Homicide is divided into four types according to the Association of Chiefs of Police. It can be domestic, confrontational, youth, and robbery related. The categories of homicides are different in the selection of arms and reasons. Besides, the murders are driven with the different feelings and causes of their crimes. Finally, the juries react differently on different types of homicide. Moffatt (2000 8) provides two examples to demonstrate the last statement. The first one is the case of Theodore Bundy, the serial killer. He has problems and psychological traumas in child and teenage age and later killed 28 women. He was sentenced to death for his crimes. John Frye seemed to be an average husband until he killed his wife, daughter, and then himself. His motifs seemed to be clearer than the Bundy’s ones. He was on the verge of firing and did not imagine the life during the retirement. In case he survived he could have rely on a parole, which is impossible in the Bundy’s case. Also, Moffatt provides other examples, where a person accused in domestic homicide was punished in a more severe way than a serial killer. Further, the author elaborates the idea of coping. There are many victims of sexual and physical abuse but only a few of them become killers. The idea of coping shows that a person always chooses the best option to solve the situation. The more choices a person has, the less likely is the crime. When an individual runs out of the coping strategies he or she acts primitively. The homicide also differs in context. One part of it is triggering mechanisms. Another important issue is the selection of victims.
The strength of the reading is that it is full of real-life examples. Besides, it provides explanations with the help of analogies, which is more likely to be remembered. On the other hand, the weakness of the reading is the lack of theory. This part should be about types of homicides but it dealt with serial killers, which are not the focus of the book.
Work Cited
Moffatt, Gregory K. Blind-sided: Homicide Where It Is Least Expected. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2000. Print.
