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It's also about keeping violent people off the streets. This guy killed someone. He mentions it so briefly it's as though he thinks it's a minor detail. That p

It's also about keeping violent people off the streets. This guy killed someone. He mentions it so briefly it's as though he thinks it's a minor detail. That person he killed was a real human. They were someone's kid, someone's sibling, someone's parent perhaps, someone's friend. He also seems to behave poorly in prison, still, after 30 years. He flippantly notes a "riot" as though it was something that happened to him. He brags about his abs. I'm not a psychologist but this guy reads like a stock standard psychopath. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy For many people (including myself), it's not about rehab, it's not about penance, it's not about vengeance, it's about keeping someone like this away from everyone else.

kortex 4y ago
That's reading quite a lot into an article which I don't believe supports those positions. We know nothing about the circumstances of the murder, nor of the riot, nor of his upbringing. There's absolutely nothing in this article to even suggest he's a psychopath. For all we know, he was in the wrong hood at the wrong time, and had to adapt to "prison life" because that is the culture that is foist upon him. I'm not saying he's not a psychopath, but that's not an evidence-based assertion here.
- danielmarkbruce 4y ago
  >> I'm not a psychologist but this guy reads like a stock standard psychopath. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy This isn't a strong assertion and hence doesn't need a water tight argument or strong evidence. It notes I'm not an expert in the field, and that I'm basing the judgement on the writing only. Not everything is an academic paper or a judgement from a jury. That being said, read the section on "core traits" in that link and read the article again. Lack of remorse... arrogance (the abs section?) and impulsive behavior (he murdered someone and is in and out of the hole for 30 years....).
  - tigen 4y ago
    Agreed. The article displays a "me vs. the world" attitude and the whole thing aims to evoke admiration and sympathy in the reader. There's no evidence of any true human empathy. Who gives a flying f__k about his abdominal muscles?
kiba 4y ago
For many people (including myself), it's not about rehab, it's not about penance, it's about keeping someone like this away from everyone else. He's a killer - he doesn't care about anyone's rights but his own. I would put harm prevention above penance. Penance is just a tool that promotes caring, ideally before said harms become permanent. What we ultimately want is that people who don't murder. Also, as someone noted, you probably reading too much into it.
- danielmarkbruce 4y ago
  "keeping someone like this away" = harm prevention. You just state it more concisely :)
  - kiba 4y ago
    It's about preventing someone from becoming a person who harm people. Prison isn't something we should want in a society, but actively reduce, even if we never realistically achieve it.
    - danielmarkbruce 4y ago
      There aren't endless resources. Actively reducing would take a lot of effort from a lot of smart people and I'd rather spend those big brains on improving math and reading skills amongst children, or cancer research, or diabetes research, or dementia research.
      - kiba 4y ago
        There aren't endless resources. Actively reducing would take a lot of effort from a lot of smart people and I'd rather spend those big brains on improving math and reading skills amongst children, or cancer research, or diabetes research, or dementia research. Believe it or not, a society with 300 million plus people can do many things at once. Human resources aren't really fungible. Big brains spent on improving education of children can't really be reallocated to spend on cancer research or other part of medical science, not without extensive training at least. So too we can spend on psychological, social services, and welfare which is what we probably need to reduce crime and overall human suffering to a more manageable level. Hopefully, the improvement to societal health means more resources are available that can be then reallocated to tackle the remainder of human caused suffering.
emadabdulrahim 4y ago
I actually felt some sympathy for the prisoner. He went into Prison at 19. Perhaps he was even younger when he committed murder. WTF does a teenager know about themselves or the world to kill someone?! What kind of awful childhood and upbringing environment did he experience, if any? Of course he could be a psychopath. Or who knows. I wouldn't presume anything. But I wouldn't be so righteous feeling good about myself for not doing what he did. We're all lucky we didn't have it so bad, be it nature or nurture, or both.
- danielmarkbruce 4y ago
  Agree with all of this - but the comment states that it's about keeping people like this away, not punishing them or feeling smug or anything of the sort. This guy causes real harm everywhere he goes.
User23 4y ago
And psychopaths are often quite charismatic, so plenty of people are taken in by them.
- danielmarkbruce 4y ago
  Case in point!

kortex 4y ago

That's reading quite a lot into an article which I don't believe supports those positions. We know nothing about the circumstances of the murder, nor of the riot, nor of his upbringing. There's absolutely nothing in this article to even suggest he's a psychopath. For all we know, he was in the wrong hood at the wrong time, and had to adapt to "prison life" because that is the culture that is foist upon him. I'm not saying he's not a psychopath, but that's not an evidence-based assertion here.

danielmarkbruce 4y ago
>> I'm not a psychologist but this guy reads like a stock standard psychopath. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy This isn't a strong assertion and hence doesn't need a water tight argument or strong evidence. It notes I'm not an expert in the field, and that I'm basing the judgement on the writing only. Not everything is an academic paper or a judgement from a jury. That being said, read the section on "core traits" in that link and read the article again. Lack of remorse... arrogance (the abs section?) and impulsive behavior (he murdered someone and is in and out of the hole for 30 years....).
- tigen 4y ago
  Agreed. The article displays a "me vs. the world" attitude and the whole thing aims to evoke admiration and sympathy in the reader. There's no evidence of any true human empathy. Who gives a flying f__k about his abdominal muscles?

kiba 4y ago

For many people (including myself), it's not about rehab, it's not about penance, it's about keeping someone like this away from everyone else. He's a killer - he doesn't care about anyone's rights but his own. I would put harm prevention above penance. Penance is just a tool that promotes caring, ideally before said harms become permanent. What we ultimately want is that people who don't murder. Also, as someone noted, you probably reading too much into it.

danielmarkbruce 4y ago
"keeping someone like this away" = harm prevention. You just state it more concisely :)
- kiba 4y ago
  It's about preventing someone from becoming a person who harm people. Prison isn't something we should want in a society, but actively reduce, even if we never realistically achieve it.
  - danielmarkbruce 4y ago
    There aren't endless resources. Actively reducing would take a lot of effort from a lot of smart people and I'd rather spend those big brains on improving math and reading skills amongst children, or cancer research, or diabetes research, or dementia research.
    - kiba 4y ago
      There aren't endless resources. Actively reducing would take a lot of effort from a lot of smart people and I'd rather spend those big brains on improving math and reading skills amongst children, or cancer research, or diabetes research, or dementia research. Believe it or not, a society with 300 million plus people can do many things at once. Human resources aren't really fungible. Big brains spent on improving education of children can't really be reallocated to spend on cancer research or other part of medical science, not without extensive training at least. So too we can spend on psychological, social services, and welfare which is what we probably need to reduce crime and overall human suffering to a more manageable level. Hopefully, the improvement to societal health means more resources are available that can be then reallocated to tackle the remainder of human caused suffering.

emadabdulrahim 4y ago

I actually felt some sympathy for the prisoner. He went into Prison at 19. Perhaps he was even younger when he committed murder. WTF does a teenager know about themselves or the world to kill someone?! What kind of awful childhood and upbringing environment did he experience, if any? Of course he could be a psychopath. Or who knows. I wouldn't presume anything. But I wouldn't be so righteous feeling good about myself for not doing what he did. We're all lucky we didn't have it so bad, be it nature or nurture, or both.

danielmarkbruce 4y ago
Agree with all of this - but the comment states that it's about keeping people like this away, not punishing them or feeling smug or anything of the sort. This guy causes real harm everywhere he goes.

User23 4y ago

And psychopaths are often quite charismatic, so plenty of people are taken in by them.

danielmarkbruce 4y ago
Case in point!