This will not be a popular post.
Yes, we need to focus on, remember, mourn, and honor crime victims.
But, I am a student of psychology. I always will be. I went into Clinical Psychology not because I want to “help” people (I have a problem with that word, because it implies I am in a higher position to dole out help). I wanted to understand people: why people are the way they are. What shaped them?
Nature vs nurture: I want to shake the hand of the person who can come up with a definitive ratio. Which means, yes, I want to understand criminals and their motivations.
It does not mean I condone their behaviors, but there is no action without motivation. If someone was motivated by hate, how did that hate come into being? That’s what I think about.
I’ve worked with criminals, including sex offenders. Trust me. Many are not likeable, but, yes, some, I felt sympathy (not empathy) for. I don’t need to go into details, but their experiences (and sometimes, mental illness) shape their world view.
But that also means I will not accept mental illness as a convenient excuse. I’ve seen how hard it is to be found NGRI or to get a court order to force someone to take their psychotropic meds. TV and movies make it seem like a get-out-of-jail card. It’s not.
I’m speaking here as a trained mental health professional. This is how I feel academically and professionally. It is separate from how I feel as an individual and private citizen.
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