Are Serial Killers Currently Serving Time in Prison?

Yes, there are serial killers serving time in prisons across the United States and around the world. Not all serial killers receive the death penalty and those who are not executed, whether because their state does not have capital punishment, because a deal was made, or because the death sentence was not sought, end up serving life sentences in the general prison population or in protective custody.

Some of the most well known serial killers in American history are alive and incarcerated right now. Dennis Rader, known as BTK, is serving ten consecutive life sentences in Kansas. Joseph DeAngelo, the Golden State Killer, pleaded guilty in 2020 and is serving multiple life sentences in California. Samuel Little, who confessed to more than 90 murders, died in prison in 2020 while serving multiple life sentences. David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, has been incarcerated in New York since 1977 and has been denied parole multiple times.

Serial killers in prison are typically housed with careful consideration given to their notoriety, the risk they pose to other inmates, and the attention they attract. Some are placed in protective custody not because they are in danger from staff but because their presence in general population creates management problems. High profile killers tend to attract attention from other inmates, some of whom want to harm them and others who want to associate with them for status.