Mass vs Serial

The 411 on Clifford Robert Olson Jr and Marc Lépine

    Clifford Olson was a sexually deviant and murderous criminal. He was accused for the sexual attack of 17 year old Judy Kozma in 1974. Even though Olson killed many other children all under the age of , around 11 victims the police suspect. Olson could only be accused for one murder since it was the only murder he fully confessed to.

Levin & Fox's typology of serial killers say that the motives of a serial killer are generally placed into four categories. Visionary, Mission-oriented, hedonistic and power control. However other characteristics can overlap with these as well. I think Olson killed all those people for those exact reasons. He wanted power control, pleasure, was involved with the supernatural or drugs. Also maybe he saw himself as someone  attempting to change society, which can often be used to cure the societal ill.

     Then on the other hand there's Marc Lépine who one day decided he wanted to go on a killing spree. 25 year old Lepine entered his school (December 6th 1989) and killed all the females he found with his Strum Rugger Mini-14, .223-caliber semi-automatic rifle. This event took about only 20min and all because Lepine hated feminist and thought all females were feminists. After going through the school killing all the females he could find,  Lepine took his own life. Some psychologists had said to believe that Lepine had catathymia, which is an emotionally charged idea that temporarily overwhelms a person and pushes him off balance. Which doesn’t excuses Lepine's actions but maybe explains how such sudden violence took place in the way that could help us prevent it.

However unlike serial killers there usually isn’t a sexual motive to individualize mass murderers. Most of the time it’s just a cry for attention or a belief they think is right.

    Things we can learn from these two very different individuals is that you shouldn't take you life for granted because you never know when someone will try and take it from you. Also that watching out for other people and telling someone if u think something is wrong. Its hard to prevent murders unless you actually catch the bad guy. However Being wise and calling 911 can help prevent one or more murders. Also being brave and testifying as a witness and putting the bad guy in jail will prevent that person to do future crimes. And lastly how can we forget to always teach your children to care for other people and not hurt other people.