Wayne Williams Ted Bundy
I recently blogged about a Latino man who was killed by a rooster at a cockfight. I commented of course at the ironic and humorous aspect of the story, then commented about the acceptance of death and violence in Latino culture, and posited as to why that might be. I was challenged by a reader, who stated that whites are just as violent and threw out the usual suspects such as Hitler, and, surprisingly, serial killers as predominately white males. The instance of serial killing is so rare that it hardly makes a blip on the overall level of violence, so I had a hard time figuring out why the reader would use white serial killers as an example of how whites are at least as violent as Latinos. If anything, it makes the opposite argument. I was intrigued, none the less.
I thought about this, and considered that perhaps the reader was right about serial killers being mostly white. Certainly the most famous of them, for example Ted Bundy and the Hillside Stranglers, were white. But I recall seeing in the news over the past year or two that the last two or three serial killers arrested in the Los Angeles area were black males accused of killing prostitutes. Perhaps the myth of the white male serial killer is just that. This called for some research.
Only a few systematic accounts of the race and ethnicity of serial killers exist. There is an exhaustive study of African American serial killers (Homicide Studies 2005; 9; 271) by criminologist Anthony Walsh, and also Eric W. Hickey’s book, Serial killers and their victims, Brooks/Cole, 1997. Walsh identified 90 African American and 323 white American serial murderers, all men operating between 1945 and 2004. (Though Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans were not included in the study, their addition would not alter the fact that most serial killers are white men.) African American serial killers made up 22% of Walsh’s sample, a figure in close agreement Hickey’s enumeration. But, as blacks number well below 22% of the U.S. population, they are actually overrepresented among the ranks of serial killers — roughly by a factor of 2.
So it turns out that while whites make up a numerical superiority of serial killers, blacks make up a much higher percentage of serial killers relative to their percentage of the population. In a study by statistician
La Griffe du Lion, roughly 0.018 percent of adult white males, 0.033 percent of adult black males and 0.0025 percent of adult Hispanic males have values of criminality in the range of serial murderers. Using Census Bureau population estimates, the percentages translate to 13,000 white, 4,000 black, and 350 Hispanic adult males with criminality in serial-murderer territory. I have no explanation why black males would be twice as likely as white males to be serial killers. In general, they have criminality rates seven times that of whites. This might in some way explain it. I think the reason the white male as serial killer myth has predominated is because of the demographics of the victims. White female victims from middle class backgrounds get more press than black prostitutes in South Los Angeles. Movies have been made about the Hillside Stranglers, Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer. Is it just and fair that white victims are accorded more publicity? Probably not, but that’s how it is. The two movies about non-white serial killers stand out because the killers were so out of the norm. Eileen Wournos, the subject of the movie Monster, was unusual because there have been very few documented accounts of female serial killers that didn’t work with a male partner. Richard Ramirez, a not particularly interesting or clever killer, was Latino, but was more noteworthy for the viciousness of his attacks, and widespread terror he caused throughout southern California.
Arguably the most famous black serial killer is Wayne Williams, who was suspected of murdering 29 black boys in the Atlanta area. I was unable to find any reference to any movie about him. I’m not sure why this is- it’s actually a pretty interesting case.
So I suppose the reader was technically correct. Numerically there are more white serial killers. It turns out, however, that this is a result of their overwhelming superiority in numbers, and not any disproportionate predilection to serial killing. That dubious honor goes to black males.
The numbers seem so small as to be hard to have a low degrees of freedom in the statistical analysis. And there could be cultural blocks, to capture or even identifying that serial killing is occurring.
I wonder what the stats are for serial rapists?
I imagine similar, although I suspect Latinos would represent a much higher incidence of rape than they do serial killings. I also think that there are more serial murderers out there that go undetected due to the fact that their victims ( prostitutes and others living on the fringe) are less likely to be reported missing by families that have lost track of them. Many serial killers, whether by design or chance, work in a large geographic area crossing many jurisdictions; it often takes some time for police to link them, sometimes they never do.
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Yes – White males are serial killers @ heart. Even some white women have been known as serial killers. I know of no latin or black female serial killer. Dont try to use greater population as an excuse. The shoe fits, wear it.
Of course you don’t know of any black serial killers, your not looking at references to find them, and it’s not a politically correct news story, which means little coverage.
You are a racist, and you need to learn how to use Google, before making stupid comments. Here are just a few. They were easy to find.
Matthew Emanuel Macon (Murdered and Raped 5 White Women in Lansing)
Shelly Brooks (Murdered 7 prostitutes in Detroit Cass Corridor)
Jervon Miguel Coleman (Murdered three people.)
Brian Ranard Davis (6 women)
Paul Durousseau (Seven women)
Mark Goudeau “The Baseline Killer” (Eight women and a man in 2005-2006)
Coral Eugene Watts (11 women in Texas & 1 in Michigan)
Anthony McKnight (Five girls and young women)
Derrick Todd Lee (8 Women)
Charles Lendelle Carter (4 known murders)
The Zebra Killings (71 White people)
Chester Turner (L.A.s most prolific killer 12 women killed.)
Lorenzo J. Gilyard (Kansas City, MO.—13 victims)
Eugene Victor Britt (Gary, IN.–3 known murder/rapes.)
Henry Louis Wallace (Raped and strangled 5 women to death.)
Craig Price (Brutally murdered 3 women)
Harrison Graham (Brually Murdered 3 women)
John Allen Muhammad & Lee Boyd Malvo (Sniped 11 people from a car in DC, 9 died.)
George Russell (3 women, WA state)
Timothy W. Spencer (5 killed, Arlington, VA and Richmond, VA)
Elton M. Jackson (12 gay men killed, Norfolk, VA area)
Carlton Gary (3 killed in Columbus, GA)
Mohammed Adam Omar (16 women, Yemen. Omar is Sudanese.)
Kendall Francois (8 women, Poughkeepsie, NY and surrounding areas.)
Terry A. Blair (8 women, Kansas City area)
Wayne Williams (33 many of them children!, Atlanta, GA)
Vaughn Greenwood (11 killed in LA)
Andre Crawford (10 killed in Chicago – southside)
Calvin Jackson (9 killed possibley more in NY)
Gregory Klepper (killed 8, Chicago – southside)
Alton Coleman (Killed 8 in the Midwest)
Harrison Graham (killed 7+ in N. Philadelphia)
Cleophus Prince (6 killed in, San Diego
Robert Rozier (7 killed in, Miami)
Maurice Byrd (killed 20 + in St. Louis)
Maury Travis (17 and rising, St. Louis and possibly also Atlanta)
Hulon Mitchell, a.k.a. Yahweh Ben Yahweh (killed 20+ in Florida)
Lorenzo Fayne (killed 5 children in East St. Louis, IL)
Paul Durousseau, (killed 6, two of which were pregnant women, Jacksonville, FL; Georgia.)
Eddie Lee Mosley (killed 25 to 30 women, south Florida)
Henry Lee Jones (killed 4 in, south Florida; Bartlett, TN)
Richard “Babyface” Jameswhite (15 killed in, New York; Georgia.)
Donald E. Younge, Jr. (killed 4), East St. Louis, IL; Salt Lake City, UT.
Ivan Hill (killed 6 in Los Angeles area).
Michael Vernon (Bronx, NY. Killed at least seven people – )
Chester Dewayne Turner (12 women killed in, Los Angeles)
Thanks for your comments. I have now been challenged by a co-worker to show that white males are not the most prolific child sexual abusers. They very may well be, however, as I told him, let’s look at the data and not go b your anectdotal musings.
This is some bullshit. You call someone who murdered three people serial killers. Gang member murder three people a day and they’re not called serial killers. Own up your sins you devils. The man is the biggest killers of all time
A serial killer is Defined as such, has killed 3 or more people. I truly doubt that gang members each kill more than 3 people daily. Research is power.
To be technical, a serial killer has killed 2 or more people, with a time period or break between killings. That would eliminate gang members or spree killers from the definition, so you are correct, Joyce.
Oops, sorry. The FBI no longer see’s 3 or more victims as serial killers..you are right Kevin, it’s 2 people, WITH a cooling off period. A teen who kills his parents, is not considered a serial killer.
Sounds like you agree with me. The fact that you were able to find so many black serial killers proves my point. Thank you.
Now go back and read for comprehension this time.
Just because YOU don’t know of any proves nothing…other that your lack of awareness… Is this list big enough for you…or are you just going to close your eyes to facts, again? Here you go, enjoy!
Matthew Emanuel Macon
Jimmie Reed
Shelly Brooks
Justin Blackshere
Jervon Miguel Coleman
Donell Ramon Johnson
Brian Ranard Davis
Paul Durousseau
Mark Goudeau
Coral Eugene Watts
Anthony McKnight
Derrick Todd Lee
Charles Lendelle Carter
The Zebra Killings Murderer
Chester Turner
Lorenzo J. Gilyard
Eugene Victor Britt
Reginald Carr
Jonathan Carr
Ray Joseph Dandridge
Ricky Gevon Gray
The Tinley Park Murderer
Henry Louis Wallace
Charles Johnston
Craig Price
Harrison Graham
Charles Lee “Cookie” Thornton
Darnell Hartsfeld
Romeo Pinkerton
John Allen Muhammad
Lee Boyd Malvo
George Russell
Timothy W. Spencer
Elton M. Jackson
Carlton Gary
Mohammed Adam Omar
Kendall Francois
Terry A. Blair
Wayne Williams
Vaughn Greenwood
Andre Crawford
Calvin Jackson
Gregory Klepper
Alton Coleman
Harrison Graham
Cleophus Prince
Robert Rozier
Maurice Byrd
Maury Travis
Hulon Mitchell [aka Yahweh Ben Yahweh]
Lorenzo Fayne
Paul Durousseau
Eddie Lee
Mosley
Henry Lee Jones
Richard “Babyface” Jameswhite
Donald E. YoungeJr.
Ivan Hill
Michael Vernon
Chester Dewayne Turner
John, you are a stone cold racist, you are oblivious to facts, your are judging without knowledge, that’s racism. These statistics aren’t facts due directly to a persons skin color. These statistics probably exist due to other factors like economics, urban race demographics & lack of diversity within ethnic communities [intentional self segregation to a community that is populated primarily with ones own race] According to the statistics John, the shoe has turned out to be an Air Jordan, so instead of being close-minded, at least open your mind to what’s out there. You clearly have taken this story personal, which precludes you, in deed, it prevents you from seeing flaws in your knowledge…primarily, that being that you have confused your prejudices with proven fact. People lie, but numbers don’t. And certainly this isn’t an attack on any race, the numbers mean something, and they prove many things, but racism has no place in an intellectual discussion, nor in society at all.
Listing names of people other than whites who are serial killers in response to this comment “White males are serial killers @ heart. Even some white women have been known as serial killers. I know of no latin or black female serial killer” makes you racist? What on earth did I miss?
Someone has a racial hangup. So much so, he’s blurring reality and trying to paint an entire race/gender of people as murderers “at heart” apparenty unable to draw any distinctions.
So you don’t mind when people castigate blacks as a bunch of shoplifters or Mexicans as a bunch of gangbangers, right?
Your comment wreaks of racism toward whites, but hey, it’s normal. Your comment also wreaks of ignorance, stupidity and laziness. You’re too lazy to do even the tiniest bit of research. You never heard of Angel Resendez? Richard Ramirez? There’s plenty more, but I told you more than you deserve.
John, your stupidity is beyond belief. Here’s a small sample of hispanic serial killers.
Andrew Urdiales
Altemio Sanchez
Kimberly Saenz
Joe Luis Saenz
Pedro Rodrigues Filho
Pedrinho Matador (Little Peter the Killer)
Reinaldo Rivera
Ángel Maturino Reséndiz
Richard Ramirez
Alfredo Prieto
Enriqueta Martí
Pedro López
Cesar Armando Librado Legorreta
Cayetano Santos Godino
Petiso Orejudo
Luis Garavito
Raymond Fernandez
Marcelo Costa De Andrade
Juan Corona
Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo
Rory Conde
Edward Castro
Juana Barraza
Daniel Camargo Barbosa
Manuel Bulgarin Solis
Acevedo Francisco
I’m white but I’ve always thought about the lack of mental psychosis in african-americans. I’ve looked online and found some gruesome racist sites citing name after name of african-american killers. I’ve been living in new york city for 30 years and I’m originally from rome, italy. I’ve always been interested in human mental illness, beginning with the nazis and stalin…serial killers – most of them mental – are interesting, too, but I know of only one black pedophile, the guy in the 70s in the us…even white women are way more than blacks…I researched the testosterone levels in different races. High testosterone increases violence. I found that blacks have very high levels, followed by hispanics, followed by arabs, followed by caucasians, followed by asians. Those levels go with the amount of incarcerations in the us. OK, a lot of those incarcerations are race-related, I know, still…can someone tell me why blacks don’t committ psychotic massacres?
It sucks when the facts put the lie to your preconceived notions.
Kevin Nelson is a racist, trailer park trash semen specimen that should have been either swallowed, spat out or deposited on his mommas face
If you have facts that disprove my point I would love to see them, 6thfinga. Until then, stay classy.
Motive N Percentage
Enjoyment (thrill, lust, power) 995 50.28%
Financial Gain 617 31.18%
Anger 192 9.70%
Multiple Motives 73 3.69%
Gang Activity 48 2.43%
Avoid Arrest 22 1.11%
Attention 15 0.76%
Convenience 10 0.51%
Hallucinations 7 0.35%
Cult 5 0.25%
TOTAL 1979
Source: Radford University Serial Killer Database
Updated 9/8/2012
Marisol, thank you for commenting. I didn’t come up with the definition of serial killing myself. The commonly accepted definition in criminal justice research is two or more killings done with a distinct time period between each. What you describe is known as a spree killing or mass murder. Having said that, when it is involving gang violence, it usually isn’t classified as a spree killing. Virginia Tech and Columbine are good examples of mass murder or spree killings.
With all due respect, Kevin… if you did not find a movie about Wayne Williams, then it is because you were not looking.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Child_Murders_(TV_miniseries)
There is also a movie about the DC Sniper case:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Sniper:_23_Days_of_Fear
As such, it can hardly be said that there are no movies about black serial murderers.
I didn’t say that I couldn’t find movies about black serial killers, but the fact that you found so many helps prove my point about the racial breakdown. Thank you.
According to the FBI, the racial breakdown of serial killers basically mirrors the US population. So, yes, its apparently mythic that serial killers are mostly white. Quoting FBI summary report:
Myth: Serial killers are all white males.
Contrary to popular belief, serial killers span all racial groups. There are white, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian serial killers. The racial diversification of serial killers generally mirrors that of the overall U.S. population.
Of course with the FBI nor this blogger mentions is that white people have, for centuries killed African Americans with impunity from the founding of this nation right up until the 1960s. These murders were mostly sanctioned by the local police departments, the FBI and all other govt agencies. See especially the history of lynchings (Google “Without Sanctuary”). kzs
Glad you spoke up about that.
Your low IQ simian kind have raped 38,000 Aryan women a year in the states alone since 65, you dumb , violent apes have tortured , raped and killed 65, 000 worthwhile White men , women and children in SA since 94 and in millennia have given nothing . If you all disappeared tomorrow , the world would be a much better place. You need us , we could do with out you .
According to the FBI, the racial breakdown of serial killers basically mirrors the US population. So, yes, its apparently mythic that serial killers are mostly white. Quoting FBI summary report:
Myth: Serial killers are all white males.
Contrary to popular belief, serial killers span all racial groups. There are white, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian serial killers. The racial diversification of serial killers generally mirrors that of the overall U.S. population.
Of course with the FBI nor this blogger mentions is that white people have, for centuries killed African Americans with impunity from the founding of this nation right up until the 1960s. These murders were mostly sanctioned by the local police departments, the FBI and all other govt agencies. See especially the history of lynchings (Google “Without Sanctuary”). kzs
No, it doesn’t basically mirror the US population. As I stated in the blog entry, blacks are disproportionately more likely to be serial killers. Reread for comprehension. The FBI is a politically correct bureaucracy that goes out of it’s way to not offend minorities.
A for the rest of your diatribe, it appears you have a racial chip on your shoulder. Not only is what you said false, it has nothing to do with the article at hand. Try starting your own blog if you have a racial axe to grind. I’m continue to be amazed at the number of people who want to shoot the messenger; try refuting my assertions with data of your own rather than vague generalities.
Great reply Kevin! It’s so easy to research information these days, it really amazes me when people spout bullshit instead of finding the truth. Isn’t that what we all want? The Truth?
PS, before I had a computer, the Library was my best friend!
True. It seems people get very angry when confronted with uncomfortable facts. I didn’t make these facts up, and i would have been just as willing to post the information if it turned out that the myth that most serial killers are white turned out to be true. Not being a serial killer, I have no stake in the outcome of the research.
I suppose now the problem is information overload, and sorting out reliable information from the what is false or unsubstantiated.
Why is it whenever someone of color even MENTIONS the mass murders and atrocities committed on Black people in this country’s very true history, that seems to prompt someone usually White to say there is an axe to grind?? Or we are playing some “race” card? Which who needs a race card in the first place to make a valid point? Suddenly we are racist ourselves for even mentioning a fact? I don’t think all White men or most are serial killers. I don’t think most White men or women are racist. But lets face it, some people are. Ever culture has stereotypes, but we really need to look at our own views which are usually shaped by our own families and peers and truly see who we view other cultures. I will bet we have a lot of hang ups racially. This country has some serious problems with race and its never truly dealt with and I don’t think it ever will be. I don’t even care if mostly White men are thought of serial killers by narrow minded people! Why would you?
I think popular media and movies have promulgated the idea that white males are by and large the perpetrators of serial killings. A friend at work kept mentioning this to me, in a joking fashion, except he did tell me he actually believed that it were true. I immediately mentioned the Nightstalker, Richard Ramirez, to which he replied that he was an outlier. My intellectual curiosity had been stimulated, so I thought it would be fascinating to see what the truth was. The results are here on this blog entry. No racial animus was intended; I simply presented data as I found it. Some may not like me for even bringing the topic up, some are upset with the messenger for presenting facts that make them question their own preconceived ( and possibly incorrect) assumptions. Some are uncomfortable with any discussion of race.
So why do I care? Well, I am a student of criminal justice, so I find such topics interesting. I am a fan of the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it makes some people. You say the problems of race are never truly dealt with- well, they are here on this blog.
Great research, non factual emotional liberal evangelists like Kwame gives so much weight to the ‘Bell Curve’… Well done Kevin, heres the part these ignorant clowns dont get: ‘facts and numbers cant be racist’…
Well, kevin, I have no racial chip on my shoulder. I’m white. Did I say that I’m a lesbian? I cant find any black serial killers in the us, exept for wayne williams. I found plenty, and I mean PLENTY OF WHITE serial killers, including women. Most of them are mentally ill, by the way…
Thanks for mentioning your sexual orientation. Aileen Wournos was also a lesbian. If you can’t find any black serial killers you didn’t look very hard. A quick Google search will display many, and there are many mentioned in the comments section here. By the way, being white doesn’t absolve ypu from having a racial chip on your shoulder. See Michael Moors, and just about any other left-wing wacko.
Kevin, can we have adult exchanges? “Reread for comprehension” is just silly. And I haven’t attacked the messenger. We agree. Both sources make the same point that the notion that white men are more likely to be serial killers is false. Somehow you missed that point.
Re: FBI – The FBI, in fact all US govt. agencies, have, since the 1920s, targeted blacks as threats to the status quo. So I disagree that the FBI is “politically correct”; the FBI is racist. My point, Kevin, is that white people slaughtered black people with impunity from 1776 to the 1960s. It suggests to me that the research you cited which stretches back to 1945 will likely have an under-reporting of white serial killers targeting black people. kzs
Give it up Kwame, come on now, if u really want to go there, lets talk about THIS minority…Women! There has been a War on Women starting way before 1776 and still going on today. so pardon ME for not feeling it for YOU!
Racist chip on your shoulder fits just right.
Very valid point.
“The FBI targeted blacks as threats to the “status quo”. Now can you even define “status quo”? Let me help. Any individual or group that threatens the profit making machinery of the corporate industrial complex is considered a threat and targeted by the FBI. You can be any race, gender or nationality and be considered a threat. The FBI also targeted the activities of the KKK, not so much for their racist activities but they are also virulently anti government which makes them a threat to be neutralized. Also, the FBI does not target black in general, only the ones that are agitating for change. Put your head down do your work and obey orders and the FBI is not concerned about you. Same is true for whites or asians, any political agitator who might actually instigate legitimate change (change that cuts into the profits of the rich) will become a target of the law enforcement arms of the government.
Saying blacks have been targeted “in general” and “only blacks” is inaccurate, inflammatory and ignorant.
The FBI “is” politically correct. Along with the rest of the corporate media it routinely downplays black crime. FBI mouthpieces will spout the same PC nonsense about “white males being serial killers” and encourage the public notion that black men do not commit these types of crimes. This PC posturing has it’s roots in the assimilate history of our nation that wants all the people: Black; white; asian; hispanic; immigrants to put their heads down, integrate and work to push money uphill to the rich.
People did not “slaughter” blacks with impunity even in the 1700′s. It wasn’t that simple. Did they’re lives have less value than whites? Yes, of course, though I suppose you could argue it was more as property than human beings but poor whites didn’t have much more value to the wealthy class and could even be worth less than the property value of a black person. Native Americans had the least value, for centuries there were bounties for their scalps paid by the US government in order to eradicate them from the land white american wanted to steal.
Bringing up historical abuses is not relevant to the current activities of serial killers. The world has changed, historical atrocities have sadly occurred to many people in many countries. Black people in Africa practiced slavery and atrocities themselves against whites and blacks. In fact, african raiders took white slaves as far north as the coast of england for centuries. The numbers of white slaves taken by Africans were not as great as black slaves taken by Europeans but that’s only because they didn’t have the economic or military base to support slavery on as big a scale. Don’t get on a moral high horse about historical abuses, black people have no room to talk and it suggest you’re trying to excuse modern killers because of things that happened years ago.
The FBI of yore is no longer. They are a politically correct, diverse, politically sensitive beaurocracy that is more likely to kill whites than blacks ( see Ruby Ridge and Waco).
whether the rest of your comment is true is irrelevent to the point of the article, which was about serial killers, not percieved racial injustice perpetrated by the government.
Additionally, you read more into my topic than was there. It was not a discussion of serial killera that target specific races, the race of the victim was not a part of the data.
Kevin, I am very clear on the topic. I have offered a critique of the data you have cited by pointing that, from slavery to Jim Crow, blacks were deemed animals or, at best, second class citizens. In an effort to rationalize black subordination, black crime was exaggerated (see especially the history of lynchings in America, Blackmon’s Slavery by another Name; McIntyre’s Criminalizing the Race; Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, ) and white crime–specifically white crime targeting blacks–was often not even considered criminal. That is to say, white terrorism was normative. Hence the study you cite likely undercounts a specific category of serial killings, namely, white killers of black people. My bottom line? Black violence, serial murder, mass murder, and otherwise, are, at least in part, outcomes of centuries of white terrorism. Ok, I have to get on to other things. Thanks for the dialogue. kzs
Kwame, I got your point and it was relevant to me since it reminded me of the 1834 serial killer Delphine LaLaurie of Louisiana. Many people didn’t believe this prominent socialite was capable of the atrocities police uncovered while responding to a fire at The LaLaurie Mansion. Before her arrest, this monster went on torturing, mutilating and murdering slaves for years even after her own neighbors heard the agonizing screams from her mansions property and windows. After her discovery, the disfigured slaves who managed to make it out alive, were THEMSELVES placed in jail cells for public viewing!!! The New Orleans Bee reported that by April 12 up to 4,000 people had attended to view the tortured slaves “to convince themselves of their sufferings”. I would certainly imagine that there are far more serial killers DURING slavery against slaves since Black slaves weren’t considered human. So thanks for bringing some more light to this subject.
Bringing up one isolated case from one hundred plus years ago doesn’t really change the data. In my research the number of victims was not a factor; simply the number of offenders and the their race. In fact, the race of the victims was not even a data point I considered. My research simple was to find out the race of anyone defined as a serial killer, that is, two or more killings separated by a cooling off period, the commonly accepted definition of a serial killer in criminal justice research. A proportion of serial killers by race could then be determined.
How can you cite information from an unreliable source? Any statistics by any agency should come with a certain skepticism. It would discount the status Quo of the superior white agenda if it were to get out that the atrocities committed by white offenders were released to the general public. It is in their best interest to soften any statistic that would change the continental or international view of the white man. Trust no information given to you. And always question what you have seen. ( For the record I do not believe any one ethnic group is more likely prone to serial killing)
You are very clear on a topic, just not the one we are discussing. You have not offered data that killings of blacks pre-1970 were serial killings, and thus cause an under representation of whites in the breakdown of serial killers. You then jump to the conclusion that black crime rates are directly attributable to white “terrorism”, as you define it.
Are you willing to accept that today, not 75 years ago, but today, the level of black criminality is at unacceptably high levels, and that it can not be entirely attributed to whites? Would you deny that in the mainstream media there is a reluctance to report on black crime, for fear of being accused of racism?
By the way, I am curious as to how you came across this post. I posted it over a year ago and still get the occasional comments, some well reasoned and thoughtful ( yours) , others hysterical and silly ( see above).
I don’t have data, I’m raising critical questions about the data you have cited. That is part of the critical process. Agree that my argument is speculative and the next step would be to go about gathering evidence. Note that if my argument has merit, then getting data on unreported serial murders targeting blacks in the Jim Crow era would be extremely difficult, many of these accounts are lost forever.
Yes, I certainly agree that black crime levels are unacceptable. But white crime is even more unacceptable. Many African Americans are dismayed by black crime. We express this frustration in our churches, in our music, in our everyday conversations. But black crime is a function of white crime. America has been and continues to be an extremely belligerent nation both at home and abroad. Moreover, the US criminal justice system was tasked primarily with controlling black people, not policing crime (I have LOTS of evidence for that. See esp. the McIntyre hyberlink in earlier post). And, no, I won’t concede that we can discuss the here-and-now without considering how history profoundly impacts the present.
Re: discovering your post. There was a recent post on the Colorado shooting wherein someone hyperlinked your blog in the comments section.
Interesting. Many people, including some of my police friends, seem to be unable to recognize the clear difference between a mass murderer, or spree killer as they are sometimes called, and a serial killer. I have provided a definition here but it seems lost on some people, or perhaps recognizing it invalidates the point they wanted to make, I haven’t checked data on spree killers, but I would guess more of them are white than not. If I had to guess I why that is, I would say that gun culture is more prevalent among white, rural males than other groups. Serial killers kill by a variety of methods; in fact, my guess is that most don’t use guns. A spree killer, on the other hand, has to have some familiarity with weapons that can inflict casualties en masse and quickly.
People seem to have trouble differentiating between mental illness and plain violence. We address gun control while we should be addressing mental illness. The uk has very strict gun control – they passed gun laws after the 1996 mentally ill man who opened fire in a kindergarten. The problem hasn’t gone away. The us had a major case…it lasted, I think, 19 years. The una-bomber. He was mentally ill and he DIDNT use guns. He used bombs. Granted he killed less people than if he had used guns, but he did kill.I’m just curious as of why black people seem not to committ mentally-related massacres.
It is not the criminality of Blacks or Black crime that has risen, it is the arrests of Blacks that has risen. Blacks are seven times as likely to be arrested as Whites. Blacks are no more predisposed to the usage or sales of drugs or any other crime for that matter than Whites, yet Blacks that commit those crimes are more likely to be arrested and prosecuted than Whites committing the same crimes. Further more, Whites charged with crimes are given lower bonds, less likely to be found guilty and less stringent punishments than Blacks accused of the same crimes. Last but not least, predominantly Black areas are patrolled 3-4 times as much as White area, placing Blacks in contact with police 3-4 times as often as Whites. I guess you can do the math from there.
Here is an interesting fact:
“Here is Cord Jefferson writing at BET on Chicago’s rampant gun violence:
Exacerbating the fact that Chicago has become a veritable war zone is the fact that much of this violence is the Black-on-Black crime African-Americans have struggled with for decades now. Despite only making up about one-third of the city, Chicago Blacks accounted for nearly 80 percent of all homicide victims. More specifically, in the first six months of 2012, of the 259 people killed in Chicago, 201 were Black.”
Let’s see how this gets spun by commenters here to be the fault of whites.
I agree with you, kevin…the rate of gun violence is at least as high in blacks – and hispanics – as it is in whites. But why aren’t blacks killers due to mental illness? Guns violence and psychosis are NOT the same thing…
What is your data source? I am not saying I dont believe it, but I would like to verify. Otherwise, it’s simply conjecture on your part. How would it be possible to arrest blacks at a rate seven times higher than any other group, if there were not more black criminality?
You note that whites are given lower bonds, are less likely to be found guilty than blacks. Again, where is the data?
Are black areas patrolled 3-4 times higher than white areas because there is more crime? and if there weren’t more crime, why would it matter, unless the police were completely fabricating the arrests by a factor of 6? And if the crime rate were higher in black areas but the police patrols were not increased accordingly, would the black community not complain about that as well?
None of his really has much to do at all with the topic at hand, which is serial killing. The crime you describe is common street crime. Serial killing is in actuality a rare circumstance, and as such the usual statistics regarding crime rates are not necessarily applicable.
Kevin, you have the problem in reverse. The problem is not black people but, rather, white people. I think you mean well, and I am certain that you imagine you are being objective, but white people generally (and some black people) have difficulty grasping the scope of white terrorism in America. Black people were objects to be traded and then, hardly better, we had “no rights a white man was bound to respect.” The was the law of the land until the 1950s. Black people were require to get off the sidewalk when whites approached. Black drivers could not legally pass white drivers on the road. And, God forbid, a black person needed gas. We were required by law to wait until every white person had pumped their gas. There were town that blacks could not enter after sundown. Black people were burned alive or hung from trees for being “uppity.” A black mans penis or finger or some other body part were collected as trophies.
The “criminal justice system” did not evolve to create justice but rather to enforce white supremacy. The people who enforced and befitted from this system where white as a group. But this entire process, this evil history has degraded white people. Likewise some of the black victims were degraded too. Incredibly, an surely a testament to human resilience, most Black Americans are law abiding, never mind that the laws perpetuate white supremacy. Our nation is degraded and will continue to be degraded until we Americans have an honest talk about this grossly unequal system that continues to advantage whites.
Re: Data source. You will many of the sources cited in the books I mentioned on this thread (e.g. Michelle Wallace, Blackmon, McIntyre). kzs
All very interesting, but off-topic. I did not address the reasons black males have higher rates of serial killing other than to point out that their rate of criminality is seven times any other group. Why that is is a subject of endless debate. My point in this blog entry was to dispel the myth that only white males are serial killers, and I think I have done that.
Assuming your assertions are true, it doesn’t explain why a black male in the last decade would resort to serial killing, especially when the victims are typically poor, black females.
Yes, Kevin, I already concurred that the claim is a myth. I was specifically responding to a broader query you had about bonds, patrolling, arrest rates, black criminality, etc. Per your request, I pointing you to sources. I then made a more general point about criminality, namely, that none of it will make much sense until we Americans grasp the fact that our racist institutions, including the criminal (in) justice system are inherently racists (i.e. structural racism).
I don’t agree that the criminal justice system, in it’s current state, is inherently racist. One can blame past racism and past injustices for the sorry state of affairs in many parts of the black community. However, at some point, blacks must look inward. High unwed childbirth rates, absentee fathers, chronic reliance on the state- these are all factors that contribute to the high criminality rate for black males, in my view. I suspect that many serial killing incidents stem from low self esteem, resentment of women, lack of positive role models, and a perceived need for power, without a legitimate means of attaining it. This is true across racial lines, in my opinion.
I suspect that if what I posit is true, it may be twice as bad for black males, due in part to the history you mentioned, and the sustained remnants of it. In some of the cases I have read about, the victims are middle class white women, so their I see the anger and resentment coming in. In others, the victims are poor black women, mostly prostitutes. If I were a psychologist I would probably be able to hazard an educated guess as to why those victims are chosen.
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Why must there always be an argument where races are concerned? Ditch the hateful stupidity, and focus on the subject, please.There are serial killers in all races, and no matter what the FBI or any popular reports say, no one knows a true number or percentage of serial killers in any race. Many killers never get discovered. Many people are missing without a trace. When I feel unsafe, my mind is not on a Black, Latino, or White face that may be lurking in the shadows; ny mind is on a person that I hope never materializes. The race? I cannot apply unless I see, and I hope I never do.
Well, it’s my blog, so I get to pick the topics. I picked this one. It must be interesting to many; I have had more comments on this topic than any other.
I could break it down for you to as why I believe blacks are more likely to be arrested but I don’t think that you would fully understand my words since your reality may be white. We won’t see eye to eye because our realities are not the same. You’ve grown up and have been accustomed and groomed to think and believe a certain way just as I have. The best we can do is agree that no one group is predisposed to crime and just agree that humans in general commit crime. When you attempt to assign a color to it you invite self conceived notions of what you believe the other group to be. When you free yourself of racial identity you truly open your eyes to the truth. Humans commit crimes. Yes, HUMANS, we are deadly and dangerous when placed in unsuitable conditions. It would be possible to turn anyone into a “serial killer” under the right circumstances.
I guess they are arrested at higher rates because they commit crimes at a much higher rate.
Why would I simply agree to agree that everyone commits crimes at equal rates when that is simply not the case?
its obvious after reading this who provides data and fact and who provides their own racism ( monique, lawrence,reifnmaker, and worst of all kwame who is truly delusional. so why even dignify their racist drivel with a return comment?
I guess I feel I owe them some response since they made the effort to comment, but I agree some of their comments are silly, poorly thought out, and agenda driven.
Much like yours?
Is that all you have? Lame.
Kevin, not only does your data prove nothing really, but some of your numbers have been fabricated. For instance The Zebra Killing resulted in 16 dead, not 71. Did you alter that to make a point. Regardless of that, I think that a very important aspect that is being overlooked here is the actual number of killings. Even in the case of Wayne Williams a book by F.B.I profiler John E. Williams posits that Wayne himself was not responsible for all the deaths but that the authorities put many of their unsolved cases on him.
I am more than willing to say that white serial killers, by in large, rack up much more victims then their black counter parts. This is the truth. Within the information you provided, even though the majority of the numbers have been fabricated, there are very few black serial killers whose murders exceed the 10 digit mark. That is not the case with white serial killers. Examples:
John Wayne Gacy: 34-36 (suspected of many more)
Ted Bundy : 30-36 +
Gary Ridgeway: Convicted of 48, confessed to at least 71, presumed to be 90+
Harold Shipman 250 +
Andre Chikatilo 53 confirmed, 56+ claimed
H. H. Holmes 4–200 (4 confirmed; 27 confessed)
Donald Henry Gaskins 10- 110+
Donald Harvey 37–57; 87 claimed
Patrick Kearney 21 – 43
Jane Toppan 31
Michael Swango 4–60
Gerald Stano 22-41+
Gerard John Schaefer 30
David Parker Ray 14-60
Larry Eyler 21-23
Adam Lanza 27
Richard Kukiliski 6- 100 + (chopped the bodies up and fed them to rats)
William Bonin 21-36
John Rifkin 17+
Charles Cullen 29–35+ confirmed; 100+
Amy Archer-Gilligan 5-50
Paul John Knowles18-35+
Now you can continue to trying a confuse people by suggesting they are an even number of Black “serial” killers having only 3 murders to their names, but as you can see from this list mass murders in America are mostly white. Only two of them in the list I provided aren’t so that I could present the scale of their killings. This is not even a complete list. As Kwame was trying to say before you rudely cut him off, if lynchings were credited as serial killings the number of white serial killers would be even greater.
Like a few other commenters, you are trying to change the topic form the offender to the victim. This post was about the offender, and what role race plays in the likelihood of a person of a certain race being a serial killer.
What you suggest might make an interesting topic for another debate, but it is not the debate that is going on here. Please respond to the facts presented here, even if you find they do not conform to your agenda.
You said “as you can see from this list mass murders in America are mostly white”. OK, first of all it’s your list which only includes a couple of black serial killers for “scale”, if you were to include a comprehensive list you would discover that 22% of serial killers are black vs. the fact that blacks make up 15% of the population. Should I list a bunch of black serial killers with a couple of whites and say: See most serial killers are black! Get real man.
Plus the statement that serial killers are: “Mostly white and male” is redundant. There are more white people in this country, therefore most serial killers should be white. How much more obvious can that be. This statement gets intoned over and over on TV detective shows; movies; law enforcement mouthpieces; media sources in general and politically correct poseurs who want to demonize whites by pretending they are the source of all evil. What these people should be saying is black serial killers are actually overrepresented in relation to their population percentage. The public perception is that black serial killers don’t exist, it’s a white people problem (kind of like incest), utterly untrue but as long as the media downplays and/or ignores black serial killers due to political correct insanity, it’s a perception that will persist. It’s stupidity to continue to believe it.
I notice you conveniently didn’t include the names: Jake Bird (44 possible) & Carl Eugene Watts (100 possible which could make him the most prolific serial killer ever) I say possible because we never know for sure how many these scum kill, authorities can only estimate and pin as many as they can, unfortunately they will try to clear books and pin murders on these guys they didn’t commit which inflates numbers and gives the impression the cases are solved, which means the killers are less likely to be caught. Even the most prolific white killers sometimes are only convicted on a few murders, unless they are like Gacy or Dahmer and have their bodies in their homes, identifying all victims is impossible, we can only guess. It’s difficult enough to solve serial killings in the white community, but what about the black community which is often insulated from white community and where many people practice “Don’t snitch code” toward police. It’s very possible that black serial killer victims are much greater than law enforcement has estimated. And yes, there is likely less concern in law enforcement when black are murdered, it’s a function of racism and wrong and a legitimate issue of racism to address. What is bullshit is bringing up lynching, that’s not relevant, as Kevin keeps saying over and over again but certain people can’t seem to comprehend it. Yes, you people know who I’m talking about. Lynching ended years ago, serial killers are murdering NOW, they aren’t doing it because of a history of racism has caused them to be serial killers, they primarily do it because of a sexual motivation, which is why the vast majority of victims of these killers are women, usually young women.
sorry pal richard kuklinski was a paid killer not a serial killer
Hey Kevin I’m not trying to be racist but I think you are missing a huge chunk of history on your analysis. Namely the not-to-distant past where race relations were at miserable heights and white people were allowed to rape, beat, torture, imprison, or kill black people or any other race for that matter with reckless abandon. Don’t forget the tragedies comitted by them as well. And since it would be an understatement to say that the number of incidents that occured by the white male were severely understated, it can be assumed that the numbers you cited can be erroneous as well. Add to that the number of disproportunately incarcerated minorities compared with the majority and I can be confortable in my assesment that those statistics are also horrendously skewed.
See above comment.
Please get back to me if you have any opinions to the contrary.
I don’t know what you mean by disproportionately incarcerated minorities. It seems to me they are incarcerated at a rate consistent with their rate of offending.
I love it when white people try to project their flaws on other races by using over-exaggerated statistics to make it seem as if other races commit the same level of outrages crimes as them. This reminds me of the crabs-in-the-barrel mentality where if a person is guilty of doing something wrong then that person tries to get other people to fall down with him/her by attempting to accuse others of being guilty of the same thing.
This is the same crabs-in-the-barrel tactic that white people are trying to use when the FBI & other racist organizations make-up over-exaggerated statistics to make it seem as if black people are blood-thirsty serial killers as they are. Whites are now even trying to make it seem as if black men molest children just as much as they do! These are just examples of how whites are trying to camouflage their true devilish nature by making it seem as if every other group does the same crime. Although there maybe a few black serial killers (minus the ones who were framed) the amount of white serial killers far outnumber the amounts of black serial killers.
Here is a few names:
Robert L. Yates Jr- killed 15 people
Theodore Kaczynski- killed 23 people
Jeffrey Dahmer- killed 17 people and even ate some of them
Ted Bundy- killed more than 30 people
Angelo Buono Jr- killed 9 people
David berkowitz- killed 6 people
John Wayne Gacy- killed 33 people
Charles Manson- killed more than 7 people
Aileen Wuornos- killed 7 people
Gary Ridgway- killed 48 people
Albert Fish- Convicted for killing 5 people but confessed to castrating over 100 young boys
Dean Corll- killed 28 people
William Bonin- Killed 21 people but was suspected of killing 15 more people
Earle Nelson- killed 22 people
Patrick Kearney- killed 43 people
Randolf Steven Kraft- convicted for killing 16 people but believed to kill a total of 67 people.
Donald Harvey- admitted to kill a total of 87 people
Gerald Stano- admitted to killing 41 people
Herbert Mullin- killed 13 people
Angelo Buono Jr- killed 10 people
Kennet Bianchi- killed 12 people
Authur Shawcross- killed 14 people
I can keep on going but my fingers are hurting from all that typing.
There is a whole set of possible/probable elements to skew the results the other way too, Between the higher level of hostility to police investigation in a predominantly black community and the very likely possibility that the police simply put more effort into catching someone who kills middle class white women, There may actually be even more deeply nasty black people out there than these numbers suggest.
I know it’s only the internet, but It’s kinda worrying how so many of the posters of replies to this thread are so clearly suffering basic selection bias… not even considering how pretty much all statistics have some error and how that error goes both ways.
Kevin, “nonetheless” is one word, not three.
My phone thought it was. Thanks for your insightful comment, though.
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Hello my family member! I wish to say that this article is awesome, nice written and come with almost all important infos. I would like to peer more posts like this .
can i get a list of recent white serial killers?
all i see is black
Sure, go to Google and do a search.
Really people I can’t believe some people ate bringing slavery into this I mean I’m not complainig about my native American ancestors being murdered by whites it’s simply not relevant to the subject matter read and make sure you comprehend before you post.
Hello, Kevin.
Thank you for your article. I’ve had some trouble researching the occurrence of serial killings within the Latina population. I’ve found a few, but what I’ve come to realize is that most women act on passions and emotional disturbances– there are not too many that are as calculating as the men; Gacy and Bundy and such. There are records of a few that have been just as cold, but mostly they are ancient history, like old queens, baronesses, etc. Any opinions on why this is so?
Thanks for your input on this topic. Greatly appreciated.
I don’t see the necessity of bringing this up “It turns out, however, that this is a result of their overwhelming superiority in numbers, and not any disproportionate predilection to serial killing. That dubious honor goes to black males.” The reason being that African Americans are not underrepresented in all arenas (athletics, prisons, entertainment, etc). This ratio that we see in serial killers is not universal. While this race seems predisposed (as shown by the numbers) to certain things (as aforementioned) the numbers don’t show that they are predisposed to becoming serial killers, despite their ratio to the White population. You seem to write with a bias. I’m unconcerned with this, it’s your blog post, but I think that this bears more influence over your writing than actual fact.
The reason is that I found it to be an interesting topic, and judging from the comments, so do a lot of other people.
It would be interesting to see how many of these serial killers were gang related. I wouldnt count a black man being involved in a gang war and killing 3 other gang members, under a period of time, a serial killer.
My point comes from my assumption that black ppl are more involved in gangs and gang violence.
I exclude gang killings under the definition of serials killer as used here.
So what I got from this article is that there ARE MORE white serial killers out there. Got it… Got to watch out for those white men.