Serial Killers Essay

Register to read the introduction… A lot of people want to blame the parents of the offenders, asking “what did you turn your child into?” 36% of serial killers were physically abused, 26% were sexually abused, and 50% were psychologically abused (Mitchell and Aamodt 45). Many people have logically come to the conclusion that just because someone is abused, it does not mean that they will become a serial killer; or even a murderer; which is true. In the general population (people who have never committed murder) only 6% are physically abused, 3% are sexually abused, and 2% are psychologically abused (Mitchell and Aamodt 45). The dramatic difference of abuse frequency between people who are serial killers and people who are not seems evident enough to support that serial killers are created. What this study does not take into consideration, is that among the general population abuse is underreported because many individuals who have suffered from abuse do not readily admit that they have been abused. In contrast abuse is likely over reported by people who commit heinous crimes in an effort to win sympathy from the jury. It is possible that if both the general population and the serial killer population were completely honest and the statistics were more accurate, than the difference between abuse frequency in the populations were not be as dramatic. There are many similarities besides just abuse in the childhood of most serial killers, “many were sons of prostitutes” and most had either absent or abusive fathers (Miller 138). Something unique to serial killers that is not found in normal people or even people who have committed murder that are not serial killers, is that “Unlike delusional psychotic murderers, serial murderers do know right from wrong” (Miller 138). According to law, a person is “not guilty by reason of insanity” if they do not have the capacity to know right from wrong, therefore; …show more content…
Many believe that neither brain abnormalities or childhood abuse compels someone to become a serial killer; but the combination of both factors creates a serial killer. All the evidence combined represents that if one was to suffer from intense abuse as a child and had certain brain abnormalities than that person may be compelled to be a serial killer. A serial killer is not created; a serial killer is not born. A serial killer is a product of a fatal mixture of brain abnormalities and childhood