Kaila Laxa
Professor Gray
CRJS
30 June 2019
Rough Draft
There’s so many things on TV, our phones, the internet and so forth, that shows gruesome details and pictures of horrible things like murder and assault. Such behavior is known as criminal behavior. Criminal behavior is pretty much irregular or deviant behavior that results in unlawful acts. If society is able to comprehend that side of thinking, then they can understand why people choose to be reckless and continuously break the law. Ted Bundy for example, he was a bright, handsome, politician, also religious, and a family man. Yet, why did he murder and do all those horrible things to women?
Ted Bundy was the “it” factor, her had the picture-perfect life that most people dream about. Ted was handsome, charming, empowering, a political figure and vice president of the Methodist Youth Fellowship at his local church. While attending the University of Washington in the city of Seattle, Ted Bundy met his former girlfriend Diane Edwards (who also goes by her alias, Stephanie Brooks.) Edwards left Bundy because of his lack of ambition, thus leading to a break up. The break up was very hard on Bundy, and he dropped out of school and eventually traveled east; leading him to Burlington, Vermont. Upon Bundy’s visit to Vermont, he decided to stop by the local records clerk, thus discovering the truth about who his parents truly are.
After returning back to the state of Washington with new information about his heritage, Bundy began to be involved with the Republican party and manage the office for Nelson Rockefellers presidential campaign. During this time in 1969, he met his longtime girlfriend and former fiancé, Elizabeth Kloepfer. Fast forward to 1973, when Bundy had enrolled in law school at the University of Puget Sound. Bundy did not do well while enrolled in law school, he often skipped class and was careless with his work, leading him to drop out in the spring of 1974.
Unfortunately, these great things are not what Mr. Bundy is known and remembered for. During the summer of 1973, Bundy reconnected with his old girlfriend Diane Edwards, all while keeping his relationship current with Elizabeth Kloepfer. Being careful that the two women never learned about one another, Ted kept this up for a year and even proposed to Edwards in which she accepted. Yet a few weeks after New Years of 1974, Bundy dumped Edwards and cut all communication. From that point forward, Bundy would be remembered for being an American Serial Killer who is believed to have raped and murdered over 100 women, but only confessed to thirty. Bundy would often times get his victims to approach him by acting helpless, usually with a cane needing helping to get in or out of the car, then he would kidnap the victims, rape them, kill them and often have sex with their corpse. The trial was nationally televised, he escaped jail twice but was eventually caught, arrested and later executed in Florida by the electric chair in 1989.
Bundy was raised by his maternal grandparents. His grandparents raised him to believe that they were his parents, and his birth mother was his older sister. He often told people that he loved his grandfather and that they were very close – but when others were asked about his grandfather, they would say he was a mean and cruel man that threw stray cats by their tail, pushed his youngest daughter down the stairs for oversleeping, beat his wife, and was racist towards blacks, Jews, Catholics and Italians. Bundy committed various crimes, and from a psychological standpoint it’s because of his grandparents, but more specifically his grandfather
During his teen years and early years of being in college, Bundy was very introverted and shy. Bundy even claimed to have hit a “social development wall,” and later on saying: “I didn’t know what made things tick. I didn’t know what made people want to be friends. I didn’t know what made people attractive to one another. I didn’t know what underlay social interactions.”
Psychology theory is the psychological reason behind something, in this case: behavior. Why did Ted Bundy do these terrible things? Was he crazy? Did he grow up in the wrong home? The possibilities are endless. All in all, in order to have a better understanding behind the reason “why,” one has to search a little deeper so that the truth can come to light. In some cases, people become sex offenders because they were sexually abused as children. This could be what happened to Ted Bundy, but it’s not.
It began in the home, and from there it branched off from society, school, church and so forth. But ultimately it begins in the home. One can learn everything from the people inside the home. One can observe arguments, reactions, love, and so forth. When observing these things, one can then begin to understand or get an idea of human’s actions and feelings between one another, which can lead to understanding one’s own feelings and actions. From there, church, friends, society, social media, and much more can add to the influence that began in the home.
Therapy, CPS, speaking to someone trustworthy so that one can explain what is happening inside the home. Sometimes it’s hard for one to know or understand that what is going on inside of the home is wrong, because it may have become so normalized it’s difficult to see clearly. Being able to discuss to someone with an open mind and free of judgment is important. Having an outsider looking in, can help provide one on information as to what one might need or how one might be able to help.
Self-Control theory the ability to, “resist temptations and refrain from acting on impulses they consider to be socially or personally undesirable.” May not everyone, but most people have secret fetishes or desires that one may not want to share to the public, and that’s okay! Not everyone likes the same things. Some people don’t like anime, and some watch nothing but anime; it’s all a preference.
Society is the biggest cause for self control. People do things because society says to, or people don’t do things because society will shame them for it. In a way, it’s as if society holds everyone back from life. People want to have self control of what they want to like, but then society and judgments comes into the picture and people have to practice self control to not explode about things that are not socially acceptable.
One can help treat the cause of, by not caring about what society or any one else thinks of one’s self. It’s important to live life however which way one may desire. Exercising the ability to have free expression in a positive environment, is great way to explain the balance of a healthy home environment.
Bundy was a serial killer. He acted like a criminal. He committed crimes. He did whatever his heart desired, no matter the consequence. The very definition of true evil. “This is really the only person, after representing thousands of clients in 40 years that I would say that about. I didn’t want to believe people were born evil, but I came to the conclusion that Ted was. He had this energy about him that was clearly deceptive, very sociopathic. I got that feeling right away when I first met him. He was manipulative, he was dishonest. But at the same time, he was basically, a really good version of a used car salesman. He seemed very believable. But my intuitive side said ‘No, he’s not telling the truth about a lot of this.’” Is what Bundy’s lawyer had to say about him.
If it weren’t for his grandfather, Bundy may have not turned out to be an evil serial killer. But because this started in the home with his abusive grandfather, he developed psychological issues and did whatever he desired to these females. Lost self-control, and committed these heinous acts of cruelty.
Going hand in hand with psychological theory, his gruesome desire to torture, hurt and kill these victims were because he was able not able to have any self-control. Ted Bundy was a politician, he knew what he was doing, he knew what the repercussions were and he had the confidence based on his status, charm, and good looks, that he wouldn’t get caught.
Bibliography
http://www.personal.psu.edu/tcw5134/essay.htmlfile:///C:/Users/John%20Roque/Downloads/CriminologicalTheoriesIntroductionEvaluationApplication.pdfhttps://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/ted-bundys-defense-attorney-says-serial-killer-was-absolutely-born-evil-had-a-death-wish-in-new-dochttps://groovyhistory.com/televised-trial-serial-killer-ted-bundyhttp://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/bundy106.htm
