Serial Killers
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Serial Killers are the group of people who kill, kill and kill over a longer period of time without being caught or stopped. Unlike mass murderers, who may kill many people at one time – majority of the time because of circumstantial behavior – Serial Killers are a different breed. They plan, very specific in their choice of victims and are mobile. They are a real threat to the society. Their choice of victims range from adolescents to old-age people, prostitutes to homosexuals having a few common characteristics: inability to defend, if missed remain unnoticed by the society or any physical trait. The worrisome affair is that the serial killing machine keeps on playing the life & death game until stopped.
Psychiatrists have long studied the behavioral patterns of serial killers and murderers. Donald Lund, a psychiatrist, concludes; that there are two broad-based categories; one termed as paranoid schizophrenia and the as sexual sadism. Majority of them is men and they are insensitive creatures who do not have any conscience. Studies have also shown that the childhood experiences also have an impact on the personality of serial killers. The violent behavior among these serial killers is a function of childhood characteristics. The psychological development of these murderers has been studied in detail through an understanding of their behavioral patterns.
John Douglas, a retired FBI agent, believes to deal crime at a moral level, as it is more of a moral problem. He opines that serial killers are made, they are not born. He had developed the skills of understanding and profiling serial killers, and helped the Anchorage police (on telephone) by describing the profile, which exactly matched the culprit (later proved). According to him there are approximately 30 to 50 serial killers in America at a given time (Brown 1996). This is horrible; and it becomes even more horrible when we look around and watch the societys role. The media has played a major role to glamorize the serial killers and murderers, especially from 1970s onwards. With their extra-ordinary talent in executing the evil deeds, the serial killers are in the spotlight. The media is desperate to interview them, there is an ongoing argument among television networks on the rights to killers stories. They are part of news shows and their faces stickered on T-shirts. It is highly regrettable that we as a society are fascinated with these serial killers.