What makes a person into a serial killer? What internal defect of the mind, chemical imbalance, brain malformation, etc allows a person to go up to other people and just kill them? Sorry for bringing up a pretty grim subject, but I've been wondering about this for awhile.
What got me thinking in this vein was watching a program about a man called The Railroad Killer. This guy, an illegal alien (though most US serial killers are home grown) would hop on trains and kill people that he found near the railroad tracks or break into people's houses and kill the occupants. They figure he killed at least 10 people (he confessed to a bunch more) between Ohio and Texas but it could be a lot more. Mexican authorities felt he killed a number of people over the border there as well. The FBI felt he could have been linked to up to 200 cases in all. He was tried in Texas convicted in 1999 and executed in 2006. None of this sitting for 20 years waiting on appeals there.
What got me on this kick was the execution of Oba Chandler here in Florida this week. Oba was convicted of killing 3 women from Ohio in 1989 by taking them out on Tampa Bay at night, probably raping them, then pitching all of them into the bay with a cinderblock tied around their necks. All 3 were alive when they went in. If anyone personified evil, it was him. The PQ was a court clerk when the trial occurred here and though she did not handle that case herself, she was in court a few times during the trial. She thought he was one scary guy and that he had dead eyes. A few weeks before this he had raped a Canadian tourist by taking her out on the bay. The only reason she was not killed the cops thought was because her girlfriend declined to go with her and Chandler knew there would be a witness left behind who could identify him. I guess it was ok to rape her though. Police also believe he had killed before based on the way he did this and the fact he was willing to take on 3 at once but he never admitted to killing anyone before his execution, including the Ohioans.
At the trial, against his own attorney's advice, he took the stand and denied it all, managing to make himself look even more guilty in the process by being caught in a number of lies. The jury was only too happy to convict him then. They felt he was pretty scary too. The cops were pretty sure a killing in 1982 of a woman found floating off Anna Maria Island was his work but never tried him for it or for the rape of the Canaidan woman. He ended up spending 17 years on death row here before his execution last week.
Anyway, I have been wondering what makes a person into that. Do they have no conscience, no compassion at all? They must be pretty sure there is no heaven or hell, no consequence in the afterlife for their deeds in this one based on how heinous these crimes are. Many people have lived next to major serial killers and never knew there was anything different about them. They were just like anyone else. A local lady who was a juror in another murder trial had retired from a Chicago Cadillac dealership where John Wayne Gacy bought his cars. He would come by the dealership every other year to get a new car and everyone thought he was this nice well to do guy. He usually had one of his many "nephews" with him as well. No one thought anything of it.
I used to be very pro death penalty but over the years I have gotten a lot less certain of it's effectiveness as a deterrent. Also I know mistakes have been made when some people were convicted and given the death penalty, not to mention more than once the prosecution has convicted the wrong guy either by manufacturing evidence or having evidence the accused was innocent and not turning it over to the defense. Convicting someone in error whether by illegal means or misidentificaton, is bad enough buy once you execute them, it's a little late to say "Oops, we goofed".
Having said all that, some people just need to die. There are some people so evil that society is better off without them rather than risk the chance one may escape and kill again. "He just needed killing" is a valid point with some people I think. But what defect in their makeup causes a person to be so unredeemably evil that society has to kill him? Outside of defending yourself or someone else, how many people can see themselves killing another person? Not to mention all of the deviant things many of these killers do to their victims as well. Is it a power thing, knowing you have complete control over another's fate? That may explain more as I have seen some CEOs and politicians whose desire for power led them to do some pretty unsavory things. Not to mention what they did when they had power.
Well I think I've said enough on that topic now. Let me finish this up by saying, be aware people. Know what's going on around you and try not be a victim. If someone wants you to go somewhere with them, you're usually better off making your stand then and there where other people may be able to help you rather than going somewhere of his choosing. And ladies especially, arm yourselves. So many times men attack women because they see them as the easier victim. Don't be a victim. Stick around awhile, your loved ones will appreciate it.
5 comments:
Good post.
I went through the media mayhem with John Wayne Gacy. I too question the death penalty as recent DNA has turn up horrors. But, serial killer or killers of prison guards seems fair and proper. Beyond the pale.
Hmmmm ... I never told you about my growing up with a serial killer (http://tinyurl.com/lightning36killer1) and going to college with perhaps the biggest serial killer in US history (http://tinyurl.com/lightning36killer2)?
Thanks Mojo, just some of the weird stuff floating around this old bean.
Ken, I agree. I think one of the big things is having more than just witness ID in death penalty cases. It seems a majority of the time that people have been convicted in error, it mostly relied on the victim's saying "He did it" without much if any physical evidence.
Light, it's a wonder you made it into adulthood with all murderers around you. Is it something in the water up there?
I have no problem with the death penalty itself but like you don't exactly like the way it's applied. Figure it should only be applied if someone is caught redhanded or has solid forensic evidence such as DNA, against them and am even starting to worry about that as it seems a number of technicians in the field are willing to fudge their finding either to make the cops happy or because they think someone is guilty. As for eyewitness testimony had a case here recently where a guy was convicted of rape on victim's ID but later DNA testing said no way yet woman still swears it was him and prosecutor fought like hell to keep it in the win column before the guy was finally freed.
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