A disease. That’s what his lawyers called it. They said he was ill and that we should feel compassion for him.
They said the voices haunted him, made him depressed, which led to him becoming isolated and more depressed which made the voices worse.
They said he was trapped in a personal hell, that he was tortured. That every day was a battle just to survive.
They talked about his childhood. About his broken home and the “uncles” that would abuse him. They talked about how that would have had a lasting effect on him, how it would have left him feeling broken and worthless.
They talked about how society shunned him – how he lost his job and struggled to get by. How he was failed by the system time and time again.
They explained that he should have been given therapy and rehabilitation, but instead, he was left to fend for himself. They said it wasn’t his fault.
It’s a tragic story but I feel no sympathy for him.
Ask yourself this; would you think he deserved treatment rather than punishment if it had been your child he killed instead of mine?
Did you like the story? Do you feel like the man’s circumstances excused his actions? If yes, do you think you would feel the same way if you knew the victim? If no, do you think you would feel the same way if you knew the man? Let me know in the comments 🙂
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Hari OM
A very real scenario, Deb. I do not think there is any lack of responsibility for one’s actions unless one truly has a mental imbalance. Of course, such early experiences can create that. However, punishment must be exacted for crime, regardless of its cause – if there is a need for treatment, then rehabilitative work is there during the serving of a sentence. I do think society has to also be responsible in this regard. Society created the personality of this character… deep subject for a drop-by response!
I do like the language and structure of your story and the question sealed the ending well. YAM xx
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I really enjoyed reading them x
I saw this post yesterday, and thought “A short story? I’ll have to come back tomorrow, when I have more time.” If I’d only scrolled down a teeeeeny bit and seen that the story was so brief!
At some point we have to take responsibility for our own actions. This man killed a child, and we’re supposed to blame those who raised him, and/or those whom he grew up around, and/or the society that “kept him down” or however you’d phrase it, etc. etc. etc.? I don’t think so.
I saw a comedian once talking about this blaming syndrome, and this was back in the ’80s or ’90s! Speaking as one of those people who always blame others, he said “I’m a loser because my dad’s an alcoholic.” He also provided the response: “No, your dad’s an alcoholic because you’re a loser!”
I’m inclined to agree – you can blame others when the person doing the thing is too young to know right from wrong, but I think as an adult, it’s on you to know that stuff. I love the comedian’s response – sums it up perfectly.
Ooooohhhhh, I like this! I don’t think circumstances excuse him because murder is murder. Even a sociopath knows murder is wrong – that’s why a serial killer hides the body. They may not feel it is wrong, but they know society’s expectation. #AnythingGoes
That’s a really interesting point
Wow….it sure makes you think differently when you know more of the story.
XOXO
Jodie
This is one to ponder over – rather than jump to judgements. A great start to an intriguing story! xx
Yikes! Interesting. Treatment until they act then toss em in jail! #anythinggoes
Agreed – I’d definitely have sympathy for the man if he hadn’t killed someone but that’s a game changer.
Oooh great intro!
Throw away the key I say! #anythinggoes
Powerful stuff but even the term “broken man” did that before I started reading. Too many broken people in this world and if something does not change soon likely to be many more. Your story reminded me of how I was quite willing to listen to the reasons people committed terrorist acts as a teen and young person and then my friends were in a bombing and it changed my view in an instant. Shows how very much we are affected and can change views when tragedy hits close to home #AnythingGoes
I think our own experiences can’t help but change our views on things. It’s so much easier to look at something in black and white until it affects us personally. I think my views changed as I got older too although not so much from personal experience. Maybe I just got more cynical, I don’t know, but I’m definitely a lot less likely to try and find a reason for why people commit acts such as murder etc. than I was when I was a teenager.
That’s a hard one. I think every circumstance may be different and I would find it hard to forgive.
Lovely read, thanks for sharing X #bloggerclubuk
I’m not sure how I’d react as you don’t know until you’re faced with that situation what you’d do.
I love a short story. Reminds me of that show Roahl Dahl used to host #BloggerClubUK
I didn’t know he’d hosted a show! I need to see this
Does the victim have an excuse to deserve such a fate? is the first thought that comes to mind. But there could be so many possible scenarios and I guess that’s why laws should be good and fair. #bloggerclubuk
That’s a good point to consider, often things aren’t as black and white as they first appear
Oh I do like this story Deb. At first I did feel sorry for him but then finding out he killed a child scraped all that. I have a really hard time sympathizing with anyone who harms a child. Great read Deb! #BloggerClubUK
Thank you 🙂 Yes, me too. There’s stuff I can forgive but not anything to do with kids.
It’s a terrible thing that does happen every day.
I think a combination would be most appropriate. Treatment and punishment. But definitely treatment.
(Sorry for the mass of comments. I’m finally catching up on blogs today!)
No need to apologise, I love comments 🙂
Life is not black and white, there are so many shades of grey in between and I do believe that the events of our childhood shape who we are as adults and has a lasting psychological impact whether good or bad. But, we all have the ability as individuals to decide how we let those things affect us to some degree.
As one of the other commenters said, unless there is a serious mental health issue, there is no excuse for this. Certainly punishment is required but maybe treatment is needed to, to deal with whatever is going on psychologically.
I love this short story, it makes a good point – you can never judge a book by its cover. Usually the first impression is not accurate. If we hadn’t known his past we would have just condemned him without a second thought but knowing his history makes us think more deeply about why he did what he did.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂 I agree that punishment is required alongside treatment