Serial Killers Summary

This article points out some good characteristics of serial killers. The author mentioned a Professor Levin that has studied serial killers as part of his academia and has found that serial killers (or mass killers) are often driven to killing due to anger and the need to be in control. In addition, they get pleasure in killing their victims which is why, Levin says, mass killers often do not use a gun to kill but instead prefer things that will draw out the death, such as strangulation or using a knife. The author further mentions Levin’s study by mentioning how mass kills will often plan their murders more carefully than in a sudden rage—this can often be seen in today’s mass shootings at schools and movie theaters. One thing that is for …show more content…
The punishment model, according to the author, sends the message to the criminal that the crime(s) they have committed are wrong and for committing the crime(s) they must be punished accordingly; however, in a prevention model, when talking about criminal law, the criminal is told that the crime(s) they have committed were wrong, but don’t let it happen again. The key point the author points out here is how the message is delivered to the criminal is key. When looking at restorative justice programs for example, the offender is being transitioned back into a functional member of society but at the same time, has to face their victim(s)—this not only making the offender aware of their action(s) and the consequences thereof, but also to feel and understand what their victim(s) is going …show more content…
According to the author, a while individuals are more likely to support the utilization of the death penalty than black/minorities—add in political demographics, Democrats are more opposed to the death penalty than Republicans. The author points out however that education level has an impact on ones support for the death penalty as, a white male with less than a college degree but still having graduated from high school is more likely to support the death penalty than say an individual with some college education or having a college degree. The author found in their research that even socioeconomic status has an impact on ones views on the death penalty as, if someone is lower socioeconomic status they are opposed to the death penalty but if someone is higher up socioeconomically, they are more likely to support the death