John Wayne Gacy Murder Trial Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

John Wayne Gacy Murder Trial - Essay Example John Wayne Gacy was an American who was convicted of murder and sexual assaults. Evidence indicated that between 1972 and 1978, he murdered and sexually assaulted at least 33 young men and teenage boys. Due to his serial killing, he earned the tag â€Å"Killer Clown†. Also, evidence indicates that the defendant was living a double life; that of committing murders and that of engaging in political and charitable activities. Murder trials show that he was convicted of more murders than any other person in the American history. Based upon this historic murder trial, therefore, this paper will analyze the case and document and respond to a number of issues relating to the case (Mendenhall, 1996).   Since the offenses that the defendant committed were â€Å"unusual†, it is important to understand the specific psychological characteristics and patterns that might be inferred from him. The testimony that was made during the trial indicated that Gacy had psychological characteristics and patterns that to a greater extent depicted his atrocious actions. Those who worked for him testified that he was violent and in most cases showed an intention to commit sexual assaults; actually, they testified that they had survived sexual and violent encounters with him (Amirante and Broderick, 2011). Friends, family and his former employees also testified that Gacy had mood swings and was â€Å"awfully tricky†, a trait he used to succeed in handcuffing them. Most of the sixty witnesses who testified during trial took notice of these characteristics and patterns. Since such characteristics are often associated with the insane, this was not the case with Gacy as psychologists had confirmed that he was sane, and he committed the offenses while in sound mind. Psychologists and medical experts who testified for the defense agreed that he was very intelligent and generous.