Criminological Theories on Jeffrey Dahmer

Rave television programs such as the Blacklist, Haves and Have-nots, Law and Order, and others, which has portrayed how criminal cases are perceived, investigated, and finally, how justice is administered dominate the present society. Criminal theories can help us understand why people are excited and interested in killing others, particularly if they murder more than one individual (Adebisi & Olanrewaju, 2021) . The differences between serial killers and ordinary human beings have sometimes been linked to dysfunctional or abusive homes or being loners. Many stereotypes surround serial killers, such as their ability to keep murdering their victims whenever they find opportunity, which movies and series have spurred (Jentzen, 2017; James, 2019) . Jeffrey Dahmer's life as a child through adulthood and how he was involved in criminal activities could be easily understood using a few criminal theories as well as through presenting a Christian worldview to the occurrences. 

Biography of Jeffrey Dahmer 

Jeffrey Dahmer is a serial killer that mercilessly murdered seventeen men between 1978 and 1991 (Pace, 2019). In Jeffrey's residence, the police officers uncovered many skulls and body organs of individuals he had murdered in cold blood. When he was captured, Jeffrey made a confession detailing the events surrounding each person he had killed (Jones, 2020). He indicated that he derived joy from the presence of the remains of his victims. Jeffrey grew normally as any other child. However, he withdrew from people and was careless in how he addressed those he interacted with in his adolescent stage. 

When he was between 10 and 15 years of age, Jeffrey was fascinated with dead animals (Jentzen, 2017). Immediately Jeffrey reached high school; he started heavy drinking that transcended even to class. Following his graduation, Jeffrey had executed his first killing using a hitchhiker on the roadside, Steven Hicks, who he took back to his parent's home and killed him there. He buried the boy in the parent's backyard by mutilating his body and placing the body sections in plastic bags. Afterward, Jeffrey disinterred the remains and pondered the bones with a hammer scattering them across a wooden ravine (Jentzen, 2017). Dahmer did not relate well with his father after he began drinking. Based on the shaky relationship, his father compelled him to join the army after he was expelled from Ohio State University. His dreadful criminal activities, which entailed attempted lobotomies to form zombies, sex with the dead victims, mutilating sections of their bodies, caused him to be an infamous figure (Abe, 2021). Dahmer was sent to prison for sixteen consecutive life terms - more than nine centuries - but being renowned signified that the period he spent in prison could not be likened to that of an average prisoner. 

Jeffrey was dismissed from the military, after which he went to live with his grandmother, where he persisted with dismembering dead animals and plunging them in chemicals to see what happened. He killed the second victim, Steven Tuomi, by getting drunk and performing his wicked atrocities of dismembering and masturbating with him before he disposed of the body. Upon realizing this, the grandmother threw him out in 1988 (Akhmedshina, 2018). Jeffrey later killed his fifteen more victims, and he was finally captured in 1991 (Adebisi & Olanrewaju, 2021). He was very impassionate as a serial killer such that he could take up a body part of the victim as a trinket, freezing them to maintain his oneness with them. 

When Dahmer's trial was initiated on January 13, 1992, he denied pleading guilty in spite of confessing his murder scenarios to the police (Jentzen, 2017). However, after a short while, he altered his stand as guild stating insanity. His defense then provided very horrific facts of his behavior as evidence that only insanity could lead to such dreadful actions. In response, the jury defended the prosecutor's allegations that Dahmer was entirely cognizant of his acts, finding him guilty and sane in all the cases on February 17, 1992 (Crime Museum, 2017). The jury refuted the proof that was submitted to them that Jeffrey was guilty based on insanity but instead determined that he committed these crimes knowingly. After he was sentenced to prison for 900 years, Dahmer was killed by an inmate while serving his sentence on November 28, 1994 (Pace, 2019). Even though it was established with the courts that Dahmer was not insane, it does not challenge that he could be having some psychological condition. 

The Psychoanalytic/ Psychodynamic Theory 

The psychoanalytic (also termed psychodynamic) theory is a model that perfectly suits the actions of Jeffrey Dahmer. The theory comprises the ID, Ego, and Super Ego, and being a model that indicates that everyone's sense of self is a progressive aspect that fights to stabilize internal motivations and motives and the limits imputed on the self by the society (Adelstein et al., 2020). When an individual does not cultivate the aspects of ID, Ego, and Super Ego properly, they have psychological challenges like Dahmer. In his early life, Dahmer was not trained on making better choices, which could have predisposed him to psychological disorders (Akhmedshina, 2018). As he grew up, Dahmer was normal, but he later developed a superego when he grew older (Abe, 2020). Consequently, his way of perceiving things was changed that caused him to develop criminal behaviors. Even though no psychological condition was vividly determined, as he could distinguish between right and wrong. More comprehensive testing was done on him, and it was established that Dahmer experienced a borderline personality disorder. Such determinations were still limited for the jury to disregard that Dahmer was not guilty.  

On the other hand, one would wonder how such crimes could not be a consequence of insanity. As much as Dahmer was confident of what he was doing, his lack of care for human lives was worth examining. He did not care about people that had to be hurt to satisfy his needs (Masters, 2020). Dahmer was not a dumb person. According to Dr. Berlin, a defense witness, Dahmer could not adapt to society's demands of expected behavior since he experienced paraphilia or what is called Necrophilia (Phegley, 2017). He proceeded to portray Jeffrey as one who could change his mind or the way he viewed things, as Necrophilia was categorized as a mental illness, a "mind cancer (Adebisi & Olanrewaju, 2021)." That is, a person could not just cease those thoughts of having sex with dead bodies as Jeffrey did. In Dr. Berlin's intervention, Mr. McCann, the prosecutor, convinced him to believe that Jeffrey was deceptive, which aided the prosecution (Choo & Choi, 2020).  

He later commented that an individual does not have to be dumb and foolish to be declared mentally insane. Jeffrey's behavior was crafty, elusive, and enjoyable, but he encountered distressing and harsh humiliations when growing and interacting with his peers.  

Society recognized Jeffrey Dahmer as a stone-cold murderer. They saw him as one who had been influenced by his past so that he was inclined to murder innocent people. According to Jeffrey, he lived an everyday life such that he wondered why society felt otherwise. Even though he loved killing animals and lived in isolation as well as being a heavy drinker that cost him his military job, he was an average person (James, 2019). The only challenge he had was his internal emotions and the society rejecting him because he was gay. He did not appreciate the opposition of society to his ideals (Mariani, 2020). He understood that society did not accept homosexuality, so he chose to rebel and murder those who had the same standards and interests as he did to spare them the hatred.  

Cognitive or Social Cognitive Theory 

Another theory that could describe Dahmer's motivations to be a serial killer is the social cognitive perspective. Social cognitive theory focuses on cognitive processes and the emotional wellbeing of individuals that defines how they think. In this model, there is a link between thinking and feeling and how they affect someone's mannerism. Dahmer's cognitive ability was challenged considering his tendency of convincing fellow men to join him and be molested (Adelstein et al., 2020). The discovery of borderline personality disorder when Dahmer was in prison qualifies that he had a cognitive disorder. A personality disorder is a persistent sequence of inner feelings and behavior, hugely and evidently different from a person's culture. Akhmedshina (2018) expounded that such scenarios were apparent on Dahmer since his internal feelings and perspectives, and behavior did not match what society could approve. He developed another personality that promoted thoughts and actions externalized through serial killing, and he enthusiastically did it without hiding it (Mariani, 2020). Several laws and principles that shield those with mental conditions exist, which cause them not to act rationally. The irrationality with which Dahmer committed the crime was not examined in light of such laws that could have put his actions in perspective.  

In Jeffrey Dahmer's court proceedings, some psychologists laid him out to be insane, while others portrayed him as a knowledgeable individual taking control of the criminal system. In his case, several doctors reviewed Jeffrey's profile. Paraphilia was something that they mentioned (James, 2019). Doctor. Park Dietz had indicated that paraphilia did not in any way result in a behavior violence, which meant the case was not to be mistaken to have caused the killings (Criminal Profiling, 2001). In this article, Dr. George Palermo came up with an excellent psychological significance in affirming that Jeffrey was killing these people as a result of the internal aversion of his fascination, sexually, to people of the same sex (Criminal Profiling, 2001). Dahmer hated this part of him because it was a force that he could not control as he was raised and told homosexuality was wrong. Dahmer's killings had more to do with his environment, meaning how society saw him. Dahmer was described to suppress his feelings of homosexuality (Akhmedshina, 2018). Thus, the cognitive dissonance between what he wanted and what society said could have caused his inabilities to become very frustrated and ultimately take it out on his preyed victims. 

Dr. Palermo believed that Jeffrey showed no symptoms of Necrophilia. Instead, he was indeed a cold stone killer and displayed this by releasing the pent-up aggression he had inside him due to his gay tendencies (FBI, n.d). He killed his victims because he hated himself and the way he was sexually attracted to men. Based on this, Dr. Palermo understood that Jeffrey was a sexual sadist, resulting from his lack of ability to get into relationships and homosexuality. In this case, the jury had a hard choice in determining whether Jeffrey Dahmer was insane mentally or if he was sane while killing his victims (Adelstein et al., 2020).When the case was heard, they had to base their ruling on all the evidence they heard. The jury was asked two questions on weighing Jeffrey's sanity/ insanity behavior. The questions were, "Did Jeffrey Dahmer experience mental illness? And if that is the case, did he possess "the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness" of his conduct or "the ability to conform" to law?" The jury determined Jeffrey as sane with a vote of 10 to 2 (Jentzen, 2017). In many US states, it does not mean a unanimous decision will deter someone from getting the guilty verdict.   

The family members of the victims were allowed to speak and voice their opinion on Jeffrey.The mother of David stated, "You took my baby from me (Adebisi & Olanrewaju, 2021)." Errol's sister screamed, "You Satan, Jeffrey, I hate you, motherfu***, I hate you"! Eddie Smith's sister said, "We finally closed my brother's casket—so to speak, I feel a sense of great relief and sadness, as if my brother's life finally came to an end (Adebisi & Olanrewaju, 2021)." Jeffrey responded to the family members stating, "I have witnessed how they have cried, and if I could surrender my life right now in place of their loved ones back, I would not hesitate. I am so very sorry (Adebisi & Olanrewaju, 2021)." Jeffrey's reaction seemed to display his remorsefulness to his actions, which indicates that his emotional wellbeing has been triggered to sympathize with his family and those he offended. 

Organized/ Disorganized Typology of Serial Killers 

A category of theories exists in the criminal world that could explain the actions of serial killers. Some specific FBI agents created the organized or disorganized typology of serial killers (Droomer, 2020) . The dichotomy was created in rather an academic form of the distribution of advantages since the agents explored lust and sexual vicious murders such as the one involving Dahmer (Choo & Choi, 2020). The theory proposes that serial killers can either be organized or disorganized perpetrators. Once the law enforcement officers have examined the crime scene, victims, and forensic proofs, they can determine personality and behavioral elements. 

Based on the theory, the organized serial killer is perceived as one that systematically programs himself to live an average life. A serial killer that is organized has average to above-average intelligence and socially skilled. These elements can be interpreted in the crime scene where Jeffrey’s victims were found (Jones, 2020). It depicted an organized offender, particularly to the extent that he seems to plan his attack and conceal the bones (Masters, 2020). According to the theory, the killer is thought to murder people as a response to a stressful event. 

Like some other inmates, Jeffrey Dahmer must have undergone things like mental retardation, apathy, personality shifts, may be confused about their true identities, depression ,psychiatric disorders, panic attacks, be diagnosed with PTSD, and even paranoia. Abe (2020) reiterates that through all of this, their psychological suffering can be spurred by witnessing violence, the experience of violence from fellow inmates, and even the knowledge of the violent behavior of fellow inmates (Phegley, 2017) . Based on this, most inmates may have a difficult time adjusting socially and integrating back into the society, and in the process, resort to serial killing, as evident in Dahmer. Compared with the organized serial killer, one that is disorganized according to the model will probably leave traces of evidence (Droomer, 2020) . Jeffrey could also qualify in this category as his killing was somewhat opportunistic and happened within his community. Like any disorganized killer, Jeffrey was also socially limited as everyone else rejected him, including his relations. Disorganized serial killers have challenges of not able to sustain social relationships. 

Christian Worldview 

According to the Bible, Jesus came to this world and died for all kinds of sinners. Jesus came to break the power of sin, set the imprisoned free, and shed His blood to wash away even the dirtiest of sin. Thus, the Christian worldview on Jeffrey's matter holds that the Almighty God is so much committed to saving and transforming lives to the extent that He desperately spilled his blood. After many years of Jeffrey's demise, Christians are still convinced that if he sincerely repented his sins, then He would have received the mercy of God and pardoned from eternal death (Droomer, 2020). The Bible in Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Carroll & Prickett, 2008)." The literal meaning of the verse is that even though an individual has confessed his sins, it does not guarantee that he sincerely confessed his sins. Thus, some critics can challenge whether to trust Dahmer's confession on the grounds of how sincerity. If Jeffrey Dahmer died without having repented, then He will be rewarded with eternal damnation. In Romans 10:9, the Bible indicates, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Carroll & Prickett, 2008)." The only way one could be rescued is when they are willing to accept Jesus as their personal Savior. Once Jesus is sincerely introduced into anyone's life, there is always an inner and outside transformation evident in a person. John 8:36 says, " So if the Son makes you free ,  you will be free indeed    (Carroll & Prickett, 2008)." If Jeffrey became a believer of Christ, he was accepted by Divinity and is presently seated with Jesus Christ. Such a view has been challenged by critics who hold that a serial killer spearheading such atrocities has been rejected by society and any other sensible being. Such critics fail to understand the deity's place in delivering people under the devil's oppression . 

Mr. Ratcliff claimed to have preached to Jeffrey Dahmer, and he believed that God had forgiven him of all his sins. Ratcliff reports Dahmer's frequent confessions of regret after his salvation by the Lord Jesus. Dahmer felt remorseful about himself and considered himself as the nastiest of all criminals. Before a fellow prisoner attacked and killed him, he was pleading for mercy, which depicts that he must have recognized the existence of empathy at that time (Droomer, 2020). Biblically, a person can be physically imprisoned, but on the inside, he is liberal based on the relationship he or she has with God. Many people have been killed within their hearts and may need to allow the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive their sins and have mercy on them. Mr. Ratcliff detailed his perspective about the change witnessed in one of his converts in a book called "Dark Journey, Deep Grace." As much as the book was poorly bought, such transformations of a repented man could be believed since salvation also influences someone's psychological state of mind. Staunch Christians agree on the transforming power that results from one believing in Jesus. Paul states in Romans 12:2, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Carroll & Prickett, 2008)." The gospel of Jesus could have renewed the mind of Dahmer and changed his perspective on how to love and appreciate people in society. In fact, he qualified to go to heaven as long he truly repented and renounced his sins from within and without.  

The psychological aspects perceived to offer a solution for people not have to admit or counter the repercussions of monstrous acts such as that of Dahmer do not automatically do so. Examining what psychological aspects could have led to Dahmer's criminal behavior could have been a significant step in discovering and handling future serial killers. The idea created in social cognitive theory, psychodynamic theory, and organized/ disorganized typology of serial killers is that all people can be involved in crime, which could be well determined by their state of mind. Dahmer was an intensely anxious child who grew in a setting characterized by rejection, motivating his solitude. Instability intensified when he grew older, which signifies how parental nurturing is of central significance in a child's development of social and cognitive skills. Dahmer did not socially bond with people, creating a perception that he was excluded in his community as an outsider. Such solitude and feeling of rejection pushed him into the atrocious crimes of molestation, murder, and flesh-eating. As evident from the biography, there were no close people who could mentor him into the proper behavior and be self-controlled, as the theories also affirm. Bahmer's actions were to fill the emptiness he was feeling, a tendency that is related to crimes. Indeed, creating and nurturing the right behaviors and socialization is critical in the childhood development of a person's psychological state. Christianity worldview holds that Jesus demonstrates his mercies when a sinner truly repents his or her sins. If Dahmer truly repented for his actions, then he received the pardon of God. Mr. Ratcliff attested that Dahmer had desired and sincerely sought God for peace and forgiveness for his sins. Unfortunately, his monstrous crimes that he did will still be remembered. 

References 

Abe, K. (2020). Family Environment Decides Motives of Serial Killers. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kenji_Abe5/publication/340582838_Family_Environment_Decides_Motives_of_Serial_Killers/links/5e928e1f92851c2f52989025/Family-Environment-Decides-Motives-of-Serial-Killers.pdf 

Adebisi, K. S., & Olanrewaju, D. N. (2021). Psychological Profiling of Criminals in Violent Crime Investigations in Nigerian Criminal Justice System.  International Journal of Criminology and Sociology ,  10 , 208-218. https://www.lifescienceglobal.com/pms/index.php/ijcs/article/view/7065/3685 

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Masters, B. (2020).  The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer . Hodder & Stoughton. http://wi-research.info/wisconsin-history/The%20Shrine%20of%20Jeffrey%20Dahmer.pdf 

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