As someone who worked in psych for years, the way they looked at the nuances is brilliant.
Thank you so much for sharing OP.
I am personally against the death penalty in general because of the numerous times people sentenced to death have been exonerated now that we have DNA evidence. So many times we got it wrong.
I question that stance sometimes in situations like the Boston bombers. For serial killers.
And then you have this murderer who admitted and asked to die. Who suffered massive abuse during his childhood.
That actually gives me pause again. Because this IS a mentally ill man. Sane enough to take responsibility, but also unable to control himself. Likely not a candidate for rehabilitation, but should he have been instead committed for life to a psychiatric prison?
These parents brought into their home, with small children, a teenager who had already been diagnosed as a sexual psychopath. That was certainly a choice!
Yes, that’s true but he seemingly didn’t offend against the children or the family. And that fact reiterates that people can be two things at once. This isn’t a new phenomenon. The serial killer BKT hid in plain sight for many many years and no one was any of the wiser, stable job, loving husband and father, leader of his church. Yet, also a serial killer.
If this article makes anything clear, it’s that loving this man has brought the family just as much pain as it did joy. And that’s the thing about crimes like this, everyone is collateral damage because of one persons choice. And no one is the same on the other side.
Nearly everyone has someone who loves them, and nearly everyone has something about them that is worthy of love. The majority of us will never have anyone we love commit an atrocity, so it’s easy to look from the outside and believe how we would feel in that position. How could someone love someone who could do such a thing? But that’s not what love is.
I have three kids and I don’t believe that there is anything that they could do, no matter how abhorrent, that would make me stop loving them.
For anyone interested in this topic, I highly suggest the film Mass (2021). It explores this topic in a very careful and moving way.
citybythebea | 3 hours ago
Great article, the last line was so powerful
“They had to go on knowing the worst thing about him, without being able to unknow the rest.”
GreenEyedTreeHugger | 2 hours ago
It’s horrible.
Late_Resource_1653 | an hour ago
AMAZING article.
As someone who worked in psych for years, the way they looked at the nuances is brilliant.
Thank you so much for sharing OP.
I am personally against the death penalty in general because of the numerous times people sentenced to death have been exonerated now that we have DNA evidence. So many times we got it wrong.
I question that stance sometimes in situations like the Boston bombers. For serial killers.
And then you have this murderer who admitted and asked to die. Who suffered massive abuse during his childhood.
That actually gives me pause again. Because this IS a mentally ill man. Sane enough to take responsibility, but also unable to control himself. Likely not a candidate for rehabilitation, but should he have been instead committed for life to a psychiatric prison?
This case opens a lot of ethical questions.
umwamiikazii | an hour ago
These parents brought into their home, with small children, a teenager who had already been diagnosed as a sexual psychopath. That was certainly a choice!
No_Fault_4071 | 49 minutes ago
Yes, that’s true but he seemingly didn’t offend against the children or the family. And that fact reiterates that people can be two things at once. This isn’t a new phenomenon. The serial killer BKT hid in plain sight for many many years and no one was any of the wiser, stable job, loving husband and father, leader of his church. Yet, also a serial killer.
If this article makes anything clear, it’s that loving this man has brought the family just as much pain as it did joy. And that’s the thing about crimes like this, everyone is collateral damage because of one persons choice. And no one is the same on the other side.
PeakProfessional9517 | an hour ago
Nearly everyone has someone who loves them, and nearly everyone has something about them that is worthy of love. The majority of us will never have anyone we love commit an atrocity, so it’s easy to look from the outside and believe how we would feel in that position. How could someone love someone who could do such a thing? But that’s not what love is.
I have three kids and I don’t believe that there is anything that they could do, no matter how abhorrent, that would make me stop loving them.
For anyone interested in this topic, I highly suggest the film Mass (2021). It explores this topic in a very careful and moving way.