An analysis of the crimes of Jack the Ripper. This analysis will argue that the evidence left by Jack the Ripper leads to the conclusion, he was a psychopath not a sociopath.
The case of the serial killer Jack the Ripper is a widely known one that became very
glamorized and dramatized in the media now as well as in the past. After over a century since his
first murder, his name and reputation far surpasses his unknown lifespan. Jack the Ripper’s
prolific killings have been discussed as well as debated in detail due to the abundance of
questions surrounding his identity, in some cases his gender and why he committed murder as
well as just how many murders he did commit. With all of these unknowns, the case of Jack the
Ripper has been the foundation of many books and movies reporting the events that took place
during these killings or attempting to decipher and hypothesize the answers to the many
questions this case still has. The newspapers at the time likened him to a phantom in the night,
committing brutal and carefully done killings that struck fear into the citizens of Whitechapel.
Although there have been many speculations, there are no solid answers to this case other than
the dates in which the terror of Jack the Ripper ensued. Various speculations as to why he
committed the murders, how many he committed and his identity still remain a fantastical tale in
books as well as movies until the present day. This case study will examine Jack the Ripper, as
well as the specifics of his, kills to show he displayed symptoms of psychopathy.
Between April 3rd, 1888 and February 13th, 1891, an area known as the town of
Whitechapel was racked with a series of murders that terrified the citizens. Gaining strong
coverage in the newspapers, the killer was given the name Jack the Ripper, a faceless individual
that caused residents of Whitechapel to fear being outdoors when the sun went down. Although
during this time there were eleven victims killed in total but only five of those women were
confirmed to be killed by Jack the Ripper, known as the canonical five (Junghandel, 2017). This
distinction is explained in clear detail in The Whitechapel Murder Victims as it states:
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