The Ripper and Risk

[c.d.]

It was known the Capone refused all treatment for advanced syphilis.

He was subsequently released, the court having determined that at that point he had the mental capacity of a child and did not really pose a threat to anyone.

c.d.

[c.d.]

Is this whole risk thing being over analyzed? I mean if you want an omelet you have to break some eggs do you not?

And of course there is always the famous quote from bank robber Willie Sutton. When asked why he kept robbing banks his reply was because that's where the money is.

c.d.

[Geddy2112]

And of course there is always the famous quote from bank robber Willie Sutton. When asked why he kept robbing banks his reply was because that's where the money is.

c.d.

Also this famous one...

Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd break into a distillery. Daffy turns to Elmer and says: “Is this Whisky?”

Elmer says: “Yeth but not as whisky as wobbing a bank!!”

[Herlock Sholmes]

Is this whole risk thing being over analyzed? I mean if you want an omelet you have to break some eggs do you not?

And of course there is always the famous quote from bank robber Willie Sutton. When asked why he kept robbing banks his reply was because that's where the money is.

c.d.

All true but I just wondered how the killer viewed it because I was thinking of situations that I saw as ‘too risky.’ The killer might have viewed the situation differently because in reality it was, or because it’s how he perceived it…then what made him perceive it differently. You’re right that we can over analyse though. We can never know and even if we could know how would it help us?

Great quote btw.

[Duran duren]

I believe there was less risk simply because the women took the killer to their own sites where they knew less traffic, police, etc. None of those sites were random or picked by their killer.

[Sunny Delight]

List updated with number 11 after a suggestion by Joe Chetcuti.


1. It’s almost a cliché but did he feel that he was on some kind of mission and that he was protected by higher powers?

2. Did he feel confident that he would be able to deal with any situation as it occurred? For example, would he have planned to kill anyone that opened that backdoor of number 29 Hanbury Street? And at other locations was he confident of escape? In Bucks Row and Mitre Square for example was he confident of hearing someone approaching in enough time for him to escape in the opposite direction? Was he athletic; a fast runner? In addition may he have gained confidence from having local knowledge?

3. Did an element of superiority come into play? Did he just think “these idiots will never catch me, I’m too clever for them”?

4. Did he take a more fatalistic approach, accepting that he was going to get caught at some point so he just continued as long as it lasted?

5. Did he have some form of death wish?

6. I was reminded of my final point when I was thinking about James Kelly. Tully suggested in his book that Kelly was already adjudged a ‘lunatic,’ albeit an escaped one, so maybe the killer thought that he’d just be sent back to Broadmoor and not to the gallows?

7. Did he have someone as a lookout?

8. Did his compulsion to kill outweigh the risks?

9. Were the risks lower than we might have assumed?

10. He got a thrill from the risk.

11. The ripper may have suffered from untreated syphilis.

1) I don't think he would have felt that he was on a mission or was being protected by something more powerful. Granted provenance was a popular thing back then.

2) I think the impulseiveness over rode the fear of capture or surroundings. Likely he felt secure enough that his victims had led him to a secluded area and there is always a possibility they told him to be quick as a PC would be on the beat and could be back in 10'-15minutes in some cases.

3) All serial killers feel that way don't they. Invincible. Superior. They have an egomania in many cases.

4) I don't think serial killers think that way, do they? Usually once they have killed once or twice and not been caught their confidence grows and then see point 3.

5) Highly unlikely. He was a very sick man mentally who had an insatiable desire to mutilate women. The thought of capture and then death probably didn't really feature in his thoughts.

6) Again unlikely to my mind. Killers like this don't think so far ahead.

7) Absolutely no chance. No lookout, no accomplice. Just a lone wolf killer who acted out his deranged fantasies.

8) Bingo.

9) I don't think the risks were lower than we have assumed. Whitechapel was saturated with Police, both uniformed and in plain clothes. 50 years after escaping on the night of the Double Event Walter Dew was still baffled. Granted there were no fingerprinting, DNA, CCTV and other modern techniques but the risks the Ripper took were huge.

10) Maybe. I don't think so though. I think he just had a desire to mutilate and the desire was insatiable, to the point where he took massive risks, just to try and relieve some of that impulse.

11) Again, probably not. It appears the Ripper was only interested in Prostitutes because they were on the streets, they were soliciting and they were available and vulnerable. In other words there was no work in it really. Untreated syphilis also kind of relieves the Ripper of responsibility. His mad was warped by a sexual disease. No, rather I think he was a very rare kind of serial killer who derived sexual pleasure from the act of mutilation.