CRJ308 W4 Journal

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Dec 6, 2023

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My Son Was a Columbine Shooter DesMinque Miller The University of Arizona Global Campus CRJ308: Psychology of Criminal Behavior Mark Radkowski July 4, 2023

My Son Was a Columbine Shooter Mrs. Klebold, after reflecting on your presentation, I can understand that you may feel as though there was something more you could have done or wish you would have known. I can assure you the link between mental health and crime isn’t clear-cut. Additionally, trying to understand the underlying variables and why or how such correlations can occur or even go unnoticed isn’t easy. With the recent knowledge I have retained, I am certainly able to support your assertions as well as inform you of the complexities of a murder-suicide as it pertains to violent behavior and crime. What I know is, often, those that are suicidal have likely attempted many attempts prior to successful suicide. Individuals who have attempted murder are found to be psychotic and dealing with mental health issues however, most attempted murderers are clear of any mental illnesses. Those who did or nearly committed murder were acting in response to a chain of events that would not have occurred under normal conditions — and could not have been predicted. Thus, the worry of what could have been done as a parent who as you stated raised Dylan to be caring, healthy, and responsible shouldn’t be of much worry, anticipation of this went unknown and would’ve gone unknown as most findings aren’t statically aligned for what would be considered “normal”. According to Konrad Lorenz, behavior patterns can be shaped and created by two or more of the four underlying drives, hunger, reproduction, fear, and aggression. In the context of criminal behavior, specifically violence, aggression is not ritualized, and expressed when under natural conditions in which help is needed to ensure the survival of the individual. This means it can be an act of aggression that is taken in order to survive the intrusive thoughts of committing suicide. Murder-Suicides are an act of aggression and an end to survival. Aggressive-driven behavior isn’t always easily predicted thus knowing when violent behavior

will occur, how, why, or by who isn’t simple. If a prediction were to be made, a collective evaluation of all violence-related aspects should be considered, not just the most extreme or most recent. Self-injury and psychological violence would be two aspects specifically aligned with Dylan’s crime, murder-suicide. Research that is done in an effort to discover more about a crime or perpetrators would include individual characteristics that reveal more understanding. It is clear that Mrs. Klebold is struggling to understand how she missed signs that her son could be so violent, or even that he was suicidal. It seems, based on the diversion program paperwork you read, that the juvenile justice system missed it as well. There are those with serious mental illness that are prone to violence while there is other more often than not with a mental illness who aren’t to be fear and inaccurate as seen in most statistical findings, aren’t so prone to violence. Violence is a pervasive and quotidian reality in many communities, but in recent years it has captured public attention at recurring moments of terror in our national life when we hear the news of a senseless shooting rampage in a common space, and we learn that the shooter was mentally ill (Swanson, 2021). This is the reason I can understand wanting to avoid the stigma or labeling. It’s extremely important as well because labels can be damaging as are, false or inaccurate self-diagnosis. This is why I can understand how complex it can be to decipher the unsaid what was really going on with Dylan. There isn’t a guaranteed direct alignment that slinks mental illness to crime or violent behavior, so for Dylan as his mother, you weren’t sure despite your best parenting and even in the paperwork it was unnoticed. Discussing mental illness is not a light topic. It can be, however, links and relations between why things weren’t noticed in the family or friend environment compared to school and other social integration. There is a different persona or behavioral role that can be applied to nurture oneself and to feel comfortable and less out of

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