[Caesar Soze]

Murderers often speak about their victims in the passive voice. It's fascinating. I watched a great show on prisons on MSNBC, and every criminal spoke about their crimes without ever mentioning themselves as the agent. "I took a gun into the store to rob it, and then the teller was shot." "I was driving drunk, and an accident occurred." "I'm sorry they're gone."

None of them could say, "I shot the teller," "I hit another motorist," or, "I'm sorry I killed them." It's almost Clintonesque.

[BlackVeil]

He then shot 6-year-old Olivia before turning to 3-year-old Nathan, who had picked up the batteries from the cordless phone his mother had used in her futile attempt to call for help.

"McEnroe told detectives that Nathan held the batteries up in one hand and gave '... the look of complete comprehension ... as if he understood." McEnroe then fired one last bullet through Nathan's head, according to the affidavit.

Very difficult to understand.

[alexander_busek]

>>Murderers often speak about their victims in the passive voice. It’s fascinating.<<

How true! In the case at hand, the perpetrator may be expressing himself cautiously for legitimate courtroom tactical reasons, but you’re right: Even confessed murderers, child abusers, etc. seem psychologically unable to use the Active Voice (”...I regret the horrible circumstances which led up to this tragic event happening...”).

As W.C. Fields said: “You cannot carve a man out of a banana.”

These people have probably never accepted responsibility for a single act in their lives.

Regards,

[Kozak]

Check out the writing of Theodore Dalrymple for a real good read on this topic. He was a prison psychiatrist in England for a number of years and comments on that very fact frequently.

How Criminologists Foster Crime

[Kozak]

This one is the article I was looking for.

“The Knife Went In”

[WorkingClassFilth]

It's almost Clintonesque.

It is Clintonesque.

[Rays_Dad]

My wife and I might have been watching the same program - we had a very similar thought. We could see no humility or acceptance of actions.

[Dianna]

None of them could say, "I shot the teller," "I hit another motorist," or, "I'm sorry I killed them." It's almost Clintonesque.

I have noticed the same thing. I don't think it is a conscious response to try to avoid seeming responsible, I think it is a window into their true feelings. They haven't truly accepted responsibility for their actions.