Profile of Serial Killer William Bonin, The Freeway Killer

William Bonin was a serial killer suspected of sexually assaulting, torturing and killing at least 21 boys and young men in Los Angeles and Orange County, California. The press nicknamed him the  The Freeway Killer, because he would pick up young boys who were hitchhiking, sexually assault and murder them, then dispose of their bodies along the freeways. Unlike many serial killers, Bonin had multiple accomplices during his murder spree. Known accomplices included  Vernon Robert Butts, Gregory Matthew Miley, William Ray Pugh, and James Michael Munro. In May 1980,  Pugh was arrested for stealing cars and while in prison provided detectives details connecting the freeway murders to William Bonin in exchange for a lighter sentence. Pugh told detectives that he accepted a ride from Bonin who bragged that he was the Freeway Killer. Later evidence proved that Pugh and Bonins relationship went beyond a one-time ride and that Pugh participated in at least two of the murders. After being placed under police surveillance for nine days,  Bonin was arrested while in the process of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in the back of his van. Unfortunately, even while under surveillance, Bonin was able to commit one more murder before his arrest. Childhood - Teen Years Born in Connecticut on January 8, 1947, Bonin was the middle child of three brothers. He  grew up in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic father and a grandfather who was a convicted child molester. Early on he was a troubled kid and ran away from home when he was eight years old. He was later sent to a juvenile detention center for various small crimes, where he allegedly was sexually molested by older teens. After leaving the center he began molesting children. After high school, Bonin joined the U.S. Air Force and served in the Vietnam War as a gunner. When he returned home, he married, divorced and moved to California. A Vow to Never Get Caught Again He was first arrested at age 22 for sexually assaulting young boys and spent five years in jail. After his release, he molested a 14-year-old boy and was returned to prison for an additional four years. Vowing never to get caught again, he began killing his young victims. From 1979 until his arrest in June 1980, Bonin, along with his accomplices, went on a raping, torturing  and killing spree, often cruising California highways and streets for young male hitchhikers and school children. After his arrest, he confessed to killing 21 young boys and young men. Police suspected him in 15 additional murders. Charged with 14 of the 21 killings, Bonin was found guilty and sentenced to death. On February 23, 1996, Bonin was executed by lethal injection, making him the first person to be executed by lethal injection in California history. Freeway Killer Victims Thomas Lundgren, age 14, murdered on May 28, 1979. Accomplices Vernon Butts and William PughMark Shelton, age 17, murdered on August 4, 1979Marcus Grabs, age 17, murdered on August 5, 1979. Accomplice Vernon ButtsDonald Hayden, age 15, murdered on August 27, 1979. Accomplice Vernon ButtsDavid Murillo, age 17, murdered on September 9, 1979. Accomplice Vernon ButtsRobert Wirostek, age 16, murdered on September 27, 1979John Doe, age 14-20, murdered on November 30, 1979Dennis Frank Fox, age 17, murdered on December 2, 1979. Accomplice James MunroJohn Doe, age 15-20, murdered on December 13, 1979Michael McDonald, age 16, murdered on January 1, 1980Charles Miranda, age 14, murdered on February 3, 1980. Accomplice Gregory MileyJames McCabe, age 12, murdered on February 3, 1980. Accomplice Gregory MileyRonald Gaitlin, age 18, murdered on March 14, 1980Harry Todd Turner, age 15, murdered on March 20, 1980. Accomplice William PughGlen Barker, age 14, murdered on March 21, 1980Russell Rugh, age 15, murdered on March 22, 1980Steven Wood, age 16, murdered on April 10, 1980Lawrence Sharp, age 18, murdered on April 10, 1980Darin Lee Kendrick, age 19, murdered on April 29, 1980. Accomplice Vernon ButtsSean King, age 14, murdered on May 19, 1980. Confessed accomplice William PughSteven Wells, age 18, murdered on June 2, 1980. Accomplices Vernon Butts and James Munro Co-Defendants: Vernon Butts: Butts was 22 years old and a factory worker and part-time magician when he met Bonin and began participating in raping and murdering at least six boys. He hung himself while awaiting trial.Gregory Miley: Miley was 19 years old when he got involved with Bonin. He pled guilty to participating in one murder for which he received a sentence of 25 years to life. He is currently in prison.James Munro: Bonin was Munros boss and landlord when Munro participated in the murders of two boys. In a plea bargain, he pled guilty to one murder and received a sentence of 15 years to life. He is still in prison but trying to appeal claiming he was tricked into a plea bargain.William (Billy) Pugh: was the most active accomplice who was charged with one murder, although he confessed to killing two victims. He received  six years for voluntary manslaughter in a plea bargain. Arrest, Conviction, Execution After William Bonins arrest, he confessed to killing 21 young boys and young men. Police suspected him in  an additional 15 other murders. Charged with 14 of the 21 killings, Bonin was found guilty and sentenced to death. On February 23, 1996, Bonin was  executed by lethal injection, making him the first person to be executed by lethal injection in California history. During Bonins murder spree, there was another active serial killer by the name of Patrick Kearney,  using the California freeways as his hunting ground.

What Does Democracy Signifies Free Essays

If firms were not in a competitive environment, they would be able to control the market. Still, there are other factors, which stop firms from controlling the market. Namely the fact that firms do not have perfect information, issues about its objectives or firms may not even know how to maximise profits. We will write a custom essay sample on What Does Democracy Signifies or any similar topic only for you Order Now This is due to the fact that companies use different pieces of information or interpret it differently. Firms can use different tasks in order to achieve the same aim. Companies often set themselves in mission statement; or they try to set goals by which the statement will be achieved; or a specific objective. A firm aims to maximise profits, and that is what this essay will focus on. First, it will give a brief definition of firm and define its objectives. Second, it will examine the assumption of profit maximisation. Third it will confirm whether firms really maximise their profits. Then it will follow by mentioning other alternatives to profit maximisation. Finally in the conclusion, it will include the results of this essay. It is understood by firm ‘ an organisation consisting of one or more individuals working as a decision-making unit to produce goods or services† (Atkinson, B. R. Miller â€Å"Business Economics†). The firm†s objectives are to maximise profits. The amount that the company receives for the sale of its output is called its total revenue. The amount that the firm pays to buy inputs is called its total cost. We, then, define profit as a firm†s total revenue minus its total cost. Thus, if a firm gets  £10,000 from selling its output and spends  £90,000 producing this output, its profit is  £10,000. The above diagram shows how costs, revenue and profit interact with each other. Costs go up with output as well as revenue, but just till a certain point. Revenue falls due to the firm†s necessity to lower its costs in order to rise selling. In other words, in the cost curve firms will experience increasing returns, followed by decreased returns. Revenue will rise, as price falls and quantity goes up. Profits will occur between the two points were the curves intersect. The slope of the two curves are the same and they are given by the marginal value (marginal revenue and marginal cost). Hence, to maximise profit, marginal revenue must equals marginal cost. In order to achieve this, firms must have all the details on the demanded product. Profit maximisation plays an important role within a firm, as it makes innovation possible as well as the payment of higher wages and greater job offers. Moreover, profits create incentives as it is rewarding for entrepreneurs, whose time and skills contributed to the firm†s success. Increasing profits leads to a rise in output and with it consumers also get more satisfied. Thus, it can be said that it is also beneficial to society to raise profits. Profits provide a source of revenue, which reverts in favour of new factories and machinery. In addition, profits encourage innovation again society benefits from it. However, there are still motives for companies to refuse to have high levels of profit. Companies will just be able to maximise profits if owners are in control of the firms. However, in big companies such as Coca-Cola or Shell where, probably, there are many shareholders, it is more difficult to maximise profits. As, in this case managers are more likely to run the business. This leads us to do so called ‘principal-agent problem†. Where owners† objectives may be different from the managers. Hence, due to the rise of the joint-stock company there has developed a split between ownership and control. Ownership belongs now to shareholders, while managers exerce the power of controling. Still, there are motives to choose to maximise profits. Firstly, profit maximisation is still a sign of power, so in a competitive environment firms will opt to maximise profit to ensure its survival; Secondly, both the principal and agent, when confroting a situation of no option, they would prefer to maximise profits rather than lower them; Most important, due to profit maximisation it became possible for economists to study the output and the price of companies and, consequently, study the market. In analysing the managerial approach, it can be noticed that managers will then aim to take precedents over the objectives of the owner. In this case the primary goal of a firm is to maximise its revenue. This will occur because managers† remuneration is more likely to be linked to revenue than to profitability. For example, bank†s tend to regard growing sales positive as well as financial markets, who likes to see growing sales revenue. Most important, sales revenue is still seen as an indication of success. The same occurs to firms that have their main aim to maximise growth. Just like raising revenue, raising growth also leads to higher bonuses. Managers also benefit from it because their status gets better, as the firm has more prestige. Such theory, also suggests that managers try to maximise their own profit benefits. In other words, use firms to get their objectives. Still, there is other theory that states that managers in fact do not maximise anything at all, but they attend to satisfactory levels, theory developed by H. Simon. Here, managers will set a minimum level of profit, keeping shareholders satisfied. This type of approach is probably used by small firms, which are not able to take the big risks that profit maximisation can lead to. Moreover, managers try to keep all members of the firm satisfied, so profit maximisation becames a hard task to achieve. In general, conditions of uncertainty difficults the achievement of sales and profit maximisation. In practise management tries to obtain growth in output and assets from one year to the next and achieve satisfactory growth. On one hand, it is true to say that there is a separation of ownership and control, consequently, this stresses the importance of managers. On the other hand, it is difficult to describe how the different objectives of management and shareholders interact to produce the goals and objectives of the company. How to cite What Does Democracy Signifies, Papers

The House of Seven Gables Essay Example

The House of Seven Gables Essay Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of Seven Gables focuses on the Pyncheon family cursed by the cruelty of one of its members to the family of Matthew Maule decades before. Like the biblical Ahab, the old aristocratic Pyncheon wrests a beautiful piece of land from his much poorer fellow man Maule, and on it he builds his seven-gabled house. Now, decades later, the house is occupied by his relative Hepzibah, her lodger Holgrave Maule, and eventually by her formerly imprisoned brother Clifford. The three characters play very important roles in the novel, both literally and symbolically, and their presence contributes greatly to the significance of the work as a whole. In Hepzibah can be seen the symbolic representation of the evils of the father being visited upon the children for generations. She is an old maid, and in her life so far is reflected the barrenness and non-productivity that such a curse (as was placed upon the family by the old Matthew Maule) generates. Though unmarried and without children, she seemed to have subscribed to the creeds of Cult of Domesticity (or the Cult of True Womanhood), and was now forced to desecrate herself by violating that cult’s forbidding women to do business. Of Hepzibah’s entrance into trade, Hawthorne writes, â€Å"It was the final throe of what called itself old gentility. A lady—who had fed herself from childhood with the shadowy food of aristocratic reminiscences, and whose religion it was that a lady’s hand soils itself irremediably by doing aught for bread—this born lady, after sixty years of narrowing means is fain to step down from her pedestal of imaginary rank † (35). This points not just to the relic of aristocracy from which Hepzibah has sprung, but also to the irony of the creeds of the Cult of Domesticity, which demands that a woman be sexually frigid (apparently like Hepzibah), and at the same time fertile. The incongruence of the two possibilities places Hepzibah in a bind, because her frigidity has led her toward spinsterhood and with no way to stay alive but to soil her hands, which she is also forbidden to do according to her aristocratic pride. We will write a custom essay sample on The House of Seven Gables specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The House of Seven Gables specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The House of Seven Gables specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In any case, she condescends to open a cent shop, transforming herself from â€Å"the patrician lady [†¦] into the plebeian woman† (35). The shop undergoes a similar transformation, but with the opposite effect. The shop, which was once in a state of neglect, is now polished and painted and made fruitful with stocks placed on its shelves. This shop may, in fact, be symbolic of Hepzibah’s true progress, which is not the one of devolution as she thinks. Rather, she has stepped up from the disgrace and poverty of unemployment and near-mendicancy to the fruitfulness and independence of trade. Hepzibah’s brother, Clifford, is ruined in jail, sent there to be punished for a crime he did not commit, and wastes thirty years of his life. He returns the mere shell of a man. In reality, he is still a child, having lost his opportunity to grow up and to deal with the everyday situations of manhood. The cold severity of the prison walls have so impressed darkness upon him that he can find no force in himself that propels him to be nice to the sister who has sacrificed her dignity for him. Clifford’s exposure to the drab and dreary prison has intensified his love for beauty. Yet he demonstrates superficiality in his inability to perceive beauty in his sister, who has grown harsher in her appearance not just because of her age but also because of her distress for his imprisoned condition over the years. That she is scorned by him, Hawthorne describes as â€Å"the mournfullest of pities† (137), and it is indeed, showing that Clifford’s sensibilities where beauty is concerned are as retarded as his manhood. He exhibits again the characteristics of a child who has not yet gained the aesthetic sophistication that allows people to see beauty beyond the merely merry and colorful. Holgrave Maule is Hepzibah’s boarder and, unbeknownst to her, the descendant of Matthew Maule who allegedly placed a curse on the family. Holgrave is there under false pretences, yet he proves himself to be the most sympathetic of the characters. He has accomplished much in his short life, distinguishing himself in many offices, and now he befriends Phoebe Pyncheon (Hepzibah’s niece), becoming â€Å"the only youthful mind with which Phoebe had an opportunity of frequent intercourse† (179). Though he has reason to dislike the Pyncheons, his deep-seated good nature causes him inevitably to behave favorably toward them all. His good nature causes him to refrain from alerting the police about Judge Pyncheon’s death when he knows that the circumstantial evidence would immediately implicate Clifford and Hepzibah. He proves himself to transcend the malice of the curse in his attitude here, and also in his refusal to manipulate Phoebe though he succeeds in hypnoti sing her. He is in truth a character of sympathy to whom we must â€Å"concede [†¦] the rare and high quality of reverence for another’s individuality† (218). The three characters Hepzibah, Clifford and Holgrave represent the various dimensions of the story. Hepzibah points toward the socially critical aspect of the text as she represents the relics of a dying aristocracy. In her appearance and her behavior, she exhibits the characteristics of one who has fallen from grace, and one who has disregarded her own humanity in adherence to the creeds of a cult. The victimized Clifford has too lost his bloom, and has not gained in return the seasoned experience of life, but a retarded growth that offers nothing but the most puerile response to beauty. Holgrave’s character demonstrates a redemptive idea. He is the one who has reason to hate, yet he redeems his clan (and, by extension, humanity), showing himself to be a man of honor in his dealings with the family of the man who ruined his own.

Underlying assumptions of intelligence tests Essays

Underlying assumptions of intelligence tests Essays Underlying assumptions of intelligence tests Essay Underlying assumptions of intelligence tests Essay How can intelligence be tested? Critically evaluate the underlying assumptions of intelligence tests. Intelligence is a very controversial. It is seen as an obsession in daily life and focuses on certain types of intelligence. Francis Galton was the first person to design a mental test. Galton believed that an individuals mental ability could be determined through the deviation of their performance on a simple test to the mean. He believed that the greater a persons sensory perception the more intelligence they had. However, Galton never produced a theory about intelligence testing, but paved the way for other psychologists to produce theories and tests.Spearmans (1904) theory suggested that intelligence was an innate, inherited quality. He suggested that there were two main factors that determined a persons intelligence; these were general intelligence, needed to perform all tasks and specific intelligence, which is needed to perform specific tasks .i.e., most people can drink out of some sort of cup, this needs general intelligence, however, not all people can sing in tune, this is specific intelligence.Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon (Simon and Binet, 1905) produced the first form of modern intelligence testing in 1905. The test had a practical purpose and was used to identify children who may need extra help with their school work. Due to the purpose of the test, the exercises Binet and Simon asked the children to complete were very similar to tasks the children completed within schools, i.e. measures of vocabulary, comprehension of facts and relationships and mathematical and verbal reasoning.The Binet Simon test was later modified and extended by Lewis Terman and his associates at Stanford University where it was translated for use in the United States (Terman 1916, Terman and Merrill, 1937). The test became known as the Stanford-Binet test and is still being used referred to as Intelligence Quotient; (I.Q). the I.Q. score was calculated by comparing the childs chronological age, (which means their age is years and months), with their mental age (which refers to the childs ability to solve problems of certain levels.) i.e if a child could answer questions designed for 8 year olds, but not them designed for 9 year olds, the child would have a mental age of 8.The I.Q test that is now most commonly used is know n as the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for children, or the WISC. The most frequently used test used by psychologists is the third revision of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales known as the WISC-III. David Wechsler originally developed the test, which was series of ten different problems that ranged from very easy to extremely difficult; these ten problems were also divided into two subgroups.The verbal scale that involved tasks measuring vocabulary, understanding of similarities between objects and general knowledge. The other subgroup was the performance scale, which involved non-verbal tasks such as arranging pictures in to orders, or copying patterns using coloured blocks. Many psychologists find that this definition of verbal and non-verbal tasks helpful as different between the two skills can identify particular kinds of learning difficulties, i.e. dyslexia.However, ever since the I.Q tests were introduced there have been criticisms about them. Before 1937, the mean score of wom en using the Stanford-Binet test was on average ten points lower than the average score for men. Although at first it was generally suggested that this was because women were not as intelligent as men, it was later suggested that the questions were more directed towards male dominated areas of questioning than women, for example relating questions in terms of cars, card games, mechanics, etc. which at the time was made oriented. Therefore, it was decided to eliminate this discrepancy by modifying the questions to ensure that both males and females would archive around the same average score.According to Heather, (1976) this makes the test less efficient because there may be a natural difference between the intelligence levels of men and women through out different points of history, however, by using the new these differences may not be picked up. For example if the I.Q scores were not created to produce approximately the same scores for both males and females we may be able to see why females are currently doing better academically than males.Therefore, this could limit the efficiency of I.Q testing through either historically suggesting that women were inferior to men through their lower I.Q. scores, or through influencing the tests to create equal results for both males and females. It is difficult to say whether the tests were gender bias or whether the psychologists behind the changes to the tests did this to provide unbiased results through positive discrimination towards women.Another criticism of the I.Q. tests that there is an average 10-15 point difference between the White European average and the Afro- Caribbean average, (Brody, (1992) Fagan Singer (1983) Peoples, Fagan Drotar, 1995); (Neisser et al 1996) Heather, (1976) suggests that this difference can be reduced through changing the questions to suit a more mixed ethnic group of participants. However, it was suggested that this would affect the tests Predictive Validity. By changing the tests to reduce the racial differences, but without changing the social inequalities within our society would only create a more ineffective test. In order to reduce the ethnic I.Q. score difference, society must first change their attitudes towards other cultures, especially within education/ training and jobs.How ever, Jensen, (1969) published an article called How much can we boost I.Q. and schooling achievement? within which he made a controversial suggestion that Genetic factors are strongly implicated in the average negro-white intelligence differences. The preponderance of the evidence is, in my opinion, less consistent with a strictly environmental hypothesis than with a genetic hypothesisOther psychologists including Eysenck (1971) and Herrnstein (1971) agree with Jensn. Jensen suggests that 80% of the difference between blacks and whites is due to the blacks genetic inferiority and 20% due to environmental factors. However, Jensen does not have the biological evidence to back up his claim; he also used a bias sample to carry out his study that was a mainly white population.

The Coalescent Theory and Evolution

The Coalescent Theory and Evolution One part of the modern synthesis of evolutionary theory involves population biology and, on an even smaller level, population genetics. Since evolution is measured in units within populations and only populations can evolve and not individuals, then population biology and population genetics are intricate parts of the Theory of Evolution through Natural Selection. How the Coalescent Theory Affects the Theory of Evolution When Charles Darwin first published his ideas of evolution and natural selection, the field of Genetics had yet to be discovered. Since tracing alleles and genetics is a very important part of population biology and population genetics, Darwin did not fully cover those ideas in his books. Now, with more technology and knowledge under our belts, we can incorporate more population biology and population genetics into the Theory of Evolution. One way this is done is through the coalescence of alleles. Population biologists look at the gene pool and all available alleles within the population. They then try to trace the origin of these alleles back through time to see where they started. The alleles can be traced back through various lineages on a phylogenetic tree to see where they coalesce or come back together (an alternate way of looking at it is when the alleles branched off from one another). Traits always coalesce at a point called the most recent common ancestor. After the most recent common ancestor, the alleles separated and evolved into new traits and most likely the populations gave rise to new species. The Coalescent Theory, much like Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, has a few assumptions that eliminate changes in alleles through chance events. The Coalescent Theory assumes there is no random genetic flow or genetic drift of alleles into or out of the populations, natural selection is not working on the selected population over the given time period, and there is no recombination of alleles to form new or more complex alleles. If this holds true, then the most recent common ancestor can be found for two different lineages of similar species. If any of the above are in play, then there are several obstacles that have to be overcome before the most recent common ancestor can be pinpointed for those species. As technology and understanding of the Coalescent Theory become more readily available, the mathematical model that accompanies it has been tweaked. These changes to the mathematical model allow some of the previously inhibitive and complex issues with population biology and population genetics have been taken care of and all types of populations may then be used and examined using the theory.

MKT305 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MKT305 - Coursework Example is improving the customer shopping experience since web-to-store transactions have eliminated the problems encountered in home delivery (Weinstein and Cahill 2014). Web-to-store has enabled the retailers to use their existing networks and group parcels thus increasing their sales volumes. According to marketing theory, target marketing requires market and customer segmentation and effective customer segments should be identifiable, accessible, measurable and reachable through the marketing and distribution channels (Egan 2007). The market should be sufficient and should have unique needs and thus ‘click and collect’ service of Marks and Spencer targets the online shoppers who have embraced e-commerce. The distinct customer characteristics include the life stage, the social-economic status, purchasing intensity and online involvement of the customers. Marks and Spencer targets young adults and techno-savvy consumers who have busy schedules that demand. The target customer segment includes the working professionals, students and middle-income customers who prefer shopping at the comfort of their homes. This customer segment often outsources the delivery to a third-party and do not have the control or opportunity to track the delivery of the orders to their homes (Hart 2003). The online shoppers believe that shopping is fun and explore a lot of information online before making a purchase decision. The customers have an appealing income and are techno-savvy since most of them get information from their internet enabled devices. The customers are enthusiastic and impulsive and tend to spend most of their income on entertainment, fashion, books and new personal devices due to their exciting lifestyles (Hart 2003). The customers are reflective and motivated by knowledge and thus compare different products before making the purchase decision. Another unique purchasing behaviour is the demand for stylish, functional and value for money and thus the customers prefer

Multi-Cultural and Political Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 2

Multi-Cultural and Political Society - Essay Example In a political society like America, several interest groups are present, which are based on religious, racial, economic, political, or occupational (Ogene 24). Each of these groups always tries to place their self-interest ahead of their national interest which has been a major issue addressed by various scholars in the American society. Madison’s dilemma is the conception with the American political system, a system where people are at liberty to express their opinions and are given the privilege to petition the government on certain issues (Rosenau 46). In such system, pursuance of self-interest ahead of national interest is visible. The pursuance of self-interest ahead of national interest has been the concern of major stakeholder in the American polity. With the major actors stuck in the middle of whether to subvert self-interest group. A situation that would likely undermine the freedom of speech and rights of the citizens which portends the rise of an autocratic government that will degenerate into the oppression of the masses, or either maintains the political freedom operating in the system as being recognized in the democratic tenets. Nevertheless, granting political freedom to American populace would expose the system to circumstances that could hinder the growth of the political system (Rosenau 39). Interest groups in a democratic society are the various groups that seek to influence governmental decisions in a way to favor their interest (Ogene 12). They also help in the articulation and aggregation of interest in a way to make the decision-making process less cumbersome for political office holders. In the United States of America, there are different ethnic groups that are present due to their multi-ethnic and interracial background. Freedom of expression as a fundamental principle in a democratic system, allows the public to voice their opinion on various governmental policies.