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Could Jack have stopped?
Casebook Message Boards: Ripper Suspects: General Discussion :
Could Jack have stopped?
Author: Chris Hintzen
Wednesday, 09 January 2002 - 07:49 am |        | Hello All,
I'm still getting the hang of this board so bare with me here.
I've been reading quite a few posts, as well as much of the literature on Jack, not to mention reading just about everything on Casebook's FANTASTIC site.
One thing idea I have noticed is rather Prevalent is the fact that most people believe Jack The Ripper couldn't have just stopped 'ripping' up prostitutes. Unless he was captured, incarcerated for another offence, locked up in an asylum, committed suicide, or moved onto better hunting grounds, most don't believe Jack could have stopped his dastardly deeds of his own free will.
It is true that most serial killers don't stop unless caught. However, what about the many unsolved cases that remain out there? Killers who haven't been found even dozens of years after there work started? The FBI has numerous files of unsolved cases of serial murders. Just as their are numerous unsolved files on other cases ranging from burglary to money laundering. So are we to believe that all of these cases involved the perpetrators being jailed for other crimes, or death by their own hand?
There are a couple reasons why I feel Jack may have stopped on his own:
1.) Jack did something that was QUITE rare in the serial killer hall of shame. His murders were getting further and further apart.(8 days separating 'Polly' and Annie, 23 days from Annie to the 'Double Event', and 40 days from the 'Double Event' to Mary Kelly.) The majority of killers tend to either stick to a certain cycle, or their work tends to expedite. There are those few whose work is sporadic, or begins to become further and further apart. However, a majority of these are those unsolved cases. And some of those seem to have suddenly stopped.
2.) There are certain driving forces that causes one to commit crimes. Bouts with insanity, feelings of inadequacy, even poor economic bearing (Which is rather lame, but has been blamed in the past.) However, some people overcome their own manic impulses on their own, without medical help. Sometimes things enter into a persons life that makes them feel better about their station in life, hence taking away their inadequate feelings.
Anyone can go online and find out more about the unsolved serial killings, and people's private victories over their problems. So why isn't it possible that Jack may have been one of these people? Hard as it may be to believe, it has happened in the past. So why not in this case?
Without proper motive, as well as his reasons on choosing his victims,(From the literally thousands of prostitutes that lived in the area.) we can't even guess why Jack started or stopped his hideous crimes. So how can we discount anything?
Sincerely,
Chris H. |
Author: Caroline Anne Morris
Wednesday, 09 January 2002 - 08:35 am | | Hi Chris,
The moment we try applying a rulebook to serial killers is the moment one or more of them will throw it out the window by making themselves an exception. So I think your question is a reasonable one.
Jack's series was too short to tell us much about the gaps in between murders and whether he was slowing down or trying to stop himself. Some people think he started with a grand plan which was accomplished when he killed Kelly. Others think that brutal murder finally unhinged him and caused him to commit suicide or become a hopeless imbecile, ending his days in an asylum.
But other serial killers have left longish gaps between murders, like Dahmer and Sutcliffe, which suggests a measure of control over their urges or that the urge comes and goes and therefore could presumably go one day never to return, perhaps for reasons that you have suggested.
Anyway, I'm glad you're getting the hang of it. And I'd be delighted to 'bare' with you here, except it's a bit fresh today so if you don't mind I'll keep my own clothes on for now. 
Love,
Caz |
Author: Vaughan Allen
Thursday, 10 January 2002 - 08:34 am | | Caz,
and even some of what by common sense we 'know' about how serial killers operate doesn't stand up to scrutiny. We do know that many SKs change their MO (Sutcliffe did deliberately, the Boston Strangler (s) did), so all the arguments about Tabram, Stride and so on based on MO might not be quite as important as we sometimes think. Hell, the same man could have done the torso murders too...
I still have yet to find a SK that committed suicide though (Jack the Stripper as a possible exception...)
Vaughan |
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