Intro:

Good Afternoon, My name is Makaela Leisy and welcome to my senior project.

When I began the class that every Legal Studies student has to take during their senior year last
fall, I did not know what I was gonna write my 15 plus page paper on.
Each class I would search through endless articles trying to find something that I would be
passionate about to write an extremely long paper on and then focus on my entire senior year.
Who here has seen the show Criminal Minds? (pause for the raising of hands)
Or any crime shows for that matter? (pause)
I entered the LSA because of my fascination with these shows. My naive self unaware that most
of what was shown on the screen was not reality, but nonetheless allowed me to gain interest
within the field.
So, I narrowed my topics to an interest, the psyche of Serial Killers. What causes them to get the
point of no return and keep going. I went to my Senior Project teacher, asking her if there was
any way I could include Serial Killers within my senior project, and the neglect that they receive
as kids leading to who or what they become. She then suggested the topic of the Juvenile Justice
System.
So fast forward a couple months and much stress later, my topic is reforming the juvenile justice
system with regards to the treatments given to an adolescent after they commit a crime.
So the question is whether or not to focus more on Rehabilitation or Punishment in regards to
juveniles.
A juvenile is legally defined as a person who has not attained his/her eighteenth birthday
Now let me clarify what I mean by rehabilitation and punishment in regards to my project.
Rehabilitation refers to a child going through counseling and being put into a facility which
doesn’t put them behind bars or in secluded rooms away from everyone else.
Punishment is putting that said child into a prison or jail, where they are referred to as inmates,
and they are in charge of rehabilitating themselves by making the connection between negative
repercussions and the crimes in which they enacted in.
My personal opinion on the topic is that they should both go hand in hand. Rehabilitation is
needed to reduce the recidivism rate of the juvenile due to better deterring them from the life of
crime, and punishment because at the end of the day if they affiliate a negative behavior with a
negative outcome they will feel less inclined to partake in crime.
Through my research on the topic I have learned that psychologically rehabilitation is the better
choice all together instead of punishment.
Before I continue I would like to give a slight history of the Juvenile Justice system. This history
given to you with the helpful asistance of Marsha Levick, the Deputy Director,Chief Counsel,and
co-founder of the Juvenile Law Center in 1975. This law center created to make sure that the
justice system and child welfare system stay true to the rights the United States claims to protect
adolescents with as well as promoters of womens rights.

Show the video

Something that I would like to also bring up about the juvenile justice system before I continue is

before the creation of the first juvenile court, during the progressive era, poverty children ended

up in a life of crime and when placed with adults, the adults influenced them into a future life of

criminal activity. After multiple years of juveniles being treated like adults,the United States

eventually stepped in and said that Juveniles should be treated as juveniles. So that was a

pretext of the video that I just shown. One thing that I would also like to explain about the

beginning of the system is one of the first philosophies the United States had enacted in regards

to the juveniles. Parens Patriae is a philosophy established by the Supreme Court case Prince

v. Massachusetts (1944) This philosophy stating that if the parent is seen unfit to care for the

child through the eyes of the state is they had for right to take a child and put them in foster

care. Now before we try to solve the problem Of whether or not a juvenile should be put through

rehabilitation over punishment or punishment over rehabilitation, we need to first take into

consideration what gets juveniles to the point of being entered in to the juvenile justice system. I

would like to continue with the video, sadly there is no sound so I have decided to play my own

music behind the track.

while the video spoke about ethnicity, social environment, socioeconomic class, and school

Influences, I would like to mention the prevalence of mental illness within the justice system.

During my research portion of this school year I came across all of the factors that they had

mentioned as well as the addition of mental illness. The main issue of mental illness is the

ability of the juvenile to realize what she or he has done. Most of the time it’s Mental illness that

forces the victim or patient to partake in irrational acts, And feel no remorse for the actions in

which they took. Sometimes mental illness causes rage or actions previous to the crime or act

of the individual, and with in the heat of the moment be unaware of the consequences or what

they did. I would like to mention a study done by the national research Council and children

diagnosed mental illness which found that illnesses have the ability to make individual more
likely to commit a crime and be unaware of the actions that they did. The mental illness

population within the justice system in general, not confined to the juvenile levels, is rising. We

need to take into account the mental illness population and make sure that they are receiving

the proper treatment to reduce the rate of recidivism. which I would also like to mention to my

audience the definition, recidivism can be defined by The tendency of a convicted criminal to

reoffend.The debate over rehabilitation and punishment is focused around the idea recidivism in

reducing the rate for juveniles.

Serial Killer Speech:

Now that we have spoken about the juvenile justice system for about 2 hours, I think it is time to
move on to our next topic. As I mentioned within the beginning of this event the whole reason I
was brought down this journey was because of my wonder caused by the psyche of serial killers
and how someone can become so detached from their sympathy or empathy.
But let me remind you that my original idea was to talk about how multiple serial killers have
some type of criminal history and while each crime is not detected they still occur. For example
Charles Manson, the creator and leader of the Manson family who we all are aware of
committed his first crime at the age of 14 when he constantly stole little things such as chocolate
bars, eventually stealing a bike in order to run away from home. Considering his mother was an
alcoholic, a prostitute and sold him to a barmaid for a pitcher of beer, his actions seemed
validated. In fact, Mr. Winn even told me a story about Charles Manson and his uncle. Why is
uncle is relevant is because Charles from a young age was lacking of a father figure, so when
the police found him on the stolen bike and relocated into his aunts care do to the drug abuse
his actual mother was partaking in, his uncle was that father figure. The story goes as follows
“one day Charles Manson told his uncle he hated school so his uncle told him to burn it down”,
him trying to establish that no one was focused on the betterment of the child and pushing
positive thinking within him.
My next personality would be Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins a serial killer would rape, torture,
murder, and sometimes eat his victims.
He retained the nickname of Pee Wee at a young age due to a teasing because of his small
frame. At home he received abuse from his stepfather and at school he received beatings daily.
His first crime in which he was caught was the gang-rape of one of the Members of the Trouble
Trios sister. Before the gang rae was filed the trio was known for burglarizing homes, picking up
prostitutes, and raping little boys in which they would threaten to make them too scared to talk
to the police. This individual would grow up to be Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins, the man who
would be tied to 15 murders of women with 15 counts of rape tied to him, with the possibility of
at least 100 more.
Jeffrey Dahmer, the necrophiliac who killed and raped the dead corpses of multiple women, was
never caught for his juvenile crime. Dahmer at a young age due to divorced parents became a
heavy anti-social drinker. In fact when he was younger he had a hernia surgery due to him
having a double hernia. Hernia surgery is when the tissue around the abdominal area is pushed
back against the abdominal wall, some say this surgery changed Dahmer's life down the road of
crime,and some say he was born a psychopath. During his later teen years he also became
obsessed with animal carcasses, so much so that he would begin to collect roadkill off the
ground, and examine its counterparts. He would then procceed to skin the animal causeing
erotic pleasure.
Edmund Kemper, The co-ed Killer, the killer who would abduct woman hitchhikers, kill them,
proceed to enact in intercourse, and then dismember the corpse. When he ran out of funds to
support himself he had to move back in with his mother, who lived near a college campus. He
then targeted girls on campus. When he was young his parents were divorced and his dad
wanted nothing to do with the family regardless of Edmund reaching out, his mother abused
both drugs and alcohol and refused to show him affection in fear of turning him gay. When he
was younger he used to decapitate the heads of his sisters dolls, and even used his father's
bayonet and would stalk his 2nd grade teacher.This caused him o form multiple sexual fantasies
that were both malicious and disturbing. Most of the fantasies being the murdering of a women
and then raping the dead body. He then began with the dismembering of the house pet, his cat
would later be found within his closet, or at least the parts of the cats by his mother. She would
proceed to lock her son in the basement in fear that he would rape or harm his sister.He then
decapitated the replacement cat allowing to blood to splatter on him. While the police never
caught him on the mutilation of animals, when he was 15 years old he was sent to live eith his
grandparents. One day him and his grandma got into an argument and he shot her in the head.
He would shoot his grandpa later that day to “make sure he didnt see her body”. This displays
motherly issues due to most of his agression being enacted towards women.He called the
police on himself, he was sent to the Atascadero State Hospital and release when he was 21.

3 mins

Danger Zone
(Disclaimer: Most of these stories contain real life examples in which I have changed bits and
pieces of to protect the identity of the juvenile.)

1. Aniya is a Hispanic female aged 16 years old, 17 within the next three months, that
currently attends Monticello High School. She is currently living within the slums of New
York where her mom is a teacher at Kenneth Rutherford School and her dad owns a
Barber shop. Aniya rides the bus to school everyday, and then the city bus to work
almost every night at a pizza parlor. Aniya is known to be bullied frequently at school,
but doesn’t let her social life affect her grades, currently sitting at a 3.2 GPA. She
inspires to go to college and be better than those who raised her. Is she in
danger?

2. Sarah is a Caucasian female aged 14, who lives within a Florida trailer park. Her father
works at a mechanic shop and her mother left when she was 3 years old. She currently
 attends Gulf High School, and maintains a 2.9 GPA. Although she lacks a job, she
hangs out with her friends often and doesn’t return home till around 12 am almost every
night. She rides the public school buses to and from school everyday and often travels
by foot. Everyday she wears long sleeves and pants regardless of hot temperatures.
She refuses to go swimming with her friends and most of the time, likes to go to the
bowling alley or the skating rink. Her whereabouts are almost never known, and when
she's not out she’s attending classes. Is she
in danger?

3. Marcus is a 17 year old African American male currently living in California .He currently
goes to Nino High School, and has a 2.5 G.P.A. He stays out of trouble for his mom and
does his school work. Marcus’s mother has struggled with substance abuse problems
that have led to the state relocating Marcus’s siblings. She was in and out of jail during
much of his childhood. Marcus loves his mother very much and is very protective of her,
in fact the one fight he had been in, was over his mother. His father was never in the
picture and everyman she has been with has since left her. Marcus works to pay his
mother’s mortgage bill and relies heavily on food stamps. He’s often never found at
home. Is he in danger?
4. DJ is a 15 year old African American male currently living in Hawaii. Currently attending
President William McKinley High School with a below average GPA. He was obsessed
with the gym and would frequently be caught there with all of is friends. He rarely came
home staying out long nights and only returned to shower and go to class the next day.
His mom was a stay at home mom while his dad was a construction worker. Living off of
what little they were given was difficult. He relied on his friends for transportation and
gave his teachers trouble in the classroom, described by him wanting to show off for the
girls within the class. Is he in danger?

5. Alex is a Hispanic male aged 15, who lives within a Chicago. His father works at a Law
office and his mother died when he was 2 years old. He currently attends Walte Usto
High School, and owns a 3.8 GPA. Although he lacks a job, he spends most of his nights
focused on school and the well being of his two younger brothers. He drives a beat up
Toyota pickup which he bought from his cousin. His brothers were his main priority
making sure they were fed, clothed, and taken care of when his father was not home to
do it himself. Is he in danger?

6. Mark is a Caucasian male aged 16, who lives within Nebraska. His father is the owner
of a small family business co-owned by his mom who helps with the management and
finances of the business. He currently attends Lincoln High School, and maintains a 3.9
GPA. After his school day he rides his bike to the family business and clocks in for a
couple of hours. His older sister Caroline works alongside him for training purposes. His
family attends church every Sunday, and if he is not working he can be found reading in
his room. Is he in danger?
 7. Alyssa is a Hispanic female aged 17. She currently lives in Boston, and attends Creek
High School with a 2.1 GPA. Her mom is a manicurist at a nail salon and her dad died
when she was 7. Alyssa lacks proper motivation to raise her GPA and spends much of
her time with her friends stepping in and out of trouble. She lives in an apartment
building with her 14 year old brother, who is most of the time watched by their
grandmother. Recently Alyssa had been caught by her parents drinking with her friends.
Alyssa used to play soccer when she was younger but with her father's death lost
interest. Is she in danger?

8. Andrea is a 16 year old African American female currently living in New Jersey. She
currently goes to Eastshore High School, and has a 3.3 G.P.A. She has lates night at the
library constantly and completes school work. Andrea’s mother is a Daycare provider
and her father is a New Jersey Cop. She is very family oriented and attends church
every sunday. She has a boyfriend who is very protective of her. She lives in a blue
collar neighborhood but remains well off financially. She is an only child and drives a
Pink BMU. Is she in danger?

9. Cody is a 15 year old Caucasian male currently residing in Nevada. Cody’s dad is a
dentist and his mom works as a bartender. With both of his parents working long nights,
Cody is left alone most of the time. Cody tends to invite over his friends for movie nights,
and sometimes hosts parties without his parent’s knowledge. During the day Cody
spends most of his time away from the apartment at the local rec center or with his
dance crew. Sometimes he goes to night competitions that keep him away from the
apartment. He lives in a run down apartment building outside of Las Vegas. He attends
Lotle High School and has a GPA of 2.7. His father is a known drunk and periodically
takes out his anger on Cody. Cody refuses to acknowledge the acts and claims no harm
is done. Is he in danger?

Building a Serial Killer

Coloring activity