John Wayne Gacy
Dan Loper
SOC 4508
3/25/13
An Analysis of John Wayne Gacy
We live in a society where violent behavior not only exists; it is something that we are exposed to as it is celebrated and glorified. We see it in the news, television, movies and video games. As a result, there is a pattern of desensitization that exists throughout the United States which may help explain why the United States has the highest rates of murder by serial killers in the entire world. Throughout the years, the United States has had many confirmed serial killers who have committed their horrid acts for many different reasons. Some kill for to gain fame while others kill to achieve a feeling of power. One of the more famous serial killers (and sexual predators) John Wayne Gacy killed due to sexual frustration and frustration brought upon by a dysfunctional childhood full of disappointments. Over the course of his serial killing career, Gacy murdered at least thirty three people (it is believed that the number is actually much higher) from 1972 to 1978 before he was convicted of 33 counts of murder. Gacy would lure his victims into his home by using various methods at which point he would sexually assault them, murder them and bury the dead bodies all around his property with twenty seven of those bodies being buried in his crawl space. Gacy was known as the “Killer Clown” because he would dress as a clown (Pogo the clown, a character that he created) for various community events and he was also known to wear said clown suit when committing his numerous rapes and murders making such acts seem much more deranged than they already are. He had many victims that he would target with many of those victims being young boys who were working summer jobs at his construction company. Because of this fact, he was able to gain their trust which made his targets more vulnerable and his attacks much more surprising. Gacy was eventually sentenced and put on death row for fourteen
SOC 4508
3/25/13
An Analysis of John Wayne Gacy
We live in a society where violent behavior not only exists; it is something that we are exposed to as it is celebrated and glorified. We see it in the news, television, movies and video games. As a result, there is a pattern of desensitization that exists throughout the United States which may help explain why the United States has the highest rates of murder by serial killers in the entire world. Throughout the years, the United States has had many confirmed serial killers who have committed their horrid acts for many different reasons. Some kill for to gain fame while others kill to achieve a feeling of power. One of the more famous serial killers (and sexual predators) John Wayne Gacy killed due to sexual frustration and frustration brought upon by a dysfunctional childhood full of disappointments. Over the course of his serial killing career, Gacy murdered at least thirty three people (it is believed that the number is actually much higher) from 1972 to 1978 before he was convicted of 33 counts of murder. Gacy would lure his victims into his home by using various methods at which point he would sexually assault them, murder them and bury the dead bodies all around his property with twenty seven of those bodies being buried in his crawl space. Gacy was known as the “Killer Clown” because he would dress as a clown (Pogo the clown, a character that he created) for various community events and he was also known to wear said clown suit when committing his numerous rapes and murders making such acts seem much more deranged than they already are. He had many victims that he would target with many of those victims being young boys who were working summer jobs at his construction company. Because of this fact, he was able to gain their trust which made his targets more vulnerable and his attacks much more surprising. Gacy was eventually sentenced and put on death row for fourteen