Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people.[1] It involves an agreement which includes some form of compensation, monetary or otherwise. It is an illegal agreement. Either party may be a person, group, or organization. Contract killing has been associated with organized crime, government conspiracies, dictatorships, and vendettas. For example, in the United States, the Italian- and Jewish-American organized crime gang Murder, Inc. committed hundreds of murders on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate during the 1930s and '40s.

Contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to carry out the actual killing, making it more difficult for law enforcement to connect the hirer with the murder. The likelihood that authorities will establish that party's guilt for the committed crime, especially due to lack of forensic evidence linked to the contracting party, makes the case more difficult to attribute to the hiring party. Contract killers may exhibit serial killer traits, but are generally not classified as such because of third-party killing objectives and detached financial and emotional incentives.[2][3][4] Nevertheless, there are occasionally individuals that are labeled as both contract killers and serial killers.[5][6][7]

A contract killer is colloquially known as a hitman. Contract killers who work for criminal organizations are often known as enforcers.

Statistics

A study by the Australian Institute of Criminology of 162 contract murders and attempted contract murders in Australia between 1989 and 2002 indicated that the most common reason for murder-for-hire was insurance policy payouts. The study also found that payments varied from $5,000 to $30,000 per killing, with an average of $15,000, and that the most commonly used weapons were firearms. Contract killings accounted for 2% of murders in Australia during that time period.[8] Contract killings generally make up a small percentage of murders. For example, they accounted for about 5% of all murders in Scotland from 1993 to 2002.[9]

The Hired Assassins (Ernest Meissonier, 1852)

Notable persons

Perpetrators

Mad Dog Coll leaving court surrounded by police officers, 1931

Victims

Employers

Fictional cases of contract killing or "hitmen" are depicted in a range of popular fiction genres in the 20th and 21st century, including comic books, films, and video games.

Contract killing is a core aspect of the video game franchise Hitman, wherein the player controls a hired hitman simply known as Agent 47.[26][27] In the game Hotline Miami, the player controls a man who receives mysterious calls telling him to kill members of the Russian Mafia.[28]

The website RentAHitman.com is a satirical homepage for a fake contract killing agency. Its owner passes on details of those who try to use his services to law enforcement agencies.[29]

Nothing Personal is a television documentary series that presents stories of contract killings.[30]

See also

Notes

  1. His nickname, "Karate" is due to the fact that he is a martial artist and also to the fact that he is a black belt in Goju-ryu Karate.
  2. According to Julio Santana himself, he stopped counting the number of targets he killed after the 492nd victim, implying that the actual number of victims he killed would be (unofficially) 500 or more.

References

  1. Frank Shanty; Patit Paban Mishra (2008). Organized Crime: From Trafficking to Terrorism. ABC-CLIO. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-57607-337-7.
  2. Zagros Madjd-Sadjadi (2013). The Economics of Crime. Business Expert Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-60649-583-4.
  3. Holmes & Holmes 2009, p. 7.
  4. David Wilson; Elizabeth Yardley; Adam Lynes (2015). Serial Killers and the Phenomenon of Serial Murder: A Student Textbook. Waterside Press - Drew University. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-909976-21-4.
  5. David Wilson; Elizabeth Yardley; Adam Lynes (2015). Serial Killers and the Phenomenon of Serial Murder: A Student Textbook. Waterside Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-909976-21-4.
  6. R.J. Parker, Ph.D.; Dr. Scott Bonn (2017). Blood Money: The Method and Madness of Assassins. ABC-CLIO. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-1-987902-34-1.
  7. Holmes, Ronald M.; Holmes, Stephen T. (2009). Serial Murder. SAGE. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-4129-7442-4.
  8. "Lovers top contract killing hit list". CNN. February 5, 2004.
  9. "Homicide in Scotland, 2002". Government of Scotland.
  10. G1 (Ceará): Assassinato do pistoleiro cearense Mainha completa 10 anos e segue sem condenação
  11. Aventuras na História: CONFUSÃO E MORTE: MAINHA, O MAIOR JUSTICEIRO DO NORDESTE
  12. Aventuras na História: JÚLIO SANTANA: O BRASILEIRO QUE MATOU 492 PESSOAS E ESCAPOU DA POLÍCIA
  13. New York Post: Meet Julio Santana, the world’s deadliest hitman — with 500 kills
  14. "Interview: Charles Brandt, author 'I Heard You Paint Houses'". amp-clickondetroit-com.cdn.ampproject.org. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  15. "El ex jefe de sicarios de Pablo Escobar seguirá en prisión al menos hasta 2016" [Ex-chief of Pablo Escobar's hitmen to be in prison until 2016]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Bogotá. September 16, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  16. Wilson, Michael (April 26, 2019). "Her 'Prince Charming' Turned Out to Be a Crazed Hit Man on the Run". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  17. "Hired Killer Sentenced". The Evening Press. Binghamton, NY: The New York Times Company. November 11, 1980. p. 7-A.
  18. "'Hitwoman' charged in 6 slayings". Pacific Stars and Stripes. Japan. UPI. February 16, 1980. p. 7.
  19. "Mob Boss John Gotti Is Dead". The Smoking Gun. June 10, 2002. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  20. Boyle, Robert H. (June 4, 1973). "End Of A Bloody Bad Show". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  21. "Tim Lambesis Sentenced to Six Years in Jail for Murder-for-Hire Plot". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  22. Brulliard, Karin (January 22, 2020). "Zookeeper who killed tigers and tried to have rival murdered is sentenced to 22 years in prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  23. Pelisek, Christine (November 22, 2017). "How Divorce Led to Diana Lovejoy's Murder-for-Hire Plot". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  24. "Ex-husband in hit-man case says courts were wrong - Nova Scotia". CBC News.
  25. "Brazil: Former congresswoman sentenced to 50 years in prison for husband's murder". November 14, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  26. Sarkar, Samit (January 19, 2021). "Shockingly, what Hitman 3 wants most is to tell you a story". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021.
  27. Bolt, Neil (November 9, 2018). "[Review] 'Hitman 2' is a Stone Cold Killer". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018.
  28. Smith, Graham (October 31, 2012). "Hotline Miami review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015.
  29. Salam, Erum (December 17, 2021). "Meet the man who accidentally started an assassin hiring website". The Guardian. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  30. Egner, Jeremy (March 8, 2011). "Steve Schirripa on the Real-Life Button Men in His New Series". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011.


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