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Mitigating factors to Sniper Spree?

post #1 of 7
2/10/04 at 10:26am
Thread Starter 
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/10/sp...ten/index.html

The article presents some information that John Muhammed's attorneys believe mitigate his culpability in the sniper shooting spree he has been convicted of and sentenced to death. A Virginia judge will rule on March 10 whether to uphold the jury sentence of death or to reduce the sentence to life in prison.

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While I think no child should have to suffer abuse such as what is described in the article, I just don't see how that reduces his responsibility for his actions. Unfortunately, many people are abused as children. Actually, amongst my face-to-face friends where I live now, I'm the only one who wasn't. But none of my friends have gone on killing sprees.
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post #2 of 7
2/10/04 at 12:35pm
I read the article a few hours ago, and still haven't formed an opinion. Firstly, the siblings' statements may be exaggerated, because they obviously have an interest in saving their brother's life. Secondly, I agree that there isn't a definite correlation between a "horrible childhood" and "horrendous crimes committed as an adult". I doubt that the court will recognize any mitigating circumstances, just because of the sheer number of victims and the "cold-bloodedness" involved.
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post #3 of 7
2/10/04 at 1:55pm
I think the abuse history helps us understand how he became the sort of person who would commit these acts. But...there is a difference between understanding and excusing his behavior. Every single serial killer (including Muhammed) was a victim of severe child abuse. But, as Heidi said, there are a heck of a lot of people out there with nasty abuse histories who never ever hurt another person.

I used to work with prisoners who had done really awful things. The vast majority of them had been seriously hurt in childhood. But, they all took responsibility for their actions rather than blaming it on the past. So, the past helps us understand the present, but ultimately we control our own behavior -- the past does not!
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post #4 of 7
2/10/04 at 2:02pm
Quote:
Originally posted by lotsocats
I think the abuse history helps us understand how he became the sort of person who would commit these acts. But...there is a difference between understanding and excusing his behavior. Every single serial killer (including Muhammed) was a victim of severe child abuse. But, as Heidi said, there are a heck of a lot of people out there with nasty abuse histories who never ever hurt another person.

I used to work with prisoners who had done really awful things. The vast majority of them had been seriously hurt in childhood. But, they all took responsibility for their actions rather than blaming it on the past. So, the past helps us understand the present, but ultimately we control our own behavior -- the past does not!
As a "true crime" junkie, I agree with you totally. However, I'm a teacher, and one very disturbing behavior I've come across is that there are a number of individuals who seem simply incapable of accepting responsibility for their own actions. There is always "someone else" to blame, whether it be the school administration, teachers, fellow students, parents, siblings, friends, acquaintances, etc., etc., etc..
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post #5 of 7
2/10/04 at 2:12pm
Thread Starter 
Renae, I couldn't agree with you more. Jcat, I also agree with you that there is definitely a lack of personal responsibility. I have to wonder how much the legal system has played in that attitude? "It's not my fault, I was abused." "It's not my fault, we were poor." "It's not my fault, society won't let me succeed because I'm a different color." "It's not my fault, the school system failed." I've seen all of these posed by the defense team as mitigating circumstances why their client shouldn't be found guilty of the crime, or at least get the harsh penalty for the crime they were accused of.
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post #6 of 7
2/10/04 at 2:34pm
When I worked in the prison, there were two groups of inmates. The largest group was made up of psychologically damaged guys. These young men had been severely physically or sexually abused and all were psychologically maltreated in childhood. All of these men readily acknowledged their crimes and genuinely felt bad for the harm they caused others. Many felt they couldn't control themselves and often felt they had no choice, but they all knew that the choice to commit the crimes were their own.

The smaller group of men were real psychopaths. They had zero empathy for others, didn't care that they hurt others, and blamed everyone but themselves for the predicament they were in. In my opinion, there is absolutely no hope for the men in this group...I hope they stay locked up for a very long time because they are often happiest when they are hurting and using others. Sadly, I am seeing more and more teens and children who seem to be heading down the path toward this personality. It breaks my heart (and scares me to death).
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post #7 of 7
2/11/04 at 5:31am
According to the article, there were six children in this family and all of them were abused. If childhood abuse is the defense, why haven't the other five gone on killing sprees?

For period of time, my stepmother beat, bloodied and bruised my brothers and me. To date, none of us has gone target practicing at Home Depot.

Even ultraliberal appellate attorney Alan Dershowitz doesn't buy these defenses. He wrote an excellent book, called "The Abuse Excuse" and carefully picks apart "abuse" defenses.
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