Violent Cognitions

Anna C. Salter

Affective Precursors

Mental Health Issues

Borderline

personality disorder Antisocial personality disorder Narcissistic personality disorder Combinations Major Depression Anxiety Disorders

Mental Health Issues

Negative

affect Depression Anxiety Boredom

Entitlement

Grievance,

Paranoia, Resentment

Mental Health Issues

Attitudes I need help now. You can fix it but you wont. What do I need to do to get help?

Mental Health Issues + You Can Fix It + Entitlement = Manipulation

Mental Health Issues

Behaviors to Manage Negative Affect Writing letters and notes to staff Acting out Suicidal threats/gestures/attempts Whining/Demanding/Threatening Demanding to see one staff member

On Outside: Drugs

Impact on Staff
Feel guilty Become over-involved Try to fix it Youre the Only One.

Feel harassed Get angry

Violent Cognitions

Gang Banger
I would try to live a life. I dont know how to live. Everything comes to survival. Living life and enjoying life is different from being in survival camp. I never really sat back and enjoyed days and weeks where I didnt have no worries about whether Id breathe. This is the last time Im going to breathe.

Washington Deaths of Friends

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Moki Will Earl. Eric and Jonquel Drew Glenn and Little Dre Ryan Troy Crow

Resentment
I started remembering everything. Everything. The death, the pain. I used to get mad. I still do. When I hear people laugh I get mad. Why is life so much fun for you and not for me?.

Theories of Violence
Loss

of Control of Distorted Thinking

Product

Loss of Control
Impulse

Control

Stop

and Think

Exit

Risky Situations

Loss of Control

Interviews 20 Violent Offenders

Meaning Units = Phrases Loss of Control 12% (Polaschek et a., 2010)

Violent Schemas
Violence

is Normal No Choice Hostile Attribution Bias Social Status Self Image Victim Deserved It (Widget Theory)

Violence is Normal
Normal

for discipline for achieving goals

Normal

Elway: Attacked Officer Stabbed in Head

I feel like it was justified. The only thing was my objective wasnt fully completed. But other than that.

Q. What was your objective?

A. To kill him. I wasnt stabbing him just to be stabbing.

Elway: Effect on Victims?

A. Probably none. Q. Why not? A. Cause none of them are dead or paralyzed. Q. So it wouldnt have any effect? A. I think it will on certain people like young, someone 14 or probably people who live in an area where its pretty much peaceful and nonviolent so it would be strange to see anything violent.

Elway: Violence is Normal

The rest of us live in a pretty violent atmosphere and its pretty normal anybody who works in DOC it wouldnt have any effect unless theyre dead or paralyzed or give them a big scar on their face so they have to look at it every day. So if I attack an officer thats what Id try to do, so theyre dead or paralyzed or they have to see it every day and know I did it to them.

Hit a Man on a Bike with His Car Just to See What It Would Do to Him
Do I consider myself a criminal? No. Basically just doing stuff, just breaking the law.

Why Not a Criminal?

A criminal is one who terminally focuses on doing crime. They dont just think about it on the spur of the moment. Criminals plan it more. They scheme. I dont ever scheme.

Home Invasion Looking for Drugs: Killed a Man and a 7 Month Pregnant Woman Couple Had No Drugs
It was part of the way I was living. It didnt feel right or wrong. Actually, it didnt feel wrong. It felt I was forced to do something I really didnt want to do, but . . . it happened.

Gang Member
Q. Do you feel bad about the people you killed? A. I don't talk about that. . . . When the incident first took place I didn't have no remorse at all because I thought it was the right thing. But I have thought about it and I think I was wrong for what took place on that day.

Q. How do you know you were wrong?

A. The situation and the circumstances. Cause I didn't have to do it. It was all over territory and I had to prove my loyalty. I thought that was right. That's what I had to do to be accepted in the Gangster Disciples. . . . You're the first person I ever said anything about it to. . . . It was absolutely wrong. It was an utter mistake.

But you have to understand that. You may have grown up in a different family. But I grew up Chicago where people die every day. In order to be in a certain organization you have to do certain things. And me being brainwashed in that way I had to do that thing. And it protected me. Because I could go to somebody and they would protect me. Hey man, let's go shoot up those n. . . . Let's take their family hostage and teach them a lesson. That's how I was taught.

Violent prisoners spoke of violence as a routine occurrence between people that hardly needs explaining and that could be helpful in achieving some personal and social goals. (Polaschek et a., 2010, p. 86)

Violence is Normal
Meaning Units 46% (Polaschek et al., 2010)

Violence resolves conflicts, persuades others to do things, can be exhilarating or simply make you feel better, and usually it makes others treat you with respect. (Polaschek et a., 2010, p. 86)

Self Image

I guess when youre young, you want to be feared, you want to be respected.

Violent Self Image

Im a man, and I want to be treated like a man. . . I dont care who a person is or who they think they are either; they better not play around with me. Ill show them who in the hell theyre playing with. Theyll find out fast they arent fucking with any boy when they fuck with me. . . Ive ruined more than one good man in my time, and Jack, Ill do it again too. Thats the way I am and thats the way Ill be until the day I die. (Athens, 1997, p. 57)

Shot an Officer, a Deputy and Escaped from Vehicle

I had a lot of time. I didnt want to do the time. I had to do something for myself. I tried to help myself. I owed that to myself to try to regain my freedom. I was going to leave the country and never come back. I was quite young then, compared to what I am now and fearless [pride expression] -- intrepid at that time --and didnt think the way I think now. I would be more concerned about my welfare now and my family something happen to me what would they think then I didnt consider those things.

Self-Image/Social Status
Meaning Units = Phrases 20 violent offenders 57% of Meaning Units Self Image (Polaschek et al., 2010)

Social Status
Q.

Whose responsibility were these offenses?

A. I dont know how to put it into sense. The 07 it was all about my second baby mother. She was pregnant with my youngest son. I didnt have no job. I just came home. I was out hustling. Even though I was hustling I was spending money on frivolous shit. I tried to justify that I wanted to get that money to provide for my son. But the truth of the matter is I couldnt let a dude do me like that. .

If you back down from one battle you open up the door to many more. You let one cat run on you; everybody is going to run on you. He thought I was sweet. . . . I couldnt stand on it.

Washington Home Invasion Looking for Drugs

Q. Didnt shoot anybody? Could have shot somebody. A. There were no limits. To be honest, . . . from a cultural aspect we live on the streets. Its like a gang . . . I had an older guy tell me that if I showed him a man who was afraid to die hed show me a coward. Death is a very important concept in the streets. Until you can conquer your fear of death and arent afraid to die, you are not mentally and emotionally ready to live in the streets. But on the flip side of that you cant be afraid to kill. . . . Its a tool of intimidation. If people on the streets know you are willing to kill and commit murder, people they just think twice before messing with you.

Washington Home Invasion Looking for Drugs

But just because you say you are willing to kill or murder isnt enough, people need to know these arent hollow threats, there are times you have to show its actually true. . . the ultimate limit in the street is if you are willing to commit murder. If you are willing to commit murder there are no limits.

Washington Home Invasion Looking for Drugs

If you take 50 guys in the gang, you have about 8 or 9 or 10 guys that are willing to commit the act of murder. The other guys, the reason they dont commit the act is they think they might go to prison. But the other guys they can use that to intimidate the guys who wont commit the act. We know you arent willing to do this, so we are tougher than you. . . What makes us dangerous is that we dont care about the law. . . Back then it was me trying to live up to this image. It was like a contest to see who could be the most intimidating and the most dangerous. And part of being intimidating and dangerous is convincing people that you dont care about the law.

My son was getting into fights at school. So I taught both sons to box after school, so they could defend themselves. I didnt want my sons looking like [cowards] or being walking [sic] over by every Tom, Dick, or Harry. Everyone needs respect. (Polaschek et a., 2010, p. 87)

Victim Deserved It (Well Maybe Not Personally)

Widget Theory

I dont attack people who have done nothing to me. I go after people who have done something to me. Who have hurt me. I have to have a reason.

Victim Didnt Provoke It Personally BUT . . .

Works

for the man

Who

cares?

Leroy

Staff alone in booth Left booth to make snack for unit His door unlocked Dont hurt me Beat her head on floor repeatedly multiple skull fractures Stripped her, dragged her 117 and left her

16-Year-Old After Battery and Attempted Homicide of Female Staff Member: Leroy

It didnt matter who was in the booth, . . I was gonna go, and it didnt matter who was there. I was gonna fight them and take them down. Its not very hard to take that little puny pathetic staff down. Id rather be dead than locked up. .. . I told the staff six months ago I was gonna get out no matter what, and when I got out I was gonna strip them naked and drag their assess down the hall and put them in that room where they put us.

Leroy

I heard it crack when her head hit. At first it surprised me. I told her to shut up, but she wouldnt. She cried louder. . . I slammed her dead down on the floor. I had a limited time to get out of there. I was running out of time. The guards were checking every ten minutes. I slammed her head against the floor four more times because she wouldnt shut up. I was fixing to break her neck. Every time I slammed her head on the floor, I heard her bone crack.

Leroy

She was quiet for a minute after the third time and I thought that was it, but then she started moving again, so I did it two more times. I thought she was dead. I didnt care. I was gonna kill any staff. It didnt matter to me.

Leroy

Q. Do you know the difference in right and wrong? A. I dont think about right and wrong. Im cold-hearted.

Leroy

Q. Did you think you were doing anything wrong? A. No, cause I was thinking I got three minutes to leave before they come.

Impact on Victim: Leroy

At sentencing Headaches every day, sometimes excruciating Dizziness Nausea Permanent loss of smell and taste Neck and back pain Some days couldnt get out of bed Couldnt drive Wouldnt be alone Nightmares, flashbacks

Impact on Victim: Leroy

Sensitive to light, noise and motion Left alone for a few hours locked self in bathroom

Impact on Victims: Leroys Response

Im not sure? Im not going to go off into the guessing. I only know what they put in the files and none of that has been substantiated. . . Its only her side of the story, the side of the story that they want to portray.

Leroys Response

All this was is battery. I got railroaded.

Callousness: Ethan
Robbed

and beat 86 year-old woman 74 year-old woman

Robbed

Impact on Victim: Ethan

Deteriorated

Unable

to live alone within months

Incoherent

Ethan: Narcissism

Q. How do you feel about little old lady deteriorating? A. She took a deposition. Are you sure its him? She didnt want to say it was me. She started to waiver. She was a school teacher. She knew they were going to hang me. She didnt want that to happen. I believe. She told a story about some horse thieves . . . the posse came along and arrested all of them. . . a young boy was there and they tried to hang him too . . she asked the detective was this right? Thats the parable she tried to tell him. I believe it was a message to me. . . I will always honor her for that as I honor all women.

Ethan

Q. She got beaten. A. Yes, but she resisted. This woman fought me as hard as anybody could fight. I know how it looks. I was not intending to use any more force than I needed to. This woman fought me fiercely. Never for one moment did she admit. I was saying, Lady, lady please. Yes, she got beat but I know in my heart I didnt do it sadistically and I didnt do it any more than was necessary.

Ethan

We are in a society that lacks mercy. They want to punish a guy forever.

Attacked Officers in Jail

That incident in the county jail it wasnt personal. It wasnt one of those things that officer so and so is working today whoever was working it was going to happen. . . You go into that situation knowing . . . Just like if you go in a robbery with a gun, you dont think you are going to kill someone. But you know you need to take the gun in the robbery because you might need to kill someone. Of course thats wrong. But you dont care. Why should I care? Thats why you need to get to the point where you care.

Callousness & Lack of Remorse

Washington Home Invasion for Drugs

From a little kid to teenager, its a culture of criminality thats
ingrained in you. From the music you listen to, to the type of activities you engage in. Its always robbing people, taking others material possessions its like a collective preference, just for, again, my culture. We kind of live our lives looking for the big sting or the big heist. We dont . . .we feel like we are willing to sacrifice anything to get the big heist. We dont care what kind of pain or injury we inflict, nothing like that. . . The only thing I could think about was the cash and the marijuana. I didnt care who I had to hurt or harm to get to it. I basically felt like any harm I did was collateral damage. . . I had an ability to be desensitized to violence. It really didnt impact me as much.

Home Invasion Looking for Drugs

It was a big dog. I thought it had the potential to threaten me. I just shot it. Q. Did it bother you at all? A. It took a long time to have any reaction to it. The only time I had any reaction to it was when I saw how much it hurt the victims. But I didnt understand it until I began to understand main stream society. In the ghetto we dont attach that much sentimental attachment to pets. If we have cats, its to catch mice. The only dogs we have are pit bulls and that is to fight them. .

Its only in the last few years that I have began to understand the American family and the fact that pets are an integral part of the family.

Inability to Bond

Shallow Affect

Q. Were you ever in love? A. I was very much emotionally attached to all of them in a sense. I dont want to say I was in love with them because I still dont know what love is.

Shallow Affect (continued)

I exposed myself I did in some sense I dont mean any disrespect when I say this women you demand some kind of connection you hunger for something more than a mutual friendship. Eventually they wore me down in the sense that I did tell them certain things but I did this in a way that if they said something to someone else I would know who said it.