11 ms·

"Ending another human's life" covers a wide range of cases. My recollection of this event, which is now long in the past, is that he was cold, calculating, did

"Ending another human's life" covers a wide range of cases. My recollection of this event, which is now long in the past, is that he was cold, calculating, did not value human life, and was quite comfortable with his kids moving on without their mother. He didn't just do something to her. He permanently damaged his kids, her family, and all of her friends. He made his decision knowing all of this. Redemption? Possible I suppose, but don't make the mistake of looking at this from your perspective, because he's not like the rest of us.

robertlagrant 3y ago
> because he's not like the rest of us I don't think we can know this, and there's no point speculating. I would say that the letter doesn't read as someone who's imperfectly simulating regret.
- ryandvm 3y ago
  Of course - this entire thread is nothing but speculation. That said, the premeditated murder of someone, let alone your wife and children's mother, is not something that the average person is capable of. It is entirely different than the crimes one may commit out of rage, fear, or passion (i.e. when your amygdala is driving). I don't believe in capital punishment or lesser forms of punitive justice, but I have a hard time believing that psychopaths can ever be meaningfully rehabilitated. They are just humans that shipped with a fucked up firmware and that's all there is to that.
  - ako 3y ago
    The letter reads like Reiser thinks the firmware bug is fixable, and it’s more a case of nurture over nature. Don’t know if that’s true, but it’s not unthinkable.
    - timschmidt 3y ago
      I've certainly encountered the opposite - folks who probably would have lived healthy productive lives, but were subject to some terrible event during some formative time and negatively impacted by it.
    - qingcharles 3y ago
      I think murder has an exceptionally low recidivism rate mainly because if you do get out of prison after serving your time you probably don't want to do it again, and you might never be put in a situation where you need to do it again.
      - tonyedgecombe 3y ago
        I wonder if it's just that people are old by the time they get out.
        qingcharles 3y ago
        That too. People over 55 are classified as "elderly" in the federal prison system. The crime rate of those over 35 is significantly lower than those under.
bejk22 3y ago
> because he's not like the rest of us. He's human and killing other humans is something a humans can do, given the right circumstances.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  Yes, but normally you have a fairly high bar to cross before you would resort to such an act, and it would be in the context of self defense or something equivalent. To kill your wife in a premeditated manner is not something most humans can do, even given the 'right' circumstances, most people would resolve a conflict at that level in a different way.
  - mardifoufs 3y ago
    Yeah I don't get how some frame this as a mistake that just happens or how it shouldn't define the person. When, no it doesn't happen!! And yes it absolutely should define how we perceive them? Maybe I just live a sheltered life but murdering your wife is probably a sign of.. something bad in you as a person? And it's super super uncommon and extreme.
  - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
    you don't know his emotional state, he could have very well passed that high bar internally. From my recollection, his wife was sleeping with another man, or there was some conflict between the two that was related to another man who I _think_ was supposed to be a friend to them both. it's been a while, but the point remains, he very well could have been in a state that allowed him to "pass that bar".
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      Reiser himself is on the record as stating that he killed her because he was protecting his children. Whether that passes that bar or not I'll leave up to you but for me it rules out that this was a 'heat of the moment' thing. In my opinion he knew full well what he was doing, he understood that his kids would move to Russia and be raised there (she got sole custody) and this was his way of putting a stop to that.
bombcar 3y ago
To be quite frank, redemption isn't really for us to decide. His family, her family, they have a say in it. We only have a say insofar as we're part of the society that determines the laws that form the judges who will decide when it's appropriate to let him back into society.

robertlagrant 3y ago

> because he's not like the rest of us I don't think we can know this, and there's no point speculating. I would say that the letter doesn't read as someone who's imperfectly simulating regret.

ryandvm 3y ago
Of course - this entire thread is nothing but speculation. That said, the premeditated murder of someone, let alone your wife and children's mother, is not something that the average person is capable of. It is entirely different than the crimes one may commit out of rage, fear, or passion (i.e. when your amygdala is driving). I don't believe in capital punishment or lesser forms of punitive justice, but I have a hard time believing that psychopaths can ever be meaningfully rehabilitated. They are just humans that shipped with a fucked up firmware and that's all there is to that.
- ako 3y ago
  The letter reads like Reiser thinks the firmware bug is fixable, and it’s more a case of nurture over nature. Don’t know if that’s true, but it’s not unthinkable.
  - timschmidt 3y ago
    I've certainly encountered the opposite - folks who probably would have lived healthy productive lives, but were subject to some terrible event during some formative time and negatively impacted by it.
  - qingcharles 3y ago
    I think murder has an exceptionally low recidivism rate mainly because if you do get out of prison after serving your time you probably don't want to do it again, and you might never be put in a situation where you need to do it again.
    - tonyedgecombe 3y ago
      I wonder if it's just that people are old by the time they get out.
      - qingcharles 3y ago
        That too. People over 55 are classified as "elderly" in the federal prison system. The crime rate of those over 35 is significantly lower than those under.

bejk22 3y ago

> because he's not like the rest of us. He's human and killing other humans is something a humans can do, given the right circumstances.

jacquesm 3y ago
Yes, but normally you have a fairly high bar to cross before you would resort to such an act, and it would be in the context of self defense or something equivalent. To kill your wife in a premeditated manner is not something most humans can do, even given the 'right' circumstances, most people would resolve a conflict at that level in a different way.
- mardifoufs 3y ago
  Yeah I don't get how some frame this as a mistake that just happens or how it shouldn't define the person. When, no it doesn't happen!! And yes it absolutely should define how we perceive them? Maybe I just live a sheltered life but murdering your wife is probably a sign of.. something bad in you as a person? And it's super super uncommon and extreme.
- PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
  you don't know his emotional state, he could have very well passed that high bar internally. From my recollection, his wife was sleeping with another man, or there was some conflict between the two that was related to another man who I _think_ was supposed to be a friend to them both. it's been a while, but the point remains, he very well could have been in a state that allowed him to "pass that bar".
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    Reiser himself is on the record as stating that he killed her because he was protecting his children. Whether that passes that bar or not I'll leave up to you but for me it rules out that this was a 'heat of the moment' thing. In my opinion he knew full well what he was doing, he understood that his kids would move to Russia and be raised there (she got sole custody) and this was his way of putting a stop to that.

bombcar 3y ago

To be quite frank, redemption isn't really for us to decide. His family, her family, they have a say in it. We only have a say insofar as we're part of the society that determines the laws that form the judges who will decide when it's appropriate to let him back into society.