Jack the Ripper
Who, What, When, Where, Why
Jack the Ripper was an infamous killer in 1888. They never found out who committed the murders and the nickname was pinned to the killer. He only had 5 victims which does not appear as crazy some of the cases we hear today. The killing spree only last 12 weeks which may factor into why he is so well known. His reasoning behind the murders is unknown which adds on to the mystery of Jack the Ripper. All of the murders were in London.
Perspective #1 media portrayed event
The media portrayed a perspective that Jack the Ripper was a teacher name Montague John Druitt. The evidence to make the the accusation of Druitt being the murderer was not there, so you cannot actually say he was Jack. He was one of the main three suspects that they narrowed it down to. Shortly after Druitt was fired from his job, his father passed away and his mother was institutionalized. Montague committed suicide in 1888 after the murders which made it seem like he was the killer because all of the crimes ended after his death.
Perspective #2 media portrayed event
Another target that the media was saying could have been Jack the Ripper was Prince Albert Victor. Similar to everyone else accused of being the Ripper, there was no solid evidence to officially make the claim that he was the murderer. Official documents and newspapers provided strong enough evidence to make people think that Victor was indeed the serial killer. He later passed away and the media made him appear to be a sexual sadist who killed women with the help of the royal family"s doctor.
Jack The Ripper - An Introduction To The Murders
Media bias explained
The bias that keeps reoccurring is the bias of source selection. Every website seems to have a different view on which man was the one behind Jack the Ripper. Each article has different evidence on why they claim their suspect is the serial killer. None of these articles obtain enough evidence to be able to say that their suspect is for sure the actual murderer. The media is always able to pull together a group of people who could possibly be the real killer, but they will never have enough evidence to officially prove who actually committed the murders.
Criticism #1
Feminist criticism is very obviously portrayed in this case. Jack the Ripper had only 5 victims which all happen to be female. He cut up the bodies and removed their organs. The reasoning behind why he killed his victims is unknown, but it is very obvious that he was targeting women. Jack the Ripper clearly had something against women.
Criticism #2
This case is so widely known because the murderer was never identified. They always had suspects, but could never find enough evidence to bring them in. This is where historical criticism comes in. If this was in modern times the technology would help find out who committed the crimes. The technology could have found the murderer and maybe it could have prevented the other women's deaths.