Mass Hysteria Caused by Leslie Irvin's Murder Spree

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On 1954 Leslie Irvin committed some of the most shocking murders in the tri-state area that would leave Indiana and the entirety of the United State of America in shock at the brutal robberies and murders committed by Leslie Irvin. Evansville, Indiana was once seen as a perfect place to settle down and build a family and a stable job due to the flourishing of the United States economy during the time of post World War II in which many areas began to become suburbans to expand and grow out families.

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This was all going to change the tristate area that was located in Indiana due to the brutality and unforeseeable murders and robberies of six people by Leslie Irvin. Evansville being struck by tragedy was a landmark for suburban areas as most people saw urban and suburban areas to be filled with families, but was now to be seen as a problematic and brutal city due to the brutal murders in Evansville.

Leslie Irvins killing spree was very monumental in post World War II America because of the rise of population and the large spur of the baby boom in which such brutal crimes were unheard of for the most part, but once Irvins struck he would not have realized the damage he would cause to the people of Evansville, Indiana. Leslie Irvins killing spree was not only monumental for just the brutality, but also the landmark it left in the ruling of many big time and future mass hysteria led cases.

Because of the mass amount of fear that spread from the murders Leslie Irvins lawyers were able to ask for a retrial due to the wild and eccentric mass hysteria propelled by the mass media that cause the case to be very hectic, but the trial at the same time was very clear cut due to the admission of where the weapons and many evidence that were hidden. Because of this Irvins lawyers were able to argue for a retrial due to the unfair stigma that led the trial and the ironic fact that Irvins life was on the line and the trial should not have had as much coverage since it was very problematic in bias and results of the trial.

A very important understanding of Leslie Irvin is the crimes that were committed and how they were committed. The murder and robbery spree began on a december night in which the first victim Mary Holland was to be killed. Holland was working a night shift at a liquor store owned by her husband when Irvin walked into the store and robbed the cash register and shot Mary Holland in the head inside of the restroom. That was the first but not the last killing that Leslie Irvin would commit. On the night of December 23rd Wesley Kerr’s body was found in the bathroom at a gas station that he was working at and after this murder the town of Evansville would be tarnished and the people that lived in the community would be living in mass paranoia. The killing did not stop after the gas station murder of Wesley Kerr, but continued by the burglary of Wilhelmina Sailer in which he murdered her by shooting her in the head at her home, not realizing that anybody was their while trying to rob the house. Only seven days after the murder of Wilhelmina Sailer was one of most brutal murders committed by Leslie Irvin was to be known as the Henderson County massacre. Irvin had decided to target a family in a burglary in which he killed Goebel Duncan, Raymond Duncan, and Maple Elizabeth Duncan but during the murder Irvin injured Mamie and spared the two year old daughter Elizabeth Duncan. The Duncan massacre was the last of the murders committed by Leslie Irvin and he would later be identified as a burglar and would be connected to the murders that he had committed during the burglaries. Irvin was then tried by the grand jury that was taken their by the henderson county and the henderson sheriff's office had wanted to be the ones to prosecute Leslie Irvin, but he had ultimately been tried in princeton Indiana due to the mass media and large amounts of public interference.

On Irvins first trial he had been classified as a disorganized robber who had also felt as though it be proper to execute those who he had robbed afterwards, but was not planned out and organized from top to bottom and was sentenced to death by the electric chair. During his stay in jail Irvin was able to escape from his jail and was on the run for a month before being caught in San Francisco. Even after that Irvins lawyers fought against the matter due to the mass media and was able to achieve a retrial and was then only sentenced to life in prison rather than the death penalty. Through these trials and information gathered Irvin is to be classified as an example of a hedonistic as he was seen as a person with a low sex drive and also seemed to want to seek the thrill and give a bit of a thrill into his life. Leslie Irvin explained by many that were close to him would explain him as a very sensitive person that seemed to be very emotional at times, and by his prison guards he was one of the cleanest and organized inmates that they had ever had. Irvin was truly committing the robberies and murders simply to feel something and seeked thrills from the crimes that he was committing. Through humanistic analysis Irvin was usually seen as a polite and good person and even after the murders he had left a good mark and feeling on other people even after the fact that he was a monster who terribly murdered six people in search of a thrill. Through psychoanalytic analysis Irvin had indeed struggled with internal conflicts in regards to feeling something other than the daily. Irvin explained by many people had been a person that was seen as well off and very polite and good to people, but at the same time he had problems within himself that made him feel as though there was something more that he could due whether or not the consequences and brutality would affect those around him and the victims that lives were taken and families that were shattered due to the fact that Leslive Irvins had simply wanted to get thrills from the murders of innocent and for the most part family working people.

Ultimately, Leslie Irvins had ultimately changed the landscape of trials and murder for the United States of America as many things can be led back to this serial killer. A great example of the trial could be that of the O.J. Simpson trial in which was a large trial that was covered by the mass media that possibly completely affected the outcomes, or rather the possible outcome of what the trials was and could have been. Just as Irvin was able to achieve a retrial simply because of the fact that the mass media has seemingly affected the trial due to the mass hysteria and paranoia that followed the trial and the case of the murders committed by Leslie Irvin. Leslie Irvin has gone down in serial killer history due to his mass murdering sprees in a once quiet area and his landmark trial that would be looked at for many future cases that were affected by mass hysteria and the presence of mass media.