How do people who are criminals define good and bad, and if.....?

Question

as we are given to understand that, in some cases, they have no conscience, THEN HOW DID THEY LOSE IT and did they have it in the first place. Or is it just pure evil at work. . I think ALL criminals are mainly the victim of environment and upbringing and SOMETIMES DESPERATION....BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK..?

Answer 1

I agree with you for 90% of cases, but there are some genuinely hideous people out there...serial rapists, serial killers etc.

Everyone justifies their own behaviour to an extent, whether they commit legal or illegal acts.

Answer 2

criminals have a lowered sense of responsibility which allows them to feel they are above or beyond the rules and regulations of the common man and even if they are caught they feel they should not be prosecuted because the law doesn't apply to them . I'm quite surprised at the answers that this question has generated regarding excuses for criminals e.g. victim of environment or poor upbringing there are plenty of people about who have had a poor upbringing who do not commit crime and have a good moral sense people using the excuse that they had a poor upbringing or they cannot live without crime are liars no'one can claim to be a victim and perpetrator at the same time everybody knows right from wrong i can think of plenty of thing i could claim happened to be in my life to say I'm a victim but i will not be committing crime and using that as an excuse for my actions

Answer 3

Some criminals know what's right and wrong, they just don't care. Others are criminals for different reasons. For the ones that don't care it is genes and environment. This is fine as long they don't hurt anyone, but that is often not the case. I wouldn't be so quick to say ALL criminals are the result of these things(what you listed as reasons). Many people have bad lives, but don't do bad things to people later in life. I use the word victim sparsely. I weigh what the person has been dealt in life with what they have dealt to others. If they have recieved more harm than they have given then I call them victims. Otherwise I do not.

Answer 4

Petty thieves and crimes that society doesn't think are that "bad" define murders and rapists as bad because their crimes are much worse.
I believe everybody has a conscience (unless medically they have a disease) but some just manage to block it out, they never lose it, it is partof us. Society and upbringing are, like you said, mainly the starters of crime, sometimes desperation but the reasons i have come up with are:
Nurture- eg brought up with violence, be violent
Desperation - eg need for money
Accident - eg man slaughter or stealing accidently
Boredom - eg people don't know you are smart so you hatch a master plan and see if the police crack it
Revenge - eg killing somebody because they did something
Sickness. I believe that a murder or rapist is sick to some extent, there must be some medical reason for not feeling sorry for what you did and no normal person could just kill or rape for the hell of it but my Religion and Philosophy teacher disagrees, so does my mum...
but I think they are, they have that disease where they cannot connect to people or feel empathy or sympathy, or its like the Devils Rejects AH scary!

PS, The alchemist, breaking the law may define you as a criminal (BUT THAT IS NOT THE QUESTION) but anybody who has eaten mince pie on christmas is breaking the law.
I think its a good question, I can answer it thoroughly and get lots of points because people love how a 14 year old girl answer :D

Answer 5

Hi, my name is 876 and I am a criminal.

I am a menace to society because I have consumed:
- 2 capsules containing psilocybin mushrooms
- 1 blotter containing lysergic acid
- 1 tablet containing methylenedioxymethamphetamine
- 3 capsules of nitrous oxide, and
- Unknown quantities of cannabis sativa

On these occasions, I was always at home or with friends, never causing a public menace or harming myself to the point of placing a burden on the public health system. Regardless, my actions define me as a criminal (that is, they would if I got caught).

While this isn't entirely in the spirit of your question, I am an ethical person. I understand the concepts of "right" and "wrong", and have very strong convictions relating to those concepts; I just don't agree that the law is geared towards upholding the same virtues.

My actions are as self-determined as I can make them; I am not a victim of my environment. I don't think I'm pure evil either. Please be careful who you condemn while you attempt to learn about the world around you.

Answer 6

Personally I feel that criminals become desensitised to society and its needs. That's why they're criminals - because they don't havea consience. Some were never taught good or bad. We have a serial burglar down the road and his kids steal without a second thought.
Other people are totally selfish and are only able to see the world around themselves. ie Noisy neighbours, road rage etc etc.
But there is evil in the world. Look at the moors murderers.
There's a lot of difference between a petty theft and someone like Fred West.

Answer 7

I think that you are promulgating a rather dangerous concept. People of a 'Liberal' persuasion are always trying to remove blame from criminals. What you say, probably has some truth in it, but law enforcement cannot afford to try to work out "WHY" people commit crimes, it terms of evaluating blame. Their job would become impossible if they did, and criminals with good legal representation, would always be let off. The word "Pragmatism" comes to mind here in dealing with law enforcement. We will have to let God deal with the perceived injustice of this approach in assessing each persons culpability.
I know that some people have a wretched upbringing, and that that isn't fair, but perhaps we could look at punishing these people as aiding their reformation.

Answer 8

I think it's a stupid question. The definition of someone being a criminal is when the break the law. So the policeman who tested his patrol car at 176mph in a built up area) and got caught on camera is a criminal. Did being in the policeforce make him lose his conscience or did he never have a conscience when he joined the force?
Or do you think it is acceptable to do 176mph in a built-up area?

Answer 9

Really? I suppose I've seen it on TV.

A lot of criminals are the victims of their own stupidity, and some have socially inept, and honestly do not care what they do to others... I doubt desperation drives them- I mean, you are guaranteed a place to live and food as well as a small wage even when unemployed, so, no.
Oh, and then there's the greedy ones.

Answer 10

First of all, right and wrong exist outside of the law.
Sometimes bending or breaking a law might actually be a good thing to do. (Like a protest in Tianenmen Square)

Sometimes something wrong might be perfectly legal.
(Like taking advantage of a person's mental state to make an unfair sale)(Or offering a credit line at 19% + prime)

I think that it really doesn't matter if people have some victimization excuse, they must be held responsible for what they do.

Answer 11

Unfortunately everyone knows the difference between right and
wrong, whatever the circumstances regardless of their environment or upbringing, this in part defines us as Humans.
How can anyone justify this Hugging a Hoodie attitude? it dose'nt work anymore, its time Criminals were sentenced accordingly.