Serial Killer v.
Typical Murderer
Sparkalena Boose
February 12, 2012
Abstract
A serial killer kills multiple people in a
short amount of time, but a typical murderer does not. Most serial killers feel
no remorse for their victims, but some typical murderers do feel for their
victims afterwards. Some don’t feel any remorse at all. Serial killers, like Arnold Sodeman, have been discovered to have mental disorders, which shows that this not only a moral issue but a psychological issue.
Serial Killer v.
Typical Murderer
Methods
In my English Literature class, we all
started off by using Wikipedia, even though most teachers during high school
tell students not to use Wikipedia. Our English Literature teacher had us use research
on Wikipedia and we learned that it is a great starting point if you are doing
a paper, so I started my research there. The next place looked for information
from the Delta Library and website, and I found some great scholarly journals
and magazines that were extremely helpful.
I found a book called, Murder In America, in my neighborhood library.
The media source was found on Google, where they have tons of pictures of
serial killers and murderers.
Results;What Is The
Classification Of A Serial Killer and a Murderer?
The term serial killer came out in the
1980’s, but now we have various different types of serial killers who don’t fit
the criteria of the 1980’s terminology for it. The most recent definition for a
serial killer is “someone, depending on the number of victims, period of time,
and reason for homicide, who kills, more than four people in a seventy-two-hour
time frame” (Larson 1). A murderer is someone who commits homicide.
Why They Murder?
What is the motivation behind killing for a
serial killer and a typical murderer? Serial killers and murderers commit
homicides for many reasons. Serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer murder for their
own gratification or personal pleasure. One serial killer, who was left
un-named in the book Murder in America, said in an interview with a college
class that,
“I enjoyed killing. Yes,
that’s correct, I actually enjoyed killing. I enjoyed killing young females.
Slender ones. Cheerleader types. The prettier the better. For me, there was no
greater thrill, no greater high, and no greater meaning than that which I
derived from holding in the palm of my hand the life of just such a creature, a
young woman unable to resist or flee, and then slowly destroying that same life
for my own personal pleasure.”He or she said in their interview “my own personal pleasure…” showing no remorse for his victims or personal relationship with that human being, just an intense drive or mental gratification. He goes on to kind of brag about his killing and say how easy it was and hints that if were not in prison he would murder again,
"Ritualistic games of torture. Good old fashioned rape. Then murder. It was always quite fun. Unimaginably gratifying. Fulfilling. Someone listening to our conversation may well find it abhorrent for me to be expressing such an apparent fondness for sadism and cold blooded murder. Some may even call it madness others may call it evil. Or some may call it a grotesque sickness beyond the understanding of psychiatry’s most expert minds. But, regardless of the label one might wish to place upon me or my past behavior, there is no denying the fact that this deliberate snuffing out of human life was once no less than a refreshing and regular pastime for me. As natural to me as breathing air or eating food. As thoroughly satisfying as an ice cold beer on a wretchedly hot afternoon. And were I not locked away inside a prison cell this moment, there’s no question about what I might otherwise be doing to occupy my hours this very same winter’s night"(Murder In America, 2000).
A person who commits a typical homicide has a much different motive than a serial killer. A murderer kills someone that they have had some kind of relationship with whether it be a friend, family, spouse or significant other, or someone from their job. The top 5 reasons for murder are the domestic argument, no apparent reason, money, revenge, or alcohol and drugs (Irrelevant Voice Blog Spot, 1996he most common motive is revenge. You see it all the time in newspapers, news, and Lifetime movies; a loved one killing another loved one because the murderer feels that when their loved one left them they selfishly tore their relationship apart, or one of them cheats on the other and kill their significant other. Greed can also take over anyone’s mental morality. We all know that money is what makes the world go around, but you better know your price. There was an individual who was sentenced to 70 years in prison because he murdered a man and manually sawed the men’s body into pieces, placed them in bags, and dumped his body in the woods. What was the reason behind killing the man? Greed. He was involved in selling drugs, and the victim stole fifty-thousand dollars from him and he wanted revenge. He had what it would seem like a very good life, but he threw it all away because of greed and revenge like most typical murderers, never stopping to think about the future and regretting it in the end.
Do They Feel Remorse?
Serial killers typically do not feel
remorse for their victims. It is a pleasure to them to have someone in their
total control. This is shown in the
quote from “Murder In America,” where the serial killer goes on to kind of brag
about murdering, but also in a quote by the well-known serial killer, John
Wayne Gacy Jr., also known as the Killer Clown, who was quoted saying “They
deserved what they got”(Douglas,1996). He was
responsible for the rape and murder of 33 teenage boys. He was given the name Killer
Clown because of his charity work at fundraising events for parades, and
children’s parties, where he would dress up as “Pogo the Clown”. He would marry
vulnerable women; this was a clever disguise to cover who he really was. He
felt no sense of remorse for ant of his 33 victims (Douglas). Murderers are
different. Many feel remorse for their victims because, as mentioned
previously, their victims are typically close to them. They end up regretting what
they did because they miss their loved one and wish they could take it back.
There are those who feel the same way that John Wayne Gacy Jr. felt, which was
they got what was coming to them because of their motive for revenge or money.
John Gacy Jr. (Douglas
1996)
The answer to my question, from my
conclusion early, is that typical murderers are totally different from serial
killers. Serial killers commit several different homicides in a short amount of
time, but murderers do not. I also found that serial killers suffer many
psychological issues. Arnold Sodeman, a well known serial killer, who killed four female children was intoxicated at every murder. He willingly confessed to the murders and after his execution it latered discovered that he suffered from chronic lepto-meningitis, which if inflammation of the brain when intaking alcohol. Also his father and grandfather died in mental institutions and his mother suffered frm amnesia. Evidence, like this, help to prove that this is not merely just a moral issue but also a psychological issue.This will
most likely give a reason why they kill in the future with the development of
more gene and biological studies emerge.
Conclusion
Serial killers are completely different
from a typical murderer. They tend to feel no remorse or empathy for their victim,
and while some murderers feel the same, most do not. Murderers tend to murder
for revenge and typically someone close to them, but serial Murderers tend to
kill for self-gratification.
References
Douglas, J., (1996).Allaboutserialkillers.blogspot.com.MindHunter.Mandarine Publishing.Web. 14 Feb. 2012
Larson, Daniel. (2005) Serial Murderers: The Construction Serial Murderers.1-10.
Nalazek, Ashley (2012). Stennett’s Killers Sentenced to Life. The Delta Collegiate, 14, 1-2.
Rarick, Damon O. (2009).Serial Killers, Literary Critics, and Suskind's Das Parfum. Gale Cengage Learning,1-12.
A well written report. Several factual errors but on the whole well thought out. The definition of a serial killer as defined by the US Legal system is a killer who kills many over a LONG period of time. I think you used the definition of a "spree killer". But I hope you got a great grade.
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