SERIAL KILLERS AND PLEADING INSANITY

Serial killers and mass murderers are not the same. The logical behind the behavior is how they are defined and how they will kill their victims. You see a serial killer, has a plan behind their killings. They have a motive, bizarre ones in fact. But what makes them tick and differ from mass murders is they don’t kill in large quantities. In fact, they kill in spurts. They love to haunt and torture their prey. Torturing them is something that makes them unique and rare. They have motives and premeditated.

A murderer who is labeled as a serial killer is defined not only in their twisted motives but the number of victims they have killed. With each killer they have a point in when they are killing, they take a break in their horrendous behavior. Why? Every circumstance as well as environmental occurrences. Killers tend to stop and not kill for long period and are often triggered to start again. Killing doesn’t recognize gender or age nor does it recognize race. Each killer has their own preference as to how they go about choosing their prey. Serial killers often do not have a set number they wish to kill. The simplicity of the truth is they cannot stop unless they are stopped.

The insanity plea has been around for a very long time. It hasn’t always been a proven method for the killers to be let free into the world to kill again. In our legal system, it has been proven to work for a few people who know the loopholes within. Let’s explore killers behind their pleas and crimes. Sometimes this type of plea is overused. Men are not the only ones who kill. An insane person wears many faces and hats in life. They could be anyone, even your own neighbor or your own relative. It is a scary thought.

Women have been known to be one of the worst kind. Believe it or not, the insanity defense was around in the 1800s. Jane Toppan was a rare creature in her time. She was born in 1857 with the name of Honora Kelley. Her childhood was horrendous in so many words. The death of her mother and her crazy alcoholic father left a long lasting impact on “Jane,” and her sister. They were only eight years old. Despite being sent to an asylum; in those days it was also known as an orphanage. Within a few short years’ time; Honora was taken in by a couple only to be their servant. While during her servant days, she took on their surname and that is how Jane Toppan became into existence. It is unclear as to her childhood upbringing during her days at the orphanage with her sister.

Despite her disastrous childhood, she was able to overcome those obstacles and train to be a nurse. Those nursing skills helped to mold not only her as a nurturing person but as a woman of murderous means. Her career as a nurse honed her skills into perfecting the perfect murder spree. As a serial killer she became known not only for killing her victims slowly with medicines and treatments on hand. They were her guinea pigs to do as she pleased. She thrived from the pain and misery she caused each and every victim. It is known she not only received a thrill from her murders as well as sexually aroused as well. It was said she racked up a number of thirty-one victims. But it could have been more before she was stopped. Jane didn’t get sent to prison for her crimes. A mental hospital would be her final residence. An insanity plea was her ticket out of prison.

Sture Bergwall used the system and found loopholes to keep killing. He goes by the name of Thomas Quick. He isn’t just a serial rapist he is a murderer or so he says and is no longer locked behind bars. For once in our legal system, he was able to fool them. Why is a man who claims to have tortured and murdered his victims roaming the streets of Sweden? Thomas Quick is a character in itself. His behavior in a psychiatric hospital with being locked away for two decades finally saw the light of day. He was set free. Stures’ crimes were discredited. His previous behavior of a botched robbery sent him to the ward and soon his dark tales of murder and rape where leaked out. This man who terrorized Sweden for two decades was given a chance of freedom for being a pathological liar.

Bertha Gifford is another woman from the past. Jane and Bertha would have combined forces if they had lived in the same era. They were both nurturing women who enjoyed the hunt and thrill of watching their victims in the intimate hours of their demise. In her lifetime, she was known as a beautiful woman who soon became tarnished with the harsh reality of the farm life. Her demeanor toward those fell ill was a woman of many blessings. She was caring in her bedside manner. It was a quality some women didn’t possess due to the harsh environment. Bertha would be known as an angel of death. She was right there at your beside nursing you back to health. Or so people thought. In reality she was slowly killing you and watching your demise.

Ed Gein was more than a murderer; and even robbed graves. His life journey of killing began when his mother died. His obsession with his own mother lead him down a path of butchering. The fascination he held for the woman who gave birth to him, didn’t allow any time for love. Corpses was his main passion. Creepy I know, but it is partly what made him tick. Ed would gain the nickname of “Butcher of Plainfield,” due to the butchering and body parts he kept as trophies.

Police were turned onto Ed due to his lack of murdering skills. He left evidence behind when he committed at least two murders of women. The obsession with his mother and the female anatomy was his downfall. He had a more powerful nickname; “Leather face.” Creepy indeed. His butchering skills of corpses allowed him to take home trophies. He too was like “Buffalo Bill.” These two killers had one thing in common. They both used the skins and body parts to create a human body suit.

The murders committed by Ed Gein inspired movies such as “Silence of the lambs,” and “Hannibal.” Even though his death toll isn’t as high as the others mentioned in the article, his bizarre motives and behavior is that of a serial killer.

Who was Michael Hayes? He was known as spree killer. Not only did he suffer from mental illness, he was a drug addict. The two components created a murdering instinct inside him. He committed murder in 1988 and was arrested the very same day. However, it was said, his killing spree was known as the Old Salisbury Road Murders. Why? The murders took place on that stretch of road. His trial and verdict outraged the community. He was found not guilty by reason insanity and committed to a mental hospital.

During his stay in the mental hospital, he was treated for schizophrenia. His psychosis disappeared and the following year in 1989, he went off the medication and never went back. Despite a denial of a release in 2007 by a judge. An order of conditional release was given to Hayes by the same prior judge who denied three years later in 2010. Why was he given a conditional release? Numerous testimony of Hayes mental stability was given in court. The case of Hayes is a proven case where using the insanity plea worked in the favor of a murderer. A community will never feel safe with a convicted serial killer roaming the streets free.

It seems the men and women who have been mentioned used the plea deal and it worked very well for them. Each one of these killers had their own twisted methods to how they chose their preys and how they would kill them. Not one single murder was the same nor were the targets. Their murders were detected due to their own down fall. Women have been proven throughout history to be just as cruel as a man, maybe even worse.

These five individuals who have hunted and killed their chosen targets, they have been known as a serial killer for a reason. Why? They couldn’t stop with just one murder. They couldn’t stop for whatever reason. Most or all of these killers reached an ultimate pleasure from what they were able to accomplish in their murders. They are not the first serial killer to use the insanity plea. There are has been dozens before them who has tried the defense and failed miserably. But in these cases, even though they were all not released back into society, but they were able to found not guilty but a reason of insanity.

In each case, a killer was able to persuade a jury and legal system of a mental breakdown allowed them to once again taunt the families and victims. The insanity plea has been abused throughout the history of our legal system. However, in most or all cases of a serial killer, they were insane an insanity plea fit their cases perfectly. It is hard to understand why only a few people were able to succeed with the insanity plea and others were not. The components of the killings and the killers themselves play a larger role in as to why it was able to fulfill the goal of gaining the plea deal. It is a mystery in the legal system and something we as a society will never be fulfilled.

The number of deaths committed by these murderers vary between them. Why is the number different? The circumstances and being caught play a major role in how many they were actually able to kill. Despite the quantity of deaths, they admitted to, may not actually be the correct numbers. Most serial killers like to boost their death count. It could be extremely higher than mentioned or it could be lower. As a society, we will never know the true number of every killer. In the cases mentioned in the above text, each killer worked alone. However, that is not always known to be true. In some rare cases, a partner or two helps them to accomplish their goal in life. Our history is full of serial murderers.

In conclusion, this article isn’t to romanticize their actions nor their horrendous murders. It is to understand their motives and what makes their mind tick. Their environment and their childhood helped them on their path to killing. It was a curiosity and desire they chose to act upon. They simply had no compassion for the human race, nor did they have respect for themselves and their victims. Serial killers are humans who have a disturbing habit of committing heinous crimes against fatalities. Each killer was able to play the system in their own hands and escape the jaws of prison walls. A mental institution became their punishment.

Most of these serial killers never left the institution. They often died while lives where being destroyed by their crimes. Mental institutions are no walk in the park, but the insanity deal and the system worked in their favors. Serial killers have one thing in common; they kill and keep on killing they are stopped. Periods of quiet are a mutual denominator between them. The gender of the killer isn’t important factor. The thrill and the possibility of getting caught thrives them to keep right on with their killing spree. Homicide is in their DNA. A society we may not understand what truly makes them tick. It is what makes them fascinating to those of us want to fathom their motives and their mental status.