Mass and Serial Killers

One aspect of violent crime is murder. This includes serial and mass killers. Marc Lepine was a mass murder at the University of Montreal. At around 5:00 pm on December 6, 1989, he walked into the Ecole Polytechnique and stepped into a classroom. The male students and professors were ordered to leave the classroom while the ten women present were told to stand in a specified area. He then proceeded to tell the women that he was killing them because "I'm fighting feminism." He shot all ten women. He continued on a rampage all throughout the school, injuring or killing any women he could find, even shooting men who were standing with women. He killed a total of fourteen women and injured thirteen other students (men and women). By the time police had entered the building, Lepine was standing in front of a desk in a classroom, taking his own life with the same assault rifle he used to take so many others'. There are many reasons as to why Marc Lepine killed so many women. It all started when he was young, he was abused by his father and watched his mother be beaten by his father as well. Although Lepine hated his father, he still adapted his views on women. Lepine had continual setbacks in his early adult life and blamed all of his problems on women. Finally, when he was rejected into the Ecole Polytechnique he blamed woman and decided to make a statement. Lepine is the perfect example of what Jack Levin and James Alan Fox call a "revenge killer." A revenge mass murderer kills for revenge on a certain indivdual or group of individuals.

An example of a serial killer is Clifford Robert Olson. By the end of his career Olson will have killed a total of eleven children in British Columbia; He was also reported to continually pick up female hitchhikers.

After Olson had been charged with the first degree murder of Judy Kozma, he made a deal with the police.  If the RCMP gave Olson $100,000 then Olson would give them eleven bodies.  This deal is commonly known as the "Cash for Bodies Deal."  Through this deal the police were able to find evidence that Olson was indeed the killer of all these children.  Olson was inprisoned for life and never spent another day as a free man.  Clifford Olson is an example of Levin and Fox's 'Thrill Killer.'  These murders kill for the joy of seeing someone hurt or be in pain; they also murder for dominance.
Everyone can learn from people like Olson and Lepine.  Being aware of people like these can make you better prepared for preventing events like these.  Perhaps people should think twice before they hitchhike and get into a car with a complete stranger.  I don't think it is possible to stop people like this in Canada, or anywhere else in the world unless our justice system was x100 harsher.  But even still, if a killer really wants to kill, he probably will.  Being cautious of strangers and aware of these people can go a long way in keeping yourself safe.