The "Angel of Death"
An angel of death, or angel of mercy, is a form of criminal offender who is in a caregiver position and kills (or harms) the individuals in their care. The angel of death is often in a position of power, such as Mengele who was an SS officer. Is if often believed by this person that by murdering the individual in their care they would no longer suffer from their current illness. However, this behavior often evolves to include people outside the ill. This is somewhat the case of Mengele. He killed individuals in his care to better the overall race of the population. So, in the end, he did believe he was helping others.
A theory of explaining this type of killing states that because the individual knows right from wrong they need to develop an excuse in order to clarify the behavior. There are three patterns under this category of killing:
There is a strong connection between the concept of psychopathy and the idea of an angel of death, although little to no empirical research has been conducted on this association. A hypothesis on the relationship is that angels of death would score high on the Factor 1 interpersonal traits and lower on the Factor 2 antisocial traits. These individuals would most likely score high on traits such as lack of remorse or guilt and callous/lack of empathy, similar to the findings in the Mengele case study. However, they would most like score low on traits such as parasitic lifestyle and irresponsibility. More research needs to be conducted in order to create a basis for this research subject.
A theory of explaining this type of killing states that because the individual knows right from wrong they need to develop an excuse in order to clarify the behavior. There are three patterns under this category of killing:
- Mercy killer: "Believe the victims are suffering or beyond help, though this belief may be delusional or simply ignorant"
- Sadistic: "Use their position as a way of exerting power and control over helpless victims" This is the category Mengele would fall under, as he would use his power as an SS officer physician for the justification and credentials to kill his victims.
- Malignant hero: "A pattern wherein the subject endangers the victim's life in some way and the proceeds to 'save' them"
There is a strong connection between the concept of psychopathy and the idea of an angel of death, although little to no empirical research has been conducted on this association. A hypothesis on the relationship is that angels of death would score high on the Factor 1 interpersonal traits and lower on the Factor 2 antisocial traits. These individuals would most likely score high on traits such as lack of remorse or guilt and callous/lack of empathy, similar to the findings in the Mengele case study. However, they would most like score low on traits such as parasitic lifestyle and irresponsibility. More research needs to be conducted in order to create a basis for this research subject.