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Are people born criminals or does society make them so?
Originally Answered: Are people born criminals or society makes them so?
When it comes to the question of whether criminals are born or created by their environment, I can only speak from my own perspective. I know some may disagree with my point of view and that is okay. This week I watched a show on PBS, and it showed some people have what they called a warrior gene. Although many convicted violent criminals had this gene, there were also many normal productive law abiding citizens who are possessed this gene. The overriding factor was the type of environment these individuals grew up in. This is a point of view I agree with nurture over nature.

Psychologists believe all criminals share one personality defect and that is being anti-social. My definition of anti-social is selfish or self-centered. When we look at criminals and criminality from this point of view it gives us a new perspective to work from. Crime is about someone so caught up in themselves they cannot see the impact their actions are having on others.

Over the years I have been blessed to speak to many at risk youth. I must say with the over one thousand I have spoken with they were all good kids who struggled with certain core issues. It has been a similar experience when working with grown men in prison. Many of those kids and men adopted a selfish and self-centered attitude because everything outside of them said they were less than or nothing. Once someone is in this state of mind about themselves it becomes easy to take another human being’s life for some two hundred dollar shots. While wearing those shoes, I finally feel as though I am normal.

We live in an anti-social society. As someone said, “we will put more into recycling a can than in helping rehabilitate a man.” Each law is passed with an us against them mentality. So yes, the environment we have created is one conducive of criminality and not of change. I may become homeless because of not having a job but I will never be homeless once I commit a crime.

I could not speak for all types of criminality because it would take forever. This is a subject I am very passionate about. I see how men here change their lives around because San Quentin has an environment conducive to change. Next time you find yourself in a rough part of town, notice how you change. I try as best I can to remain conscious of the environment I am in, so that I don’t harm someone because I’m too caught up in me

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