Criminal Mind Essay, Research Paper
Although much has been written and many theories
brought forth on identifying the criminal mind, it
is still evident that there is no foolproof way to
know in advance whether a person is prone to
criminal activity. Law enforcement agencies have
begun using a method called profiling to identify
serial killers and terrorists. Some school
districts are looking into the concept as a way of
early detection into the minds of troubled
children whose violent ways might be discovered
before it is too late. By watching for certain
signals educators hope to intervene before these
students actually complete a violent act (Lord
PG).Some have felt it is the influence of drugs or
alcohol that induces this kind of criminalistic
behavior. While substance abuse may affect a
person as far as committing offenses, it is far
unlikely that substance abuse alone could create a
serial or mass murderer. Mitchell (PG) points out
that there are “studies correlating a geographical
prevalence of alcoholism and serial murder and
might show that there is some relation between the
two (although this relationship might well be
spurious).”Some personality traits have been shown to be
more prevalent in the makeup of serial or mass
murderers. Impulsiveness, low self-esteem and poor
social skills, as well as competitive and
aggressive behavior are quite common among these
killers as is hypersensitivity to criticism
(Mitchell PG). It has also been pointed out that
those with active or high fantasy prone
imaginations are more apt to be able to become
serial killers. Even Carl Jung pointed out that it
is the tortured that become the torturers, thus
establishing the fact that child abuse assumes a
very prominent role in the makings of a serial
killer. Perhaps it is a sense of helplessness or
lack of self worth that causes the abused to turn
to others to inflict pain upon. Sometimes this
fantasy life comes to the forefront in the
presence of actual abuse the killer has had to
endure, at which time the mind takes over and
concocts a fantasy in which the abuse is happening
to someone or something else. This can perhaps sow
the seeds in which the mind allows the fantasy to
be played out in reality later on in life
(Mitchell PG). So far, however, not enough has
been discovered in order to accurately predict
deviant behavior in the young and enable it to be
corrected before it comes to fruition.It is interesting to note that only a few
examples of female serial murderers exist. There
are even fewer examples of female serial sadistic
killers. It seems that serial killers are most
predominately male. Because women are socially
taught subservience and obedience, it is felt that
to overcome this sociological learning is more
than normally would take place in the mind of even
the aggressive female in a social setting. It
normally takes a propensity toward violence and
overbearing in order to be expressive rather than
alien to the social culture of a given individual.
It is noted that a feminist approach to serial
murder would have, no doubt, much to offer in the
terms of social analyzation (Mitchell PG).Children are not displaying normal behavior when
they hurt, torture or kill animals. That, say
behaviorists, is one of the significant
indications of underlying psychological trouble.
Bundy, along with Manson, Dahmer and most other
killers of this sort, began their torturous abuse
on animals. The evidence that childhood animal
abuse ultimately leads to adulthood crimes is
irrefutable. Senator Ed Perlmutter, who sponsored
a bill to stiffen the punishment of animal cruelty
charges, has no doubt that animal cruelty is
linked with “much more serious crimes” (Sanko 38A)
later in life. It is as though the animals act as
practice tools until the time is right to graduate
up to humans. But with the help of new laws
currently being passed in several states, law
enforcement is now taking a closer look at the
connection.According to psychologist Randall Lockwood of the
Humane Society of the United States, perpetrators
do not stop to count the number of legs on their
victims (Sharp, PG); rather, they just want the
thrill of the kill, no matter who is on the
receiving end. Make no mistake that there exists a
clear and distinct connection among the abuses of
animals, children, battered spouses and the
elderly. The late anthropologist Margaret Mead was
frequently quoted as having said that “one of the
most dangerous things that can happen to a child
is to kill or torture an animal and get away with
it” (Landers ).However, animal abuse is but one clue that a
child like Bundy, Gacy or DeSalvo will grow up a
serial killer; fire-setting and bed-wetting are
just two of several other pieces to the puzzle. As
well, torturous mischief can indicate that the
child derives pleasure from seeing others in pain
or fear. The makeup of such a killer starts early
on, long before the concept of murder ever enters
the mind. The inner motivation that compels
children to commit heinous acts of violence and
torture is not something that is con
recognized by the individual.”Children normally learn to trust and develop
attachments to people within the first two years
of life. By then they have also acquired a sense
of compassion and empathy for others. And they
have begun to be taught the difference between
right and wrong and that hurtful actions have
consequences. Many youngsters, though, fail to
acquire those early curbs on conduct. Later on,
when children misbehave, indulgent parents make
excuses and forgo punishments. Young boys who grow
up with absent or uninvolved fathers suffer doubly
in that they often fail to develop a healthy sense
of masculinity” (Toufexis 64).Not coincidentally, Bundy, as an example, started
demonstrating telltale signs at the age of three,
when he ever so quietly slid a butcher knife under
the covers of his aunt’s bed while she was still
asleep. As he stood there grinning, she shooed him
out of the room to put the knife away. The
unsettling thing about this incident is that no
one took notice of its message; in fact, says the
aunt, she was the only one who thought his actions
were strange (Simon simonb.html). Time and time
again, however, Bundy’s family insisted that he
had a normal childhood — that was before such
examples started leaking out.Experts in the field of serial sexual murderers
say that a commonality among serial killers is the
issue of sexual dysfunction, no matter if they are
heterosexual or homosexual. Impotency and the
inability to conduct or maintain “mature,
consensual sexual experiences” (Simon simonb.html)
are trademark for this kind of offender. Oddly
enough, however, they have no trouble at all
achieving intense sexual pleasure from their
deviant acts of violence. According to FBI
statistics, of the some 500 serial killers at
large, 90 percent of them commit crimes of brutal
sexual violence (Anonymous PG).There are many common factors that may lead
seemingly stable people to commit violent crimes.
Some experts say the breakdown of the family
structure plays a heavy role, while others say it
is a combination of abuses kids suffer at the
hands of their parents. When parents are even in
the picture, say still others, they are often void
of any parental abilities, thereby leaving the
teenagers to learn moral values of right and wrong
for themselves. However, not every child who has
had a lousy upbringing within a dysfunctional
family ends up a serial killer, so there has to be
more to the equation than just the home life
situation. There is, say some psychologists, who
suspect that biology plays yet another powerful
role (Toufexis, 64).In a study conducted by Psychologist Robert Hare
of the University of British Columbia, both normal
people and known psychopaths were rated on their
responses to such emotionally-illustrative words
as death, cancer and rape, as well as to neutral
works like table and chair. The psychopath brain
waves indicated a distinct lack of reaction to the
emotional words, while the normal people responded
right away. In short, because the brain produces
no reaction, it is apparent that killers like
Gacy, DeSalvo and Bundy have no conscience to
answer to, as their brains do not register the
action being wrong (Toufexis, 64).Society feels the effects of serial killers by
harboring significantly more fear towards
strangers. It has come to a point where no one is
safe walking in his or her own neighborhood — no
matter how upscale it may be — inasmuch as money
or status has no bearing whatsoever upon who falls
victim to a serial killer. As a means by which to
enact self-preservation, people have come to
withdraw from those whom they do not know, opting
not to answer doorbells or help strangers on the
street; indeed, this is precisely the manner by
which many of the killer’s victims lost their
lives.The fact that most serial killers are white males
in their thirties addresses issues that previously
have not been associated with this particular kind
of perpetrator. Society has historically looked
upon serial killers as having a certain repulsive
image or appearance, never once considering that
upstanding, nice looking, relatively young men
could ever fit that description. This severe
modification addresses American history in that
the overall representation of serial killers has
changed to the point that anybody’s next door
neighbor — the guy with the nice smile and kind
word for all — might very well be the country’s
next mass murderer.
60a
Anonymous. “Borrowed confessions.” 28 November
2000.http://www.feedmag.com/96.08selzter/96.08seltzer3.
htmlLanders, Ann. Newsday, April, 1994: .Lord, Mary. “The violent-kid profile.” U. S. News
& World Report, October, 1999: PG.Mitchell, Edward W. “The aetiology of serial
murder: towards an integrated model.” PhD
Dissertation to Satisfy the Requirements of
University of Cambridge School of Mental Health
Law. 1996.Sanko, John. “Bill would stiffen laws on animal
cruelty measure aims at deliberate mistreatment,
abuse, killing.” Rocky Mountain News, April 1997:
38A.Sharp, Deborah. “Public outraged by recent cases
of animal abuse.” USA T