Abstract
This paper discusses the crime of mass murder with particular reference to the mass murder orchestrated by Jim Jones at Jonestown: the People’s Temple Agricultural Project. The essay will broadly discuss mass murder in the context of its definition, elements and causes, effects on the society, and measures for its prevention. The underpinnings of this paper will be derived from the mass murder that occurred at People’s Temple Agricultural Project: Jonestown in which Jim Jones presided over the murder of over nine hundred people through poisoning on 18th November 1978. This paper aims at expounding the crime of mass murder in order to provide a deeper insight into the reasons for its occurrence in a society. The essay concludes by giving recommendations on actions that should be taken against perpetrators of mass murder.
The Jonestown mass murder in 1978 was orchestrated by a communist named Jim Jones. Jim Jones founded the People’s Temple, a religion-affiliated organization that aimed at assisting poor people. Jim Jones did not like the US government and wished to control a group that had nothing to do with it. The people’s Temple members later relocated to a jungle in Guyana and built a neighborhood that was named Jonestown. There, members of the People’s Temple lived in poor conditions and worked for long hours daily (Kilduff, Javers, & San Francisco Chronicle, 1978). Some who wanted to leave Jonestown were denied. This was a violation of their right. The compound of the People’s Temple at Jonestown was under heavy security and Jones did not allow anyone to leave without his consent.
Prior to the occurrence of the actual massacre, Leo Ryan, a Californian congressman at the time, had led a delegation to Jonestown compound to investigate earlier claims of human rights abuse (Moore, Pinn, & Sawyer, 2004). On his return, he was accompanied by some members of the People’s Temple who wanted out. However, Ryan, together with some members of his delegation were killed before taking off at a nearby airport. While Ryan and his companion were being shot, Jones was preparing the members of the People’s Temple in Jonestown for a mass suicide. He apparently explained to them that Ryan would be shot and the US government would respond harshly. He feared that that the US government would soon close in on the group and reveal their story. Consequently, he lured the members into taking poison made up of valium and cyanide telling them that the government was going to kill them and their children. Jones claimed that the Mass suicide was a revolution against the US government. More than nine hundred people died as a result of taking the potent mixture with deaths occurring within five minutes of consumption. Jones died of a gunshot wound though it is not known whether he shot himself or someone else shot him.
Mass murder refers to a criminal act in which a criminal kills or presides over the killing of a large number of victims forming part of one plan or one act.The plan or act is always executed within a short period of time. A mass murderer, using a gun, grenades, or poison administered to many for example, can kill many people in an hour or a day.
The three salient elements of mass murder are; the murderer, the Weapon, and the motive that influences the killer’s actions. Mass murder would nearly be impossible without these three elements as there must be a perpetrator, a weapon, and the reason making it possible to form the elements of crime namely the actus reus (the criminal act) and mens rea (the mental element) (Ashworth, 2005).
A killer can be anyone ranging from a person with a mental problem, one motivated by the need to revenge a perceived injustice, or government sponsored persons out to eliminate enemies of the government, or worse still, one who hates a given group of people because of its race. For instance, owing to prejudice against the Jews, Adolf Hitler murdered many Jews in an effort to exterminate them from the earth. A mass murderer may also be one motivated by one’s religious belief. In the Jonestown Mass murder for instance, Jones apparently argued that the mass suicide would be a revolution against the United States government. Apparently, the incident was a mass suicide since it is alleged that people consumed the poison willingly.
The second feature is the weapon chosen to be used by the killer or killers. This weapon must have certain features so as to accomplish the feat. It must be capable of killing a large number of people within a short period and with fairly minimum inconvenience to the user. An example is the use of a self-loading automatic machine gun as opposed to a pocket knife. Another efficient weapon is potent poison that kills the victim quickly such as the mixture of valium and cyanide that was used at Jonestown in which the victims died in just five minutes.
Lastly, there is most certainly a motive for the killing with an exception being in cases where a killer is a mental patient who may not have had a reason for the murder. In the People’s temple murder, the motive was to escape from the perceived treatment that Jones, who was the leader of the group, thought the US government would inflict into the group. Jones also feared that the government would discover human rights violations that were inherent at the camp. Consequently, he influenced his followers to take the poison. Some of the members were given the poison against their will.
The main causes of mass murder are factors tied to the killer with regard to his relation to the victims (Ramsland, 2005). However, sometimes a killer may just kill randomly picked victims. For instance, a mental patient may kill anyone he comes across. It is rare for a mass murderer to kill victims unknown to them. In some instances though, a killer may embark on victims unknown to them but with the intention of making a statement to a person or group known to them. In the case under study, Jim Jones embarks on the murder of his followers in order to make a statement to the government.
A person’s culture, education, and most importantly, the environment of upbringing could also play a major role in mass murder. This is because the conscience of such a person would be influenced by what goes on around him that would impair moral judgment (Austin, 2008). For instance, a person brought up in a violent family for a long period of time could develop beastly tendencies and not realize anything wrong with violence. Such persons may later commit mass murder with more ease than to others would. Watching violent videos and playing games involving killings are also suggested to pre-dispose a person to commit mass murder. The argument behind this proposition is that one would like to replicate the thrill derived from the games in a real life situation leading to the commission of mass murder.
Religion too could influence one’s perspectives on mass murder depending on the religious teachings of the faith one subscribes to (Fox & Levin, 2005). It has often been indicated that terrorists of particular faiths delight in mass murder of perceived enemies to their faith with the assurance that it guarantees them better status in the hierarchy of the adherents of that faith. The mass murderers in such situations even gracefully accept to die with their victims. In the Jonestown mass murder, the chief perpetrator favors a communist culture and it influences him to form a pro-communist entity with a view to assist a disadvantaged group. While at school, Jones takes keen interest in death and studies it. This is an indication that the education he got while growing up had a great influence in his ability to order the mass murder.
Mental states of a killer at a specific time may also facilitate mass murder. A mental patient may kill simply because of the inability to take control of mental faculties. A killer may also be under the influence, stress, agitation, fear or insecurity. In the Jonestown mass murder for instance, Jones is agitated and afraid that the government is closing in on him and his group and presides over the murders in which he himself also ends up dead.
Mass murder has several negative effects on the society. Members of the society lose the sense of security they have as a result of mass murder. The consequences of this is that the people may implore or demand the government to take responsibility over the killings and seek compensation. Great psychological turmoil is experienced by families whose members have perished like in the Jonestown case in which some people lost their spouses and kids all in unnatural and premature death. As a result, governments may have to allocate more resources to be channeled to the maintenance of security as opposed to other vote heads like development projects. Above all, it causes people to live in fear due to the uncertainty of not knowing when and when the next killer will strike.
There are measures that can be taken to prevent mass murder or respond to threats of mass murder. On the preventive approach, the government security machinery can gather intelligence on the issue and take measures beforehand to prevent the crime. On the other hand, a general improvement of security in an area will scare off any such criminal with the same effect as the presence of police and quick response whenever there is a distress call. Quick response will also be helpful in cases where a criminal has already begun the act of murder. The police should also be vigilant and constantly monitor people who have shown propensity to commit murder. For instance, the police should keenly monitor ex murder convicts just in case they may be involved in the crime again.
Because mass murderers afflict great pain and despair to the society through the painful and unexpected murder of people’s loved ones, and permanent psychological torture to the victims’ families, they deserve harsh punishment to achieve the deterrence effect of criminal law (Ashworth, 2005). In countries where death penalty exists, mass murderers should get the death penalty so as to serve as a warning to members of the society who might be planning to commit the same crime.
Even though it is nearly impossible to completely eliminate mass murder, people can be prepared to take a course of action to prevent future occurrences and learn from the already executed ones. The Psychological turmoil can also be reduced by holding periodic memorials in which people come together at a place to remember those who were killed in the mass murder as always happens with those who die in natural calamities such as tsunamis or terrorist attacks like in the September 9/11 terrorist attack on the twin towers in the United States.
In conclusion, the society as a whole has the onus to prevent mass murder. Everyone has a part to play to stop the vice. Either as a police officer diligently performing duties in that capacity or an ordinary citizen committed to ensure that the neighborhood is safe.
References
Ashworth, A. (2005). Sentencing and criminal justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fox, J. A., & Levin, J. (2005). Extreme killing: Understanding serial and mass murder. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Kilduff, M., Javers, R., & San Francisco Chronicle. (1978). The suicide cult: The inside story of the Peoples Temple sect and the massacre in Guyana. New York: Bantam Books.
Moore, R., Pinn, A. B., & Sawyer, M. R. (2004). Peoples Temple and Black religion in America. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Ramsland, K. M. (2005). Inside the minds of mass murderers: Why they kill. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
