Writing Murder.

[Corey]

I'd like to thank Mitch for inspiring me to write my End-O-The Term essay on this topic. His discussion in the Genral Lounge made me think a lot. Also whoever posted info on Son of Sam and Ed Gein. You people made me do research o them in [url=www.crimelibrary.com]Crime Library[/url].

I'd like to ask for both pros and cons of this paper. 'Tis an argumentative essay, and I stuck to basically the general guidelines.

Have at it.
--------------------
[i][b]Murder.[/b][/i]
Written By: Corey Roos

[list]100- We with our faithful escort onward moved
101- Along the brink of the vermilion boiling,
102- Wherein the boiled were uttering loud laments.

103- People I saw within up to the eyebrows,
104- And the great Centaur said: Tyrants are these,
105- Who dealt in bloodshed and in pillaging.
-Dante Alighieri
[u]The Divine Comedy[/u]
Inferno- Canto XII[/list]

Brought upon you today is the unacceptable topic of murder. How treacherous one can be to murder another human in cold blood or otherwise. How loathsome is the one that destroys another's life, cuts his throat and watches the dark blood of the heart seep into the floorboards of ones house? In todays world, we have laws forbidding this behavior, yet it continues. The statement I proclaim to argue, is that murder can justified in a world with so many wrongs. While factoring in the variables of human nature, psychological problems, and emotion it should be rather simple to draw suitable conclusions. Some present debates relating to murder will be included too. Time for some fun.

[b]The Simple[/b]
Firstly, the topic of human nature in murder. What is the nature of all human beings? To survive. It's the largest, and deepest rooted instinct we have. When you are in a fight, your survival (or self preservation) instinct kicks in. You fight back. Wether you fight back well enough to survive is really a matter of chance. And if you do? You will probably end up hurting the person a little more to prevent them from attempting to damage you again. And what happens if it goes a little further than that? Read on...
One problem this world has today is the control of one specific emotion. Anger. You hear about it all the time. Is it possible to become so enraged that you cannot comprehend what you are doing? Probably. One can easily become angry enough to wish harm on another. It happens far too many times in a day to count. Anger can become so great that it can lead to murder. We've all heard of it. Perhaps even seen it. You get into a fight for whatever frivolous reason. As said before, your instincts kick in. You fight valiantly and end up winning. The person lies on the ground in a shuddering mass, battered and probably bleeding. What happens next? You become angered. Maybe even enraged. You continue to beat the person. Punches, kicks, knee blows. You utilize any object you can as a weapon. A piece of wood. A random steel pipe. A garbage can lid. Eventually you stop. Perhaps you're tired or finally realize what you're doing. The person isn't breathing. They aren't moving at all. You allowed your emotions get the best of you. It led to murder.
If the murder had been purely out of self preservation, it would have been justified. You cannot ignore your instincts. The murderer, in this case, was a victim of his genetic programming. Though once anger becomes involved in the death of a person, the murder becomes unjustified. Emotions can be controlled. Anger can be suppressed, just like any other emotion. All people have will power. Some may be weaker than others, but you should always have enough will to control yourself, if you are healthy. Which brings me to my next point.

[b]Defects in Society[/b]
Many of the murders you hear a lot about are either done by media stars or psychologically defective people. Many cannot tell right from wrong. Many more simply don't care. Take the infamous 'Son of Sam' for example. He was a serial murderer in the 70s that shot young women with a .44 caliber weapon. He was a paranoid schizophrenic. In a letter he wrote to the police he made several references to a 'father Sam' (the letter is inclosed at the end of this paper). Perhaps this was his other personality. The 'father Sam' figure commanded Son of Sam to kill. So kill he must. Mr. Sam aseemed to realize what a terrible thing he was doing, but could not stop. For, to him, the most important thing was to 'honour thy father'. He believed himself to be helping his 'father' survive by feeding him the blood of young women.
Mr. Eddie Gein is someone many should be familiar with even if they don't know the name. Mr. Gein inspired the Tobe Hopper classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ed Gein was perhaps one of the most gruesome murderers ever. When the police finally entered his house, suspecting him of robing a bank, one officer bumped into a carcass of some kind hanging from the ceiling. It wasn't unusual for that time of year. Deer season was in effect, after all. After a brief examination the officer found the torso was human, one of his deputies mothers in fact. In the cabinets was a bowl made from a human skull, a lampshade from human skin sat in his living room, female genitalia were kept preserved in a shoebox, a belt made of nipples, and four noses and a heart were found. The final ghastly trophy was a suit made entirely of human skin (he also inspired 'Buffalo Bill' from 'Silence Of The Lambs')
Terrible? Yes, absolutely. Justified? Also yes. These two men were indeed mentally sick. Mr. Berkowitz (Son of Sam) was a paranoid schizophrenic and socially inept. His childhood was rough and he never exactly fit in. He told police that demons (the 'father Sam' figure) were commanding him to kill these people. They demanded "Blood and Death!". To subdue them, he killed. At the most basic level, we do the same thing every day. We lie to get people out of our faces. We bribe to make people leave us alone. His motive for killing was simply self preservation. If he wouldn't have killed, he would have been killed.
Mr. Eddie Gein had an extremely sheltered childhood. His mother was a fanatic about Christianity and instilled the strict moral code she set for her two children, daily. She had no problems enforcing it through violent means. Ed grew up with no friends but developed a great love to read. He grew up doing odd jobs but most often baby sat the children in his small town. People saw him as trustworthy. Mr. Gein was diagnosed by psychologists and psychiatrists as schizophrenic and a "sexual psychopath". Gein was not properly equipped for life and therefore, unfortunately, justifying his murders. He truly didn't know what he was doing. "Thou shall not kill" can only go so far when you're older, living by yourself and never had the pleasure of experiencing a childhood or a healthy mind.

[b]Warmongering, Electricity, and Euthanasia[/b]
"Is it so wrong to declare war on another human being?" That little statement was made by a good friend of mine. If government officials can wage war on such a large scale, why can't we do it on a smaller one. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting we all go and kill people saying it's in the name of war. That would be wrong. But why are men in power allowed to wage war when we are not? Is it because they have willing participants that would die for a cause? I'd gladly die to see a few people wiped off the face of the earth. Or how about because they deem it as ethical. Killing on a grand scale certainly seems ethical to me! Oh yeah! War is not justified, no matter how you look at it. The reasons behind war, possibly. The bloodshed? No. Nor is murdering someone just to have them leave this world.
And what about the electric chair? Is that justified murder? To many, yes. What better punishment than the one the murderer dealt out? An eye for an eye, so to speak. But how can someone condone killing another human being simply because they killed? If faced with a lifetime prison sentence, the electric chair would be a blessing. The best punishment for a murder crime is not death, but imprisonment. An eye for an eye, and the whole world goes blind. Killing because someone killed is no justification.
Dr. Jack Kevorkian was a huge advocate for doctor-assisted suicide. In fact, before he was charged with murder in 1999, Kevorkian helped over 130 patients kill themselves. Now there is a large controversy obscuring the reality of this issue. There are a great many that think this is murder. They believe that helping people kill themselves to do nothing but save them from a slow, painful death is purely unjustified murder. This is not true. If faced with a long painful life of cancer, many would gladly choose a peaceful death. If people are competent to decide for themselves, doctor-assisted suicide is still murder, but it certainly is a justified kind.

[b]Closure is a Healthy Thing[/b]
How does one conclude a paper such as this? Perhaps one should think about the families of the recently departed. Do they see the murder as justified? Of course not. The wife of the fight victim will always see the man as a murderer. The children of defective serial killer victims always will see the people as messed in the head and worthy of nothing but a murder charge. The families of people that die at war will most likely see the war as unjust. Right now, murder usually resides in black and white terms. The fact is, there are justified and unjustified murders. Let's not dub all murders as unjust simply because someone is dead. To do that would be unjust.

[KarmaOfChaos]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by KnightOfTheRose [/i]

--------------------


Brought upon you today is the unacceptable topic of murder. How treacherous one can be to murder another human in cold blood or otherwise. How loathsome is the one that destroys another's life, cuts his throat and watches the dark blood of the heart seep into the floorboards of ones house? In todays world, we have laws forbidding this behavior, yet it continues. The statement I proclaim to argue, is that murder can justified in a world with so many wrongs. While factoring in the variables of human nature, psychological problems, and emotion it should be rather simple to draw suitable conclusions. Some present debates relating to murder will be included too. Time for some fun.[/quote]
[color=deeppink]
Interesting. Brutally honest, which is always a good thing. I would have eliminated the last sentence, however. It's unnecessary.
[/color]
[quote] [b]The Simple[/b]
Firstly, the topic of human nature in murder. What is the nature of all human beings? To survive. It's the largest, and deepest rooted instinct we have. When you are in a fight, your survival (or self preservation) instinct kicks in. You fight back. Wether you fight back well enough to survive is really a matter of chance. And if you do? You will probably end up hurting the person a little more to prevent them from attempting to damage you again. And what happens if it goes a little further than that? Read on...
[/quote]
[color=deeppink]
I'd eliminate the last sentence here as well. Unnecessary.[/color]
[quote]
One problem this world has today is the control of one specific emotion. Anger. You hear about it all the time. Is it possible to become so enraged that you cannot comprehend what you are doing? Probably. One can easily become angry enough to wish harm on another. It happens far too many times in a day to count. Anger can become so great that it can lead to murder. We've all heard of it. Perhaps even seen it. You get into a fight for whatever frivolous reason. As said before, your instincts kick in. You fight valiantly and end up winning. The person lies on the ground in a shuddering mass, battered and probably bleeding. What happens next? You become angered. Maybe even enraged. You continue to beat the person. Punches, kicks, knee blows. You utilize any object you can as a weapon. A piece of wood. A random steel pipe. A garbage can lid. Eventually you stop. Perhaps you're tired or finally realize what you're doing. The person isn't breathing. They aren't moving at all. You allowed your emotions get the best of you. It led to murder.[/quote]

[color=deeppink]
Quite true. However, anyone who feels anger to that extent, feels that much hatred, probably must have suffered a great deal of on-going trauma previously from the person they are attacking. Simple self-defense usually doesn't go this far, unless they're a gun or knife involved. Or the person has other mental problems controlling their emotions. You might note this.
[/color]
[quote]
If the murder had been purely out of self preservation, it would have been justified. You cannot ignore your instincts. The murderer, in this case, was a victim of his genetic programming. Though once anger becomes involved in the death of a person, the murder becomes unjustified. Emotions can be controlled. Anger can be suppressed, just like any other emotion. All people have will power. Some may be weaker than others, but you should always have enough will to control yourself, if you are healthy. Which brings me to my next point.
[/quote]
[color=deeppink]
Once again, excellent point. But, like I said before, if anger gets [i]that[/i] out of control, they're usually some underlying issues there. And the last sentence isn't needed...again. Are you doing that on purpose? O.o"[/color]
[quote] [b]Defects in Society[/b]
Many of the murders you hear a lot about are either done by media stars or psychologically defective people. Many cannot tell right from wrong. Many more simply don't care. Take the infamous 'Son of Sam' for example. He was a serial murderer in the 70s that shot young women with a .44 caliber weapon. He was a paranoid schizophrenic. In a letter he wrote to the police he made several references to a 'father Sam' (the letter is inclosed at the end of this paper). Perhaps this was his other personality. The 'father Sam' figure commanded Son of Sam to kill. So kill he must. Mr. Sam aseemed to realize what a terrible thing he was doing, but could not stop. For, to him, the most important thing was to 'honour thy father'. He believed himself to be helping his 'father' survive by feeding him the blood of young women.
Mr. Eddie Gein is someone many should be familiar with even if they don't know the name. Mr. Gein inspired the Tobe Hopper classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Ed Gein was perhaps one of the most gruesome murderers ever. When the police finally entered his house, suspecting him of robing a bank, one officer bumped into a carcass of some kind hanging from the ceiling. It wasn't unusual for that time of year. Deer season was in effect, after all. After a brief examination the officer found the torso was human, one of his deputies mothers in fact. In the cabinets was a bowl made from a human skull, a lampshade from human skin sat in his living room, female genitalia were kept preserved in a shoebox, a belt made of nipples, and four noses and a heart were found. The final ghastly trophy was a suit made entirely of human skin (he also inspired 'Buffalo Bill' from 'Silence Of The Lambs')
Terrible? Yes, absolutely. Justified? Also yes. These two men were indeed mentally sick. Mr. Berkowitz (Son of Sam) was a paranoid schizophrenic and socially inept. His childhood was rough and he never exactly fit in. He told police that demons (the 'father Sam' figure) were commanding him to kill these people. They demanded "Blood and Death!". To subdue them, he killed. At the most basic level, we do the same thing every day. We lie to get people out of our faces. We bribe to make people leave us alone. His motive for killing was simply self preservation. If he wouldn't have killed, he would have been killed.
Mr. Eddie Gein had an extremely sheltered childhood. His mother was a fanatic about Christianity and instilled the strict moral code she set for her two children, daily. She had no problems enforcing it through violent means. Ed grew up with no friends but developed a great love to read. He grew up doing odd jobs but most often baby sat the children in his small town. People saw him as trustworthy. Mr. Gein was diagnosed by psychologists and psychiatrists as schizophrenic and a "sexual psychopath". Gein was not properly equipped for life and therefore, unfortunately, justifying his murders. He truly didn't know what he was doing. "Thou shall not kill" can only go so far when you're older, living by yourself and never had the pleasure of experiencing a childhood or a healthy mind.
[/quote]
[color=deeppink]
Great examples. Very nice.[/color]

[quote]
[b]Warmongering, Electricity, and Euthanasia[/b]
"Is it so wrong to declare war on another human being?" That little statement was made by a good friend of mine. If government officials can wage war on such a large scale, why can't we do it on a smaller one[color=red]?[/color] Now don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting we all go and kill people saying it's in the name of war. That would be wrong. But why are men in power allowed to wage war when we are not? Is it because they have willing participants that would die for a cause? I'd gladly die to see a few people wiped off the face of the earth. Or how about because they deem it as ethical. Killing on a grand scale certainly seems ethical to me! Oh yeah! War is not justified, no matter how you look at it. The reasons behind war, possibly. The bloodshed? No. Nor is murdering someone just to have them leave this world.
[/quote]
[color=deeppink]
No, wars are never 'justified.' However, sometimes, a situation get to the point (such as with Hitler and Germany), that a war must come about, people must intervene, because to let it continue would be worse. It all comes down to, 'how can we go about this in a way where the least amount of blood is spillt?' It becomes truly wrong when people continue killing, or chose the path easiest for them, for the sake of own personal gain.

Comparing murder to war was a nice analogy, but it had some holes. Murder is personal. You [i]know[/i] who you're killing, on some level. And if murder can be justified, then cannot war also be justified?[/color]

[quote] And what about the electric chair? Is that justified murder? To many, yes. What better punishment than the one the murderer dealt out? An eye for an eye, so to speak. But how can someone condone killing another human being simply because they killed? If faced with a lifetime prison sentence, the electric chair would be a blessing. The best punishment for a murder crime is not death, but imprisonment. [color=red]"[/color] An eye for an eye, and the whole world goes blind.[color=red]" (Ghandi)[/color] Killing because someone killed is no justification.
[/quote]
[color=deeppink]
I concede. Nice point you made there, that death would be a relief compared to a life-sentence.
[/color]
[quote]
Dr. Jack Kevorkian was a huge advocate for doctor-assisted suicide. In fact, before he was charged with murder in 1999, Kevorkian helped over 130 patients kill themselves. Now there is a large controversy obscuring the reality of this issue. There are a great many that think this is murder. They believe that helping people kill themselves to do nothing but save them from a slow, painful death is purely unjustified murder. This is not true. If faced with a long painful life of cancer, many would gladly choose a peaceful death. If people are competent to decide for themselves, doctor-assisted suicide is still murder, but it certainly is a justified kind.
[/quote]
[color=deeppink]
Amen to that.[/color]
[quote] [b]Closure is a Healthy Thing[/b]
How does one conclude a paper such as this? Perhaps one should think about the families of the recently departed. Do they see the murder as justified? Of course not. The wife of the fight victim will always see the man as a murderer. The children of defective serial killer victims always will see the people as messed in the head and worthy of nothing but a murder charge. The families of people that die at war will most likely see the war as unjust. Right now, murder usually resides in black and white terms. The fact is, there are justified and unjustified murders. Let's not dub all murders as unjust simply because someone is dead. To do that would be unjust.[/QUOTE]
[color=deeppink]
Nice end. =) Overall, very well written. I would have given you an A. ^-~

-Karma
[/color]

[Ellester41]

Dude!... You should write a book or something. jeez. Good point in it all,though. I guess. -bye!

[Corey]

@ Karma- For all the sentances you said were unecessary, I was doing it on purpose. My English teacher harped on my about not having enough of my personality in my papers. So I put those in and it pacified him.
I know the section on war has a few holes, but I wrote it the night before it was due. I'm a terrible procrastinator. I would have liked to think it out better, and you gave me some excellent points to think about, but like I said, I was on a limited clock.
The anger suggestion is another thing I rushed on. I wanted to include something about YY males (normal males are XY, females are XX). Very rare they are, but they have major anger and testosterone issues. More than half of the male prison population are YY males.
*shrug*

@Ellester- Thankyou.