Serial, is a Podcast produced by an investigative journalist and a former reporter for the Baltimore Sun named Sarah Koenig. Serial is a spinoff produced by the WBEZ 91.5 Chicago radio station and This American life. This specific podcast addresses the 1999 case of Adnan Syed vs The State of Maryland. In this case, Adnan is being accused for the murder of his former girlfriend Hae Min Lee. More than fifteen years later, this case once again sparked controversy when aired in 2014 through the podcast. In Serial, reporter Sarah Koenig intended to seek justice for Adnan by portraying him as innocent, which listeners can tell through the three rhetorical appeals; ethos, pathos and logos which she presents throughout the case along with interviews, evidence and personal statements.…
In the essay “Highway of Lost Girls” by Vanessa Veselka, she talks about her past events that took place when she was a runaway teenager and the time she came face to face with a serial killer. She supported her claim by using anecdotes to prove that her story is true. It was first published in The GQ magazine, New York, October 24, 2012. She is a novelist, union organizer, and author, which gives her the authority to write on this subject. She wrote this essay for the general public to read about her life story and to make money for it. She explained the situation she faces throughout her teenage life and the time she hitched a ride from Robert Ben Rhoades, who was later convicted as a serial killer. She uses strong tones to grab her reader’s…
I tied this week's reading in with last week's film on Jeffery Dahmer. Jeffery Dahmer behaviour may have been caused by a combination of social, family, and psychological developmental risk factors. Dahmer was referred to as an oddball and experienced peer rejection in high school, therefore his socially awkward character and antisocial behaviour probably influenced his psychological problems. His adolescent fascination with animal dissection, hints to his lack of empathy towards his victims. The fact that Dahmer was left alone at home for several weeks following his parents’ divorce, expresses that minimal parental monitoring and neglecting parental style was implemented. The failure in positive parenting concerning Dahmer perhaps had led…
Heide, K. M., & Keeney, B. (1995). Serial murder: A more accurate and inclusive definition. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 39(4), 299-306.…
A turning in upon self and a heightened examination of human personality and its moods and mental potentials…
MacQueen, K. (2010). How a serial killer slipped away. Maclean 's, 123(32), pp.22-23. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from EbscoHost Database.…
of a crime he committed in 1999. His girlfriend during the time named Hae Ming…
Serial killers are a relatively rare, yet commonly publicized, part of our society. The media portrayal of serial killers skews the opinions and creates a stereotype of murderers for the public. James Knoll, MD states in his article, “Serial Murder: A Forensic Psychiatric Perspective”, that no evidence supports the idea that serial murder is a “growing epidemic” as people believe it is (qtd. in Johnson-Sheehan & Paine, “Writing Today”, pg 332). This misperception of serial killing was exhibited in the way the media portrayed the “Hillside Strangler”, a murderer who was killing women in the Los Angeles area by strangling them and leaving them nude in the hilly areas in 1977. The articles reporting the murders helped to cause fear in citizens by reporting extreme measures being taken by others, using strong language, and stressing the idea of a victim profile, all of which help the media excite or incite fear in the readers, rather than reporting the straight facts.…
This research looks at the life and death of Aileen Wuornos, serial killer. A serial killer is someone who murders more than three victims one at a time in a relatively short interval. Serial killers have the ability to behave in a manner that arouses no suspicion. There are, however, a few signs to identify their potential to become a serial killer. People who suffers from psychopathy, involves a huge tendency towards antisocial behavior, are most likely to develop into a serial killer. FBI estimated that any given time between 200 and 500 serial killers are at large, and they kill 3,500 people a year. This high average shows that killing becomes a pattern that is difficult to break.…
The book, co-authored by Tom Scachtman, is about the development and application of serial killer profiling techniques in the 1970s and 80s and details Ressler’s FBI career and his personal dealings with some of America’s serial killers including John Wayne Gacy, Edmund Kemper, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. The story is told by one of its main participants, Robert Ressler, who largely developed the art of serial killer profiling. Ressler was profiling as far back as the 1970’s, long before films like silence of the lambs and shows like criminal minds made the public aware of what the Behavioral Analysis Unit based at Quantico, Virginia was all about.…
The concept of living in a surveillance society with no fear as long as individuals have nothing to hide sounds ideal; but even if people are not guilty of committing a crime, there are a number of reasons why loss of privacy should concern them. A significant concern is that the…
The crime of serial murder is not just one that in the United States it is a problem that happens globally. In the US we have the help of the Behavioral Analysis Unit as well as the FBI when working a case in any jurisdiction. To help law enforcement and investigators learn new techniques on how to solve these crimes a symposium was held for two days in 2008 to teach them new techniques. In attendance at this conference were mental health experts, scholars, media experts who have been studying serial murders for yeas and investigators in law enforcement field. The conference was held at INTERPOL headquarters, there were delegates from thirty-seven different countries in attendance at the conference.…
The government is not spending enough time and resource in surveillance, which is resulting in the threats and decrease of national security. Surveillance is the act of observing, or monitoring a person. Monitoring a person can include the use of cameras, wiretaps, GPS tracking, and internet surveillance. Events such as the Oklahoma City bombing, and the attack on 9/11 lead to a law former President Bush passed. "On October 26th, 2001, Bush signed into law the USA Patriot Act." (Podesta) Government surveillance is an essential part of everyday life because not only does it keep the country under control, but ensures safety for Americans.…
Do serial killers have the same motive for killing? In “What Makes a Serial Killer” by La Donna Beaty, she composes an informative argument providing characteristics of a serial killer. She bases her argument on what makes a serial killer according to information gathered from eight different sources. According to the theories that she has provided, society, family atmosphere, mental illness, and excessive use of alcohol are the characteristics that make up a serial killer. Can these characteristics mask all serial killers? Beaty provides evidence that suggests what might make a serial killer, but, she doesn’t state what she thinks defines one, which makes this essay more of an essay to inform.…
Increasing more than ever, American society is fascinated with serial and mass murderers. Throughout the decades, people have celebrated killers who have reached the peak of success within their field by glorifying them in movies, documentaries, magazines, and even on trading cards. In 1991, a trading card company in California created its first mass and serial card collection, which included notorious murderers such as Jeffrey Dahmer who killed 17 men between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer was known to have sex with the corpses of his victims, kept body parts of others, and ate some of the parts as well. Eventually, Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms and was killed in prison in 1994. . Television programs have also increased people’s fascination with serial and mass murderers by creating documentaries and mini series about them. Many popular actresses and actors who play serial and mass killers in movies unfortunately infuse these murderers with humanity and attraction (Fox & Levin, 2005). In this unit we look at the differences between serial killing and mass killing and investigate some of the motives that are behind the predominantly white middle class males who commit some of the most gruesome and legendary volume killing of other humans.…