frational self-interest. This theory assumes that violent people actout of common sense, do not want to go to prison, and do not wish todie. According to this premise, Gilligan writes, All we have to do toprevent violent crime is threaten violent people with capitalpunishment. There are four things wrong with this theory, said Gilligan. It istotally incorrect, hopelessly naove, dangerously misleading, and basedon complete and utter ignorance of what violent people are really like. Gilligans theories are based on his experiences as Director of MentalHealth for the Massachusetts prison system, Medical Director of theBridgewater (Mass.) State Hospital for the Criminally Insane andDirector of the Center for the Study of Violence at Harvard UniversityMedical School. A heinous crime occurs and most people ask the inevitable question: Whoare these people capable of such inhuman acts? According to Gilligan,they generally are ordinary people who often describe themselves asrobots, zombies, nonentities, and even vampires. In a 1977 courtroom,convicted serial killer Ted Bundy said many things about himself. Amongthose descriptions were; Sometimes I feel like a vampire, and Im themost cold blooded son of a bitch youll ever meet. Murderersfrequently mutilate themselves in prison, cutting their arms, swallowingrazor blades, blinding or castrating themselves- because feelingsomething, even pain, is better than feeling nothing. People who windup committing murder are often the survivors of attempted murderthemselves, or of a child abuse that is so severe, that if they were notstrong, they would not have survived. David Berkowitz was the Son ofSam serial killer. The press at one time asked him why he killed somany people. He replied, I always had a certain fetish for murder anddeath. Berkowitz was jolted to kill when he found out a familysecret. He was an accident, a mistake, never meant to be born. He hadalways been told that his birth mot...
