Child abuse and neglect: causes, impacts, and prevention

¶ … Violent Crimes

Mark Goudeau, a convicted felon in a series of murders and sexual assault in 2005-2006 in Phoenix, Arizona, along baseline corridor, is going to face death penalty for his crimes. He is convicted of nine murder cases, and several cases of attempted murder, sexual assault, child molestation, and kidnapping (Hawkins, n.d.). Goudeau is guilty of a series of aggravated assault cases, warranting a death penalty, according to the laws of the state of Arizona. Most of his crimes are classified as felonies. His main crime consisted of several murders. Murder is defined as "killing a human in a willful and non-negligent manner" ("Crime Classifications and Definitions," n.d.). Components of his crime also include other personal and violent crimes, including aggravated assault and forcible rape. According to FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), Goudeau's crimes fall under the category of aggravated assault, which refers to "unlawfully attacking another person to inflict severe or aggravated bodily injury, usually accompanied by the use of a weapon or by other means likely to produce death or grave bodily harm" (ibid). Goudeau is also guilty of forcible rape because he forced other women into sexual conducts against their will. Assaults and attempts to commit rape by force are also categorized as forcible rape by the FBI's UCR reporting. In total, Goudeau is convicted of 67 felonies, most of them classified as aggravated assault.

1. What does "behavior reflects personality" mean? How is physical evidence related to behavior? Explain modus operandi and signature aspects of violent crimes. Finally, explain the components of crime classification that you learned about.

Behavior reflects personality of a person because it refers to one's way of thinking, acting, and expression of his/her attitudes and values. A consistent behavior is a part of one's personality. When a criminal demonstrates a consistent pattern of behavior through his or her acts, it is legitimate to consider that behavior as the reflection of his or her personality. Physical evidence is related to behavior because evidences point to the consistency of one's behavior. If the evidences show that a criminal is driven by the same motivations or uses the same techniques, one can make certain judgments about the criminal's behavior. Physical evidences in this manner are related to behavior. In the case of Mark Goudeau, for instance, evidences demonstrated that he consistently attacked women for the purpose of violent sexual assault. He is accusing of killing only one man who was on his way. Eight other victims of his were women. There was also a consistent pattern of forcing the women to undress themselves with a threat of murder. Several murdered women were found with their pants unzipped or pulled down. These were physical evidences that demonstrated Goudeau's personality behavior. Modus operandi consists of techniques and habits which contain three basic objectives in mind: complete the crime, affect escape, and avoid capture. Serial violent criminals try to perfect their modus operandi through modifications to achieve their goals (Razzaq, n.d.). Signature aspect refers to the theme or motive of an offense. Motivational categories such as pursuit of profit, expression of anger, or an act of sadism are examples of signature aspect (ibid). Crimes are classified as felonies or misdemeanors. Felony refers to serious crimes such as rape, murder, violent robbery, while misdemeanor refers to lesser crimes such as theft, fraud, or unlawful carrying of weapons.

2. Review the crimes of John Wayne Gacy. Classify his crimes and explain the classification. Examine each component of the classification modeling the examples used in the text. Use what you can find in published articles, interviews, and scholarly information on the web. Make sure to reference your sources.

John Wayne Casey was the notorious serial killer who was guilty of murdering at least thirty three young males between 1972 and 1978 in Chicago. His victims were males aged from twelve to their mid-twenties. His court trials began in 1980 after physical evidences pointed to his guilt and he had admitted to killing over thirty persons and burying them under his house. The prosecutors insisted that Gacy was a sane man guilty of premeditated and rational acts of crime, while the defense argued that Gacy was mentally unstable and thus unaware of the magnitude of the crime he had committed. Gacy awaited the execution of the sentence for years, giving the prosecutors different and conflicting testimonies in order to stay alive. In 1994, Gacy faced death penalty through lethal injection (Bell & Bardsley, n.d.).