Some Thoughts On the Criminal Mind

So I read somewhere that a jury in Texas acquitted a man who shot the men (in the back) who had broken into his neighbor's house. And at first I thought, "Gee, maybe that will teach burglars something." And then I watched one of those real life cop shows (Hot Guy's idea, not mine) and saw a guy get pulled over for weaving. When the cop walked over to the car, the guy opened his door and shot the cop. And after shooting the cop, he stayed and beat him for a while instead of getting the hell away. And I realized, criminals are not very bright.

If they were bright, they would think about the consequences before breaking into a house in full view of the neighbors or shooting a cop and sticking around. They would think about the consequences, period. And then they would be a lot less likely to commit the crimes. And THEN things like armed citizens and the death penalty would be the deterrents they are supposed to be.

But I don't think those clever criminals that show on up CSI (loved that miniature killer storyline) and Law and Order: Criminal Intent are very typical. Most criminals just aren't responsible enough, smart enough or talented enough to support themselves legitimately. And if they're not able to handle working at McDonald's, do you really think they're going to be able to figure out what might happen to them if they get caught?

Let's face it, most of the really big criminals don't get caught. Or at least they don't get caught for a very long time. The top level drug dealers, the real life Tony Sopranos, the leaders of sex slavery rings - how often do you hear about them getting caught? Not half as often as you hear about the genius who tries to rob the 7-11 he visits daily. . . without a mask.

So can we please let go of the idea that the average car jacker or burglar is going to suddenly change his or her ways because s/he thought about the consequences? These are the same kids who spent their elementary school years missing recess because they didn't do their homework - even though they loved recess and had been told the consequences over and over - the night before because "it wasn't fun". These are the same kids who kept getting beaten up in middle school, because they didn't realize that mouthing off to the bullies was a bad idea. These are the same kids who dropped out of high school to work, not realizing that work was more demanding - and that the work options available to high school drop outs were not lucrative.