Mary Hicks As A Serial Killer

It was a clear night in London, Ontario. Twenty year old Mary Hicks was sleeping peacefully in her apartment. She was in her last year, studying at the University of Western Ontario, when suddenly, tragedy comes her way. That very morning of October 19th, 1973, Hicks was pronounced dead. She was found lying in her bed, still in a natural sleeping position . There were no signs of struggle nor any hint of forced entry in her apartment; it was as if she was untouched. Mary Hick’s death was ruled by apparent natural causes and nothing was thought of it again. A few years go by and the incident is forgotten. In 1978, Russell Maurice Johnson was arrested for the murder of three women. It was this trial that he admitted to the murder of Mary Hicks, the first of many of his victims. Johnson is responsible for the deaths of seven women between the years of 1973 to 1977 and is suspected for an additional ten deaths (http://murderpedia.org/male.J/j/johnson-russell.htm). He was given the name “The Bedroom Strangler” for his victims were all suffocated in their sleep. This serial killer was able to go a long time without getting caught, keeping his victims’ families unsettled. At Johnson’s trial,

There is no true way to measure insanity; over the years, these tests that have been developed to measure illness have failed over and over again. Today, the insanity defense is not consistent from one defendant to another. The states of Idaho, Kansas, Montana, and Utah do not permit the use of the insanity plea. The legal standard varies across other states, so a ruling of “not guilty by reason of insanity” may apply in one state but not in another for a specific case. Results of a case is based solely on the defendant’s impression on the jury and what expert testimony is given which allows for an unfair legal system. The inconsistency of this standard is why it should be taken