Essay Sample about Dennis Lynn Rader: The BTK Killer

When a serial killer gives a nickname to himself for how he kills, he must be a sick human being. That is exactly what Dennis Radar was. This man was famous for doing inhumane things to several people. He affected numerous lives in his community and the world because of his actions. The punishment for this man was appropriate, but I think it could have been harsher. I believe that he was more than qualified to deserve the death penalty. It is apparent that Radar was a horrible human being, his punishment should have been a little less forgiving, and the death penalty should be legal.

Dennis Radar, also known as the BTK Killer, was born March 9, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Kansas. His famous nickname means Bind, Torture, Kill, which is how he killed his victims. The serial killer killed 10 people over 17 years between 1974 and 1991 in Wichita, Kansas, where he grew up. In the 1960s, he served in the U.S. Air Force and in the 1970s he returned to Wichita and raised a family. He was active in his church and was also a boy scout leader, but do not let that fool you. According to Britannica, “On January 15, 1974, Radar committed his first murders, strangling four family members, including two children, in their Wichita home” (Tikkanen). The next victim was a 21-year-old woman who was stabbed to death in April 1974. To prove how crazy this man was,“Later that year he wrote a letter detailing the January murders and saying that ‘the code words for me will be…bind them, torture them, kill them, B.T.K.’” (Tikkanen). Over the next couple decades, the B.T.K Killer killed five more women. One of his victims was strangled while her kids were locked up in a bathroom. In December 1977, he was still not get the attention he desired, so he wrote a letter to a local TV station that said, “How many people do I have to kill before I get a name in the paper or some national attention.” In 1985, he killed his neighbor in her home, took her to his church, and photographed the dead body. Radar went on to kill a 28-year-old mother in 1986 and a 62-year-old woman in 1991. Dennis Radar got busted in January 2005 when police discovered a note in a cereal box in which he asked the police if they could trace a floppy disk he wanted them to receive. The police lied and said they couldn’t trace it, so he sent the disk to the department, and they ended up tracing it to his church. His DNA from the first murder was a match, and he was arrested. Radar confessed to all of his murders.

Dennis Radar’s punishment was brutal, but I believe he deserved worse. Radar was sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms and a minimum of 175 years in prison. If an individual takes multiple lives, then their life should be taken as well. To me it seems like that is the most logical and fair way to deal with these situations. I can’t even imagine what the family and friends of these victims had to go through because of one man. At the time of his conviction there was no death penalty in Kansas, and that leads me to believe that that is the only reason he did not suffer from lethal injection. 

The death penalty is a punishment that is used for the worst crimes and I believe it should be allowed. There are many pros in having the death penalty. Justice is a big factor in why the death penalty should be allowed. If a loved one is murdered, family and friends of the victim want the worst for whoever is responsible. Capital punishment is constitutional and “The 5th and 14th Amendments carry express approval of the death penalty: a person may not be “deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” (Stimson). Having the death penalty will deter future criminals from murder and terrorism. Radar was a perfect example of where we should use the death penalty. He killed too many innocent lives to be able to live.

It is evident that Dennis Radar did brutal things to people that did not deserve to die, he should have encountered the death penalty, and the death penalty should be legal. The B.T.K. Killer killed 10 human beings in Wichita Kansas, where they were tortured for doing absolutely nothing wrong. Even though Radar got 10 consecutive life terms and 175 years in prison, it was not enough because he earned a punishment worse than that. There are some cons that come along with having the death penalty, but I believe it is beneficial. Men and women across the world like Dennis Radar do not need to be living, especially when innocent lives are affected.