Righteous slaughter is an impassioned attempt to perform a sacrifice to embody one or another version of the “Good”. Offenders defend the good, even in what initially appear to be crazy circumstances (page 13). One of the examples Katz describe was Francine Hughes who killed her spouse James for beaten her for 15 years in front of her daughter. The version of the good she was defending was not simply the right to simply physical self-defense. It also a version of the American dream that is widely accepted among people of all political persuasion: to better yourself through education & escape the welfare rolls by applying yourself to serve business (page 14). Another homicide would the killing of John by his wife. As john wife wanted a divorce.
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When little money is taken, robberies in which non-resisting victims are murder seem especially “senseless” (page 275). Killings may be intentional or unintentional that lead by situational factors. An example given was the case of Gary Gilmore in July 1979, after robbing a fully compliant gas station attendant, Gilmore shot him in the head, twice at close range; the next day, while robbing a motel, Gilmore executed the manager in a similar way. The crime Gilmore committed does not fit the motivation either of robbery or of murder (page 275). Explaining Gilmore’s acts was due to self-definition that offenders present to others, the emotional dynamic that the crimes complete, and the situational contingencies that catalyze the relevant emotional dynamic and make it practicable to present desired self-image (page 276). Therefore, it was considered Cold Blooded or Senseless. Another example would be Perry and Richard (Dick) in November 1959, planned to rob a safe $10,000 and ended up killing the family. Neither of the description by the offenders nor the material evidence of the crime suggests an act of passion but emotion (page 277). The killings were cold-blooded but also senseless in that there was no resistance by the victims and no need to murder the victims to avoid identification (as Perry had urged Dick, they could have used mask) (page
When little money is taken, robberies in which non-resisting victims are murder seem especially “senseless” (page 275). Killings may be intentional or unintentional that lead by situational factors. An example given was the case of Gary Gilmore in July 1979, after robbing a fully compliant gas station attendant, Gilmore shot him in the head, twice at close range; the next day, while robbing a motel, Gilmore executed the manager in a similar way. The crime Gilmore committed does not fit the motivation either of robbery or of murder (page 275). Explaining Gilmore’s acts was due to self-definition that offenders present to others, the emotional dynamic that the crimes complete, and the situational contingencies that catalyze the relevant emotional dynamic and make it practicable to present desired self-image (page 276). Therefore, it was considered Cold Blooded or Senseless. Another example would be Perry and Richard (Dick) in November 1959, planned to rob a safe $10,000 and ended up killing the family. Neither of the description by the offenders nor the material evidence of the crime suggests an act of passion but emotion (page 277). The killings were cold-blooded but also senseless in that there was no resistance by the victims and no need to murder the victims to avoid identification (as Perry had urged Dick, they could have used mask) (page