the same option that the judges of Donta Page had between the death penalty and life in prison without the possibility of parole for this murderer, would you as a juror spare Fred the death penalty? I think many of you would. He had a lot of the risk factors for violence—childabuse, negative home background, traumatic life events with the early illnesses and deaths of his siblings, school failure and expulsion, unemployment and occupational failure, homelessness, and major traumaexposure. Like Page, does he not deserve some degree ofclemency?
Perhaps not for Fred Haltoil—alias Adolf Hitler—who was responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews and many millions more. There’s no question that Hitler was not a good man. His best defense lawyer would have had to admit that he pushed the envelope a bit when it came to social policy. Like Page, he was at best a flawed character, and at worst an inhuman monster. For any other killer, we might show mercy. But could you ever excuse Adolf Hitler?
In case you are willing to show mercy to Hitler and those like him who perpetratedgenocide—Idi Amin,Pol Pot,Joseph Stalin—bear in mind that American society is wired differently than you are.James Castle, the defense attorney of Donta Page, offered to enter the plea of guilty on all charges and receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole
before
the trial began. Page would never again be free to terrorize anyone outside of prison. Despite this, the prosecution pressed for the death penalty and went to trial—at great expense to you. Clearly this mind-set goes well beyond the protection of society and into the realm of costly retribution.
Are we wired for retribution? I believe that we evolved to have inside us deep-rooted feelings of retribution and rage at those selfish psychopaths who cheat on our civilized rules of social engagement, and who ruthlessly exploit our charity and trust. Without that powerful emotional mechanism to motivate rage and righteous indignation against these offenders, our current-day civilized society would not exist. If we forgave psychopaths we would be overrun by them. We need to hold a grudge. There is surely something to be said for simmering retribution as a mainstay of our society.
You may alternatively have bought into the risk-factors argument for clemency I have given you. You may stand unswayed by the retributive argument. Others will feel differently. I can understand—I used to feel just like you. Why do people differ in their views? If you, unlike others, feel in favor of clemency, perhaps unlike Peyton Tuthill you have not had your throat cut recently.
You’ll recall from the Introduction my own feelings of being a victim of violence and theJekyll-and-Hyde debate I have with myself today. That scientifically trained alter ego has spent his life trying tostop crime by working out what causes it and then developing treatments. He’s spent four years of his life holed up in top-security prisons helping the dregs of society, running the gauntlet of the prison hierarchy frommurderers and bank robbers at the top to pedophiles at the bottom. He’s even argued that recidivistic crime is a clinical disorder and that we should go easier on those that we hit the hardest. And he is resolute in his belief—based on the body of scientific evidence that has been amassed—that early risk factors beyond the individual’s control help launch some into criminal careers. He urges all of us to take a hard look at the scientific evidence, and not to let our instincts and emotions hijack our rational thinking.
And yet—can I really forgive? Can I forget? Can I let slip for just once my evolutionary instincts that yearn for revenge and retribution? TheAmish apparently could whenCharles Roberts shot ten of their little girls in a schoolhouse in Lancaster County, down the road from me in Pennsylvania. That community’s response to this despicable act was:
I don’t think there’s anybody
Perhaps not for Fred Haltoil—alias Adolf Hitler—who was responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews and many millions more. There’s no question that Hitler was not a good man. His best defense lawyer would have had to admit that he pushed the envelope a bit when it came to social policy. Like Page, he was at best a flawed character, and at worst an inhuman monster. For any other killer, we might show mercy. But could you ever excuse Adolf Hitler?
In case you are willing to show mercy to Hitler and those like him who perpetratedgenocide—Idi Amin,Pol Pot,Joseph Stalin—bear in mind that American society is wired differently than you are.James Castle, the defense attorney of Donta Page, offered to enter the plea of guilty on all charges and receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole
before
the trial began. Page would never again be free to terrorize anyone outside of prison. Despite this, the prosecution pressed for the death penalty and went to trial—at great expense to you. Clearly this mind-set goes well beyond the protection of society and into the realm of costly retribution.
Are we wired for retribution? I believe that we evolved to have inside us deep-rooted feelings of retribution and rage at those selfish psychopaths who cheat on our civilized rules of social engagement, and who ruthlessly exploit our charity and trust. Without that powerful emotional mechanism to motivate rage and righteous indignation against these offenders, our current-day civilized society would not exist. If we forgave psychopaths we would be overrun by them. We need to hold a grudge. There is surely something to be said for simmering retribution as a mainstay of our society.
You may alternatively have bought into the risk-factors argument for clemency I have given you. You may stand unswayed by the retributive argument. Others will feel differently. I can understand—I used to feel just like you. Why do people differ in their views? If you, unlike others, feel in favor of clemency, perhaps unlike Peyton Tuthill you have not had your throat cut recently.
You’ll recall from the Introduction my own feelings of being a victim of violence and theJekyll-and-Hyde debate I have with myself today. That scientifically trained alter ego has spent his life trying tostop crime by working out what causes it and then developing treatments. He’s spent four years of his life holed up in top-security prisons helping the dregs of society, running the gauntlet of the prison hierarchy frommurderers and bank robbers at the top to pedophiles at the bottom. He’s even argued that recidivistic crime is a clinical disorder and that we should go easier on those that we hit the hardest. And he is resolute in his belief—based on the body of scientific evidence that has been amassed—that early risk factors beyond the individual’s control help launch some into criminal careers. He urges all of us to take a hard look at the scientific evidence, and not to let our instincts and emotions hijack our rational thinking.
And yet—can I really forgive? Can I forget? Can I let slip for just once my evolutionary instincts that yearn for revenge and retribution? TheAmish apparently could whenCharles Roberts shot ten of their little girls in a schoolhouse in Lancaster County, down the road from me in Pennsylvania. That community’s response to this despicable act was:
I don’t think there’s anybody
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