Aileen wuornos childhood abuse and trauma

1. Introduction

The serial killer Aileen Wuornos murdered seven men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Executed by lethal injection in 2002, she was the 10th woman to be put to death in the United States since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. A combination of biological and psychological factors leads some people to become serial murderers. Stark differences in life histories, social backgrounds, and types of victims occur among this group of criminals, so that they are as varied as any other offenders. However, it was noted by Hickey that male serial killers are more similar to each other in motivation than female ones; they seek power and control over women. Among the few interesting similarities that do occur among these male and female monsters is a history of childhood maltreatment. After so elaborately describing the abuse and trauma in the childhoods of some of these homicidal criminals, it is impossible to attribute their actions solely to biological or psychological disorders. The nearly 30% prevalence of childhood sexual abuse early in the lives of female serial murderers Aileen. Finally, the third issue I will address is a much easier one: why Wuornos and Karla Homolka have also favored a "male victim profile" (in Wuornos's case, all seven of her murder victims were male). As I have found in all my studies of the female criminals, beginning with the 1973 Lunney et al. article, no fewer than 70% of them are convicted of offenses involving a current or former male partner, and up to 77% of the forensic populations carefully studied would be free of charges if we considered their relations with males only. As we might peacefully coexist and lead law-abiding lives if we are allowed to, they never would become entangled in the criminal justice system in the first place.

1.1. Background of Aileen Wuornos

Much speculation regarding the criminal reasons leading Aileen Wuornos to comm

When we think of the trauma of psychopaths and multiple murderers we often default to thinking of their victims. In reality, the psychopath and/or multiple murderer was created through trauma, bringing trauma into this discourse long before their eventual victims existed. The psychopath/multiple murderer is a victim as well, just in a different way.

Does this justify their behavior in any way and make it easier for anyone affected? Absolutely not.

A psychopath and multiple murderer undoubtedly leave a trail of trauma behind for their victims and their loved ones/community, and no less attention or validation should be given to the victims. But a challenging point of view is to also consider how the offender was the victim before they committed a criminal act. The offender acts because of the trauma they have experienced, and then through their actions creating a different type of trauma for someone else.

The issues the offender faces are not justifications or defenses for their acts, but instead explanations for their behavior. It is important to identify the causes for a behavior to understand how to prevent it from reoccurring and to provide effective interventions. The intersection of trauma, the criminal justice system, and psychopathy are heavily intertwined when psychopaths and/or multiple murderers commit criminal acts that call for punishment and rehabilitation or ongoing treatment.

We will focus on a few case studies, albeit extreme ones, but prime examples of what a multiple murderer’s and/or psychopath’s background generally can look like and how the magnitude of someone’s life experience can influence their behavior. The main case study, the life story of Jeffrey Dahmer, mirrors other similar notable murderers, such as Charles Manson and Aileen Wuornos. One thing they all had in common was their experience of chronic childhood neglect and/or abuse. How can we expec

American serial killer (1956–2002)

Aileen Carol Wuornos (; born Pittman; February 29, 1956 – October 9, 2002) was an American serial killer. In 1989–1990, while engaging in street prostitution along highways in Florida, she shot dead and robbed seven of her male clients. Wuornos claimed that her clients had either raped or attempted to rape her, and that the homicides of the men were committed in self-defense. Wuornos was sentenced to death for six of the murders. She was executed on October 9, 2002, by lethal injection after spending more than 10 years on Florida's death row.

In the feature film Monster (2003), Wuornos' story is described from her first murder until her execution; for her portrayal of Wuornos, Charlize Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Early life

Wuornos was born Aileen Carol Pittman on February 29, 1956, in Rochester, Michigan. Her mother, Diane Wuornos (born 1939), was 14 years old when she married Aileen's father, 18-year-old Leo Pittman (1936–1969), on June 3, 1954. O

The case of Aileen Wuornos, executed in Florida for the serial killing of seven men, is studied to determine her degree of psychopathy and the presence or absence of sexuality or sexual sadism as a motivation or gratification for her crimes. The authors, one of whom evaluated the subject shortly before her death, determined that she evidenced a psychopathic personality (PCL-R score 32). She also met DSM-IV-TR criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. While her killings ostensibly were carried out during routine acts of prostitution, there was ambiguous evidence that her crimes were sexually motivated or gratifying. Her articulated motivation was robbery and elimination of the witness/victim. After carefully considering all available data, the authors concluded there was no convincing evidence of sexual sadism in either her personal history or her method of committing serial murder, and it remains unclear whether sexual gratification was to some degree a motivating factor in her commission of these offenses. The confluence of early childhood attachment disruptions, severe psychopathy, other personality disorder pathology, and a traumagenic abuse history likely contributed to her having serially murdered seven victims.