Introduction to the Terms of Homicide,

Serial and Mass Murder,

Sexual Predators and Infanticide
Content
Introduction to:
Homicide
Serial Murder
Mass Murder
Sexual Predators
Infanticide
Homicide
The killing of one human being by another.
 Homicide is a general term and may refer to a noncrim-
inal act as well as the criminal act of murder.
 Some homicides are considered justifiable, such as the
killing of a person to prevent the commission of a seri-
ous crime or to aid a representative of the law.
 Other homicides are said to be excusable, as when a
person kills in self-defense.
A criminal homicide is one that is not regarded by the
applicable criminal code as justifiable or excusable.
Cont..
All legal systems make important distinctions be-
tween different types of homicide, and punishments
vary greatly according to the intent of the killer, the
dangerousness of the killer’s conduct, and the cir-
cumstances of the act.
There are some types of killing, two of which are:
Serial Murder and
Mass Murder
Serial Murder
A person who murders three or more people in a
period of over a month, with “cooling down” time
between murders.
For a serial killer, the murders must be separate
events, which are most often driven by a psycholo-
gical thrill or pleasure.
Serial killers often lack empathy and guilt, and
most often become egocentric individuals; these
characteristics classify certain serial killers as psy-
chopaths.
Cont..
Serial killers often employ a “mask of sanity” to
hide their true psychopathic tendencies and ap-
pear normal, even charming.
Mass Murder
The anti-social and non-state-sponsored killing of
multiple victims during a single episode at one or
more closely related locations.
Mass murderers are generally dissatisfied people,
and have poor social skills and few friends.
Generally, the motives of mass murderers are less
obvious than those of serial killers.
 According to a study, 96.5% of mass murderers are
male, and most of them are not clinically psychotic.
Cont..
Rather than being a psychopath like most serial
killers, mass murderers tend to be paranoid indi-
viduals with acute behavioral or social disorders.
Like serial killers, mass murderers also display
psychopathic tendencies, such as being cruel,
manipulative, and uncompassionate.
Most mass murderers are social misfits or loners
who triggered by some uncontrollable event.
 Sexual Predators
A sexual predator is a person who seeks out sexual con-
tact with another person in a predatory or abusive
manner.
Those who exploit others in a sexual manner may not be
just seeking sex. Rather, they see sex as a form of domi-
nance and control.
While some sexual predators attempt to exploit adult
victims, many are child sexual predators.
Cont..
Approximately 96% of child sexual abuse perpet-
rators are male.
 About 90% of children who are sexually abused
report that their perpetrator was somebody they
already knew and trusted.
Infanticide
Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing
of infants.
Now universally illegal, infanticide was a widespread
practice throughout human history that was mainly
used to dispose of unwanted children.
 Its main purposes were controlling population growth
and saving resources from being spent on weak or dis-
abled offspring.
 Most Stone Age human societies routinely practiced
infanticide.
Cont..
Infanticide continued to be common in most societ -
ies after the historical era began, including ancient
Greece, ancient Rome, the Phoenicians, ancient
China, ancient Japan, Aboriginal Australia, Native
Americans, and Native Alaskans. A few ancient so-
cieties did not practice infanticide, such as ancient
Egypt and the ancient Jews.
Infanticide became forbidden in Europe and the
Near East during the 1st millennium.
Cont..
Christianity forbade infanticide from its earliest
times.
 The practice ceased in Arabia in the 7th century
after the founding of Islam, since the Quran pro-
hibits infanticide.
 Infanticide of male babies had become uncom-
mon in China by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644),
though female infanticide remained common un-
til the 19th century.
Cont..
During the period of Company rule in India, the
East India Company attempted to eliminate infanti-
cide but were only partially successful, and female
infanticide in some parts of India still continues.
Infanticide is now very rare in Western and other
developed countries, but may persist in some less
developed countries.
Thank You