who has killed three or more people over a month apart. Their motivation for killing is usually based on psychological issue.(Sanmartín,2001) In the U.S, the most reported serial killers are lower middle class white males, usually in their late twenties to early thirties (Skrapec,2001). Serial killers, often, are liars. They have no sense of remorse or guilt. Most of the time they are not in serious relationship or have any emotional obsession to any one person, besides their victims. Most of the well-known serial killers are: Robert Pickton, Charles Manson, Anthony Sowell, Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer, The Green River Killer, and The BTK murderer. (Sanmartín,2001). Often, women were never seen as even a suspect
Almost all people know who serial killers are, but what exactly defines a serial killer. The FBI defines serial murder as “a minimum of three to four victims with a ‘cooling off’ period between, the killer is usually a stranger to the victim, the murders reflect a need to sadistically dominate the victim, and the murder is rarely for profit.” (Vronsky, 2004, p.36) Serial killers are usually a white male from a lower-to-middle-class background typically in his twenties or thirties. Also, 85% of the world’s serial killers live in America, with at least twenty to fifty unidentified active serial killers plotting another one of their killings. On average, every person has seen or met at least 37 serial killers in their lifespan.
Mass Murderers and Serial Killers are nothing new to today’s society. These vicious killers are all violent, brutal monsters and have an abnormal urge to kill. What gives people these urges to kill? What motivates them to keep killing? Do these killers get satisfaction from killing? Is there a difference between mass murderers and serial killers or are they the same. How do they choose their victims and what are some of their characteristics? These questions and many more are reasons why I was eager to write my paper on mass murderers and serial killers. However, the most interesting and sought after questions are the ones that have always been controversial. One example is; what goes on inside the mind of a killer? In this paper I will try to develop a better understanding of these driven killers and their motives.
Smith, Scott. "Psychology: Mental Illness Reason Behind Most Mass Murders." Capital-Gazette Newspapers [Annapolis] 3 Oct. 2013: n. pag. NewsBank Special Reports. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
They are all motivated to for different reasons; some kill to gain or exert power over the victims, entertainment or mission. Some kill because they believe they have the responsibility to society to do so (Julietta Leung N.D.) Frequently, homosexuals, prostitutes, and the homeless are viewed by serial killers because they might believe they are devalued in society or they view as being beneath humanity. They believe those kinds of people are easy targets based on the belief that no one would notice if they went missing.... ...
According to federal law, 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. Throughout history, serial killers have always been a fascination among many individuals. On numerous occasions, law enforcement has tried to dive into the psyche of these killers to determine why they kill. There have also been numerous stereotypes placed on serial killers. Typical stereotypes are serial killers are all white males, loners, and that their crimes are driven by sex.
Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Mark Allen Smith, Richard Chase, Ted Bundy-the list goes on and on. These five men alone have been responsible for at least ninety deaths, and many suspect that their victims may total twice that number. They are serial killers, the most feared and hated of criminals. What deep, hidden secret makes them lust for blood? What can possibly motivate a person to kill over and over again with no guilt, no remorse, no hint of human compassion? What makes a serial killer?
Serial killers are usually young, white males who are quite intelligent and often come from broken homes. They may have been abused either physically or sexually during childhood and they have serious personality defects, such as low self-esteem and a lifelong sense of loneliness. Although no two serial killers are alike, they all fit this description somewhat. In the sixth edition of Crime and Criminality by Sue Titus Reid, a serial killer is defined as a person who commits more than one murder but at different times (Reid, p. 134).
Serial murder as defined by the FBI is, “[t]he unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events" (Morton Robert J. Ed, & Hilts., Ed, 2005, p. 9). Numerous people disagree with the definition, this researcher included, since it lacks the cool- down period after they murder, which various people feel stands necessary for serial killer status. Serial killers remain a rare phenomenon. The FBI states, serial murder accounts for less than one percent of killings per year (Morton Robert J. Ed, & Hilts., Ed, 2005, p. 2). Nevertheless, throughout the years, countless people have researched serial killers since they commit such heinous crimes. Criminologists and researchers have been attempting to identify various
The television comes on everyone puts their hand to their mouth in shock. Another mass killing has happened. As a nation we feel this is happening more than it used to, but how much is it really happening? The images of Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech are burned into the minds of Americans. Since 2006, there has been more than 200 mass killings in America (Overburg). Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech capture the nations attention, but similar bloody scenes happen with alarming frequency and much less scrutiny (Overburg). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) qualify a mass killing as the death of four people or more. With gun control and mental illness becoming a large topic due to these mass killings USA Today set out to find out who commits these killings, the weapons they use and the forces that motivates them. USA Today examined FBI and local police data and found that mass killings in America happen far more often than the government reports. Also the circumstances surrounding the killings are far more particular than most people think.
...who most likely have had some kind of childhood problem such as divorce or lack of a parent. They might be thinking that they are doing the world a favor, or in search of power of people, or just simply just find pleasure in killing. As to why serial killers have been increasing over the past thirty years, there is no certain answer to it, but hopefully it stops increasing soon and decreases instead.