Criminologist who's met ‘hundreds of murderers’ explains why people kill

A criminologist has shed light on how 'performing' masculinity and the need to defend one's reputation can drive some young men to kill, in what he describes as 'five minutes of madness'.

Professor David Wilson, a Scottish emeritus professor of criminology at Birmingham City University, has shared a fascinating insight into the ways ‘performing masculinity’ can lead to someone taking a life.

Wilson, who has met ‘hundreds of murderers’, recently appeared in LADbible's Explainer for a Stranger series to discuss why people kill, and when talking about men committing murder, he said simply: “It’s because they’re in the company of other young men.”

For some young men, the pressure to prove their masculinity and maintain their reputation can have devastating consequences. A perceived insult or show of disrespect, particularly in front of their peers, can become a trigger for violence.

There is, as Professor Wilson explains, an expectation that young men should behave in a particular way when they are in the company of other men. If they feel humiliated or 'disrespected', they may believe they have to respond aggressively to restore their standing.

David Wilson revealed a shocking pattern among killers and young men (LADbible Stories)

'Five minutes of madness'

"If they feel disrespected in a pub or a nightclub, for example, the only way that they have to regain that sense of face, that sense of being given respect, that sense of having a reputation as a young man performing masculinity in that way is to hit out," the criminologist says.

It is a dynamic in which walking away can be perceived as weakness, while retaliation becomes a way of demonstrating toughness and reclaiming status.

Professor Wilson describes how some killings happen in what he calls ‘five minutes of madness’, when a confrontation escalates into lethal violence.

There can also be a profound disconnect between the perceived need to defend one's reputation in the moment and the reality of what follows.

There may initially be a feeling that respect has been restored, but, as the criminologist points out, 'then their life is ruined because, of course, they're going to be punished for what it is that they've done'.

The harrowing reality of murder in real life

Popular culture has helped shape how we think about murder, often portraying killers as calculating strangers, serial predators or seemingly ordinary people harbouring dark secrets.

But the reality of homicide is often very different.

In many cases, the person responsible is not a stranger lurking in the shadows, but someone already known to the victim – a friend, former friend or acquaintance.

"So often, when we think about this tension between drama about murder and the reality of murder, working out who the perpetrator is, is easy because often they were friends or had been friends in the past or acquaintances," Professor Wilson explains.

"Often the perpetrator has the victim's mobile phone number in their mobile phone."

Professor David Wilson and criminology student Ishaan discussed crime (LADbible Stories)

'The phenomenon of murder is by and large that phenomenon of young men'

It is common that murder happens within existing social relationships and familiar environments.

The criminologist is also keen to highlight the different patterns of homicide, particularly violence within families and intimate relationships.

"We shouldn't ignore that two women a week are still murdered by their partners or ex-partners, nor should we ignore that two children a week are murdered by their parents or carers," he said.

While these killings demand attention in their own right, the criminologist argues that the broader pattern of murder is largely characterised by young men killing other young men.

Watch the full Explainer for a Stranger episode here:

"The phenomenon of murder is by and large that phenomenon of young men," he said.

This, Wilson argues, is a very different reality from the cases that tend to dominate public fascination: serial killers and mass murderers.

"It's at the other end of the continuum that people become fascinated by when we talk about mass murderers or we talk about serial murders or serial murderers.

"That's a very different phenomenon from the phenomenon that we've been describing, which by and large typifies murder."