Topic > Characteristics and Types of Mass Murders

Mass murders are defined as 3 or more people killed in the same place at the same time. There are many characteristics that make up a mass murder and the person who commits it. Mass killings can be organized or unorganized. People who commit them generally have common traits such as a history of abuse and usually possess certain physical, psychological, social, emotional and sexual traits. There are also different motivations behind each killer. The assassinations use a variety of different methods that include shootings, explosives, kidnappings and chemical weapons. Finally, capital punishment is a sentence that all mass murderers should receive. Mass murderers pose a danger to society and should not be allowed to continue their lives after committing their crimes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay There are two main types of mass murder, organized and unorganized. Within organized mass murder, there are disciples, family destroyers, pseudo-commandos, disgruntled employees, and hit-and-run killers. The first type, disciple killers, follow a leader. Examples of this are Charles Manson and his cult, who he convinced to kill for him. Disciple killers kill because a leader convinced them to do so. They often won't die at the crime scene like other types and usually don't know the victims. Family destroyer killers will kill the entire family at once. They can also kill the pet at the same time. These family annihilators are mostly the older members of the family and almost always end their own lives when they are finished with their killing spree. Stephen Sueppel killed his wife and four children in 2008 by beating them with a bat. Pseudocommando assassins collect large quantities of weapons such as firearms, grenades, and body armor. They plan long and “something in his world is not right, and he will 'teach the world a lesson' with his behavior” (Holmes). Stephen Paddock, the man responsible for the Las Vegas shooting, is a perfect example of this. For this he used many weapons and planned for a long time. Disgruntled employees are angry in the workplace after being fired or asked to leave their job for various reasons. They return to work with the intent to kill colleagues and supervisors who, according to the killer, have done something wrong. The last type of organized killer is the "grab and run" killer. This person plants something like a bomb or poisoning and then leaves. They walk away long before their actions have a chance to harm anyone (Holmes). The 2013 Boston Marathon bombings illustrate this perfectly. The Tsarnaev brothers planted bombs and managed to escape the crime scene before the bombs exploded. There are also unorganized killers which can include scenarios such as gang violence which is not planned in advance, it is a one-time crime. The types of assassins are often closely related to the traits they possess. Mass murderers often have a history of psychological, social, emotional, and sexual abuse. and they generally also adapt to certain physical characteristics. It can be difficult to identify a mass murderer based on characteristics alone because many people fit these characteristics and will likely never commit mass murder. Physically, "the majority are white...they are usually older than the typical killer, often in their 30s and 40s" (Kleinfield). The reality is that most people in their 30s and 40syears and who are also white will never commit mass murder. Psychologically, mental illness is a common theme that mass murderers possess. Dr. Duwe found that of “160 cases of public mass murderers…61% had a serious mental health disorder” and “that only 7% of people with a diagnosed mental illness might do something violent in a year” (Kleinfield). This shows how mentally ill most murderers are, but most mentally ill people are not violent. Many killers are also socially awkward and do not fit into society. Elliott O. Rodger was known to not have many friends and was diagnosed with a developmental disorder. He later killed 6 people and injured 14 others (Kleinfield). Many murderers also suffer from emotional abuse. An example of this is Omar Marteen who killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub in Florida. Some killers may become violent due to sexual frustration. Elliott Rodger was often rejected by women and this is one of the reasons he became violent. All these traits together can lead a normal person to become a murderer. Each killer has a different motive for his actions. There are 5 main motives for mass murder: power, revenge, loyalty, profit and terror. The first motive, power, is often, but not always, committed by a pseudocommando. These types of murders happen because a killer wants to exert power over their victims. They often have an obsession with symbols of power, such as assault weapons. An example of this is Julian Knight, who “launched an armed assault on pedestrians in Melbourne, Australia” and killed 7 people (Fox, 31). In revenge killings, the killer's goal is to take revenge on people he believes have done something wrong. This is common with family annihilators and disgruntled employees. Revenge mass killings can also be motivated by “a grievance against an entire category of individuals” such as race or gender (Fox, 32). Loyalty killers believe they are protecting their victims from something. An example of this is James Colbert “who strangled his wife out of jealousy, and then killed his three daughters to prevent them from becoming orphans” (Fox, 32). Profit motives involve killing people because this will make the killer earn something. This can be verified if a group of robbers kills all the witnesses, so that no one can know what really happened in the robbery. The final motive, terrorism, occurs because the killer wants to send a message. An example of this is the 2015 shooting at the San Bernardino Health Department office. A couple shot 14 people and wounded 22 others to send a message about radical Islam. The method a killer uses can be related to his or her motive. Mass murders are often committed through shootings, but there are other methods besides this. Focusing on terrorism, the MI5 security service says terrorists can use explosive devices, shootings and close-range attacks, kidnappings, missiles and chemical warfare. Explosive devices can range from suicide bombers, car bombs, to bombs planted in a building. Shootings are the most well-known type of attack and are often used by terrorist groups. Kidnappings are also often used by terrorists. One group will kidnap multiple usually innocent people and then execute them all at once to show off their power. Chemical weapons are an extremely deadly method that, fortunately, is not used often. This can result in poisonous gas spreading over a large area and affecting many people at once. People who commit these terrible actions can often face prison sentencesof death. Capital punishment can provoke strong ethical and moral arguments for each side. One side of the argument holds that if a person kills multiple people, they should be executed themselves. This is the most logical solution because that person has demonstrated that he cannot be a responsible member of society. The opposing side of the argument holds that sentencing someone to capital punishment makes the jury and judge just as guilty as the person convicted. Many people are against the death penalty until they have committed a capital crime. When a loved one is killed, it can cause strong feelings in their family. Often these families want to pursue the most extreme type of punishment allowed by law, which is often the death penalty. Regardless of morality, capital punishment is proven to deter crime. One study “found that each execution led to a significant reduction in the number of murders.” To be more precise, each execution resulted in at least 8 fewer murders being committed and at most 24 fewer (Rubin). This shows that capital punishment is effective in deterring the occurrence of more murders nationwide. Therefore, one criminal who loses his life can save the lives of 8 to 24 possibly innocent people who lose their lives due to homicide. The death penalty should be retained due to the extreme cost required to keep a prisoner. for life instead of carrying them out. For state-run prisons, “the average annual operating cost per state inmate in 2001 was $22,650, or $62.05 per day,” and federally run prisons were slightly cheaper, at $62.01 per inmate per day (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs). This amounts to $1.1 billion spent on prison management in 2001 alone. That's a huge amount of money for tax revenue to go to. Many people are unhappy about paying so much money to hold prisoners who have committed capital crimes. Spending “about $22,000 per year” on an inmate convicted of a capital crime does not make financial sense (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs). There are moral arguments about this, but it is not possible to argue that this large amount of money is being spent in a way that should not be the case. Some elements of the justice system currently do not use the best methods to determine whether or not a person receives the death penalty, but this is not discriminatory against minority groups. This is not corruption, it simply means not using best practices. Some states like Arizona have aggravating circumstances in their laws. These are circumstances internal to a crime that can elevate it from a non-capital crime to a capital crime. There are 14 aggravating circumstances which include gang ties, a history of serious crime, or if someone else's life has been put in danger in addition to the person killed ("Death Sentence or Life Imprisonment"). The death penalty should not be taken lightly and is also within the stipulated requirements. many crimes. These aggravating circumstances can be extended to cover almost all murders, making almost all murders eligible for the death penalty and this should not be the case. There needs to be a very specific set of crimes that qualify for capital punishment. Some argue that the capital punishment system is racist because of the percentages of people of different races who are sentenced under it. Many studies sponsored by opponents of the death penalty have been conducted to attempt to demonstrate that it is discriminatory against minority groups. Almost “all studies on.