"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. 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
32. 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
33. 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
34. Reaching almost the age of seventy and having read or seen on TV so many of these uncomprehensible and inhuman acts of what some do to others, it's so easy to say they're crazy.But this is not true or always the case,as I`ve come to the belief ( most of you will scoff at me)that they have so willingly embraced evil that they become possessed by a demon of evil.How else can we explain the evil acts as by that man,who set out to destroy those little innocent Amish children not long ago? Did not Jesus remove, many times, unclean spirits from individuals?
Peter Comaskey
Peter Comaskey at 5:17PM on Jul 27th 2007
35. 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
36. Either way, free will or genes-determined-behaviour, you fry these two guys. Or you tie them to a bed, pour gasoline around them and set them alight..
If you chose to do this evil, society executes you, partially to prevent further evil and partially as justice. If your genes made you perform this evil act, then society executes you because your genes cannot be altered, either that or a lobotomy is performed to prevent any sort of future planning on your part, and thereby protect society. There are many explanations for evil, but justice demands execution. God is merciful, but the state cannot be.
Fred at 4:12PM on Jul 30th 2007
37. 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
38. 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
39. 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
40. 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
41. 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
42. 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
43. 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