"Honey, there are some really bad people in the world." This is the warning we routinely gave to our daughter as we instructed her not to respond to the initiatives of strangers. And it is surely the advice that parents everywhere give to their children. In the academic world, however, such advice is considered "simplistic." Many sociologists like to emphasize that human behavior cannot be reduced to categories of "good" and "evil." Why, then, do people do horrible things? Our Solomonic scholars inform us it is because something else made them do it. For years the fashionable opinion was that "society made them do it." Now the fashionable view is that "genes made them do it."
Let's examine these theories in light of the Connecticut murders. Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes had a history of burglary: each of them had more than 20 prior burglaries on their records. Even if we assume that they were stealing out of necessity--a stretched assumption--that does not even begin to explain their actions in this case. They beat the mother, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, with a baseball bat and threw her down the stairs. Then they raped and strangled her. They tied the two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, to their beds, raped them, and then poured gasoline around them and burned them to death. The father remains hospitalized with head injuries. None of this extreme violence seems explicable on the grounds that the the two suspects needed to steal.
It seems equally absurd to say that genes made them do it. No one denies that our actions are influenced by our genes, but can any reasonable person maintain that humans don't have some degree of free will? Yes, there are reasonable people who say that, such as biologist E.O. Wilson and philosopher Daniel Dennett. According to these wise men, all our actions have biological causes and free will is an illusion. But if this is so, then all of morality is an illusion. Whenever we say to someone, "You should do this" or "You shouldn't do that," we presume that he has a choice in the matter. Ought implies can. However screwed up the murderers might have been, can anyone deny that they chose to do what they did, and consequently that they should be held responsible for their actions?
If neither society nor genes made them do it, what did? The third possibility is that they did it because they are evil. This option, so easily scorned by sophisticates, is actually the clearest and most satisfying description of the facts before us. This was an evil act, and it was done by some really bad people. Evil inspires indignation, and this indignation is not a mere emotional response but reflects a rational comprehension of the horror that has been perpetrated. The instinct that says "Give them the death penalty" is more than a call for vengeance; it is also a call for justice. We do not have the right to forgive crimes perpetrated against other people, only those perpetrated against ourselves. It is time to hold the bad guys responsible. I hope that Connecticut hasn't unplugged its electric chair.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 3)
31. Look, those of you that say the death penalty is barbaric and evil aren't using the least bit of logic.
For one... we now do lethal injections, which is by far not barbaric, but "humane".
I consider myself somewhere middle of the road in the realm of left and right, although I lean more towards a liberal point of view.
But regarding these murders... to say it was done because these men are "evil" seems right. I don't buy that it is genetic. Sure, genetics plays a part in who we are, but we still have free will. I'd be more apt to believe these two are simply insane. Thy lack some switch in their brain that tell them what they should or shouldn't do.
This doesn't excuse them, though. It doesn't mean we should lock them up in a mental hospital. I don't buy that a crime like this can be blamed on mental illness. There is a difference between mentally ill and criminally insane.
Sociopathic individuals can not be helped. You could present me with all sorts of studies, but in then end the majority of these people will coninue to cause harm to others and therefore should be removed from society. It is painfully obvious that a greater deterent than lock up is needed to stop these sorts of people from running around killing and raping.
Tom at 10:42PM on Jul 26th 2007
32. Evil is less of a mystery when we understand that it is universal and common. Most occasions of evil may be trivial compared to the murders described. For example, we can be flippant or angry with those we love when we’ve had a bad day and a splitting headache, behavior which we would not have otherwise exercise without having had the bad day.
This small example illustrates that there are many variables that precipitate and mitigate evil, and one of these variables is free will. But Christians, for example, hold that judgments of the soul are always wrong, not in the sense that we can not prosecute and punish extremely evil behavior, but in the sense that it is not humanly possible for anyone to ascertain all the variables of behavior that occur in another human being's behavior. It is a matter for God alone to judge.
It is wrong for social scientists to get involved in metaphysical value judgments and declare there is no free will. It is also wrong to flippantly dismiss whatever predisposing physiological and psychological variables that may weaken the moral resolve of a very weak person. It is not useless, for example, to find simple jobs that provide stability and dignity to the mentally ill, something conservatives of two generations ago use to advocate.
Ed at 10:50PM on Jul 26th 2007
33. John 8:1Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
2And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
-----------------------------------------
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at the murderers.
If any one of us deserves to die, so do all of us, for we are all under sin.
Some of you call for the murderers to be tortured and executed. Do you pretend to not be murderers yourselves? It is manifest that you are in that you show hatred for the murderers, who are your brethren.
1 John 3:
"14We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
Do not be hypocrites. Love your brothers like yourselves. Keep the commandments of the Lord. This is a Christian nation.
Revelation 3:
19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
God bless you all.
The Voice at 10:58PM on Jul 26th 2007
34. I know there is no proof, but I agree that the father might be invovled a la Scott Peterson. It might come out he has a mistress and the '3 girls' and alimony were a real hassle. I'm sure the police will go up this avenue. Why all the violence to the women and he survives unblemished. One of the murderers will crack -then again- we were all wrong about the Ramseys.
Charles Almon at 11:03PM on Jul 26th 2007
35. While geneticists, neurologists,psychologists and socicologists are far from able to explain all human behavior, at least they are trying. And what is Dinesh's explanation? "They [the murder suspects] did it because they are evil?" Well, that certainly clears everything up! And how do we know that they (and we) have free will? Because the word "ought" implies the word "can"! I guess that can be called philosphy by dictionary. Dinesh's "explanations" are not just simplistic; they are downright simpleminded.
Hey, I know, maybe the murderers did what they did because 6,000 years ago two people in a garden ate a piece of fruit. Yeah, that would "explain' everything!
emelpe at 11:24PM on Jul 26th 2007
36. morality aside it's simply not practical or profitable to have homicidal maniacs running loose. I don't know if the soul exists, and I don't really care when it comes to practical matters in the real world. Homcidal maniacs interfere with free trade and are thus un-welcome. They should immediately be deported to outer space and if they can hold their breath long enough to paddle to another planet then more power to them.
I have no problem with what people might think or feel since those things don't exist outside of the mind, it's only actions that affect others, and it's only actions that need to be dealt with.
Darkmanwp at 4:03AM on Jul 27th 2007
37. good and evil are personal judgements dependent on the moral(immoral)initiatives and precepts held by the assayer. Hitler, Rwanda, Darfur are not moral faux pas. Rather these genocides were formatted and premeditated in advance of the wholesale murders. Therefore, approval of these atrocities were pre-sanctioned. The perpetrators of the murders in Connecticut may, it could be argued, have the degenerative genes most associated with amoral, sociopathic behaviour. I've read recently of some horrific crimes where victims were forcibly fed household chemicals, raped repeatedly while bound for days; thrown into a trashcan to die of aphyxiation;a young man sodomized and tortured before having his limbs hacked off, doused with gasoline and torched; two pregnant women murdered within weeks of one another for no good reasons. These acts of murder have been elevated to crimes against not one human being but all of humanity. The havoc these people cause effects us all; the trail of wreakage they leave behind haunting those that have survived another day.Are these men anomalies? Are they kin to the unflappable, seemingly ubiquitous suicide bombers unrepenitient in their mass destruction of innocents? There are Dr Mengeles the world over only to willing to persecute and torture with a relish and audacity that defies even the nightmare of insensate evil-making. These murders are more than just the victims being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They've taken place in our own backyards. And the perpetrators are our neighbors, too!
boredwell at 5:26AM on Jul 27th 2007
38. I am sorry to admit that I initially became suspicious upon viewing the family picture. As related to the suspicions offered by some other contributors, I immediately felt that the man's face displayed an agreeable expression that was not genuine. The feeling grew as I read the account of the murder. Most convincing, of course, is the fact that the husband survived. Did he make an attempt to remove his daughters before they died? Another factor is the order and manner in which they were killed. The wife was killed first and in a very direct brutal manner. The daughters may have been killed more as an after thought, in order to hide the rape and remove potential witnesses. Two men could certainly have ascertained the husband's death, had they desired it. He may have been spared so that a final pomised payment could be made. I would guess that the original plan called for simply killing the wife and possibly harming the daughters in order to hide the aim of killing only the wife. In the frenzy and hysteria of the initial killing and sexual performance, they went beyond the plan. I cannot guess where the trip to the bank fits in unless it was unbridled greed. I would like to know more about the husband. Was he controlling? Remote? Insincere? Troubled? As to the two murderers - it doesn't matter whether they are imprisoned or executed - as long as they are never free again.
Sylvia at 1:19AM on Jul 29th 2007
39. I'm deeply saddened by this event... and outraged by the nonsense on this blog. Genes? Okay - then lets make sure they're not passed on. Electrocution is too humane for these cold-blooded murders, drop them in Faluhja wearing "I love the USA" t-shirts. Sick bastards.
john at 6:09PM on Jul 30th 2007
40. Your comments are completely wrong. Facts are that Dr. Petit was beaten with a baseball bat and left for dead in the cellar. The youngest daughter Michela was raped not her older sister Haley. They were not burned to death but rather died from smoke inhalation. A very poorly written story full of non-facts.
Southington, Ct.
Terry at 5:15PM on Aug 19th 2007
41. Isn't it nice that we can talk about this and decide upon that on this topic, and that we're not tied up to a bed and raped repeatedly or beaten with a baseball bat or left in a ditch somewhere to die in a fiery blaze. As we sit here comfortably typing away in our homes , far from the reality of the situation and far from these men, we speculate that it may be "evil" to dispose of them in the most humane and civilized of ways, certainly not the way in which they brutalized their innocent victims. Instead, we worry about their rights our narcissistic desire to be fair while the victims lie wounded in their graves with no voice whatsoever left to cry out for justice.
rebecca at 10:04PM on Aug 6th 2007
42. Congratulations! I'm glad that you've left the gays out of this one and focused on the real problem. Keep doing so, and you'll be a respectable journalist yet.
Honestly, though, kudos. I'd advocate for those bastard's deaths in a heartbeat. What they did is undeniably evil, and while genes may play a part, there is no excuse for what they did.
Erika Cobalt at 11:28PM on Aug 10th 2007
43. Read a related piece by Charlotte Laws today in the Santa Monica Daily Press, page 5. Title is 'More to a murderer than just their DNA' It talks about this case and another one from 10 years ago and how there might be something to the genetics equals crime theory. This is pdf but here goes.
http://www.smdp.com/site/archives/081007.pdf
Charles Tidwell at 3:35AM on Aug 11th 2007
44. I hope that at some point in the context of these horrendous and unthinkable events, there will be public discussion, preferably by experts in the various fields of mental health, that focus on how such a tragedy could only be explained adequately by addressing the factor of mental illness. Children come into the world with multiple factors that are already established and all too frequently, despite the most heroic efforts by parents, professional and a loving community, a predisposition to mental illness emerges. Disorders of conduct, personality disorders, brain dysfunction, (and in some cases, actual brain disease), converge such that antisocial behavior becomes inevitable. The tragedy is further intensified when these individuals enter our penal system, which is often woefully inadequate at addressing mental illness. Dangerous (and often deranged) individuals are often placed in prison environments where there are poor or no mental health services. The incarcerated are then exposed to conditions that allow their antisocial personalities to fester, their anger to become further fueled, and often they encounter abuse that is unimaginable. The end result, unfortunately are crimes that are equally unimaginable. But mental illness of this sort is not unimaginable. It is all too real. I therefore hope that as the dialogue about these crimes occurs, the role of mental illness will be included and explored, rather than simple discussion of how there is no explanation for such events. This would not be to excuse the reality, but to inform the public and raise awareness about a very real and prevalent set of issues–Our penal system and the care of the criminally mentally ill.
bob Friedman at 3:38PM on Aug 28th 2007
45. I hope that at some point in the context of these horrendous and unthinkable events, there will be public discussion, preferably by experts in the various fields of mental health, that focus on how such a tragedy could only be explained adequately by addressing the factor of mental illness. Children come into the world with multiple factors that are already established and all too frequently, despite the most heroic efforts by parents, professional and a loving community, a predisposition to mental illness emerges. Disorders of conduct, personality disorders, brain dysfunction, (and in some cases, actual brain disease), converge such that antisocial behavior becomes inevitable. The tragedy is further intensified when these individuals enter our penal system, which is often woefully inadequate at addressing mental illness. Dangerous (and often deranged) individuals are often placed in prison environments where there are poor or no mental health services. The incarcerated are then exposed to conditions that allow their antisocial personalities to fester, their anger to become further fueled, and often they encounter abuse that is unimaginable. The end result, unfortunately are crimes that are equally unimaginable. But mental illness of this sort is not unimaginable. It is all too real. I therefore hope that as the dialogue about these crimes occurs, the role of mental illness will be included and explored, rather than simple discussion of how there is no explanation for such events. This would not be to excuse the reality, but to inform the public and raise awareness about a very real and prevalent set of issues–Our penal system and the care of the criminally mentally ill.
bob Friedman at 3:47PM on Aug 28th 2007