Inside the Criminal Mind (Newly Revised Edition)

Enjoying. Easy read and keeps my interest.

Samenow takes us on a blunt tour through the criminal mind. He first begins by bringing up things that society tends to use to explain why some people are criminals: poverty, racism, religious fervor, etc. Then Samenow deconstructs these reasonings to demonstrate that, for the most part, being a criminal is due to errors of thinking. (He also points out a couple times that not *everybody* in these situations terrorizes their community. In fact, most don't.) Criminals are typically selfish (although not in every arena of life), hypocritical, narcissistic, able to shut off their conscience, desire control, want immediate payoff for efforts, etc. Even "crimes of passion" are just the endpoint of a fantasy the person has been entertaining for a long time. Crime becomes a way to achieve excitement, power, control, influence, money--whatever they have their eyes on. It's not that poverty and what not don't play a role, it's that these are only factors. What makes a criminal a criminal really comes down to faulty thinking, although of course some will be incorrigible due to severe mental illness. But when we present reasons for a murder, theft, etc., the criminal latches onto these in order to dodge responsibility. Nothing is ever their fault. It's always parents, a boss or coworker, or society, or they were justified in what they did. They'll try to, for example, blame dope for their ways. Samenow points out that, if you look in these people's histories, the vast majority of them were already committing some kind of crime. Or, if not committing crimes, terrorizing people, which is just one step down. Shoplifting and bullying seemed the most popular to me. What happened was the dope got the criminal to the point of arrest. Samenow presents quite a few of his past "clients" (if you will). Some of them I felt a little bad for, and some of them I would happily pay to put on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific somewhere. Like Terry. If your blood doesn't boil reading about Terry, you need to go to the nearest priest to see if you still have a soul. There is hope for those who genuinely want to reform! Like anybody with messed up thought patterns, a criminal dedicated to change can learn to be a "civilized", responsible human being. It's a lifelong process, sort of like an alcoholic in recovery. If you're an alcoholic in recovery, it never stops. It's a choice you make every day. Same thing when rehabilitating from a criminal mindset. You learn to take responsibility, to tame anger and entitlement, etc every. Single. Day. This book was an eye-opener. At times I thought Samenow was too hard on people who were given a bad lot in life, but too many stories were of people from stable or even affluent backgrounds, people who put themselves in their bad lot, etc. I still have some sympathy for some criminals, but definitely a lot less after reading this book. One of my trashy hobbies is to watch bodycam videos. After reading this book, I see those videos in a *very* different light. Once you're aware of the errors of thinking, you can see them falling out of people's mouths like a rubber ball down a set of spiral stairs.

I received my book looks great thank you

Readers interested in criminology will find this a very difficult read because it strips away ALL the comforting palliatives society has thrown at the penal system, and reveals, for the first time, the harsh realities of why criminals do it. They do it, Samenow says, because criminals have grown up thinking differently than you and me. Criminals live in the instant now; they have almost no sense of saving for a rainy day; they lie and steal as much to prove they are smarter than everyone else as to enrich themselves. Everyone is judged by how they may be used to further the criminal's selfish wants. The human wreckage thqat they leave behind is of no concern to them, but they are skilled at feigning sorrow if they see that as shortening their incarceration. Rehabilitation as currently practiced--say by teaching criminals new skills--only produces criminals with new skills. It does absolutely nothing to change the underlying pathology. What is necessary is a strict form of psychotherapy in which the felons feet are held to the fire. They must be forced to recognize the crippling psychological shortcomings of everything they do. Daily meetings are held in which every act is recorded and analyzed, and no excuse whatever is tolerated. Criminals are masters at blaming everything and everybody for their predicament--except themselves. When all their excused are stripped away, and held up to them as obvious misdirection, then, slowly, can many prisoners begin to see how they must act if they wish to become clean. This approach is refreshing, yet depressing for its complexity. But Samenow has made it work in over 30 years of practice with any enviable record of genuine, permanent rehabilitation. Bleeding hearts will hate the emotionless protocol, and reject that any approach other than the completely ineffective emotional empathy. Critics believe, the "Christian" approach of blaming harsh society, rotten environment, abusive parents, uncaring teachers is the answer, and if we could only solve all of these problems, crime would disappear. Odd then how many people suffering under they very same disadvantages still manage to stay out of prison. The only pulled punch is Samenow's refusal to discuss how people become criminals when typical criminal traits are visible in children as young 4 years old. Are they born evil? One senses that Samenow knows the answer but refuses to say.

Nice book for reading

Looks great!

l'ho acquistato per fare un regalo, è arrivato in ottime condizioni

Love the book

Leitura essencial para quem pretende desmistificar as origens da criminalidade. O autor exibe sua experiência no estudo médico de criminosos, rompendo as amarras das origens preponderantemente sociais do crime. Recomendo aos operadores do direito penal como um todo.