Kitty Genovese, The Crime That Changed America

In 1964, the United States witnessed one of the most influential murders to affect the field of psychology. Kitty Genovese, was raped and murdered on the streets of New York, but that wasn’t the most horrifying part. What stunned everyone was that over 30 people watched and heard the murder, but chose not to help. This situation puzzled psychologists, as they and everyone else asked the obvious question—why didn’t anyone help? Thus, psychologists came to discover the now widely known bystander effect. The bystander effect plays a large role in our everyday society, but can be stopped when taking preventative cautions. Kitty Genovese lived in Queens of New York, and more specifically the neighborhood Kew Gardens. She was walking back from her job to her apartment, when Winston Moseley grabbed her by a streetlight and stabbed her repeatedly. According to Kevin Cook (2014) in his book, Kitty Genovese: the Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime that Changed America, this is how the whole scene occurred that night. After being stabbed, Kitty screamed, “He stabbed me!” Around the neighborhood lights turned on, windows opened, and voices were heard. “Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please help me!” Then someone from one of the apartment windows yelled out, “Let that girl alone!” Moseley walked away from Kitty back to his car, which was …show more content…
Whether people pass someone on the road in need of help, see a child being picked on, or see smoke from a building, everyone assumes that someone else will take care of the situation. These assumptions may sometimes be true, but may also lead to deadly situations, such as the Kitty Genovese case. With the new information learned about the bystander effect, trainings and other preventions are taking place around the country. The bystander effect plays a large role in our everyday society, but can be stopped by teaching people to stand up and be part of the