Holly Dobbing, Year 2
Schizophrenia is a chronic and debilitating mental illness that affects 1% of the population worldwide (Nemade & Dombeck, 2015). It is believed to be a brain malfunction that affects the interaction between the part of the brain that controls judgement–in the prefrontal cortex–and the parts of the brain that control emotion and memory–in the temporal lobes and limbic system (“The negative symptoms of schizophrenia – Harvard Health”, 2006). The illness is an enigma to many in the medical and psychiatric communities as the exact cause is unknown, however many theorise that schizophrenia is caused by an amalgamation of genetic and environmental factors (“Schizophrenia | NHS”, 2016). Schizophrenia has been shown to cause impaired judgement and psychotic symptoms, such as vivid hallucinations (“The negative symptoms of schizophrenia – Harvard Health”, 2006). Because of this, schizophrenia is notorious for its perception as a violent illness; more than 40% of sufferers to attempt suicide at least once (“Schizophrenia.com – Introductory Resources on Schizophrenia”, n.d.). Furthermore, it is estimated that one thousand homicides every year are committed by untreated mentally ill individuals (Watnik, 2001) and that schizophrenia, in particular, is a prominent feature of infamous serial killers; Ed Gein, David Berkowitz, Richard Chase and Peter Sutcliffe, to name a few (“Dangerous Minds: Mental Illnesses of Infamous Criminals”, n.d.; Brannen, 2018).
Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, was a serial killer who terrorised the Leeds and Bradford area in the 1970s, after, as he believed, being told by ‘the voice of God’ to do so (Dennigan, 1981). He killed thirteen women and attempted to murder a further seven over the course of 15 years before being arrested and sentenced to 20 concurrent sentences of life imprisonment (Brannen, 2018). During his preliminary hearing in April 1981, Sir Michael Havers, the Attorney General, told the judge that the Crown accepted Sutcliffe’s pleas of manslaughter because “the general consensus of the doctors is that this is a case of diminished responsibility, the illness being paranoiac schizophrenia.” (Clark and Tate, 2015) Whilst this does not definitively prove that Sutcliffe’s horrifically violent murders can be attributed to his schizophrenia, people with schizophrenia are estimated to be 4 to 6 times more likely to commit a violent crime than people without the disorder (Fazel, 2009), therefore it could be reasoned that Sutcliffe’s paranoid schizophrenia is a significant factor in his motivation to kill.
The destructive and disturbing nature of schizophrenia is also evident in the case of Ed Gein, an American serial killer whose gruesome crimes and jarring behaviour earned worldwide notoriety. Gein inspired multiple books and movies such as The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Psycho (1960) (Jenkins, 2018). In 1957, Gein confessed to the murders of Bernice Worden in 1957 and Mary Hogan three years prior, as well as admitting to practicing necrophilia and digging up corpses to fashion their body parts into different clothing garments and articles of furniture (Biography.com Editors, 2014). After being deemed unfit to stand trial by reason of insanity, Gein was admitted to various psychiatric institutions until it was decided he could participate in his own defence in 1968 (Biography.com Editors, 2014). He was found guilty of the murder of Worden but was found to be insane at the time of the murder (Jenkins, 2018). Gein was sentenced to life imprisonment in psychiatric institutions and was subsequently admitted to the Central State Hospital in Wisconsin, USA, where he remained until his death in 1984 (Jenkins, 2018; Biography.com Editors, 2014). Whilst in hospital, Gein was described as ‘mild-mannered’ (Biography.com Editors, 2014).
This brings me on to the key point of my article: should people with schizophrenia be treated as though they are inherently dangerous, or are we assuming the worst for no reason? The stark juxtaposition of the ‘deranged’ and ‘gruesome’ killer Gein was described as being before going to hospital, in comparison to the ‘mild-mannered’ man he was when he was in hospital may suggest that schizophrenia, as an illness, is only a risk if the patient is untreated and/or unsupported. Perhaps given support early on, Gein and Sutcliffee wouldn’t have felt the urge to commit the heinous crimes they committed. Perhaps people with schizophrenia would benefit more from empathy, instead of stigma, fear and the threat of ostracism from society. In an article about her experience with schizophrenia, Tanara, a 27-year-old college student discussed a violent outburst that landed her in jail (Derrow, 2017). After she was released and seen by a psychiatrist, with support from doctors, family and friends, she is now living a ‘happy, beautiful life’ (Derrow, 2017) and acts as absolute proof that schizophrenia can be safely managed, like any other illness. So, in answer to my question, no, I don’t think that schizophrenia is intrinsically linked with violence. I think a better correlation, that could be derived from this, is that between violence and lack of support and care in society.
References
Biography.com Editors. (2014). Ed Gein Biography. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/ed-gein-11291338
Brannen, K. (2018). The Yorkshire Ripper Website. Retrieved from http://www.execulink.com/~kbrannen/
Clark, C. and Tate, T. (2015). Yorkshire Ripper. John Blake Publishing Ltd, p.15. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/
Dangerous Minds: Mental Illnesses of Infamous Criminals. Retrieved from https://www.forensicscolleges.com/blog/resources/dangerous-minds-criminal-mental-illness
Dennigan, M. (1981). Accused ‘Ripper’ says God told him to kill. Retrieved from https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/05/11/Accused-Ripper-says-God-told-him-to-kill/7868358401600/
Derrow, P. 2017. ‘I Have Schizophrenia’: What It’s Really Like to Live With the Mental Illness [Online]. Johnson & Johnson. Available: https://www.jnj.com/personal-stories/i-have-schizophrenia-what-its-really-like-living-with-the-mental-illness [Accessed 26 April 2022].
Fazel, S. (2009). Schizophrenia, Substance Abuse, and Violent Crime. JAMA, 301(19), 2016. doi: 10.1001/jama.2009.675 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19454640
Jenkins, J. (2018). Ed Gein. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ed-Gein
Nemade, R., & Dombeck, M. (2015). Schizophrenia Symptoms, Patterns and Statistics and Patterns. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/schizophrenia-symptoms-patterns-and-statistics-and-patterns/
Schizophrenia – NHS. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/schizophrenia/
Schizophrenia.com – Introductory Resources on Schizophrenia. Retrieved from http://schizophrenia.com/suicide.html
The Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia – Harvard Health. (2006). Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-negative-symptoms-of-schizophreniaWatnik, I. (2001). A Constitutional Analysis of Kendra’s Law: New York’s Solution for Treatment of the Chronically Mentally Ill. University Of Pennsylvania Law Review, 149(4), 1181. doi: 10.2307/3312992
THE WORSLEY TIMES 
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