Profiling Jack The Ripper Research Paper
Profiling Jack the Ripper
Eric Thompson
Student: Criminal Behavior: Profiling Violent Offenders
Profiling Jack the Ripper
The term modus operandi is most commonly used in criminal cases. It is sometimes referred to by its initials, M.O. The prosecution in a criminal case does not have to prove modus operandi in any crime. However, identifying and proving the modus operandi of a crime can help the prosecution prove that it was the defendant who committed the crime charged. Modus operandi evidence is helpful to the prosecution if the prosecution has evidence of crimes committed by the defendant that are similar to the crime charged. The crimes need not be identical, but the prosecution must make a strong and persuasive showing …show more content…
of similarity between the crime charged and the other crimes. The prosecution may introduce evidence from prior or subsequent crimes to prove modus operandi only if the other crimes share peculiar and distinctive features with the crime charged.
The features must be uncommon and rarely seen in other crimes, and they must be so distinct that they can be recognized as the handiwork of the same person. For example, assume that a defendant is on trial for armed Robbery. In the robbery the defendant is alleged to have brandished a pistol and ordered the victim to relinquish cash and valuables. Assume further that the defendant has committed armed robbery in the past by brandishing a pistol and demanding cash and valuables. A prosecutor might be able to introduce the evidence into trial to show the defendant 's motive, intent, or state of mind, or to identify the weapon used in the crime. However, the prosecutor could not argue to the judge or jury that the robberies were so similar as to demonstrate that it was the defendant who committed that particular robbery, because it is not unusual for a robber to brandish a pistol and demand cash and valuables in the course of an armed robbery. When offering evidence to prove modus operandi, the prosecution does not have to prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt that the other crimes occurred. Rather, the …show more content…
prosecution simply must present sufficient evidence to show that the act took place and was committed by the defendant (Modus Operandi., n.d.).
A signature crime is a crime which exhibits characteristics idiosyncratic to specific criminals, known as signature aspects, signature behaviors or signature characteristics.
Where a modus operandi (MO) concerns the practical components of a crime which can also be unique to one suspect, signature aspects fulfill a psychological need and, unlike the MO, does not often change. Two examples cited in Crime Classification Manual by John Douglas are a bank robber from Michigan who required tellers to undress during the robbery so he could photograph them and a rape case where the perpetrator forced the husband to return home and be humiliated by the event (Douglas, J. E., 2006). These characteristics move beyond modus operandi, because they fulfill a psychological need rather than a need of practical execution of the crime. The 1898 Gatton murders also exhibited signature aspects. Following the murders, the bodies were re-arranged so their legs crossed over their bodies with the feet pointing west. Ted Bundy also used a complex series of signature behaviors (Keppel, R. D., & Birnes, W. J.,
2009). It seems to me that “Jack the Ripper’s” M.O., was prostitutes. All the women that were killed were prostitutes. His “crime signature” was mangling the women’s private areas. He seemed very handy with the knife and really knew what he was going after (Keppel, R. D., Weis, J. G., Brown, K. M., & Welch, K., 2005).
References
Douglas, J. E. (2006). Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crimes (2nd ed.). San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass.
Keppel, R. D., & Birnes, W. J. (2009). Serial violence: Analysis of modus operandi and signature characteristics of killers. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Keppel, R. D., Weis, J. G., Brown, K. M., & Welch, K. (2005). The Jack the Ripper Murders: A Modus Operandi and Signature Analysis of the 1888–1891 Whitechapel Murders. Journal of Investigative Psychology & Offender Profiling, 2(1), 1-21.
Modus Operandi. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2014, from Legal Dictionary website: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/modus+operandi
Whiticker, A. (2005). Twelve crimes that shocked the nation. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland.
Eric Thompson
Student: Criminal Behavior: Profiling Violent Offenders
Profiling Jack the Ripper
The term modus operandi is most commonly used in criminal cases. It is sometimes referred to by its initials, M.O. The prosecution in a criminal case does not have to prove modus operandi in any crime. However, identifying and proving the modus operandi of a crime can help the prosecution prove that it was the defendant who committed the crime charged. Modus operandi evidence is helpful to the prosecution if the prosecution has evidence of crimes committed by the defendant that are similar to the crime charged. The crimes need not be identical, but the prosecution must make a strong and persuasive showing …show more content…
of similarity between the crime charged and the other crimes. The prosecution may introduce evidence from prior or subsequent crimes to prove modus operandi only if the other crimes share peculiar and distinctive features with the crime charged.
The features must be uncommon and rarely seen in other crimes, and they must be so distinct that they can be recognized as the handiwork of the same person. For example, assume that a defendant is on trial for armed Robbery. In the robbery the defendant is alleged to have brandished a pistol and ordered the victim to relinquish cash and valuables. Assume further that the defendant has committed armed robbery in the past by brandishing a pistol and demanding cash and valuables. A prosecutor might be able to introduce the evidence into trial to show the defendant 's motive, intent, or state of mind, or to identify the weapon used in the crime. However, the prosecutor could not argue to the judge or jury that the robberies were so similar as to demonstrate that it was the defendant who committed that particular robbery, because it is not unusual for a robber to brandish a pistol and demand cash and valuables in the course of an armed robbery. When offering evidence to prove modus operandi, the prosecution does not have to prove Beyond a Reasonable Doubt that the other crimes occurred. Rather, the …show more content…
prosecution simply must present sufficient evidence to show that the act took place and was committed by the defendant (Modus Operandi., n.d.).
A signature crime is a crime which exhibits characteristics idiosyncratic to specific criminals, known as signature aspects, signature behaviors or signature characteristics.
Where a modus operandi (MO) concerns the practical components of a crime which can also be unique to one suspect, signature aspects fulfill a psychological need and, unlike the MO, does not often change. Two examples cited in Crime Classification Manual by John Douglas are a bank robber from Michigan who required tellers to undress during the robbery so he could photograph them and a rape case where the perpetrator forced the husband to return home and be humiliated by the event (Douglas, J. E., 2006). These characteristics move beyond modus operandi, because they fulfill a psychological need rather than a need of practical execution of the crime. The 1898 Gatton murders also exhibited signature aspects. Following the murders, the bodies were re-arranged so their legs crossed over their bodies with the feet pointing west. Ted Bundy also used a complex series of signature behaviors (Keppel, R. D., & Birnes, W. J.,
2009). It seems to me that “Jack the Ripper’s” M.O., was prostitutes. All the women that were killed were prostitutes. His “crime signature” was mangling the women’s private areas. He seemed very handy with the knife and really knew what he was going after (Keppel, R. D., Weis, J. G., Brown, K. M., & Welch, K., 2005).
References
Douglas, J. E. (2006). Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crimes (2nd ed.). San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass.
Keppel, R. D., & Birnes, W. J. (2009). Serial violence: Analysis of modus operandi and signature characteristics of killers. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Keppel, R. D., Weis, J. G., Brown, K. M., & Welch, K. (2005). The Jack the Ripper Murders: A Modus Operandi and Signature Analysis of the 1888–1891 Whitechapel Murders. Journal of Investigative Psychology & Offender Profiling, 2(1), 1-21.
Modus Operandi. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2014, from Legal Dictionary website: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/modus+operandi
Whiticker, A. (2005). Twelve crimes that shocked the nation. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: New Holland.