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Psychological Factors in Criminal Justice
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Richard Ramirez, the Infamous Serial Killer Terralyn Franklin CRJ522 Professor Karen Duffala Ashford University

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2 Richard Ramirez, the Infamous Serial Killers Richard Ramirez was referred to as ‘Night Stalker’ by the news media because he terrorized people in California. He was an American Serial killer. Before being captured in 1985, he had raped and tortured 25 of his victims and killed a dozen others. The crimes were committed in California in the homes of his victims. Early Life Richard's parents were Julian and Mercedes Ramirez. He was born on February 28, 1960, in El Paso, Texas. Richard was a troublesome kid growing up. His character was influenced by his elder cousin that took part in the Vietnam war (Sarteschi, 2016). He told Richard gruesome stories and showed him photos of torture inflicted on Vietnamese women during the war. Richard later began using drugs and committing petty crimes. He became a Satan worshipper, and due to his rebellion, he was isolated from his parents. Criminal Life The first crime Richard was involved in a murder crime was during the murder of Mike's wife. Mike was a cousin to Richard; he killed his wife in the presence of Richard, but he did not stop him. Richard was sent to juvenile in 1977 because of the many petty crime he had committed (Douglas, 2013). In 1982 he was found in possession of marijuana and was put on probation. Richard moved to California after he left juvenile and completed his probation period. While in California, he got involved in car theft, possession of cocaine, and burglary; therefore, he got a jail sentence. Richard committed his first murder on 28 June 1984. The murder victim was an elderly woman of 79 years who murdered after being stubbed and sexually assaulted at her home. It was during a burglary at Jennie Vincow’s home. Richard was recognized to have been involved in the

3 murder when his mug shot was released by the media. An angry mob beat him and before the arrival of the police who arrested him. Richard's victims were murdered during burglaries at their residential home in Los Angeles County (Branson, 2013). His victims were above 6 years old of both genders; male and female. The inhuman coldblooded acts of Richard Ramirez were characterized by sexual assaults, mutilations, and savage beatings. Richard used hammers, knives, and guns. At crime scenes, Ramirez left occult symbols one of them was the inverted pentagram, a mark of the devil. On August 24, 1985, Ramirez committed his final crime that led to his capture since he had left a footprint. Finally, the media put a name to the “Night Stalker.” Trial and Conviction Richard's trial was the longest in American history. The defense attorneys and prosecutors had bickering and a series of motions that delayed the case. The crimes were spread over a wide geographical area complicating the scope that led to further delays. On July 22, 1988, jury selection for the Richard Ramirez case began (Blanco, 2020). Approximately 1600 jurors were interviewed in the case. The case involved over 100 witnesses. Some of the witnesses had to recall the events of crimes committed by Richard several years later. A number were certain of his identity. Richard was found guilty of 14 burglaries, 11 sexual assaults, 5 attempted murders, and 13 counts of murder on September 20, 1989. In the trial, he was sentenced to death in the California gas chamber. Richard planned to smuggle a gun into the courtroom and shoot his prosecutor during his trial. The information was leaked by jail employees who had overheard the information from him. On the day of the trial, intensive searches had to be done to prevent any more murder victims. A metal detector was placed outside the courtroom to aid in the search preventing any firearms from being smuggled into the courtroom. During the day of the trial on August 14,

4 Phyllis Singletary, one of the jurors did not report to court interrupting the session. She was found dead later in the day. She had been shot dead in her apartment; the incident terrified the other jury members suppose the people involved in the crime were able to reach them too. Fortunately, Ramirez was not involved in the death of Phyllis Singletary. After further investigation, it was found that Phyllis Singletary had been killed by her boyfriend who later killed himself. Ramirez had many fans while in prison. They wrote letters and frequently visited him. One of them was Doreen Lioy, a freelance magazine editor. She has written over 75 letters addressed to Richard. Richard proposed to her in 1988 and they got married at San Quentin State Prison in California on October 3, 1996. Doreen Lioy even promised to commit suicide during the execution of her husband. Appeals and Death After the first trial, the case was appealed; the appeal was successful. The supreme court in California upheld Richard's convictions and death sentence on August 7, 2006; though they denied him the request for rehearing on September 7 the same year. Richard was on death row 24 years later after his sentence (Simpson, 2013). He died on June 7th, 2017, at the age of 53 from lymphoma. His death took place in a hospital at Greenbrae, Calif. The news was announced by the spokesman of San Quentin State Prison, Sam Robinson.

5 References Blanco, J. (2020). Richard Ramirez | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers. Retrieved 26 October 2020, from https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/ramirez-richard.htm Branson, A. L. (2013). African American Serial Killers: Over‐Represented Yet Underacknowledged. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 52(1), 1-18. Douglas Martin. (2013). Richard Ramirez, the ‘Night Stalker’ Killer, Dies at 53. The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/08/us/nightstalker-killer-richard-ramirez-dies-at-53.html Fox, J. A., & Levin, J. (2013). Overkill: Mass murder and serial killing exposed. Springer. Nichols, B. (2019). Geographic Profiling: Contributions to the Investigation of Serial Murders (Doctoral dissertation, Wright State University). Richard Ramirez, Biography. (2019). Biography. Retrieved 26 October 2020, from https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/richard-ramirez Richard Ramirez | Biography, Murders, Trial, & Facts. (2020). Britannica. Retrieved 26 October 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Ramirez Richard Ramirez: The Night Stalker. (2020). Crime Museum. Retrieved 26 October 2020, from https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/serial-killers/richard-ramirez/ Sarteschi, C. M. (2016). Mass and serial murder in America. Springer International Publishing. Simpson, P. L. (2017). Serial Killing and Representation. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice....