John Wayne Gacy is one of the most infamous serial killers in American history. During a seven-year span of the 1970s, Gacy murdered 33 men. As is the case with many high profile murderers, to the average person, one would have to be insane to commit such acts, which is what Gacy 's defense claimed. The jury did not buy it though, and Gacy would be executed by lethal injection in 1994. Criminologists study why people commit crime, and assemble theories. Though there is yet to be a perfect theory, there are some that fit the crimes of Mr. Gacy. Hopefully there will be a theory in the future that would at least be able to explain this type of criminal behavior. John Wayne Gacy was born on March 17, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. He married in 1964,
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This theory says that the criminal makes the decision to commit the acts, and it blames only the criminal. As human beings, we have the decision to act, or not to act. Of course, for some with mental disabilities, this is not the case, but for the majority it is, and it was determined that Gacy did not have a mental disability. He made a conscious and informed choice to commit murder, finding ways to lure men and boys to his home so he could sexually abuse them, and eventually murder them. Even knowing the possible consequences of his decisions, he chose crime, and sadly his victims had the unfortunate fate of knowing or working for him, and crossing his murderous …show more content…
Without the family of Robert Piest alerting and talking to the authorities, Gacy’s killing spree could have continued for much longer, and claimed many more victims. We can all hope that there will not be another murderer like Gacy, but if we are honest, serial killers have been around for hundreds of years, and I don’t think they will be disappearing anytime soon. Because there are still serial killers, it is important to try and find out why people commit the crimes that they do. While there are a few theories that could fit Gacy and help explain why he committed such terrible acts, there is not a theory for everyone, which is why criminologists must keep pushing on, and discovering new ideas and theories about why crime is
This theory says that the criminal makes the decision to commit the acts, and it blames only the criminal. As human beings, we have the decision to act, or not to act. Of course, for some with mental disabilities, this is not the case, but for the majority it is, and it was determined that Gacy did not have a mental disability. He made a conscious and informed choice to commit murder, finding ways to lure men and boys to his home so he could sexually abuse them, and eventually murder them. Even knowing the possible consequences of his decisions, he chose crime, and sadly his victims had the unfortunate fate of knowing or working for him, and crossing his murderous …show more content…
Without the family of Robert Piest alerting and talking to the authorities, Gacy’s killing spree could have continued for much longer, and claimed many more victims. We can all hope that there will not be another murderer like Gacy, but if we are honest, serial killers have been around for hundreds of years, and I don’t think they will be disappearing anytime soon. Because there are still serial killers, it is important to try and find out why people commit the crimes that they do. While there are a few theories that could fit Gacy and help explain why he committed such terrible acts, there is not a theory for everyone, which is why criminologists must keep pushing on, and discovering new ideas and theories about why crime is