Serial Killer Children Research Paper

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Pages: 4

America has become entranced with serial killers as tv shows like Dexter, Criminal Minds, and The Following has thousands of viewers tuning in to see serial killers in action. With the interest in serial killers from the fictional Hannibal Lecter to those that haunt the dreams of many a people such as the Zodiac killer and Charles Manson, serial killer children have seemed to escape notice. Children are viewed as innocent with people having an overwhelming need to protect and guide them along the right path. While I believe in helping children along the right path I also believe by punishing children harshly we actually help children on the correct path to a better life. Children need to learn to take responsibility for their own actions. …show more content…
Through this theory it was thought that rehabilitation of criminals would be more beneficial to the criminal and society. Urban areas were also seen as the main cause for crime, in contrast to rural farm life. Women were seen as the primary care givers to children, therefore women are seen as the leading figures in child-saving movement. They should expended their time in raising kids with rural-class ethics. Such systems would provide total welfare of children and their families. In the beginning both delinquent and neglected children were housed on the same premises. However, later they were housed separately (Fox, 1996). Thus the juvenile courts came about through a social movement to give juveniles equity in courts rooted in thoughts and actions on youth’s readiness to change and to give them better lives (Platt, 1969). The major concerns juvenile courts raised were their fairness, their forms of treatment, whether the state could act as parens patriae and what kinds of cases should be heard (Mack, 1909; Fox, 1996; Platt, 1969; Caldwell, …show more content…
Just like adults rehabilitation works the best with high-risk offenders, which target delinquency factors and use modes of learning compatible with the needs of the offender. Also, behavioral approaches in rehabilitation showed decreases in recidivism. Some rehab motifs such as shock incarceration can actually have negative effects on recidivism. A supportive home life is still needed to produce proactive youth. Today parens patriae is alive and active in common law, which requires the state to ensure the safety and well being of children (as cited Kindred, 1996). This includes preventing criminal conduct and protecting children from parental