Schaar 1
Alyse Schaar
Professor Petersheim
W270
6 March 2017
Serial Killers: Why They Do What They Do
In society there are people that commit crime that are known as misdemeanors, which are
minor crimes in our criminal system. But there are others in society that commit crimes that are
known as felonies, which are major crimes in our criminal system. Crime is not uncommon in
our society but what is hard to think about is a person that commits murder, they take another
person’s life. Then it can get worse, that murderer takes more than one life. This will classify that
person as a serial killer. What motivates a person to commit more than one murder? What would
go through their mind when they commit this crime? Is there something mentally wrong with a
person that commits more than one murder? There are two disorders that serial killers are
normally associated with, sociopathy and psychopathy. Though this does not mean that every
serial killer or murderer is a sociopath or a psychopath, they may just commit the crime because
of their own feelings that are clouding their judgment. There are two articles that can begin to
help with the issue of serial killers and questioning their mental states, they are “Serial Killers
Myth #1: They’re Mentally Ill or Evil Geniuses” and “Personality disorders, psychopathy, and
serial killers”. In the first article about serial killer myths the author discusses the myths that are
often associated with serial killers and how these myths may not be true. Then in the second
article about disorders often associated with serial killers, this article shows percentages and
explains how they have found that there is something mentally wrong with serial killers. When it
comes down to it many professionals are looking into this problem in society and they are trying
Schaar 2
to figure it out for all people, they are trying to determine if serial killers are actually mentally
unstable. Although when it comes down to it people that can openly murder more than one other
individual have to have some form of a disorder or are mentally unstable because of the
disrespect of the law and disrespect for another human being.
In the article, “Serial Killer Myth #1: They’re Mentally Ill or Evil Geniuses” the author,
Scott A. Bonn, who has a PhD in criminology; discusses how serial killers may not have a
mental illness associated with them. He also mentions that these serial killers are portrayed as
evil geniuses in the media but that may not be the case in real situations in society. So Bonn
starts his argument against serial killers claiming they have a mental illness or are evil geniuses.
He states that the disorders that is often associated with serial killers are sociopathy and
psychopathy and these two disorders are not viewed as mental illnesses by the American
