Causes and Effects of Murder Crimes
Murder crimes happen anywhere in society and, consequently, leave devastating impacts on the society where it has taken place. The effects of murder crimes are substantial and may take a lot of time for a community to heal. To a perpetrator, a murder crime usually causes them to have a sense of guilt and regret what they have done. Unfortunately, the feelings of guilt never go away and may persist in the perpetrator for as long as they live. To the victim’s family or loved ones, murder crimes cause psychological effects that may be accompanied by anger, post-traumatic stress disorder, and sleeplessness. There are four significant causes of murder crimes: robbery, jealousy, societal addiction to violence, and neurological disorders; however, these causes are interrelational.
The reasons for committing murder crimes may, at times, be complex and obscure; however, security experts have been led to believe that murder crimes are caused by violent robbery. Morrall (156) asserts that robbery involves a forcible taking of property. Robberies can be grouped into two. First and second-degree robbery; the former is also called armed robbery and characteristically involves a perpetrator using a weapon. The latter is also called strong-arm robbery and involves a perpetrator utilizing any physical force. According to BBC News, South African Police Service revealed that South Africa was a leading country in murder crimes that were often caused by robbery. It also indicated that first-degree robbery caused up to 20 percent of deaths, while second-degree robberies only caused five murders. Overall, violent robbery is a major cause of murder crimes, as noted by security experts. However, there are also other causes of murder crimes that security experts have found, and jealousy is one of them.
According to Dr. George Burgeas Magrath, professor of Legal Medicine in the United States, jealousy is a major cause of murder crimes. While conducting preliminary studies on the causes of murder crimes, Dr. Magrath found substantial evidence that perpetrators of murder crimes had vested interests on a victim’s possession (The Harvard Crimson). However, the interests were not merely designed to acquire the possessions; instead, they were to kill the victim so that they could feel somehow elated. The cero-Gallo murder case is an example of a murder crime that Dr. Magrath had eyes on (The Harvard Crimson). It highlights a crime in which a named Gallo murdered because of jealousy over his wife’s affair with a Romano woman called Fantasia. In yet another murder crime involving Cobb and his wife Emily, Dr. Magrath found that Emily murdered the husband because of a suspected affair with another woman (The Harvard Crimson). Overall, most murder crimes are crimes of passion-driven by jealousy. Perhaps the most common cause of all murder crimes is enveloped in society addicted to violence.
Societies in the western part of the world, particularly the United States, are essentially a murderous and a ‘sick’ society because they are addicted to violence. Dr. Peter Morrall, the Head of Mental Health in the University of Leeds, talks of such a society, saying that it is not individuals who propagate murder crimes; instead, it is the society (Morrall 156). Dr. Morall, therefore, challenges the previous notion that traits in individuals such as jealousy cause one to commit murder. He instead accuses the society of condoning with habits that inculcate and consequently introduce individuals to crimes such as robbery that is associated with murder (Morrall 160). Dr. Morrall, also argues that values associated with real physical violence, or competitiveness in the realms of sport and artwork, are instructed into people by the media (Morrall 160). Violent gaming technology filled with bloodbath killings psychologically instructs individuals to be violent. However, Dr. Morrall notes that the split between a damaged individual and a faulty society confers a general and non-convincing explanation of the root causes of murder crimes. Overall, violence addiction in society is a major contributor to murder crimes. Perhaps, Dr. Morrall’s feels there is an inborn relationship between an individual and murder crimes.
Neurological disorders present during childhood have been noted to cause one to commit murder later in life. According to Morrall (170), individuals born with neurological disorders were more inclined to commit murder crimes than those born without disorders. Dr. Morrall speaks of this but sharply asserts that neurological disorders should not have been previously induced by illegal drug use. Dr. Morrall’s view is that inborn defects affecting moral thinking, and consequently, ethical behavior is the root cause of sexual violence leading to murder crimes. Overall, neurological disorders contribute to murder crimes in society.
In summary, robbery, jealousy, societal addiction to violence, and neurological disorders are the major causes of murder crimes; however, they correlated. Robbery has been by far associated with murder crimes, whether the perpetrator did not intend to murder or not. Jealousy is related to crimes of passion that also end tragically with murder. When it comes to violence in society, we can assert that it is an envelope of the preceding factors. Finally, murder crimes can be inherent; an individual with neurological disorders are prone to violence and consequently, murder than an individual without a neurological disorder. The causes of murder crimes should be looked into from a correlational point of view since the causes of murder are correlated.
Works Cited
BBC News. “Sharp Rise in South Africa Murder and Sex Offences.” BBC News, 12 Sept. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49673944. Accessed 28 June 2020.
Morrall, Peter. “Why is Murder Fascinating?” Murder and society, pp. 156-183.
The Harvard Crimson. “Robbery, Jealousy, Vengeance Are Causes Of Most Murders.” The Harvard Crimson, www.thecrimson.com/article/1932/3/11/robbery-jealousy-vengeance-are-causes-of/. Accessed 28 June 2020.