Christopher Hensley

From Animal Cruelty to Serial Murder: Applying the Graduation Hypothesis:

Although serial murder has been recorded for centuries, limited academic attention has been given to this important topic. Scholars have attempted to examine the causality and motivations behind the rare phenomenon of serial murder. However, scant research exists which delves into the childhood characteristics of serial murderers. Using social learning theory, some of these studies present supporting evidence for a link between childhood animal cruelty and adult aggression toward humans. Based on five case studies of serial murderers, we contribute to the existing literature by exploring the possible link between childhood cruelty toward animals and serial murder with the application of the graduation hypothesis.

Recurrent Childhood Animal Cruelty Is There a Relationship to Adult Recurrent Interpersonal Violence

Recent studies have begun to establish an association between childhood acts of animal cruelty and later violence against humans. Even so, research has failed to establish a strong correlation between the two, perhaps because previous studies have failed to examine the commission of violence against animals and humans in terms of their frequencies. In a replication of Tallichet and Hensley (2004) and based on survey data from 180 inmates at a medium- and maximum-security prison in a Southern state, the present study examines the relationship between the demographic characteristics of race, level of education, the residential location of an offenders formative years, and recurrent acts of childhood cruelty and their impact on later repeated acts of interpersonal violence. Only repeated acts of animal cruelty during childhood was predictive of later recurrent acts of violence toward humans, showing a possible relationship between the two.

Inmate-to-Inmate Prison Sexuality: A Review of Empirical Studies

For the past 90 years, sociologists, psychologists, and penologists have been studying inmate-to-inmate prison sexuality. These researchers have made great strides in advancing the study of prison sexuality. Although many may consider the issue to be deviant, prison sex researchers have made positive contributions to the study of one of the most controversial issues in corrections. In this review, the authors seek to provide readers with an understanding of not only what researchers have uncovered about inmate sexual behavior and the dynamics of institutional sex but also how this field of inquiry has developed and evolved. The discussion that follows is divided into four primary sections, male and female inmate consensual homosexual behavior and male and female inmate coerced sexual activity.

The Effect of Inmates' Self-Reported Childhood and Adolescent Animal Cruelty Motivations on the Number of Convictions for Adult Violent Interpersonal Crimes

Few researchers have investigated the potentially predictive power of motives for childhood and adolescent animal cruelty as it is associated with interpersonal violence in adulthood. Based on a sample of 261 inmates at medium- and maximum-security prisons in a southern state, the present study examines the relationship among several retrospectively reported motives (anger, fun, dislike, and imitation) for animal cruelty and violent crime convictions (assault, rape, and murder). Almost half reported abusing animals out of anger, whereas more than one third did so for fun. Dislike for the animal and imitation were less frequently occurring motives. Participants who abused animals at an earlier age and those who did so out of anger or for fun were more likely to repeat the offense. Regression analyses revealed that abusing an animal out of fun in their youth was the most statistically salient motive for predicting later interpersonal violence as adults.

Exploring the Possible Link Between Childhood and Adolescent Bestiality and Interpersonal Violence

Bestiality is a serious although less frequently occurring form of animal cruelty that may be linked to subsequent aggression against humans. This investigation examines whether a perpetrators race, childhood residence, education, commission of a personal crime, and the number of personal crimes committed affects acts of bestiality committed during childhood or adolescence among a sample of incarcerated males. The results show that respondents with less education and those who had been convicted of committing crimes against people on one or more occasions were more likely to have had sex with animals during their childhood or adolescence than other respondents in the sample. These findings lend some support to the sexually polymorphous theory that among these perpetrators sex and aggression have become mutually inclusive and that bestiality as a form of animal cruelty may be linked with interpersonal human violence.

Introduction: The History of Prison Sex Research:

The study of prison sexuality began in the early 1900s with a few scant articles discussing the unnatural relationship between women behind bars. Today, the number of manuscripts on all aspects of sex in prison has increased. However, relatively few studies have focused on these “pains of imprisonment.” This article describes the history of prison sex research in the U.S. over the last 80 years.

The Evolving Nature of Prison Argot and Sexual Hierarchies

Prison argot and sexual hierarchies have consistently been found to be present in U.S. correctional facilities. However, recent years have seen very few studies that focus specifically on argot labels and sexual hierarchies that exist in prisons. Using data collected from 174 face-to-face structured interviews with male inmates in multisecurity-level correctional facilities in Oklahoma, we found many similarities and differences with previous research on the issues of argot labels and the sexual hierarchy. For example, inmates who engage in same-sex sexual activity continue to be labeled based on the sexual role they portray in the institution. However, the findings of the present study suggest that the nature of these sexual relationships is changing.

Unraveling the Methods of Childhood and Adolescent Cruelty to Nonhuman Animals

Studies investigating the specific methods for committing nonhuman animal cruelty have only begun to expose the complexities of this particular form of violence. This study used a sample of 261 male inmates surveyed at both medium- and maximum-security prisons. The study examined the influence of demographic attributes (race, education, and residence while growing up). It also examined situational factors (was the abuse committed alone, did abuser try to conceal the act, was abuser upset by the abuse, what was the perpetrators age at initial animal cruelty, how frequent was the animal abuse?) and specific methods of animal cruelty (shooting, drowning, hitting or kicking, choking, burning, sex). Regression analyses revealed that white inmates tended to shoot animals more frequently than did non-whites and were less likely to be upset or cover up their actions. Respondents who had sex with animals were more likely to have acted alone and to conceal their cruelty toward animals. However, we failed to find support for a potential link between childhood and adolescent animal cruelty methods and later violence against humans.

Childhood Animal Cruelty Methods and Their Link to Adult Interpersonal Violence

Recent research has begun to establish a relationship between childhood acts of animal cruelty and later violence against humans. However, few studies have focused on the influence of animal cruelty methods on later interpersonal violence. In a replication of a study by Hensley and Tallichet (2009) and based on a sample of 180 inmates at medium- and maximum-security prisons in a Southern state, the present study examines the relationship between several retrospectively identified animal cruelty methods (drowned, hit, shot, kicked, choked, burned, and sex) and interpersonal violence committed against humans. Four out of 5 inmates reported hitting animals. Over one third of the sample chose to shoot or kick animals, while 1 in 5 had sex with them. Less then one fifth of the sample drowned or choked animals, while less than one sixth of the inmates burned animals. Regression analyses revealed that the age at which offenders began committing animal cruelty and having sex with animals were predictive of adult interpersonal violence.

Childhood and Adolescent Animal Cruelty Methods and Their Possible Link to Adult Violent Crimes

Few researchers have investigated the potentially predictive power of childhood and adolescent animal cruelty methods as they are associated with subsequent interpersonal violence in adulthood. Based on a sample of 261 inmates at medium- and maximum-security prisons in a southern state, the present study examines the relationship between several retrospectively reported animal cruelty methods (drowned, hit or kicked, shot, choked, burned, and had sex) and violent criminal acts committed against humans (assault, rape, and murder). More than half of the sample reported they had shot animals, and almost half had either kicked or hit them. About one in five said they had choked animals, and about one in seven said they had either drowned, burned, or had sex with them. Regression analyses revealed that drowning and having sex with an animal was predictive of later interpersonal violence as adults.