John Wayne Gacy Murder Trial - Essay Example

John Wayne Gacy Murder Trial Abstract John Wayne Gacy was convicted of more murders than any other person in the American history. Evidence shows that in a span of about six years he had killed at least 33 young men and teenage boys. His psychological characteristics and patterns prior and during the period he was committing the atrocities depicted his “murderous nature”. His modus operandi helped him a great deal in executing his intentions for quite a long period without being arrested. Repetitive patterns were evident in his criminal acts. John Gacy’s criminality and psychopathy did not arise from nothing; possibly, there are development issues and life experiences that would have caused them. John Wayne Gacy Murder Trial Introduction John Wayne Gacy was an American who was convicted for murder and sexual assaults. Evidence indicated that between 1972 and 1978, he murdered and sexually assaulted at least 33 young men and teenage boys. Due to his serial killing he earned the tag “Killer Clown”. Also, evidence indicates that the defendant was living a double life; that of committing murders and that of engaging in political and charitable activities. Murder trials show that he was convicted of more murders than any other person in the American history. Based upon this historic murder trial, therefore, this paper will analyze the case and document and respond to a number of issues relating to the case (Mendenhall, 1996). Specific psychological characteristics and patterns that might be inferred about the individual Since the offences that the defendant committed were “unusual”, it is important to understand the specific psychological characteristics and patterns that might be inferred about him. The testimony that was made during the trial indicated that Gacy had psychological characteristics and patterns that to a greater extent depicted his atrocious actions. Those who worked for him testified that he was violent and in most cases showed intention to commit sexual assaults; actually, they testified that they had survived sexual and violent encounters with him (Amirante and Broderick, 2011). Friends, family and his former employees also testified that Gacy had mood swings and was “awfully tricky”, a trait he used to succeed in handcuffing them. Most of the sixty witnesses who testified during trial took notice of these characteristics and patterns. Since such characteristics are often associated with the insane, this was not the case with Gacy as psychologists had confirmed that he was sane, and he committed the offences while in sound mind. Psychologists and medical experts who testified for the defense agreed that he was very intelligent and generous. However, they also noted that he was schizophrenic; that is, he had antisocial behaviors or suffered from manifold personality disorder (Peck and Allan, 2001). A review of the individual’s signature and modus operandi In order to effectively execute his actions, John Gacy adopted his own specific signature and modus operandi. His signature and modus operandi enabled him to execute his actions with “efficient and effective” ease before he was eventually arrested. He admitted that his signature characteristic was to keep the people he had killed beneath his bed or in the attic for a number of hours prior to burying them later on (Kozenczak, 2003). His modus operandi is what enabled him to lure his victims easily and even sometimes manage to effortlessly trick them into being handcuffed so that he can execute his intentions. He would promise his victims employment opportunities in his construction company and then follow them up with alcohol. Once they were drunk, he would chloroform them and tie them to a chair. It should be noted that all his victims were male aged between 9 and 27 years. He sexually assaulted them, strangled them, or stuffed underwear into their mouths (Amirante and Broderick, 2011). When not using that tactic, he would drive around the town in search of runaways for young men, male prostitutes, or ex-jailbirds where he would pretend to be a police officer by splashing out a gun or a badge and arrest them. He would then befriend them and take them to his home where he will apply his tricks to subdue them and execute his intentions (Sullivan and Maiken, 2000). Repetitive patterns evident in the criminal acts Repetitive patterns were evident in his criminal acts; he would often drive to the runaways to look for young men and pretend to be a [police officer. Similarly, since he was a contractor, he would have access to numerous victims who worked for him. After accessing them, he would use the same tricks of making them drunk and thereafter tie them in a chair where he would sexually assault them and later on murder them. After that he will dispose the bodies, hence leaving them not to be found; so, for a quite long time there were no evidence of his criminal acts. Possible issues in development and life experience John Gacy’s criminality and psychopathy did not arise from nothing; possibly, there are development issues and life experiences that would have caused them. As is the case with many criminals and serial killers, Gacy’s childhood was difficult, particularly because his father was violent (Sullivan and Maiken, 2000). While growing up he was surrounded with violent behavior which might have led him to believe that it was a normal way of life. His childhood development and life experience made him develop violent tendencies which he maintained even in his adult life. For example, while entertaining hospitalized children he was dressing as a clown, which was his childhood symbol. It should also be noted that Gacy had suffered a head injury during childhood which might have caused abnormal behavior later in his life (Mendenhall, 1996). References Amirante, S and Broderick, D. (2011). John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster. Skyhorse Publishing. Kozenczak, J. (2003). The Chicago Killer: The Hunt for Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy. Philadelphia: Xlibris. Mendenhall, H. (1996). Fall of the house of Gacy: The only authorized biography of John Wayne Gacy, serial killer. West Frankfort, IL: New Authors Publication. Peck, D and Allan, N. (2001). Behavior beyond the Boundaries: Extraordinary Behavior: A Case Study Approach to Understanding Social Problems. Greenwood. Sullivan, T., & Maiken, P. T. (2000). Killer clown. New York: Pinnacle. Read More