He shows some features of a sociopathic person. Some of the features that are associated with sociopathic behavior are “Sense of entitlement; Unremorseful; Apathetic to others; Unconscionable behavior; Blameful of others; Manipulative and conning; Affectively cold; Disparate understanding; Socially irresponsible; Disregardful of obligations; Nonconforming to norms; Irresponsible” (Kelly). Ted felt a sense of entitlement. He always felt that he should have had Stephanie Brooks. Ted even felt a sense of entitlement while he was in jail. He always complained about only have 2 meals instead of 3 meals a day. Ted was very manipulative not only when he murdered and raped those women; he was also very manipulative in his personal life. He was always manipulating people for money, sex, or whatever hey wanted. Ted also did not conform to norms. Ted was always a wonderer. He would leave for days at a time and drive through different states on just a whim.
There are three features that can define a career criminal. The past criminality predicts future criminality, the earlier the onset of the criminal behavior, the better predictor of future criminal behavior, and for the high rate of criminality, there are usually drugs or alcohol involved.
Ted Bundy is a narcissistic and a sociopath and he had some criminal behavior at a young age. By his own account in the interview with Dr. James Dobson he had looked at pornographic material when he was younger. And this started his fantasy about doing these sexual acts toward women. By obtaining these pornographic materials would be considered a status offense because if any person above the age of 18 had these materials it would not be criminal. Bundy also stole skis and equipment and forged ski-lift tickets to support his love of skiing.
The next feature is that the Earlier the onset of this criminal activity, the better predictor of the onset of future criminal behavior. “Number of early first experiences of problem behaviors was linearly associated with increased frequency of delinquency among the predominantly White and middle-class high school students” (Mason). Before Ted was even out of high school, Bundy was a compulsive thief, a shoplifter, and on his way to becoming an amateur criminal. Also, it is believed that he acted out his fantasy, that he developed watching these pornographic materials, at the early age of 14. During this time he was a paperboy and an eight year old Ann Marie Burr went missing in the middle of the night and her body has never been recovered.
There is often alcohol or drugs involved. Bundy often used alcohol before the commission of his crimes. “Ofenders had used either alcohol alone or alcohol with other drugs in approximately 37 percent of violent victimizations in which victims were able to describe substance use by the offenders”(Greenfeld). He admitted in his interview with Dr. James Dobson that he used alcohol before the vicious acts against these women. He said that it would lower his inhibition and it made it easier to commit these crimes. It was a cutoff for Ted Bundy when he would drink the alcohol. He would just say screw it and drink the alcohol which would lower his inhibition and would make it easier to commit the acts. This is evident when Carol DaRonch stated that she had smelt alcohol on his breath when he tried to kidnap her.
There are a few occasions where Bundy and a Criminal Justice agency intrude. One intervention is where is arrested and brought to trial the first time for the abduction of Carol DaRonch. During this trial Ted was very confidant that they would not find him guilty of the crime. He was so confident that he represented himself in the trial. He thought that they would never be able to be convicted. Another intervention is when he was pulled over in Florida with the stolen Volts Wagon. He ended up wrestling with the officer and was eventually subdued by the officer. When he was place in the vehicle Ted said that he wished the officer had killed him. The police had a hard time identifying him because all the identification he has was stolen.
The Criminal Justice agencies handled Ted Bundy very well. Even though he escaped twice they still handled him very well. They did not stomp all over his rights even though he was being held over for trial for horrible things and the fact that he was an escape risk. The court responded to every request that Ted had with a great deal of fairness. He was given access to the law library when he was defending himself. Also, he was given access to a phone to make long distance phone calls, which other inmates were not allowed to do. When he was arrested for the final time the officer had to fight with Bundy in order to get him under control. The officer showed a lot of poise by not using more force than what was necessary. Some officers might have used more force than that to subdue the subject.
