Bystander Effect and Murder

Death of Kitty Genovese in 1964 was a gruesome and prolonged affair. Not only was Genovese stabbed to death; her killer Winston Mosley first stopped half-way in the midst of the murder, allowing his victim to temporarily try to seek out a safe haven. He was able to finish his attack on her with a fatal blow because none of the onlookers called the police.

Although the onlookers gave many poor excuses, ultimately their behavior seemed to be attributed to the fact that crimes occurring at a distance often elicit less compassion than those occurring right before the viewer. The phenomenon became known as the "bystander effect" (Mcfadden). The bystander effect is the assumption that there is less of a sense of guilt and moral responsibility when individuals are part of a crowd. People believe that other people will act instead and so they do nothing.

This psychological term was first developed based upon the horror generated by the Genovese murder (Mcfadden). As tragic as it was, Genovese murder was one of many that year. However, it gained its notoriety because, according to the original article, the number of the respondents claimed that they did not call the police because they were frightened (Gansberg).

This seemed like a peculiar defense given that the observers were safely behind locked doors, in their homes, near phones, and the killer had no way of determining who was calling the police or not. In fact, one man named Robert Mozer did shout out to leave the girl alone. This seems in retrospect both ineffectual and risky given that the killer was simply then made aware of the fact that people were watching him and could take steps to conceal his actions.

Mozer did not call the police and Mosley resumed the attack. Other excuses given by the bystanders, as well as their fear, was their assumption that it was a lover's quarrel (although even if it was, this does not make it any less deadly). When the perpetrator of the crime, passed away in 2016, the New York Times ran yet another article on the murder, this time with a more balanced depiction of the crime.

It noted that the reported thirty-eight witnesses was something of an exaggeration and many of the witnesses did not see the crime as it unfolded before their eyes. According to Mosley's account, during his first attempt to attack Genovese, he was initially scared away by the man telling him to get away; the man later testified he merely saw Mosely standing over Genovese. The man fled, the girl staggered away and then he went back to bed.

"I had feeling this man would close his window and go back to bed," Mosley later said, "and sure enough he did" (Mcfadden). Of course, the man Robert Mozer, had an incentive to present a benign picture of what he witnessed, to essentially defend his decision to go back to bed and not contact the police (Mcfadden). Mosley pulled Genovese's body away to a more concealed area, according to his testimony. "None saw the act in its entirety. Only a few.