Or is it cultural — nurture? Do serial killers have control over their behaviors? Nick Wooldridge — a prominent criminal defense lawyer in Las Vegas — says that serial killers have used a variety of excuses to justify their killing:.
Henry Lee Lucas and Jeffrey Dahmer. Both claimed they were born with a part of them missing. Herbert Mullin.
Carl Panzram. Incarcerated before his killing spree, Panzram blamed his serial murders in prison; it turned him, he claimed, into a monster. Bobby Joe Longsaid. John Wayne Gacy. Gacy blamed his victims and claimed he was doing society a favor by killing them. To any generalization there are exceptions. Carl Panzram could be the exception. When Panzram was hanged in , he was asked if he had any last words. Hutt up, you Hoosier bastard. Some have been recognized as a loner to those around them, whilst others are married or in long-term relationships.
On the other hand, not all tormented and abused kids become serial killers, and not all serial killers were victims of childhood abuse. Be that as it may, there does appear to be a relationship between profound traumatic issues and later criminal conduct.
This correlation seems to be a reality, although in varying degrees across criminals. Another perspective emphasizes a genetic aspect to this severe form of antisocial behavior. Incidentally, studies propose that while some serial killers may exhibit unusual brain activities, which may force them to carry out crimes, there is no evidence that a different brain form or abnormality would bring about a violent individual or killer Brogaard, As such, genetics, environment, trauma, and personality are different variables that collectively drive serial killer conduct.
So, generalizing the cause of criminal conduct would be pretentious and off base. There will always be evil in the world. Serial killers are unique because their own experiences apparently help shape their respective personalities and mindsets. Another common factor compounding the investigation of serial killers is that they often live everyday lives and hide behind their relatively mundane lifestyles, thereby making them harder to locate.
Berit Brogaard, P. Psychology Today. Fox, B. Journal of Criminal Justice , 49 , Hagan, F. Introduction to criminology, theories, methods, and criminal behavior 9th ed. Haggerty, K. The social study of serial killers. Criminal Justice Matters , 86 1 , 6—7. Herrero, F. Serial killers: Relation between childhood maltreatment and sexual relations with the victims.
European Psychiatry , 41 S1 , SS Keatley, D. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , Marono, A. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law , 27 1 , Childhood trauma and moral responsibility. Raine, A. The biological crime: implications for society and the criminal justice system. Revista de Psiquiatria do Rio Grande do Sul , 30 1 , A possible explanation of this deficit was identified in a recent brain imaging study.
This showed that criminal psychopaths had decreased connectivity between the amygdala—a brain region that processes negative stimuli and those that give rise to fearful reactions—and the prefrontal cortex, which interprets responses from the amygdala.
When connectivity between these two regions is low, processing of negative stimuli in the amygdala does not translate into any strongly felt negative emotions. This may explain why criminal psychopaths do not feel guilty about their actions, or sad when their victims suffer.
Yet serial killers also seem to possess an enhanced emotional drive that leads to an urge to hurt and kill other human beings. This apparent contradiction in emotional responses still needs to be explained at a neurological level. At the same time, we should not ignore social influences as important factors in the development of such contradictory impulses.
It seems possible that serial killers have somehow learned to view their victims as purely an object to be abused, or even an assembly of unconnected parts. This might explain why some killers have sex with dead victims, or even turn their bodies into objects of utility or decoration, but it does not explain why they seem so driven to hurt and kill their victims.
One explanation for the latter phenomenon is that many serial killers are insecure individuals who feel compelled to kill due to a morbid fear of rejection. In many cases, the fear of rejection seems to result from having been abandoned or abused by a parent. Such fear may compel a fledgling serial killer to want to eliminate any objects of their affections. They may come to believe that by destroying the person they desire, they can eliminate the possibility of being abandoned, humiliated, or otherwise hurt, as they were in childhood.
Serial killers also appear to lack a sense of social conscience. Through our parents, siblings, teachers, peers, and other individuals who influence us as we grow up, we learn to distinguish right from wrong.
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