Lockup Raw: Criminal Minds

If you get a chance I recommend watching Lockup Raw: Criminal Minds on MSNBC. It’s part of MSNBC’s Lockup series. On this special they highlight nine of the most violent inmates the series has ever interviewed. Even if you don’t like watching shows about prison, inmates, etc., this one is a must-watch for those who care about self-defense because it shows the worst of what you might have to deal with: Someone who has nothing to lose.

Nine of the most violent criminals to ever appear on “Lockup” give chilling accounts of their crimes. They reveal what drove them to take such actions and provide insights into their lives behind bars.

While we’re on the topic I should also direct you to Mokuren Dojo. Pat is running a series that dovetails well with “Criminal Minds“.

Back to Criminal Minds and a philosophical aside of sorts…

Two of the nine inmates had severe mental illness which caused them to hear voices. In both cases the voices directed them to kill people and eat their brains (I’m not making that up). Both inmates are now housed at the same prison. In addition, both inmates are being managed with powerful medications.

Back in my prison days (for those of you who are not regulars, I worked there!) working with mental health inmates always made me think of the problem of free will in Christianity (also related to  the problem of evil). It goes something like this: We have a choice between good and evil. If we perform evil acts we had a choice and failed to make the right one. Therefore, God is justified in sending us to hell for all eternity.

Just one problem: What about those with severe mental illness? It’s obvious that inmates like the above or the 30 or more I saw on the mental health unit have a clearly measured health problem. In short: Without medication they simply cannot help themselves. So much for free will. In fact, this is the problem with The Problem of Evil(tm). You can use free will to absolve the classical version of God (all-powerful, all-knowing, present everywhere, & ALL GOOD) from letting evil happen among those of us who can make choices. However, that argument falls flat when you factor in those who cannot help themselves. In the end you still have to ask: If you’re all-powerful and “all-good” why allow this to happen?

Anyhow, enough philosophy. I’ll close this post with one of the nine being interviewed.

If anything it should underscore the fact that if you are ever faced with someone like one of the nine, you need to unload with everything you got and get the hell out of there. Period.

~BCP