buy custom Mind of a Killer essay

buy custom Mind of a Killer essay Introduction Maniacs, or serial killers, are of particular concern in a civilized society. This is determined by the number of victims, sophistication of murders and panic among the population, which can be caused by the rumors about the appearance of a serial killer. Economic costs of neutralization of such criminals pose a serious problem to the government because they are significantly higher than the costs of law enforcement action in neutralization of other types of criminal activity (for example, a twelve-year search and arrest of Andrei Chikatilo cost the state about $14000 000 in 1990 prices) (Hickey, 2012). In modern conditions, the most important thing in practical terms is a typological approach to the study of serial killers, which facilitates identification of specific personality traits of individual groups of criminals, the characteristics of their before- and post-criminal behavior and its associated traces. Such serial killers as Jeffrey Dahmer, Andrei Chikatilo and Albert Fish are different enough to be contrasted, but similar enough to be compared. They are among the cruelest serial killers of all time, so their behavior traits and biography details are of crucial importance and should be remembered by everyone. Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Dahmer is an American serial killer whose victims were 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. All crimes, except one, were committed in Milwaukee from 1987 to 1991 (Masters, 2007). Crimes of Dahmer were distinguished by exreme violence: the bodies of the victims were raped and eaten by him. As a child, Jeffrey was considered a very reclusive and introverted person who contacted a little with others. This fact made him alienated from his classmates at first, and then from army comrades, relatives and friends. Alienation plays a very important role in shaping the personality of a serial killer, as it gives rise to suspicion and hostility to the surrounding world (Thomas, 2010). It also fosters the development of infantilism, inability to empathize with other people, which contributes to the commission of crimes. Dahmers mother was very ill after the birth of Jeffrey; he saw this and blamed himself, giving rise to a feeling of guilt and inferiority, which also had a significant impact on Jeffrey. He felt unnecessary to his own parents, so he developed anxiety, which also promotes the formation of deviant behavior (Masters, 2007). The feeling of unnecessariness also leads to a lack of a sense of security, to the formation of a neurotic personality, and, respectively, to the fear of death. This is an important observation, which explains why serial killers are very difficult to commit suicide, though sometimes they extremely want it. Dahmer often tried to commit suicide, but he lacked the courage (Thomas, 2010). Dahmer experimented with animals, and he later admitted that the autopsies of the animals gave him a sense of power, superiority and domination from which he enjoyed. At the age 14, he kisses a neighbor boy and realizes his homosexual orientation (Masters, 2007). He had no chance to say this to anyone and was very ashhamed of his desires. This situation also affected the psyche of Dahmer very much. A feeling of alienation from others worsened, unconscious experiences continued to accumulate and demanded the output that Jeff carried out with the help of the dismemberment of the animals bodies (Thomas, 2010). When the feeling of alienation and unnecessariness reached its apogee, Dahmer killed his first victim. Andrei Chikatilo Andrei Chikatilo was born in Ukraine, in 1936. The facts about his childhood are almost unknown. Andrei Chikatilo commited 53 proved murders: 21 boys from 7 to 16 years, 14 girls from 9 to 17 years, and 18 adult girls and women (Hickey, 2012). It appears that the two circumstances slowed down his social advancement. Firstly, he caused a strong antipathy and rejection towards himself in many people. He himself said that he was verbally abused at work by everyone from a simple worker up to the chief. Secondly, he was a passive homosexual in the army and in the detention center, where he was under investigation for embezzlement. Chikatilo also suffered several injuries of the skull (Hickey, 2012). This also affected his personality and contributed to the development of irritability, nastiness, and intolerance. According to his temperament, he belonged to an epileptoid type of people with typical for this type cruelty and rancor. He was also a member of the Communist Party, but in connection with the arrest on charges of embezzlement, he was expelled from the party, losing thereby even such formal social recognition as a membership in the ranks of the ruling party (Hickey, 2012). Buy custom Mind of a Killer essay