The killer Joseph Vacher wasn’t always a criminal with sociopathic tendencies, he was once an innocent child. He may have scared his friends and family with his actions and continued to grow more violent and dangerous as he grew older, but at one time he was a child. As an adolescent he served in the military and lived at a monastery. When he came to adulthood he was charged and treated at two different mental institutes. The reasons for his violent nature may have been mental illness or a born criminal, whatever is the case he continued to commit crimes and was the target of new criminology technics.
He is described in appearance by the first object of his obsession, Louise Barant, as projecting a disarming innocence, while still being brutish looking. At the time of their meeting he was wearing the dress uniform of the French army and had sergeant chevrons on his sleeves. On the night of their first meeting that he showed his tendency toward obsession by abruptly proposing marriage. The realization that Ms. Barant has made a mistake became relevant when he threatened to kill her if she every betrayed him. The weeks following his proposal he pursued her with a series of threats, pity, and charm which lead to the assault of another man that attempted to talk to her at a dance.
While she was attempting to distance herself from Vacher, in any way she could, she eventually moved back home. Even though she left, he continued to write to her while he was with his battalion. At a loss for a way to end the relationship she lies and says that her mother has forbidden the relationship and does not wish to go against her wishes. This lie did not detour him and he continued to send a large amount of love letters, and desperation bluntly st...
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...her was insane or just a criminal. This question was answered by his examination and a notebook given to Vacher to fill out, in an attempt to see any sign of regret which was a sign of someone without any control over their actions. The consensus was that Vacher was in fact not insane and did deserve to be held responsible for his actions, as a result he was executed.
While Vacher may have been insane, mentally ill, or damaged from any number of reasons will need to be decided by an expert. In my examination of Joseph Vacher I have found he showed almost no regret for his crimes. While it was shown by his childhood that he was a rather violent and didn’t grow calmer as he aged, on the contrary he grew more capable of terrible acts. The believe that he was a born criminal in the 19th century, gives me great pride in how far we have come in the study of criminology.
What would cause an individual to behave in this rather heinous and macabre manner? Using Robert Pickton as a case study, this paper will explore the phenomenon of serial murder and apply research literature to help explain his behaviour and examine issues such as psychopathy, mental disorder, and substance abuse relevant to the Pickton case. In addition, the paper will explore the sexually sadistic nature of Pickton’s murders. Finally, the paper will explore the reasoning behind Pickton’s selection of drug addicted prostitutes as victims that enabled him to conduct his murders in relative anonymity. ...
...this entire process of the magistrate attempting to lure him to his own doom, Vacher was attempting to convince the case that he was insane and therefore had no control over his actions.
Despite of this information, how he is a calculated killed, in paragraph 2 it reads,” Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me.” A person who is mentally insane can have uncomfortable behaviors and this information shows that he had nothing against the old man. Therefore, the narrator acted on impulsive behavior and can be described as mentally
According to the “Hare Psycopathy Checklist” a psychopath is a person who knows right from wrong in our society but often feels no guilt, remorse or empathy when they engage in wrong actions. They lie easily, blame others for their actions and often hurt people who are close to them. David Berkowitz meets the criteria of Hare’s checklist and is believed to be a true psychopath. Berkowitz is known as the “Son of Sam”, a thrill seeking serial killer who terrorized the city of New York for over a year. Information about David Berkowitz’s background, personality traits and lifestyle and his serial killer profile help to prove that he is in fact a psychopath. In conclusion, this essay will prove to readers that David Berkowitz is a notorious serial killer that is also a psychopath.
The article Serial killers: II. Development, dynamics, and forensics by Lawrence Miller dives in into the many aspects that encompass the psychological, neurological, and sociocultural elements that underline the average serial murderer. The elements involve childhood upbringing, types of aggression, typical neurochemistry, and subcultural theories. The article manages to include descriptions of the statistical patterns that involve the demographics, and motives that follow serial killers. It also discusses the validity and rationality of the insanity defense in prosecuting these extraordinarily vicious offenders. Serial murderers are an atypical occurrence in the criminal justice system. The uncommon and horrific nature of these crimes are
The formation of a serial killer is derived through a chain of events within their environment. Carl Panzram is a prime example of a child whose environment and life experiences led him to a life of criminal psychopathological behavior. This paper reviews the elements of Carl Panzram’s psychopathology, family history, psychological history, criminal history, lifestyle, relationships, criminal actions attempted, and his arrest through sentencing and death. The time-period of Carl Panzram in the early 1900’s is when humane treatments were not enforced in prison systems. The treatment throughout Carl Panzram’s life was cruel, immoral, inhumane, and truly shows why humane treatment in all facilities is
When we look at how fragile each one of our lives are, we need to take a minute and realize the different characteristics that form us into who we are today. Studies have shown that there are characteristics within the behavior of an individual that can be linked to the specific behaviors demonstrated by an offender that would classify them as a psychopath. Along with other research that looks into an individual’s genetics to see if that plays a role in defining or making a psychopath. John Allen Muhammad, also known as the D.C. sniper, was labeled as a psychopath when he terrorized D.C. for two weeks, taking thirteen victims and killing ten of them. This paper will go over the behaviors that constitute psychopathy, and the behaviors that indicate psychopathic individuals such as John himself. It will also go over John’s life history of what caused him to commit these acts of violence.
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.
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.
Most of the time people cannot comprehend why people that work in the forensic department are sometimes overwrought with anxiety when they have a serial killer case brought into their lab. These forensic scientists have these feelings due to knowing that this could potentially help advance technology. Over the years, serial killers have unpremeditatedly helped further advance the criminal investigation process by unintentionally leaving things behind for a forensics team to analyze. When the team finally solves these cases, it continually propels things such as DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) analysis, finger print techniques, and not to mention the investigation process itself.
Much of my skepticism over the insanity defense is how this act of crime has been shifted from a medical condition to coming under legal governance. The word "insane" is now a legal term. A nuerological illness described by doctors and psychiatrists to a jury may explain a person's reason and behavior. It however seldom excuses it. The most widely known rule in...
...iments of low self-regard, disgrace, and deficiency. This is the point at which the seed of retribution is planted. From an early age serial killers vent their fury, jealousy, and dismissal from an early age towards defenseless casualties, for example, creatures, as they become out of this stage they swing to vent toward honest people that look like the tormentors of their initial life. Pre-oedipal in the family unit is the thing that separates serial killers structure other physically manhandled youngsters; this is the key element to maniacal fury. Serial killers make their casualties feel what they felt as youngsters, henceforth the examples of slaughters from a little child to a grown-up. In the wake of being de-railed as kids, the enslavement of control in playing "GOD" in another person 's life is the thing that drives serial killers into an extreme force rage.
Have you ever wondered why some people love art and music, and some love science and math? These individuals love math or art because they get a sense of relaxation and excitement from these activities. Serial killers are the same way they love to kill people and have lots of different motives for why they kill them. A serial killer is a person who kills repeatedly. The one motive that drove Dennis Rader, to kill his victims was to gain power and control over them.
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.
...e to murder over a period of time frequently show sociopath tendencies. Serial killer's have little self-esteem and a sociopath's inability to feel other people's pain or sorrow for any wrongful acts that they have committed (Casey, p. 80).