Extreme Killing

Accessibly written, yet analytically rich, Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder, is renowned for its fascinating examination of historical and contemporary serial and mass murder. Authors and experts in the field, James Alan Fox, Jack Levin, and Emma Fridel, bring their years of research to bear in this fascinating analysis of serial, multiple, and mass murder. They examine the theories of criminal behavior and apply them to a multitude of tragic events that involve hate crimes, killings at religious services, music festivals, and school shootings. This Fifth Edition is filled with contemporary and classic case studies and has been updated to include coverage of controversial issues such as gun control and mental illness, the role of high-powered weapons in mass shootings, and the distinction between serial and mass murder.

This comprehensive overview of serial and multiple murders looks at the theories for the criminal behavior and applies them to a multitude of well-known and little-known cases worldwide, examining similarities and differences. Jamie Fox and Jack Levin are renowned experts and authors in the field and they bring their years of research to bear in this fascinating analysis of serial, multiple and mass murder. The second edition is updated with more recent theory and cases. Features of the 2nd edition: 1. Updated throughout with new cases like the BTK Killer, Virginia Tech shootings, Ft. Hood mass murder. 2. Expanded coverage of theory 3. Stronger research focus 4. Expanded illustration program with better use of photos, charts and graphs

Filled with contemporary and classic case studies, this fascinating overview of both serial and mass murder illustrates the many violent expressions of power, revenge, terror, greed, and loyalty. Throughout the book, renowned experts James Alan Fox and Jack Levin examine the theories of criminal behavior and apply them to a multitude of mass and serial murderers from around the world, such as Adam Lanza (Newtown, CT), James Holmes (Aurora, CO cinema), Anders Breivik (Oslo, Norway), Charles Manson (“Helter Skelter”), and Dennis Rader (BTK). This fully updated Third Edition of Extreme Killing helps readers understand the commonalities and variations among multiple murders, addresses the characteristics of both killers and their victims, and, in the concluding chapter, discusses the special concerns of multiple murder victims and their survivors.

Multiple killings by serial or spree killers and the mass violence seen in war crimes and other atrocities have typically been understood as discrete category types, which can foster the view that there are fundamentally different kinds of human beings, including "deviants" who are born evil and innately given to sadism or a callous lack of empathy. In contrast, this book considers the violence of these "deviants" in terms of larger questions about human violence. Therefore, in addition to describing the life histories of a sample of individual serial and spree murderers, the book includes analysis of macro-level phenomena such as genocide, mass rape and killing, and torture occurring under conditions of war, state authorization, or political upheaval. The chief claim of the book is that, given the "right" combination of factors occurring at different levels of analysis, virtually anyone can emerge as a killer or perpetrator of atrocities. While it is crucial to understand individual killers in terms of the details of their biographies, it is equally crucial to understand political atrocities in terms of the details of their histories; and to see that persons and groups are always the product of complexly interacting assemblage processes.

"Written in an engaging manner that challenges critical thinking throughout, the text is very readable and balances providing facts grounded in research with case examples." —Minna Cirino, Shenandoah University Now with SAGE Publishing, The Will to Kill: Making Sense of Senseless Murder explores extraordinary and seemingly inexplicable cases of homicide—not to sensationalize them—but to educate students about these crimes. Authored by renowned experts, the Fifth Edition places recent crimes in context by reviewing current homicide laws, introducing the latest theories that seek to explain murder, and presenting up-to-date statistical data that identify homicide patterns and trends. Students develop a foundational understanding of a variety of topics, for example, domestic and workplace homicide, cult and hate killings, murders committed by juveniles, and serial slayings. Students also examine various criminal justice responses to homicide, including the strategies and tactics employed to apprehend, prosecute, and punish killers. New to the Fifth Edition Up-to-date research and data offers students the latest statistics on homicide patterns and trends in recent years. New illustrative cases cover various forms of homicide, focusing on crimes that drew significant interest from the public and policymakers alike and provide students with unique insights into violent behavior. Updated coverage of recent controversies, legislative changes, and Supreme Court decisions includes heightened concern over mass shootings, hate-motivated homicide and terrorism; new laws, shifting policies, and Supreme Court rulings pertaining to gun rights, juvenile offenders and the death penalty; and advances in surveillance technology, computer-aided investigation, and DNA forensic testing. Early introduction of theories helps students to understand the definition of homicide/homicide laws before developing a theoretical framework to explain violence.

History's most notorious and brutal killers still enjoy fame as public fascination with their lives and their crimes continues to grow. Stone Cold Souls is a detailed examination of the most brutal killers in history. Moffatt does what he does best by looking at historical accounts of events, analyzing them from a psychological perspective, and presenting his assessment in captivating fashion. He examines different types of killers, offers case studies and historical context, and describes what sets these cases apart from other kinds of killings. Even in a day and age where pop culture has made serial crime a mainstay of movies and books, the depravity of the killers profiled in this work will still shock even a desensitized reader. Men, women, and children alike have committed crimes so atrocious that it is hard to imagine that these events are not works of fiction. Moffatt examines the difficult questions that inevitably arise when one reads cases of unthinkable torture and cruelty. Why? Were these people simply evil or is it possible that, given other circumstances, they could have redirected their energies into more productive outlets? The author answers these questions and others and reveals the lives and crimes of these ruthless killers. Stone Cold Souls features such well-known cases as: Andrei Chikatilo, Marc Dutroux, Herman Webster Mudgett, Charles Ng, Leonard Lake, Lawrence Bittaker, Roy Norris, Ed Gein, Edmund Kemper, Henry Lee Lucas, Gilles de Rais, Ivan the Terrible, Richard Ramirez, Holly Ann Harvey, Sandy Ketchum, Mary Bell, Jesse Pomeroy, Josef Mengele, Marshall Applewhite, Jeffrey Lundgren, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Father Oliver O'Grady, Charles Cullin, Harold Shipman, Michael Swango, Myra Hindley, Karla Homolka, Aileen Carol Lee Wuornos, Elizabeth Bathory, Charles Sobhraj, Albert Fish, Donald Harvey, and Dennis Rader.

This book reframes the study of multicide (that is, serial and mass murder) to use objective measures, and aims to expand our understanding of multicide offending through descriptive and inferential statistical analyses of different homicide patterns of the offenders. Criminal homicide and multiple murders are rare occurrences that typically account for a very small percentage of all violent crimes in most countries. Despite this low occurrence, homicide continues to be an area of intense study, with a focus on subjective measures and classifications. The research and analysis based on a database of over 1,300 cases contributes to the criminological study of violence and draws distinctions between the types of offenders (partnered and solo, serial and mass, male and female, etc.) from a range of different countries and across decades. Traditionally, studies of homicide focus on male offenders and theories of offending are then applied to females and co-offenders. The research presented in this book reveals that women and partnered offenders have very different homicide patterns from men. Looking at the history of multicide offending, this book uses descriptive and inferential statistical analyses to directly compare differences in offending and outcome patterns across multicide offender types. This exploration of the multidimensionality of homicide at an international level is useful for scholars and students interested in criminal justice, criminology, psychology, sociology, or law.

This book brings together an international collection of research literature on the topics of criminal profiling and serial violent crime by integrating the respected insights of both scholars and practitioners from around the globe. It explains etiological factors and psychological mechanisms to reveal criminal motives.