Women and men serial killers; gender inequality on crime sentencing - Research Paper Example

Moreover, they get different types of punishments also for crimes of similar nature. “Gender discrimination remains as one of the most prevalent and disturbing problems for women not only in the United States but the world as well” (Crawford). America is the most advanced and civilised nation in the world according to many sociologists and scholars. However, even America is not free from the social evil of gender inequality. In America men have always been superior to women when it comes to careers, finances, and even crime.

Women might get arrested for things such as running away, prostitution, shop lifting and so on, that men would never get arrested for. “In 1990, there were approximately 600,000 women in prisons or jails, on probation, or on parole in the United States; in 2000, the figure had risen to more than one million women”(Covington & Bloom, p. 1). This paper analyses how gender inequality affect criminal justice system while dispersing punishments for similar crimes committed by males and females.

“The very mention of the term "serial killer" evokes a spine chilling reaction in most people. It is something we do not quite want to think about, yet at the same time we can’t get enough of” (Serial Killing: A Forgotten Phenomenon). Serial killing is one of the major criminal activities of modern era. Both males and females engage in serial killing because of various reasons. In some cases, psychological problems force people to engage in serial killing whereas in other cases, political, social and cultural reasons motivate people to perform this antisocial activity.

One of the stunning facts about serial killing is that majority of male serial killers are getting life terms or sentencing for a prescribed period of time whereas majority of the female serial killers are getting capital punishment. A serial killer who admitted to murdering 14 street children escaped the death penalty when he was