READER’S DIGEST“Serial killers in our country
overwhelmingly attack five groups
of people,” explains Wilson. “And
women dominate four of those
groups, the only group of men that
get regularly attacked are gay men.
We need to focus on misogyny,
homophobia of both sexes, women
over the age of 60 and sex workers.
We need to identify and expose what
makes them vulnerable, for those
who lack visibility, who lack a voice,
and who seem to have no agency in
our culture.”end up bearing little relation to what
originally happened.”
Wilson is also wary of stories that
stray from the truth, but for a much
more unsettling reason. He believes
that when true accounts of crime
stray—even a little—from the facts,
it can be detrimental to the picture
painted, especially where serial
killers are concerned. He poses that
instead of focusing on the individual,
we should look at why somebody
might be led to kill and the groups
most at risk of being a target.
NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS WOULD HAVE THOUSANDS OF
SPECTATORS FLOCK TO THEIR EXECUTIONSDepiction of a public execution
in London, late 18th centuryJULY 2019 • 73