Aileen Wuornos Case
Final Case Study of Aileen Wuornos
Your Name
Psychology of Criminal Behavior
CRJ 308
Dr. Instructor
January 4, 2013
Aileen Wuornos was a prostitute who shot to death at least seven middle-aged men that she encountered along northern and central Florida highways. Between 1989 and 1990, she murdered men that solicited her for sexual favors or who responded to her offer of sex for money. Aileen Wuornos is listed as one of the nation’s few female serial killers executed by lethal injection. The primary question for researchers and psychologists concerning this case was, “Is Aillen Wournos a victim of a failed upbringing or is she truly a monster” (Seal, 2008)? It is evident when analyzing this case that the motivation and drive to commit these heinous crimes was being fueled by environmental, cognitive, and psychological factors that stemmed from her childhood. …show more content…
Aileen Wuornos’ victims were all middle-aged, white males who paid Aileen for sexual relations, however in each of the murders she claimed that they had all tried to rape/assault her and that she killed them in self-defense (Seal, 2008). Her preferred method was to shoot them and to hide their bodies in the woods.
In order to consider if the nature versus nurture appeal is relevant in the case of Aileen Wuornos there needs to be a close examination of her past. In nature, one adopts the genetic traits derived trough biological parents, and nurture is what one learns through life experiences (DeLisi, 2013). There are obvious attributes that contributed to Aileen Wuornos’ behavior and criminal
Your Name
Psychology of Criminal Behavior
CRJ 308
Dr. Instructor
January 4, 2013
Aileen Wuornos was a prostitute who shot to death at least seven middle-aged men that she encountered along northern and central Florida highways. Between 1989 and 1990, she murdered men that solicited her for sexual favors or who responded to her offer of sex for money. Aileen Wuornos is listed as one of the nation’s few female serial killers executed by lethal injection. The primary question for researchers and psychologists concerning this case was, “Is Aillen Wournos a victim of a failed upbringing or is she truly a monster” (Seal, 2008)? It is evident when analyzing this case that the motivation and drive to commit these heinous crimes was being fueled by environmental, cognitive, and psychological factors that stemmed from her childhood. …show more content…
Aileen Wuornos’ victims were all middle-aged, white males who paid Aileen for sexual relations, however in each of the murders she claimed that they had all tried to rape/assault her and that she killed them in self-defense (Seal, 2008). Her preferred method was to shoot them and to hide their bodies in the woods.
In order to consider if the nature versus nurture appeal is relevant in the case of Aileen Wuornos there needs to be a close examination of her past. In nature, one adopts the genetic traits derived trough biological parents, and nurture is what one learns through life experiences (DeLisi, 2013). There are obvious attributes that contributed to Aileen Wuornos’ behavior and criminal