Serial Killers

[Foxfire]

The world is filled with serial killers, most of them famous for the slaughter they have caused or the fear they inflicted into the hearts of young and old people all over the world. For some reason I find Serial Killers intriguing...not the murder(s) itself but what goes inside their head, the psychological background and the make -- up.

I've just begun to read "Helter Skelter" which deals with Charlie Mansion and his family. Its a disturbing look into the mind of him, his family, and how he believed he was Jesus Christ. The book was written by the Prosecuting attorney. The book itself was given to me by a friend whose also a huge serial buff. I'll need to study it due to my criminal law background.

But I'm fascinated about them but why? I'm sure I'm not the only one here but maybe I am. Each serial killer who has gained fame brought fear in our hearts. It probably sounds morbid but most serial killers were once "good" but each of them grew up with an awful childhood, some beaten, while others abandoned. I think if they had a different life things would be different....

What do the rest of you feel about them? Who did you fear the most?

 

[ZorCrow]

Serial Killers . . . cowards, brutal cowards, I have studied serial killers since high school . . and I can tell you they are all brutal cowards from Sawney Beane to Charles Ng . .

If you ever met one, you would not be intrigued . .

 

[Karma]

well clearly serial killers are not something that just came into being in the 20th century on to the present. But they seem to be spawning in ever greater numbers and although the median for a serial killer is TYPICALLY a white male age 25 to 35...THAT is slowly changing as well..with more women and african american men stepping into the role of "Serial Killer". :worry:

there are some who are infamously original, some who have far reaching impact, and some who redefine levels of savagery and depravity.

each case is unique..although SOME are copy cats.....i think the definitions of a "serial killer" are being redefined all across the board with more and more female killers and then examples like the DC SNIPER who was not only a black male (totally atypical for the profile of a serial killer) but also used a GUN..where as most killers enjoy the thrill of an up close and personal or long and drawn out kill.

 

[Greatness]

A killer is a killer, its a senceless act that is setup to try and make people feel bigger than they really are serial killers are like Zor said they are cowards plain and simple. Its not like they go around killing people who deserve to die, like rapists and such, they prey on the weak and make sure there isnt anyway the person suspects it. They all deserve to have thier skin peeled off and soaked in lemon juice with bleach.

 

[Black Widow]

it WOULD be interesting though... to come across a serial killer killing people who ACTUALLY deserve it... where would you guys stand on THAT?

 

[Prophet]

Well Killing is wrong no matter what in my opinion, well.. I guess I don't know lol.. Like if a Serial Killer was targeting serial rapists and child molestors and other killers I think I might actually feel some sympathy in his form of justice, but that ties into the Justice system being weird. We punish killers for killing people, making a statement that Killing is wrong, and then what do we do? Kill them? Ironic..

But on the topic of Serial Killers, I am udderly fascinated with them as is my best friend Shawna, who actually wants to enter a field where she can actually interview them herself. They all have a method to their madness and I bet if you tested some of the really intricate and significant killers, they would test at the genius level.

 

[eponinethen]

it WOULD be interesting though... to come across a serial killer killing people who ACTUALLY deserve it... where would you guys stand on THAT?

Well.... I can't say I think anyone deserves to die. I am very very much against the death penalty, but even if you're not, it's never okay for a person to decide who deserves to live and who doesn't. It might be easier to understand a serial killer who kills people who had done a terrible crime themselves, but it doesn't make it less scary and it doesn't make that serial killer less disturbed and less uh.. killing..

 

[Greatness]

Well personally I am for the death penalty for cold blooded killers, people who go out of their way to be anti life have no place in the world and whats the point of them rotting in a cell which people have to pay for? Its not like its gonna change the fact that they took peoples lives. I figure if you kill someone and its not in self defence or protection of a loved one that your worthless as a person and dont deserve your own life. Now there are accidents and I understand that but people who go out of thier way to kill people and there is evidence without a shawdow of doubt should be killed on thier way out of the court room, jail and deathrow for like 39 years is a waste for those people and the money used to feed them and house them can be put to better things. Also rapists and child molesters should get the same punishment. Knowing what I know people try to pass these things off and we have actual people who defend these people in court saying crap like they didnt know what they were doing they were insane at the time or something. (Not to the extreame of statatory rape where both parties where willing and parents are just not happy about it.) I am sorry but that defense is crap, everyone unless your mentally handicap is allways aware of what they are doing, its called being consious and if your human that you are allways aware of what your doing. If you cant control yourself than you should learn how to otherwise what can society do with you but eliminate your life because you cant control yourself and like to ruin other lives? I figure if our crimes have much harsher punishments they wouldnt be commited as often, people wouldnt think they could just murder someone and walk away with like 15 years in jail or a slap on the wrist. I think its sad that people kill people and are defended in thier actions for brutally murdering people.

 

[eponinethen]

I really don't want to get into this discussion but I can't keep myself from answering, heh.

As I see it, humans don't kill other humans unless there is something seriously wrong. Same thing goes for rape and so on. And I'm not saying that's an excuse, I'm not saying these people should be let back into society, not at all... But it's just not our decision to make, if another person has the right to live or not.
And well, there are a few facts proving that death penalty does not keep people from commiting these kinds of crimes.. If you look at how many murders are commited in the US compared to many many other places that don't have the death penalty..

(Okay, I won't say anything more about this 'cause it makes me depressed, hm, I've discussed it too many times and there are just different ways to look at it and I sort of understand how someone can be for it.. But to me it's just very wrong.)

 

[Karma]

we're not talking about ONE TIME acts of brutality or negligence that results in the death of someone. Serial Killers are in a realm by themselves. and OBVIOUSLY they should be dealt with when they are caught..but history prooves that true serial killers arent your average murderer....and that is why most of our infamous killers that are documented in history have NOT been caught until they were well into their killing sprees.


its easy to get righteous about how cowardly or whatever they are...but to try to DEFINE them and note their characteristics..or even discuss the perverse intelligence they have in order to get away with this time and again....not to mention the searing of the conscience in order to do it in the first place (listen to the song Murder by numbers- by the Police....)....it IS a truly fascinating study....BUT one has to remember ultimately that these are evil creatures who just as soon kill you as they did any of their other victims....so that should always curb the fascination.

 

[Foxfire]

it WOULD be interesting though... to come across a serial killer killing people who ACTUALLY deserve it... where would you guys stand on THAT?

Nice question Lex, I like how you reversed this. My own belief is "an eye for an eye." And I have no problem rooting on a serial killer if the person actually deserves it. The desire to kill is there but its a matter of self control. I know the only way I could be driven to kill is if:

1. My friends or family were murdered, raped, or hurt

2. Jess was hurt, etc.

3. My pets


I openly admit I have a ruthless nature especially when scorned, part of my Scorpio power for vengeance. If those deserve to be punished....then life's a bitch for them lol.

As for the death penalty, I'm FOR it. I don't understand why Charlie Mansion is still kept alive, why we're paying to feed his insane ass. Perhaps because he's more of a historical killer but I say he wastes space. More of our prisons are filled and overcrowded.

However...I think the reason why they keep prisoners alive because of later found evidence, which pleads them "innocent" after a guilty verdict.

Farrah's characteristic was correct in the age bracket as are their IQ's off the charts. Which reminds me of this guy who I work with...who scored a 1300 on his SAT and how he can be rather sadistic. He's only 18 however but who knows.

 

[Jenna Jameson]

I've always been intrigued by serial killers. Just what motivates them to do what they do, something so horrible like that and more than once, it's just really interesting. Myself tho I find it more interesting how they get caught than their psychological profile. We have a whole channel on cable here called Crime and Investigation, which has lots of different shows on how they track down killers, use forensics, knowing what weapon was used, that sorta thing, besides typical shows like COPS and America's Most Wanted. I love watching how they solved crimes more than those who committed them :nod:

 

[MaGiCaLjuliet]

I've always been intrigued by serial killers. Just what motivates them to do what they do, something so horrible like that and more than once, it's just really interesting. Myself tho I find it more interesting how they get caught than their psychological profile. We have a whole channel on cable here called Crime and Investigation, which has lots of different shows on how they track down killers, use forensics, knowing what weapon was used, that sorta thing, besides typical shows like COPS and America's Most Wanted. I love watching how they solved crimes more than those who committed them :nod:

I completely agree. I'm definately interested in the ways criminals commit these acts. Has anyone ever watched that show called CSI? I'm talking about the one that's actually worth watching. Not CSI: Miami or CSI: New York or CSI: whatever...I mean CSI: Las Vegas! They start you off with the bare minimum of what happened at the crime scene. Usually they open up with a frightened girl running for cover or some innocent person discovering a dead body in a remote location. But have you ever considered how much thought goes into a show like this? Granted, it's fictional and it would be a lot cooler if this show was based on a true story but what if they were? Broaden the imagination a bit and let something like this sink in. Where the forensics used are so advanced that they can find a fingerprint in the database in a matter of minutes. I mean, my cousin works for a crime lab and he says it takes anywhere from one to three days to get a hit on a fingerprint. But I wonder if modern technology will one day advance to where this is not some television ideal, it's a reality. How cool would that be? Solving crimes would be a snap and the cases on television shows like CSI could actually be solved in the amount of time the actors portray. It's something to think about. But I also fear that with new technology would come smarter and more ingenious criminals. I'm curious as to what everyone else thinks. Would criminals get smarter with better crime solving techniques or would there still be the dumb ones like you see on Spike TV's World's Wildest Police Videos where a guy tried to rob a convenience store with a knife when the person in line behind him was a cop?