According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Serial Murder is “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events” (Morton, 2005); therefore, a person or persons whom kill two or more individuals in separate events are considered to be “Serial Killers” (Morton, 2005). Of those individuals whom have received the infamous title of “Serial Killer”, Aileen Wuornos, in my opinion, may be one of the most notorious killers. Born in Rochester, Michigan on February 29, 1956, Aileen grew up in a broken home with her mother abandoning her and her brother, Keith, at their grandparents’ house after her abusive father left her mother (A&E Biography). Aileen’s childhood was a very rough one where her mother …show more content…
Wuornos’s adopted sister admitted that she believed Aileen decided to become lesbian after numerous failed relationships with men because she sought a loving relationship with another person (A&E Biography). While in Florida, Wuornos eventually turned back to prostitution, traveling aimlessly across Central Florida and as far west as Tampa, Florida (A&E Biography). Then, in 1989, Wuornos committed her first murder – 51 year-old, Richard Mallory – shooting and killing him with her .22 caliber pistol (A&E Biography); Aileen later went on to kill six more men within a one year period (A&E Biography). Aileen Wuornos was eventually apprehended and arrested in late 1991 (A&E Biography); Wuornos originally plead nolo contendere to the murders claiming she acted in self-defense, however, she later admitted guilt of committing the murders and was found guilty of murder in the first degree and was convicted to death – executed on October 9, 2002 by lethal injection at Starke Florida State Prison (A&E Biography). In the State of Florida, where Wuornos committed her heinous crimes, the penalty for individuals convicted of first-degree murder is as …show more content…
An interesting fact is that after leaving his family, Leo Pittman, Aileen’s father, was later arrested after he sexually abused a teenage girl; he then committed suicide while serving time in prison (A&E Biography). According to data listed in the Hagan (2016) slides, with respect to genetics and crime, “the major premise of the [genetics and crime] theory is that criminal traits and predispositions are inherited” (Hagan. (2016). Introduction to Criminology (9th Edition). [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1219515/files?preview=58099701); Published in the same slides, various adoption studies investigated theories of criminal behavior and found that “the criminality of the biological father was a strong predictor of the child’s behavior [and] when the biological and adopted parents were criminals that increased the chances of the child becoming delinquent” (Hagan. (2016). Introduction to Criminology (9th Edition). [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1219515/files?preview=58099701). Noting that Aileen’s father was a known criminal and that her adopted parents (her grandparents) were also deviant, the conclusion can be drawn that Aileen was not only genetically predestined to become deviant but she
On December 1, 1989, an intoxicated Alieen confessed to More that she had killed someone that same morning Richard Mallory 59 years old. After that, the killing begins in the late summer and fall of
In the sunshine state of Florida, between the years 1989 and1990 seven men were mysteriously murdered. These killings were later found to be the work of a female prostitute, who would find her victims through hitch hiking along Florida’s Highways. She caused the entire state of Florida to be on edge, and it was terrifying for the families of the seven victims. Local law enforcement were stunned by these incidents, and would do everything in their power to solve these cases. The killer who became the first female serial killer, fitting FBI’s profile was Aileen Wuornos.
Aileen Wuornos would have to fully comply to each area of treatment and show major progress and willingness. Failing to comply would increase her life sentence to instant
After reading chapters one and two of the Psychology in Everyday Life book and learning about the four big ideas in psychology, and also while trying to figure out the contributing factors of Andrea Yates’ murder of her children. I have to focus in on and think about big idea two, the biopsychosocial approach, that integrates three levels which are biological, psychological and social/cultural; all together these factors influence and give insight into behavior and mental processes. (CITE BOOK) After reviewing these, the psychological factors that I believe to have contributed to Andrea Yates’ murder of her children are, firstly biological, Andrea had a genetic predispositions, which means Andrea had an increased likelihood of developing
Ridley talks about facts and uses logic in regard of divorce rates in twins and criminal records of adoptees in Denmark. Closely observing that divorce rates in twins are partly supported by genetic variation and partly by non-shared environmental factors, it was concluded that, “You are no more likely to divorce if reared in a broken home than the average.” This shows that non-shared environment-- home and parents-- do not affect the person’s choices, characters or personalities but it is rather the environment consisting of peers along with genes that play a role. Similarly adoptees that have a criminal record usually diminish once adopted in a neighbourhood and going to school with non-criminal backgrounds and good morals even if biological and adopting parents have a criminal background. These two examples show strong reasons to support Ridley’s
The police in Florida find the body of a dead man in the woods in Florida which immediately hits the news. They immediately say that the murder was a female and that she was caught. At the time of her arrest many people want to interview her, because it is unknown for a prostitute to commit the murder. It was usually the prostitutes who were the victims of such attacks. Throughout the whole trial Aileen claims that she killed those men in self defense.
“Maybe, to do what you and I do, we have to have a little bit of the monster in us.” -Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Everyone has potential to be bad or do bad things,it’s the choice of the person to pursue the bad in them. Most people don’t think that women serial killers aren’t as bad as men. Truth is they’re just as bad,the thing is that they're not as mainstream as men serial killers.
Introduction Historically, few women managed to reach the list of serial killers. Jane Toppan was born Honora Kelley and an ever known American female serial killer. Her murder confession went to 33 cases. Despite this horrible adventure, she was quoted saying that her aim was to kill more helpless people than any man or woman ever lived in the world.
Adrian Raine, criminologist and author of "The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime," has said before, is a very important factor in criminal behaviour that affects about 75% of a person’s criminal activity. In his book, Raine explores the many evidences that lead up to biological and genetic influences on crime
This theory clearly rules out the effect of inherited or innate factors, and the last is the cognitive theory, which is based on how the perception of an individual is manifested into affecting his or her potential and capability to commit a crime. (Psychological theories of crime) Relating these theories to the case under study, it’s clear that the behaviour can be traced most times to faulty relationships in the family during the first years of
Society only thought she was a vicious person and underestimated her due to her prostitution job, the judge who handled her case was anti-feminist therefore he didn't care about what she had gone through and how that affected her that deeply for her to commit such atrocious acts. Ailleen was sentenced to 6 death sentences and was executed on October 9th, 2002. One of the larger social issues connected to this controversy was that Aileen was treated unfairly in court, she was just seen as the monster of the story who would prostitute herself to later kill and rob men when in reality she was going for “johns'' and was doing a major favor to society. “Aileen was terrorized by violent johns, and eventually lashed out in crazed defense, just like men do in wars when they are also afraid of getting killed or
Psychosocial theories "work from the viewpoint that deviant sexual behavior is a response to external factors and that there is an interconnection between psychological and sociological variables that influence sexual behavior. Sexual behavior is a learned response to particular conditions, and deviant sexual behavior is the outcome of inappropriate socialization. This may result from personal experiences, such as childhood sexual abuse, or be influenced by general factors, such as pornography. " Alcoholic and explosive caregivers raised Aileen, that behavior was later reflected in Aileen herself. At a very young age, she became pregnant after being raped by one of her grandfather's friend.
In 1986, she was arrested in Miami and charged with car theft, resisting arrest, and obstruction of justice for false identification. In 1986, in Volusia County, Florida, Aileen was detained for questioning after a man accused her of pulling a gun on him in his car and demanding $200. That same year, Aileen met 24 year-old, Tyria Moore at a Daytona gay bar. Tyria quickly fell in love with Aileen. She quit her job and began following her place to place.
A theory known as “Broken Home Hypothesis” suggests that children who are raised without one or both biological parents are most likely to commit acts than other children who are raised in a nuclear family (Kierkus & Baer,
Today, there are proven facts that people who have parents that are criminals have a high chance of becoming criminals themselves. Not only can people become criminals because of their family but they can also become criminals because of the environment that they surround themselves in. This is where nature versus nurture comes into play. A person’s nature is their genetic makeup, basically meaning that a person’s nature is the genes they get from their parents. Also, a person’s genotype, one’s genetic makeup based on the sequencing of the nucleotides we term, provides them with physical traits that set the stage for certain behaviors (56).