Inside the Criminal Mind

"Evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own table."
~W.H. Auden~

Includes photographs, do not log on if you are squeamish...

http://members.tripod.com/~VanessaWest/index2.html

Here's a couple more sites that I found interesting (this one includes DSM reference):

http://www.drirene.com/psych_killers.htm

Society's view of the serial killer:

http://Strangerbox.topcities.com/killers.html

"The serial killer is usually male. He has a history of problematic relationships due to shyness or failure to attach to others. He may have been victimized physically, emotionally, and/or sexually, sometimes in connection with his visible vulnerability (he is an easy target) and sometimes due to pure circumstance. Or he may have been neglected and abandoned by one or both parents. He had authority figures who terrorized him as a child and or did not provide enough caring discipline for him to learn WHY he should do the right thing. He has been overly intimate or notably detached in his relationships with parents or siblings."

The Criminal Mind:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/psychology

http://www.karisable.com/crserial.htm

"The US produces more serial killers than any other country. Up to 85% of the world's serial killers are in America."

Originally posted by Challenger2
The Criminal Mind:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/psychology

http://www.karisable.com/crserial.htm

"The US produces more serial killers than any other country. Up to 85% of the world's serial killers are in America."

Why do you think that is?

Is it the increasing dehumanization of each other, the isolation many feel?

Originally posted by lucielle


Why do you think that is?

Is it the increasing dehumanization of each other, the isolation many feel?

That's a good perception, lucielle. You are thinking in harmony with Roger DePue, who says exactly that. He says the death of the extended family and the decimation of the basic family unit is the most significant.

He says in the 30s, people had big front porches, where friends, neighbors, and families gathered. That has disappeared, in lieu of backyard decks/patios, and high fences surrounding back yards.

He also points out that at the turn of the century, agriculture was 70% of the economy, a job that kept the parents nearby and available to their children. It's now only 2% of the population, and commuting has become a way of life for everyone, leaving only the family dog at home, and he's "angry and alienated", too.

IMO

Originally posted by Challenger2
That's a good perception, lucielle. You are thinking in harmony with Roger DePue, who says exactly that. He says the death of the extended family and the decimation of the basic family unit is the most significant.

He says in the 30s, people had big front porches, where friends, neighbors, and families gathered. That has disappeared, in lieu of backyard decks/patios, and high fences surrounding back yards.

He also points out that at the turn of the century, agriculture was 70% of the economy, a job that kept the parents nearby and available to their children. It's now only 2% of the population, and commuting has become a way of life for everyone, leaving only the family dog at home, and he's "angry and alienated", too.

IMO

Also neighbors relied more on each other, people in towns had to rely on each other. You couldn't just go to Wal Mart and pick up what ever you needed.

There does seem to be a huge disconnect with families nowadays. We have more freedom, and we can be in touch with people all over the world---yet most of us don't even know our neighbors names! (I am a refelction of this, I live in an apt complex--I would rather not know many living around me)

Originally posted by Challenger2
The Criminal Mind:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/psychology

http://www.karisable.com/crserial.htm

"The US produces more serial killers than any other country. Up to 85% of the world's serial killers are in America."

I do question that statistic. I wonder if serial killings are just covered up in other countries.
When people lived on farms perhaps there were no strangers to murder, perhaps they had to make do torturing and murdering animals. Just my thoughts.