Case Analysis of Richard Ramirez Essay Example

mentally, physically, and/or sexually.

They thought that this was a big part of their drive to kill and hurt others. Ramirez’s background and childhood involved a mother who worked around chemicals while pregnant, and was rarely present in their life because of a hard work schedule. Another key factor in his childhood was the corruption that his cousin fed him as a young boy. After returning home from Vietnam, after serving in the war, he would show pictures of decapitated people to Richard and tell him horror stories about how soldiers, including him would rape and kill women.Other authors talk more about the aspect of serial killers having a type of disease that makes it impossible for them not to commit these crimes.

Cartel (1985) says that in addition to the lack or non-apparent compassion or guilt that the killers contain, they state that they experience a euphoric state during or after these murders. It is like an addiction that they cannot overcome, feeling the need to kill repeatedly to achieve this “high”. Lunde (1980) states that sexual sadism, “ a deviation characterized by torture and/or killing and mutilation of other persons in order to achieve sexual gratification”.Lunde says this in reference to the fact that many serial killers rape their victims before, during, and even after the murder has taken place. He also references that fact that in an extensive number of serial murders, the cause of death was strangulation.

This is very relevant because in strangulation deals with total control over the victim. Ramirez’s method of death was sometimes strangulation, though he did choose to shoot many of his victims. Geberth (1995) speaks of

the murderer being an “organized offender”.She goes on to talk about how the offender normally has a rather higher intelligence than of a normal person in society.

Also, because most of the crimes committed by serial killers are committed away from their place of residence, they travel more than the average person. Geberth sees the victim as a person who cannot help what he/she does. She considers the offender “socially adept. ” She then talks about the extensive time and preparations that many serial killers take in order to commit their crimes. Also, how the criminal tries and wants to always have the “upper hand” in the crime and the need for total control.

Though psychological factors do play a key role as to why serial murder is still one of the number one mysteries today, it is not the only reason that should be looked at. Methodology The Case Analysis presented in this paper pertains to serial killers, and the social psychological processes inherent to the cognition and behavior of these individuals. A review of the literature on serial murder, homicide, and investigative techniques involving forensic psychology direct attention to the possibility that cognition and behavior relating to serial murder manifests within family environments where severe child sexual abuse is ampant. Due to the dangerous nature of individuals who commit acts of serial murder, and the difficulty in securing interviews from convicted murderers, the method of study, and subsequent analysis, manifests out of the research technique; Content Analysis! This is a qualitative method that allows for an analysis of the content of communication, which involves classifying contents is such a way as to bring out

the basic structure (Holsti 1969). The term is usually applied to the analysis of documentary, i. e.

, visual material, rather than interview or quantitative data.For example, the book [video etc]: The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez, by Philip Carlo (1996), tells the story of Richard Ramirez, the astonishing and rather prolific serial killer of the 1980s, best known as: The Night Stalker. Long after the murder spree that left thirteen people dead, “his name is synonymous with Satanism, torture and sadistic murder” (1996). Yet researchers working in the field of criminology, investigators who hunt murderers as a profession, and social observers of all stripes, are still puzzled by the social and psychological motivations that produce serial killers of his type.And since the empirical research varies on a wide range spanning between academic disciplines, the psychiatric community, and law enforcement personnel: local, state, and federal, it is my intention that the content of this book, which now serves as the Primary Data Source, plays a significant role in improving our understanding of the crimes committed by serial killers. By comparing the content of the data, I will identify several key variables that shape the focus of my analysis.

For example my analysis is guided by several chapters of the textbook written by – Bohn and Haley, Criminal Justice (2004) – which establishes a timeline allowing for an overview and discussion of several elements of the crime and criminal justice response to the crime. Key chapters are used to cover; The Crime, Cause and Effect, Criminal Law, Police Procedures, Court Systems and Trial, Sentencing Procedures, Corrections and Prison Systems, and the effects of

The Criminal Justice System on the case in general (Bohn and Haley 2004).The timeline in essence is the medium through which we; trace the path of behavior, as seen in the data, to the literature predicting the outcome of childhood abuse, and an analysis of the cause and effects of serial murder. Although this study does not put forth any generalization pertaining to the causal factors of serial murderers and their modus operandi, a study of this type clarifies several issues related to the socialization of this type of killer, procedures for investigation, and subsequent apprehension and conviction of these individuals.

Findings and Analysis The Crimes Richard Ramirez was famous for his unique style of his crimes. His first set of crime he committed was theft. He worked for a local hotel in El Paso, Texas and had access to the hotel’s master key. He would enter the guests’ rooms while they were out and take valuables. His first instance with rape took place at that particular hotel.

He trespassed into one of the rooms and proceeded to tie up and rape the woman who was staying there.He was caught in the act by the woman’s husband and, after a good beating, was turned over to the authorities. He was not charged though. After he moved to Los Angeles in 1978, he began his “killing spree”. He proceeded to break into women’s houses, usually through and open window, rape, torture, and inevitably kill them with his . 25 caliber handgun.

Not only would Richard do this for himself, he did this because he thought in his mind that he was working for the devil.He committed these

crimes with no remorse or mercy for his victims. In one case, after raping, killing, and “gutting” or decapitating a woman, he walked to her kitchen, and proceeded to eat a piece of melon. He would also draw satanic symbols on the walls, such as a pentagon, with the blood of his victims. Cause and Effect Because Richard Ramirez was terrorizing the streets of Los Angeles during one of the hottest summers ever recorded, people were suffering in the heat by staying indoors and locking their windows.

Normally, people living in the downtown area of Los Angeles would sleep with their windows open, or spend nights sitting and relaxing on their porches. Women were afraid to go anywhere by themselves, especially at night. They were also afraid to leave their children home alone. The whole city was on its ends worrying about who would be next.

During the beginning of Ramirez’s killing spree, there were no accurate descriptions as to what he looked like. All the people of Los Angeles knew was that there was a man on the loose, breaking into houses raping and killing anyone he could get his hands on.