Not all killers are monsters

As a society, we visualize killing as an act of pure evil and the most desperate and deranged act a human can commit. But is killing an act so unspeakable? What does it take for a person to commit such an act, and why is it so horrible?

First and foremost, what is the meaning of killing? According to Oxford Languages, killing is the act of causing death, especially deliberately. Starting from this concept, as a society we believe this is one of the most horrible acts a person can commit to affect another life.

There are many concepts attached to the act of killing; without them, we cannot find a meaning or a reason for a person to act this way. So I will be breaking down each one.

Motives behind killing

What is a motive? A motive is a reason for doing something. When a person kills, there usually is a motive; it can be premeditated or not. Some of the motives can be the following:

• Revenge: One of the leading motives, often meaning to retaliate for a wrongdoing from the victim, such as humiliation, robbery, etc.
• Financial Gain: The killer has a financial motive; loot, paid service, robbery, cashing a life insurance, etc.
• Jealousy: Often caused because the person and the victim have marital or partner problems; infidelity, closeness to another woman/man, etc.
• Hate: Often caused because the aggressor has strong feelings toward the victim; this can be because of wrongdoing, jealousy, or a feature or trait that triggers the aggressor, etc.
• Thrill-seeking: Some killers act because they like the feeling of adrenaline, the excitement of committing the act, or even to gain media attention.

Psychological factors

While motives explain what drives a crime, psychological factors help us understand how a person reaches the point of committing it. One important factor is past trauma. According to the National Institutes of Health, people who have experienced trauma during their formative years have a higher tendency to commit crime. These traumatic experiences can be child abuse, neglect, growing up in an abusive household, or having parents who have or had addictions, etc.

Another psychological factor is the lack of empathy. This does not mean everyone who lacks empathy will kill, but it is a risk factor. The lack of empathy is a key component in disorders like psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder (APD), which are associated with premeditated and remorseless violence.

Final Reflection

From my perspective, people kill because it is a primal instinct, and instincts are one of the main components of a human being. However, I also believe that there are instances where people kill from a place of morbid and deranged ideas. People can kill for survival, self-defense, or accidentally, but there is no doubt that there are individuals who find pleasure in something so horrible.

Understanding why people kill is not about justifying the act—it is about understanding the human mind.