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INTRODUCTION

Does the brain of a serial killer differs from a law-abiding citizen? Is there any scientific explanation that can solve this kind of mystery? The answer is absolutely yes. Science provides the missing piece in the puzzle through long research. Before we go further, let us first analyze briefly what brain is and how it works. Human brain is a soft and delicate part of the central nervous system protected by skull or sometimes called as braincase. It is essential to function well in daily life such as doing simple arithmetic and reading directions to follow. It plays a significant role in survival.

According to research findings, psychopaths have depletion in volume size of the two sections in the frontal lobe. Specifically, 18% depletion in middle frontal gyrus and 9% depletion in orbital frontal gyrus . These two are responsible for controlling nerve impulse and justifying emotions. Neuroscientists also found deformations in amygdale which is like an “emergency brake” for sexual desire and aggression. When parts of the brain are not working efficiently, it will lead to serious problems like wrong judgment of right and wrong.

There is a study that 90% of killers in United States are males and 30% of them is positive to MAO-A gene compared to 9% of females. It is also known as a “warrior gene” that corrupt one’s ability to perform and decide effectively when stressful situations occur. When this gene is triggered, he is influence to become violent and do harmful things not only to himself but also to the people around him. The most scary part is when he came to the point of killing someone.

EVIDENCE SPEAKS

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In the year 1966, a 25-year-old man named Charles Witman killed 17 people and 32 are wounded in a mass shooting at University of Texas. He was a former marine and engineering student during that time. Before this tragedy happened, he left a suicide note stating that he was just a simple young man with a sound mind but things changed for the passed few days. He became unreasonable that even him couldn’t understand. He also mentioned that he wanted to pay off all his debts and give the remaining to a foundation anonymously. At the end of his note, he suggested to run a research that can help stop this kind of incident to occur again in the future. His last wish was granted. The family gave their consent that allowed autopsy of Whitman’s body. According to investigators, they found a malformation and tumor compressing the amygdale.

A 40-year-old teacher became interested in child pornography until he molested his stepdaughter. The mother of the child reported it to the police but before he can surrender, he went to the hospital with a severe headache. A large cyst was found in the frontal cortex which is responsible for making rational decisions. The tumor was carefully removed and the surgery was successful. After the tumor was terminated, the sexual desire also gone.

In 1848, a foreman named Phineas Gage accidentally hit his head by a tamping rod. Fortunately, he survived without suffering memory loss and his intelligence remained the same. The sad part is that due to frontal cortex damage caused by the said accident, his behavior changed. Before any of this happened, he was often described as a good man with a calm personality. But he became aggressive and short-tempered person after suffering head injury.

If we rely in the brain scan alone, a conclusion arise that we can easily distinguish a psychopath through the help of brain scanning. But according to Michael Koenigs , a neuroscientist in University of Madison-Wisconsin, there is no perfect prediction in terms of neurological condition. Brain abnormality or damage is not the whole percentage of a criminal’s overall composition. We can’t deny the fact that there are also other factors that made a person turn into a psychopath. A healthy child in a harsh environment with abusive parents is more likely to do bad things in the future. Though we are all candidates to be criminals, a person who have been exposed to traumatic experience increases his vulnerability.

Not Numb and Dumb

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In 2009, a study confirmed that there is indeed deformation in the section of a psychopath’s brain called amygdale. It is like a push button for emotions such as guilt, regret and empathy. The said empathy is part of every human’s nature but for the psychopaths, empathy is just like a switch that they can turn on and off. We cannot say that they don’t have feelings at all because they can still feel anger and hatred. They still have it but they are lacking for it, empathy is like a scarce resource for them.

It is surprisingly to know that some of the serial killers are professionals. Remember the Texas rampage? Charles Whitman was a former marine and engineering student when that shooting happened. He even murdered his mother and wife before killing 17 people in University of Texas. He was also able to write a decent suicide note. Let us also not forget the 40-year-old teacher that was involved in a pedophile case. According to the investigators, the school teacher never touched his stepdaughter when the mother of the child was around. His wife and co-teachers didn’t even noticed that there’s something wrong going on about him. It only indicates that they still know what they are doing but they can’t control it. It’s like having hiccup, you know what’s happening in your body but can’t control yourself.

According to FBI, 65% of criminal suspects are always claiming to have amnesia whenever they undergo in a psychiatric examination.Some are saying the truth about forgetting events due to alcohol and drug influence but others are just lying about it. Investigators also found out that psychopaths are fond of using filler words such as “ums”and “uhs”. The main reason behind is it allow them to have more time to think about ideas and carefully come up with their make-believe stories. Conjunctions like “so that” and “because” are also being used to help them make a statement appear more sensible with logical sequence.

We often imagined a killer to be someone who is always alone and shunning contacts to the outside world but in reality, the contrary is what happening. A married man with five kids named Robert Yates was a U.S. Army who killed 17 prostitutes. He buried and hide one of the bodies in his own backyard. Another killer named Dennis Rader was both a Boy Scout and Church leader. These facts only prove that they could easily blend to the public. Who knows if the law enforcer agents that supposed to protect us from the criminals are the real law breakers. It is also possible to have pedophile teachers that instead of teaching good manners and right conducts, they are sexually harassing their students. Instances like God-fearing servant who commits murder is also possible to happen.

Observation At Early Age

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According to the research of Dustin Pardini , a psychologist from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, four out of five offenders in their childhood didn’t become delinquent when they reached adulthood. There are two common ways of how we can discipline our children. The first one is the punishment system wherein there is affiliated sanction for every wrong doings but it doesn’t include maltreating a child. This “punishment” is to teach the child to respect authority and obey rules. For example, using phone and other gadgets during mealtime is not allowed in your family. The awaiting sanction if your child break the said rule is confiscation of the gadget for one week. It is also necessary to have calm explanation to make them understand about their mistakes and the bad effects of it. Another important matter is that parents should also follow their own words ‘cause they are the primary role model of their children.

The second one is the reward system wherein there is prize or award waiting for every good deeds done. It will not only help the child to boost his morale but also he will be train as well to do the right things. Just remember to be balance when using this kind of “reward” because we don’t want our child to end up doing things just for the sake of “prize” that he will get. We must nurture our children with love and caring in a nature of understanding and core values.

It only shows that being a criminal is not a destiny but a choice. It is alarming to hear that they are just around us, breathing the same air that we breathe and walking the same street where we lived in. We cannot change the tragic history from the past but we can still do something to prevent or atleast lessen it from happening again. We must never switch off our empathy and always prove that we deserve to be called humans.

Sources

https://www.livescience.com/13083-criminals-brain-neuroscience-ethics.html

http://crimefeed.com/2015/08/inside-the-criminal-mind-10-fascinating-findings-about-the-brains-of-criminals/

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/may/12/how-to-spot-a-murderers-brain

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/mar/13/brain-scans-can-spot-criminals-scientists-say

https://newatlas.com/psychopath-brain-mri-study/50365/

http://science.time.com/2013/05/03/evil-brain/