Serial Killer vs. Shooting Spree

[JJNJustin]

Someone on the radio was comparing the Virginia Tech killer to killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and David Berkowitz, and it stuck me that these seem to be two completely different kind of murderers, one stalking and killing many victims over a periods of months or years, the other killing many victims all at once before usually committing suicide.

It stuck me that although the results are tragic in both casis, the psychology behind their actions was probably very different. The most obvious is that the "shooting spree" type killer seems to have a breaking point at which he has no regard for his own life nor that of others, whereas the serial killer seems very predatory, cautious, and goes to great lengths not to get caught so he can repeat his crimes at a later date.

Do you feel some or all these types of killers are mentally sick? To what degree? How similar and "syndromatic" are their actions? It is often been pointed out that they "show no remorse," and this has been used as a justification for punishment. However, as pointed about by forensic psychiatrists, their minds are so controlled by their sickness that they are incapable of showing any human emotion. Interestingly, some who have been brought back towards normalcy by therapy killed themselves immediately in recognition of the horrific crimes they committed. In light of this fact, how do we rectify a need for justice against these horrible crimes and a killer who has basically succumbed to a horrible form of mental illness?

How do you punish an illness?

-J