In 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in Milwaukee after a series of gruesome murders and dismemberments of 17 men and boys. His crimes shocked the nation and highlighted issues of mental health, societal neglect, and the failures of law enforcement. Dahmer's case became a significant point of discussion regarding criminal psychology and the complexities of human behavior, influencing both media portrayals of serial killers and public awareness of such crimes.

The arrest of Jeffrey Dahmer in 1991 brought issues of alienation and the grotesque into focus in late 20th-century confessional poetry. Poets such as Sharon Olds and Anne Sexton examined the darker aspects of human nature, using Dahmer's story as a lens to explore themes of identity, trauma, and societal decay.