Unjust Justice: Repeated Incompetence in Criminal Investigations Involving the Less-Dead as Victims

Abstract

Acknowledging the less-dead phenomenon - the pattern of lackluster investigations into the disappearances and murders of people from marginalized groups in society who lack prestige and come from a lower socioeconomic class - is an essential step to achieving fair and equal justice. Unfortunately, no previous academic research has attempted to broach this topic. In this paper I aim to highlight the lack of competency in police investigations that is often encountered in cases involving people considered less-dead.
 I analyzed several serial murder cases that involved the victimization of the less-dead to find and catalog patterns of victim characteristics and police investigation attempts.
 My research revealed that in many serial murder cases, police investigations into the deaths and disappearances of the less-dead were conducted poorly. Sometimes, cases involving people considered less-dead were deliberately neglected by the authorities. A combination of laziness and contempt for people considered less-dead contributes to the long active periods and high body counts of serial killers in North America.