TITLE
The Story of the First Mass Murder in U.S. History
DESCRIPTION
NOTE: This article can be used as a case study to integrate the chapters on Psychological Disorders and Forensic science.
This is the horrifying story of Howard Unruh who might be considered the truly first mass murderer in the United States. The case dates back to 1949 in Camden, NJ, when Unruh went on a shooting spree killing at least 13 people. The story, detailed in the Smithsonian blog, fairly well elucidates the events leading up to the events. The reader (students) will find it fascinating. The case explores Unruh’s psychological, emotional, and mental state leading up to the event. Further, it examines the issue of diagnosis and the sanity/insanity plea as understood by the courts at the time.
From the article: “On Oct. 20, 1949, a Camden County judge signed a final order of commitment based on a diagnosis of “dementia praecox, mixed type, with pronounced catatonic and paranoid coloring.” In standard parlance, he was declared a paranoid schizophrenic. Unruh was considered too mentally ill to stand trial, although the murder indictment remained if ever he were “cured.” Unruh’s initial diagnosis may have been wrong, and that today, he would have been found “legally sane” to stand trial. The article speculates on the issue of the diagnosis as seen through today’s nosology.
SOURCE
Smithsonian Magazine, smithsonian.com, October 14, 2015, by Patrick Sauer
LINK TO RESOURCE
(shortened URL) http://tinyurl.com/npsyxo4
CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
•Who was Howard Unruh? According to the case, what did he do?
•What were the events leading up to the mass murder?
•Could anything be done in advance to stop him from taking action given the warning signs?
•According to the article, what was his diagnosis based on the 1949 understanding? How would that diagnosis be viewed today according to the article?
•In terms of forensics (Law and Psychology): What do the terms “sane” and “insane” mean?
•How does the Howard Unruh case foreshadow the tragic events in today’s mass violence and murders?
•Have the students discuss the use of the “case study” as a method in Psychology.
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