Recently, I have indulged in variety shows on the mystery of human minds. With Criminal Minds being one of my favorite shows, I utilized most of my summer familiarizing myself on how minds control behaviour. Out of all the intriguing psychological influences behind crimes, the 1975 Billy Milligan’s case never fails to captivate my interest: A twenty-two years old American, arrested in Ohio for multiple cases of kidnap, rape and armed robbery. As much as the seriousness of his crime gathered public attention, it was to be the unprecedented case where a metal illness was successfully used as a defense for violence (Phillips).
Billy Milligan was “a criminal [and] … a victim,” writes Jeb Phillips in the Columbus Dispatch. He kidnapped three women from the Ohio State University, raped them, threatened them with gun and robbed them. Yet, he claimed his innocence. Milligan obstinately asserted he had no memory of committing such crime, and indeed, he was eventually acquitted as “incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the …show more content…
Each of his personalities identified themselves with unique name, age, gender, spoke in varied accents, sat differently, showed distinct habits. Despite their individuality, the twenty-four distinct identity acted for a single purpose: to protect Billy Milligan. After all, the reason for their birth was solely due to Milligan’s self defense against the traumatic events of his childhood (Phillips).
For the next few days, without realizing, I found my thoughts drifting over to Billy Milligan’s disturbing yet fascinating account. Milligan’s multiple identity disorder became the constant source of my procrastination. Perhaps because he eerie reminded of myself. I felt an irrefutable resemblance between the whole idea of self-creation of identities and my social media
Billy Milligan was “a criminal [and] … a victim,” writes Jeb Phillips in the Columbus Dispatch. He kidnapped three women from the Ohio State University, raped them, threatened them with gun and robbed them. Yet, he claimed his innocence. Milligan obstinately asserted he had no memory of committing such crime, and indeed, he was eventually acquitted as “incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the …show more content…
Each of his personalities identified themselves with unique name, age, gender, spoke in varied accents, sat differently, showed distinct habits. Despite their individuality, the twenty-four distinct identity acted for a single purpose: to protect Billy Milligan. After all, the reason for their birth was solely due to Milligan’s self defense against the traumatic events of his childhood (Phillips).
For the next few days, without realizing, I found my thoughts drifting over to Billy Milligan’s disturbing yet fascinating account. Milligan’s multiple identity disorder became the constant source of my procrastination. Perhaps because he eerie reminded of myself. I felt an irrefutable resemblance between the whole idea of self-creation of identities and my social media