Free Essays on Serial Killers

â€Å"I didn’t want to hurt them, I only wanted to kill them.† This is a quote from David Berkowitz, A.K.A., the Son of Sam. David Berkowitz and all of the other serial killers tend to think in unique ways. This paper will talk to you about characteristics, motives, different phases, and the correlation between behavior and aggression. Serial killers like everyone else have certain characteristics that set them apart. To be considered a bonafied serial killer you must murder at least three to four people with a cooling off period between each murder. These killings are usually one on one and are repetitive, occurring with greater or lesser frequency over time (â€Å"Characteristics of Serial Murder†). Serial killers usually don’t have a connection with the victim and they very rarely if ever have a rational motive. The serial killer likes to murder people in the same pattern, usually with a high degree of overkill. This degree of overkill sets them a part from different serial killers. Serial murderers also have different motives for their murders. One of the most obvious is that they turn to murdering for a sense of power (Forwood). For this sense of power they usually attack societies weakest members and those weaker than themselves (Forwood). This includes the homeless, impaired, and usually the young of both sexes. When they kill the homeless and impaired they are usually acting on the Missionary Motive. This is when they feel that it is their responsibility to rid society of its unwanted inhabitants. There are also Visionary killers which are usually instructed to kill by the voices that are in their head (schizophrenia). The last type of these motives is the Hedonist. They kill because it brings them the pleasure to do so. This group is separated into three sub-categories which are lust killers, thrill killers and gain killers. Lust killers kill for sexual pleasure. They are usually sexually underdeveloped and they kill for sex u... Free Essays on Serial Killers Free Essays on Serial Killers â€Å"What Makes a Serial Killer?† By La Donna Beaty Serial Killers Preface: I am writing this essay to discuss one of the points made in the essay, by La Donna Beaty, â€Å"What Makes a Serial Killer?†. My essay will explore one of the points she makes in reference to the possible cause and effect relationship of what makes a serial killer. In her essay, Beaty contends that one possible cause is the â€Å"family atmosphere into which the serial killer is born.† (Beaty 182) She gives as evidence, situations such as being psychologically abused as children, having poor relationships with the male figures in their lives, being rejected or neglected by their parents, and moving repeatedly, however I do not agree with this point. Simply having a poor family environment or being abused in any manner cannot cause you to become a serial killer. In my essay, I will make use of arguments from the heart, as well as, value-based decisions as to why I do not agree with the author’s point of view. Many people have not experienced an emotionally unhealthy childhood, however they have gone on to lead a well balanced productive life as an adult. We cannot possibly believe that the result of an unhappy or abused childhood is the sole result, which leads an individual down the path to become a serial killer. The real question is what other factors help to create these seriously demented beings. There is a great deal to consider when investigating the background of serial killers. Some argue that they were abused in their childhood. Most would agree that this is nothing more than a copout for an extremely mentally disturbed person. In the essay, â€Å"What makes a Serial Killer†, La Donna Beaty provides several theories as to how the relationships of childhood has affected and ultimately produced such abnormal behavior. According to Beaty’s essay, she claims that there are several makings of a serial killer, and it is often... Free Essays on Serial Killers â€Å"I didn’t want to hurt them, I only wanted to kill them.† This is a quote from David Berkowitz, A.K.A., the Son of Sam. David Berkowitz and all of the other serial killers tend to think in unique ways. This paper will talk to you about characteristics, motives, different phases, and the correlation between behavior and aggression. Serial killers like everyone else have certain characteristics that set them apart. To be considered a bonafied serial killer you must murder at least three to four people with a cooling off period between each murder. These killings are usually one on one and are repetitive, occurring with greater or lesser frequency over time (â€Å"Characteristics of Serial Murder†). Serial killers usually don’t have a connection with the victim and they very rarely if ever have a rational motive. The serial killer likes to murder people in the same pattern, usually with a high degree of overkill. This degree of overkill sets them a part from different serial killers. Serial murderers also have different motives for their murders. One of the most obvious is that they turn to murdering for a sense of power (Forwood). For this sense of power they usually attack societies weakest members and those weaker than themselves (Forwood). This includes the homeless, impaired, and usually the young of both sexes. When they kill the homeless and impaired they are usually acting on the Missionary Motive. This is when they feel that it is their responsibility to rid society of its unwanted inhabitants. There are also Visionary killers which are usually instructed to kill by the voices that are in their head (schizophrenia). The last type of these motives is the Hedonist. They kill because it brings them the pleasure to do so. This group is separated into three sub-categories which are lust killers, thrill killers and gain killers. Lust killers kill for sexual pleasure. They are usually sexually underdeveloped and they kill for sex u... Free Essays on Serial Killers Psychology : Serial Killers The nineteen-seventies was an incredible decade. It was a decade of change, one of freedom, a time for great music. It was also an incredible decade for shock, fear and serial killers. John Wayne Gacy, an amateur clown, was a pedophiliac homosexual. He tortured and killed thirty three little boys and stored their remains under his house. David Berkowitz, a.k.a. the Son of Sam, stalked New York City from nineteen-sixty-seven to nineteen-seventy-seven. He claimed to have been following a voice from his dog that told him when and where to kill. Ted Bundy, who is believed to have killed at least thirty-four people, was charged for only three under his own defense- and in fact, he was commended by the judge for his own defense. He was put to death . With the combination of a very powerful media and a society fascinated with gruesome, sadistic crimes, modern serial killers have been put in the spotlight. We are enraptured with serial killers so much, that we pay seven dollars to go see a movie where everyone except the bad guys gets strangled, mutilated, or shot- and enjoy it in some sick way. The media goes out of its way to glamorize murder and terrify the public. We support killers like Charles Manson on Death Row with our tax dollars. In fact, we support them with more than that. About two months ago there was an art show in California entitled: The Death Row Art Show III. Pieces sold for thousands of dollars regardless of their aesthetic appeal, because of the identity of the artists. Serial killers are becoming as popular as rock stars. Serial killers are a development of the industrial world; they really didn't "come about" until the late eighteen-hundreds when society was becoming modernized and the threat of the new age sort of displaced some individuals so much they felt they had to kill to get their point across to society. Jack the Ripper is probably the most notorious killer in history bec...