Richard Ramirez Research Paper

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This week I enjoyed reading about the different explanations for criminal behavior. It’s interesting to read about the different theories that people came up with to try to explain behavior back in the 1700s and 1800s. Things like phrenology, the idea that you can determine criminal tendencies by the size and shape of their skull, sound pretty ridiculous these days. I found Cesare Lombroso’s theory about atavism pretty interesting. I don’t agree with the idea that people who commit crimes are evolutionary accidents, or that they are more primitive than people who don’t commit crimes. The obvious flaw with his theory, as the book states, is that the control group for his research most likely included people who had committed crimes but hadn’t …show more content…

Unlike so many other serial killers in the book, he was not abused by his mother. His father had a bad temper and wasn’t a nice guy, but it was his cousin Mike that got him started killing. He told Ramirez about him torturing and killing enemies in Vietnam, and showed him pictures of them. Mike also killed his wife in front of Ramirez. Ramirez was only caught when he stole a car from one of his victims, and the police were able to pull a fingerprint from that vehicle. According to Murderpedia, his trial was one of the longest in American history. Jury selection didn’t start until over three years after he was apprehended. The trial itself took over a year due to the amount of witnesses that were set to testify. Over 1600 potential jurors were interviewed, and over 100 witnesses testified against him. During the trial there were numerous setbacks. One of the jail employees overheard Ramirez talking about his plan to shoot the prosecutor in the case, so metal detectors had to be installed outside of the courtroom. Also, one of the witnesses was found shot to death in her apartment. It was a weird coincidence, but Ramirez has nothing to do with the shooting. She was shot by her boyfriend, who later killed himself too. During the trial he attracted a large following, mostly of

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