Infamous Marriages

So who are some of the most memorable prisoners who have gotten married while behind bars?

ABCNews,go.com reported," Kenneth Bianchi and cousin Angelo Buono, dubbed the Hillside Stranglers for the murders of 10 girls in the Los Angeles area in the late 1970s, both married while in prison.

Serial killers John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy both had committed relationships with women before they were put to death. "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez, awaiting execution for a string of brutal murders in California in 1985, married a pen pal in 1996. "

Hillside Strangulars- pic2fly.com

More recently, noted ABCNews.go.com, "Scott Peterson, awaiting death in the execution chamber of San Quentin State Prison for the murders of his wife and unborn son, is reportedly flooded with letters from admirers. Even Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh received marriage proposals before he was executed."

This article looks at men and women who marry people behind bars. As well as addresses issues within the article with subheadings like, "Confusing Compassion with Love" and "Fewer Men are Drawn to Women Inmates".

I have been researching and reading stories like these for two weeks and it still amazes me that these women want to marry these men how are violent killers. Scott Peterson killed his wife, why would you then want to become his next wife?

I thought that it was imperative to include some notable example of notorious men who have gotten married while in prison. But it is also important to note that many men who are not as well known in the media spotlight still get married behind behind bars.

This source has situated ethos because it is a well established news organization. The author uses examples from WriteAPrisoner.com as well as real-life interviews that add to the credibility. The purpose of this article is to answer the question, as is stated in its title, "What Draws People to Marry Prison Inmates?"

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/US/story?id=889903&page=1

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After talking with Dr. G today, we decided that it would be a good idea to take a step back from my research on why women marry murderers and just look at the broader idea of why women marry convicted criminals. We think that there will be an overlap in the rationale used to justify their attraction towards these dangerous men.  Additionally, looking into the psychology behind these women might give a better idea about the women who marry the convicted murderers. 

I am feeling a lot better about my research process now and that I know I will be able to find information and not run into a dead end.

Finally!

After searching and searching, I finally found some research content that is relevant to my topic. It is a dissertation by Amanda Vicary. It is entitled, "An investigation into the potential romantic appeal of convicted killers." She stated, "However, to date no scientific research has been conducted in an 

attempt to determine what characteristics of women may lead them to be attracted to a killer and 

what characteristics of the killers themselves make them so appealing." So this tells me that I'm not going to find much more on the topic, however she does use bits and pieces from different books such as, Women Who Love Men Who Kill.  Unfortunately, I do not have time to read this entire book, but I may be able to look it up and read different sections. This dissertation does give me different references that I may be able to look into further.

As far as using the dissertation as a source, that I am not so sure about. Yes, she has done extensive research and cites many credible sources, however, she herself is not an expert in the field. But she is writing it in order to fulfill the requirements for the degree of the Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, so she is of an advanced level.  I just question whether or not it can be considered a "scholarly source." And if it can be, how much do I use to support my research? But what if its all I can find on the topic? It was a long process that led me to find this article, I am afraid that their won't be much more find. At the same time, this paper covers all the sub-topics that pertain to my focused topic, so it will be very useful, but I'm pretty sure I need more than one semi-scholarly source in order to have rounded research.

I am going to start my analyzing different sections of this dissertation, and then ask Dr. G. on Monday what is the best way to use this source.

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/26208/Vicary_Amanda.pdf?sequence=1

I have been at a road block lately with finding research for my blog. Luckily, today during class at the library, I was able to get some help to propel me forward in my focused research.

Some of the keywords I plan on using in my future searches for scholarly articles are words like infatuation,women, marriage,attraction and incarceration. Hopefully, by using these words I will be more successful at generating articles that are about my focused topic.

Hot Mugshot Guy

www.techtimes.com

Internet’s hottest felon, Jeremey Meeks is planning to be a model as soon as he is released from jail.


This mugshot became an internet sensation after it was released on the Stockton Police Department’s Facebook page in 2014.

Meeks was sentenced to 27 months in prison following a weapons charge in February. The aspiring model says he concentrates on working out and replying to fan mail.


There was a time, not too long ago, when police called Meeks “one of the most violent criminals in the Stockton area.” He was arrested in 2014 during a gang sweep in Stockton and faced multiple felony weapons charges at one time. The state eventually agreed to turn the case over to federal prosecutors, who reduced those charges to a single charge: "Felon in possession of a firearm" according to The Washington Post.

storify.com

This picture (left) is he same mugshot photo pictured above, only in this one for Calvin Klein his many tattoos have been edited out. They wouldn't want a model with a tear drop tattoo (indicating gang affiliation and that he killed someone) to represent the Calvin Klein brand now would they?

"Hot Mugshot Guy" went viral and the fan mail poured in.  This man is obviously attractive, but just because I think he is good looking does not mean that I want a relationship with him.

So why did so many other women confess their love for him?
They didn't even know him. Was it because he was 'famous'?
Or where they simply basing it on his good looks?

He is a felon, did they forget about that? Or was it that he was only charged with possession of a firearm, and not convicted of killing anyone that appealed to them?



This story of "Hot Mugshot Guy" may prove the theory that women are enticed by the fame to become involved with these dangerous men. Once he is out he is going to become a model, that may show that he is leaving his past behind him. Improvement like that may make it easier for the women to justify wanting to be with him. It also further proves that they are willing to look past the record that these men have.




https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/13/the-hot-mugshot-guy-is-free-its-almost-as-if-being-in-jail-for-so-long-made-him-hotter/

Is it right to give them Rights?

Should murderers be allowed the right to marry?

This was the question that Time asked Debra Tate, the sister of Sharon Tate, who was brutally murdered by Charles Manson and some of his followers in 1969.  "Charles Manson took away my sister's right to happiness, and to life itself—he shouldn't be allowed his own."

kennethinthe212.com

Debra also went on to say, "The state of California has long been viewed as a liberal state, but at what point is liberal too liberal? Those who commit such extraordinarily heinous crimes against humanity should be asked to forfeit their own rights to the pleasures of life—which include marriage, the birth of children, and family relations of any kind—as they denied their victims all of these most precious gifts. Why should we as a society allow those who take away life the privilege to enjoy all that life has to offer? I really struggle with this."

-This is a stimulating idea. They took away someone life, why should they be allowed to live life with all the perks?  I had never thought about this concept. It does seem unfair that Sharon's family didn't get to attend her wedding, yet her killer gets to have one.

Debra also stated that, "At the same time it proves a point I have been trying to make to the general public for the last ten years. That being, the very fact Charles Manson can convince a 26-year-old woman to be his wife shows the power he still possesses over the young and impressionable individuals who are looking for some bizarre form of leadership."

-The idea of leadership is new to my research. But it does serve as another reason for falling for, or rather following, these serial killers.

I know that this topic swayed from my more focused topic of the reasoning behind marrying serial killers, but this is an interesting viewpoint. Without marriage currently being allowed, I wouldn't have a topic to further research. One day it may not be allowed for murderers to marry, and then people will look back on all those who did and ask the same question I did- WHY?

http://proxy.uwec.edu/login?url=http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=5ae8d7ac-f2e8-406f-bd7f 1fa3e8174451%40sessionmgr4003&vid=9&hid=4201&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHVpZCZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=101214584&db=a9h

Going Deeper...

Now that I have completed my broad research and narrowed down my topic, I can begin my focused research.  Why do women get involved with and then proceed to marry murderers?

Katherine Ramsland Ph.D. wrote an article on Psychology Today entitled, "Women Who Love Serial Killers." In this article she uses the example of Ted Bundy and wife Carol Ann Boone to demonstrate her first reason that women marry serial killers, that they believe them to be innocent. 

They next reason is that they believe that they can change a man as cruel and powerful as a serial killer. Others "see" the little boy that the killer once was and seek to nurture him. A few even do it in hopes of getting media attention.

http://allwomenstalk.com/when-obsessive-love-turns-to-freaky-fatal-attraction

Ramsland also went on to say that these women have notions of the "perfect boyfriend." Meaning that, "She knows where he is at all times and she knows he’s thinking about her. While she can claim that someone loves her, she does not have to endure the day-to-day issues involved in most relationships. There’s no laundry to do, no cooking for him, and no accountability to him. She can keep the fantasy charged up for a long time." - This is an intriguing concept . Every woman has her idea of the "perfect boyfriend," mine personally doesn't involve liking the fact that he is always in the same place, but to each his own. 

Next she stated that mental health experts compare the women's infatuation with killers to extreme forms of fanaticism. Typically, insecure females who cannot find love in normal ways - This actually makes a little sense, its like a game or a comic. They live in the fantasy world, holding these killers on a pedestal. Aiming to "win" them or find acceptance with them. Additionally, it was also noted that this is not true in all cases. Some of the women that have chosen to be with a serial killer have been beautiful, educated, and even married. Some even were lawyers, psychologists, and judges.

http://askmamu.com

A new statistic that Ramsland presented was that women attracted to killers (especially serial killers) are usually in their thirties or forties. - This also makes a lot of sense. This is the age where women become divorced, or maybe they still haven't found that special someone. This is the age where you can be come lonely and seek companionship.

Next, I will include my findings from an article that uses Ramsland's article as a jumping off point.

Leon F, Seltzer Ph.D has a doctorate in psychology.In this article on Psychology Today, he is analyzing and adding his input to PT blogger, Katerine Ramsland in her post entitled, "Women Who Love Serial Killers." He expands further on the biological, sexual, and psychological dynamics that Ramsland only touches upon. His reference is a book called  A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World’s Largest Experiment Reveals About Human Desire, by computational neuroscientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam (Dutton, 2011). A point that Seltzer makes is that this book has substantial evidence from Web searches, posts, and many 1,000s of romance novels that women demonstrate a strong erotic preference for dominant men.



The Fantasy

Some women read countless amounts of  erotic/romance novels. Most comely the man starts out as "rough around the edges" and transforms into this loving and affectionate man by the end of the book.  So the women feel that she can transform a man as cruel and evil as a murderer,  they view it as a  challenge. It was also stated that books like these outsell pornography, for example,  Fifty Shades of Grey. Seltzer also noted that, " ...many women experience as enticing the idea of surrendering to a powerful male figure because of its very riskiness. Curiously, such an acutely felt threat can actually be eroticized by women’s minds into exceptional sexual excitement so compelling that (at least on a fantasy level) it’s almost irresistible." - This can be seen in a variety of ways, when someone tells you not to do something, it makes you want to do it more. Their is also a risk factor in that her husband or family members could find out. This may be as good a reason as any for getting involved with someone as high-risk as a serial killer.




Want to read it for yourself? 

Katherine Ramsland article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shadow-boxing/201204/women-who-love-serial-killers

Leon F Seltzers article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-self/201204/why-do-women-fall-serial-killers