Crime of Passion

1/28/2013

Sometimes we hear about someone committing a "crime of passion" whereas they act outside the law and take revenge or act outlandish due to strong, overwhelming emotions. Maybe it's a jealous husband going after his wife's lover, or a jilted father attacking his son's killer because he feels justice wasn't done.

Explain whether someone should be held responsible for acting out when their emotions get the best of them.

Amanda Donofrio

1/28/2013 06:22:07 am

To question whether someone should be held responsible for acting out of emotion seems ridiculous. If I as a student did not think a vocabulary quiz of 18 words was suitable to learn as a senior and I reacted by ripping each quiz up in front of the class and throwing it in someone's face, I would except nothing less than to be suspended. I doubt any advisor would justify my actions because I was just acting out of my current emotion. Emotions have their way of getting to us all. Getting angry at one point or another is inevitable. So, we might as well learn how to deal with our extreme emotions rather than acting rashly. Odds are, the world is not going to be compassionate when you're having a bad day. Wether you're significant other cheated, wether you did not get the job you wanted, or wether you failed a paper you will always be held responsible for how you handle your situation. If there were no consequences for our actions when we acted out of emotion think of the place we would live in. Would the world go mad because every excuse would be "I'm just emotional today" ? I happen to think so.

Brennen Diaz

1/28/2013 12:33:49 pm

Good thoughts Amanda. I agree with you that the world is not going to treat us differently because we are having a bad day. The world does not revolve around anyone. We have to be able to roll with the day to day punches of life. And we have to be aware of every consequence that comes out of our actions.

Bridget Borowy

1/30/2013 11:11:22 am

Very well said Amanda. It is only responsible to handle bad situations well, acting out will most of the time get you no where or get you into more trouble. Love the ending hook by the way!

Kaitlyn Twombly

1/31/2013 07:32:37 am

Well said Amanda, as usual! I agree with everything you said here. Our world would most certainly be one big mess if everyone used the excuse "I was just emotional". Not acceptable or tolerable! Great post!

Kristina Lacasse

1/31/2013 08:58:18 am

I agree that people need to handle any situation responsibly, especially crimes such as these (that have serious consequences). I liked how you brought up the idea that having a bad day doesn't excuse you from the law.

Danielle O

1/31/2013 10:20:16 am

Amanda, as usual great response. I completely agree, we cannot just use being emotional as an excuse to do things and get away with them. Great touch with the vocab quiz example!

Christina M

1/31/2013 11:02:14 am

I agree that people would not treat you any differently just because you were having a bad day. I liked your vocabulary example. It made me laugh...but that is so true.

Victoria Marino

1/31/2013 12:28:09 pm

Amanda, I agree completlely with everything you said and you did a great job with using the vocabulary quiz as an example. Great response.

Camille Glasow

1/28/2013 11:58:45 am

When someone commits a "crime of passion" 99% of the time they will be held accountable for it, and this is only fair. Crimes of passion depending on the circumstance, can be done for the "right" reason, but it is only fair that the individual is punished even if their motive for committing that crime seemed just. If for example a man showed a gun and threatened to shoot his wife's ex-boyfriend who wouldn't leave her alone and sexually harassed her, if the ex were to ever talk to her again, this seems okay that the husband did this to defend his wife and get rid of this scumbag. But however, if the ex were to report the threat, and there had been no report by the husband or wife of sexual harassment before, the husband would most likely be held accountable for it and could get in trouble. It seems as though it should be the other way around, that the ex get in trouble... but the law usually doesn't bend like that. This is because there are plenty of people who, when put on trial can argue that their crime was an act of passion, when it was really very unjust and their reasoning not moral. For this reason, people need to remember that the law may be harsh, and should think first, before committing an act of passionate violence.

Amanda Donofrio

1/29/2013 03:10:02 am

I agree many people defend their actions as "acts of passion." This however is just unacceptable. Although the law is harsh like you said, it is this way for our protection.

Meghan Giannettino

1/30/2013 12:48:44 pm

You made good points, there needs to be a line drawn at what is just compared to what's right.

Maria Castelot

1/31/2013 09:28:21 am

camille, i liked how you added the bit about the law. The law seems fair and justice but when you step back and examine the whole situation, it looks completely different. you made a good point.

Brennen Diaz

1/28/2013 12:30:31 pm

A crime that has been committed is still a crime, unless under self-defense. Nonetheless, the law does not discriminate between people who commit a crime out of pure evilness and the people who do it out of emotion. For instance, many gang shootings occur because the shooter's brother or cousin were killed by the same gang members that he or she just shoot. That is out of emotional feelings. That is why it is so hard for people to abide by the law. Not to take the law into their own hands. That is part of what being a civilized society is about. To trust the law system. Yet, you have cases like the Casey Anthony Trial where the guilty or assumed guilty go free. Nothing seriously bad has happened to me, so I would not know what it feels like. So, I completely understand when someone does kill out of emotion and passion. However, they are still accountable for their actions.

Camille Glasow

1/29/2013 07:02:19 am

I like your point that, yes it is understandable that someone will act on their emotions but they have to remember the consequences. But there are many times people know they will get punished but still commit a crime, because their feelings were that strong

Shayne Fitol

1/29/2013 08:31:04 am

I completely agree with you. The law says a crime is a crime no matter what the motives are, so people need to be held accountable. It may be honorable to commit a crime of passion, but in the end that doesn't really matter. It's still a crime.

Meredith Folsom

1/31/2013 08:22:19 am

Brennen you make a good point about the gang shootings. If crimes of passion were legal it would create a vicious cycle of revenge.

Steven Mahoney

1/31/2013 10:29:45 am

Your point that a crime is a crime is perfect. There shouldn't be any way around that but unfortunately, people make up excuses and others believe them.

Shayne Fitol

1/29/2013 08:49:05 am

It may be the honorable or popular thing to do to act out a crime of passion. And good for you if you go through with it and it makes you feel better. But in the end, that doesn't really matter in the eyes of the law. Nor should it.
Laws are written for a reason. Law enforcement officers exist for a reason. And yeah, sometimes they fail. Sometimes the courts fail. The police fail. The government fails. We all fail. Everyone fails at some point. And maybe you will fail when you go to commit your so-called crime of passion. Maybe you'll act it out on the wrong person. Will it still be worth it then?
I can understand and realize why someone may want to commit a crime of passion. Emotions get the best of people from time to time. But people that this happens to can't be rewarded with any special treatment. They broke a law too. They may have done it for the "right" reasons, but they still acted as if they were better than the police, the courts, and the entire law enforcement system. If they don't get held responsible for their crime, not only does that set a terrible precedent and loop-hole for real criminals to use to their advantage, but it also undermines the entire purpose of the existence of laws and rules.
If you commit a crime of passion, you're still a criminal and deserve to be treated as one. But be sure to tell all the other inmates you're serving time with that you did it for the right reasons. I'm sure that'll make a difference.

Dan K

1/31/2013 04:39:15 am

I really like what you said about the laws being set in place for a reason. Too many people use the laws to take advantage and abuse it. If anyone is able to abuse the laws it gives more opportunities for the criminal-bound to abuse it as well. Although no one is perfect, their should still be consequences for actions.

Trevor Haigh

1/31/2013 07:04:33 am

I like your point that the laws exist for a reason and that letting people go would be a terrible precedent to set. On the other hand though, what if this person has deep-rooted psychological problems? They could be the reason they acted out of passion and no amount of jail time would help them. I understand that 'criminals are criminals', but if these criminals of passion aren't treated specially, they can only create more harm once released.

Dan Mott

1/31/2013 07:12:40 am

Shayne, I really liked how you mentioned we all fail even the law and people protecting society. It really revelas that we all are indeed NOT perfect and mistakes are made.

Rob Costigan

1/31/2013 08:10:25 am

Shayne I like how you kept bringing up law enforcement and how they all still make mistakes because it is so true. We are all still human.

Lauren Barry

1/31/2013 09:25:20 am

You make really great points, Shayne! Interesting to read!

Kara DeVito link

1/31/2013 10:02:40 am

Haha, Shayne, I like how you ended your argument, because in the end, the law is the law. Trying to do something right in "your" eyes isn't always right with society, and they're just going to have to deal with it.

Kaitlyn

1/31/2013 11:09:10 am

I agree with what you said about how both the courts and people who are trying to get revenge or act out justice can fail. I think only the legal system should be responsible for making sure justice is served; they have so many more resources to find out what really happened, and make sure the conflict is resolved reasonably. Yes, the courts can make mistakes but I think one person who is extremely emotional about something is much more likely to make a mistake or be excessive in their retribution. Because of that, I agree with you that people who commit crimes of passion should face the consequences.

Alex Mardis

1/31/2013 11:52:25 am

Shayne, I liked how you mentioned that some people will end up commiting a crime of passion for themselves even if the law prohibits it. But at the same time the law still has the final say. I thought the same thing when I read the topic.

Nick Casablanca

1/31/2013 12:12:29 pm

Those are really good points Shayne. I like how you point that everyone fails at one point or another. It has to be one of the most true things about life.

Meghan Giannettino

1/30/2013 12:45:22 pm

Yes someone should be held responsible for acting out when their emotions get the best of them. If not we wouldn't know were to draw the line. It's basically giving people a free pass to hurt people because they feel like that person should be punished for their doings. If they weren't held accountable for their acting outs biased on emotions it would be equal to someone who did something just as bad. Letting your emotions get the best of you is something that does happen to people but I feel can be controlled and they should be help responsible for their actions. If there's no consequences for the actions. They might think its okay and do it over and over again. To the point where it might become second nature. And that persons can not handle their emotions with out action on them. It's almost immature to act out on irrational emotions.

Chris Faber

1/31/2013 09:54:57 am

I agree that allowing people to act out of pure emotion would quickly get out of control.

Michaela

1/31/2013 11:32:12 am

It is definitely simple to control emotions, allowing people to use "acts of passion" as an excuse for crimes would certainly increase crime rates. Emotions can't be measured, and criminals could easily get away with making up a reason.

Trevor Haigh

1/31/2013 06:59:39 am

This is very similar to one of our previous blog discussions on insanity. Basically, in a legal setting, if a lawyer can prove that the defendant wasn't in full control of his actions, they will most likely get a much less sentence. It's not that they won't be held responsible, they just would get a lesser sentence than someone who, for example, planned the act ahead of time and obviously had the intention to do what he/she did.

So to answer the question, yes, they should be held responsible to an extent. Acting out of a fit of passion caused by emotional stress should yield a lesser sentence, but it isn't a 'get out of jail free' card. The person should be sent to get help, serve their sentence, and hopefully emerge as a behaving member of society.

Maybe the person who committed the crime had psychological trauma and never sought help, and it was this trauma that let his/her emotions get the best of him/her. Having psychological treatment help be part of the sentence kills two birds with one stone. Not only does it help the person get better, but it also serves as punishment by detaining them from the rest of society, even if they aren't in prison with all of the 'normal' criminals.

Tim Osborn

1/31/2013 01:36:30 pm

Sometimes it is used as a "get out of jail free card". If a criminal pleads insanity, the likely-hood of their sentense getting shortened is much greater in some cases.

Dan Mott

1/31/2013 07:11:41 am

Everyone, no matter what needs to be punished if they do something wrong. People at the same time may think they got away with something, but eventually it will catch up with them. Emotions catch the best of everyone and everyone has that one situation, or topic that irks them. A crime relating to emotion expressed by lets say a killer should be punsished just like it qould be of a regualr murder.
An example would be a police officer. Many cops per say in larger, dnagerous cities, such as Miam, Chicago, NYC have lokced up many criminals and have a lot of enemies. If those enemies lash out at the cops family, the police officer will wan revenge. Thta is hwere they must draw th line. However, many times they go over that line and thats when they seek emotional revenge and kill or hurt someone. They too need to be held responsible.
The movie Law Abiding Citizen depicts this perfectly. The main guy, not a cop, went out and seeked revenge on all the people that killed and raped his wife and daughter. Through toritre and kiling. In the end, justice was served and came full circle. People don't believe in the justic system because it is corrput. If you took the system and cleaned it up to what it shouldbe, it would work a hell of a lot better.

Kaitlyn Twombly

1/31/2013 08:02:36 am

Without any doubts, someone who has committed a crime of passion should be held responsible for their actions. Being emotional or passionate and having it result in a crime does not change the fact that you committed a crime. Emotion is no excuse, and should't be accepted as one. Anyway, isn't that how just about all crimes are committed? I could bet that just about every crime severe enough to receive federal punishment is done with raging emotions running through that person's mind. But is that an excuse? Not at all. If it were, essentially why would we even need a law enforcement? The world would just be left to run wild, and mass chaos would erupt. This question is similar to the question of whether we should follow "an eye for an eye". Just as though revenge and reciprocation are not excuses for breaking the law, nor are emotions or passion an excuse. If they were, people would be free to do whatever they please, and in the violent, crazy world we live in, that is frankly not okay. We need laws, we need law enforcement, and we need strictness. Emotions and passion are not excusable reasons for committing a crime and with every crime should come consequences.

Robert Costigan

1/31/2013 08:07:27 am

I think we can all come to the agreement that we have all seen crimes of passion in all sorts of movies. The protagonist of the movie will lose someone they love due to the antagonist's wrongdoing. We then see the protagonist enact revenge on the antagonist, and many of times we will see the antagonist die because of the protagonist. Do I think it's right in this example? The antagonist killing a loved one of the protagonist intentionally? Absolutely. If I were that person who lost a loved one, I wouldn't rest until that person received the justice they deserved. However, other scenarios, like your spouse or your girlfriend/boyfriend cheating on you, do not deserve the same punishment. Those are situations you can resolve by simply listening to what they have to say, or simply just leaving them and never talking to them again. I really believe it all depends on the situations because everyone is obviously different.

andrew lynch

1/31/2013 02:32:48 pm

I agree. It is hard to punish someone who committed a crime out of revenge for something that was done to you. Like you said with someone killing one of your loved ones, you should not receive the same punishment for killing that man

Meredith Folsom

1/31/2013 08:30:39 am

Your actions are your actions, and even if there are emotions that influence those actions you are still held responsible. Anger is usually the first emotion that people act on and the consequence is usually negative. For an example, if someone killed a wife and then the husband killed the murderer it still maker it wrong. Now there are two murderers, one that killed the wife and then the husband. The husband cannot justify killing the murderer by saying he was mad. Because vice versa the murderer could say he was made at the wife. A murder is a murder. I can understand that the husband is extremely mad but he can’t blame his emotions for his actions. I feel like this “passion crime” also happens when two people get into a fight. They usually end up saying things they don’t mean but in the heat of the moment they say it. I feel like in that instance it is justifies because sometimes you just say things to hurt the other person not because it is true.

Kristina Lacasse

1/31/2013 08:53:38 am

Self-defense is the only valid excuse for a crime; otherwise a crime is a crime. The law doesn’t care what your excuse is. It is fact that people have emotions, but that doesn’t mean that we can act upon every emotion. Getting angry at some point is impossible to avoid. Everyone has a bad day, but that doesn’t mean it gives you a free pass to do anything you want. There are consequences for every action. It is understandable that in the moment your actions would make sense, but it is not a justifiable reason. Many people use the “crime of passion” reasoning when accused of such crimes.

Crimes of passion are also hard to prove. Crimes of passion occur immediately following the discovery and are not premeditated. For example, if a man finds out his wife is cheating on him with another man. Crime of passion would be if he killed her right there right away, but if he left the house and came back later with a gun, it is not just a crime of passion, but rather a premeditated murder. He was still acting on his emotions, but also his plans.

Lauren Barry

1/31/2013 09:24:06 am

Similar to several previous blogs, I am not partial to either side of this question. As far as the posed question goes, I think it all depends on the severity. If someone goes out and commits a completely malicious and gruesome crime but defends themselves with acting out because of their emotions, it remains unacceptable. However, if a person simply looses their temper because of their emotions, I think they are completely justified. To put my opinion in more simplistic terms, if this reaction is legal, the action is justified, if illegal, the action is unjustifiable. For example, if someone is trying to deal with great grief, I think society owes it to one another to show sympathy. If your reaction to losing an immediate member of your family is to lose your temper, I think that is completely reasonable. On the other hand, if your reaction to losing an immediate family member is to go and commit mass murder, than obviously you can no longer play the sympathy card. Yes people can argue that society does not care if you have a bad day, but I really do believe that there are chances for reason. Look at how you treat others each and every day, almost every person can say they have showed some kindness to a random stranger. Whether we know it or not, one of those strangers were probably acting out of some sort of emotion and we treated them with compassion, so why can we not consciously do that?

Maria Castelot

1/31/2013 09:24:20 am

It's okay to feel a certain emotion when something happens to you, but it's not okay to put yourself into a situation that you'll regret later. People don't always think before they act and afterwards regret what they've done. It could be a minor thing such as insulting someone or a major thing such as committing murder to get revenge. more often then not, after you've committed your crime of passion, you are held responsible for it. people shouldn't be allowed to get a free pass for such things because only you are responsible for creating that situation you've put yourself in. This is why there are laws set up and people go to jail for the wrong they have done. But before that, people go to court where the accused can defend themselves and argue why what they've done is justifiable. These laws were created so people would think before they acted and not hurt themselves or others just because of a strong emotion they have.

Kara DeVito link

1/31/2013 09:52:13 am

Frankly, most crimes are committed BECAUSE someone acted out of passion or emotions. There is always a motive behind why people do anything, let alone crimes. Whether it be out of jealousy, revenge, anger, hysterics, extreme desire, or even because someone told you to, that crime is still done. The justice system only tries to find suspects' motives in order to correctly punish the person who did wrong. From there, it doesn't matter necessarily WHY they did it, but that consequences should be upheld and cannot be dismissed. (Killing or injuring someone out of self defense is not included in the argument.) The only factor I'd question is if the person had a behavioral illness like Bipolar Disorder. People who are Bipolar have interchanging periods of extreme manic and extreme depression. From personal experience, I've seen a bipolar friend become so crazed and irrational where she truly can't think before she does things. People in that irrational state with a valid medical excuse should be reconsidered before punished. But otherwise, anyone who does a crime, despite their motives, should face the consequences.

Kyle Blake

1/31/2013 11:14:56 am

I agree that most crimes are because of a persons emotions. Emotions are what humans operate on.

Chris Faber

1/31/2013 09:52:59 am

Emotions often bring very strong and powerful feelings to us as human beings. As we know, sometimes our emotions can get out of control and we act without thinking. This is when a crime of passion is committed. In my personal opinion I believe that although a crime of passion is not justified, a crime of passion is understood. By that I mean that I can understand what might drive someone to their so called "breaking point," however that does not make a crime acceptable. In the case of a crime of passion, you are still committing a crime regardless of what may have caused you to do so. As humans we try our best to not let our emotions get the best of us, but sometimes that feels simply impossible to do. You never truly know the power of one's emotions until you in fact find yourself in the same or similar situation. Again that being said, in the case of a crime of passion the suspect should always be held responsible simply because it is a crime. I do feel as though a lesser punishment should be sentenced to the guilty suspect due to his/her uncontrollable emotions.

Christina Buswell link

1/31/2013 10:45:24 am

Chris, I agree. I think that sometimes we let our emotions get out of hand and don't think clearly when we take action.

Zach Antonio

1/31/2013 12:21:13 pm

I agree when you said that people have breaking points, and that we can let our emotions get out of control.

Danielle O

1/31/2013 10:26:01 am

I believe that people who commit crimes of passion should be held accountable for their actions, plain and simple. If we were to turn a blind eye whenever someone went out and killed someone because that person hurt them or a loved one we would have a pretty screwed up world. It is not up to other people to decide where they can bend the law and where they can’t. The law was put in place for us to follow. As civilized individuals it is our job to control emotions the best that we can. For example, if a family member of yours passed away and took your anger out on us by yelling and cursing, Mr. Savo would not just let it slide because you were emotional, you would be punished accordingly. The same thing goes for us as students. Let’s say someone in school stole my iPod and I didn’t think their punishment was good enough, would it be alright for me to then go and beat them up or steal something of theirs because I thought that it was okay given the circumstances? Probably not, you would all think I was a crazy person. If we are going through a rough time we can’t act out and expect to be excused because of it, we are held to a certain standard and it’s our job to keep it that way. No boss or anyone in charge for that matter is going to allow you to act rashly because you’re having a “bad day”, it’s up to you to handle that properly and no one else should have to deal with that.

Richard Katrenya

1/31/2013 04:08:34 pm

I completely agree Danielle. Human beings are beings of emotion, and because of this, we ourselves have to make sure we don't lose control of ourselves. If someone were to commit a crime our of anger or passion, it doesn't matter, the crime was still committed. What is the difference between a man who murdered the lover of his wife and a man who murdered another man for money. There isn't a difference, the end still results in death. People should be held accountable for their actions.

Steven Mahoney

1/31/2013 10:28:20 am

People have emotions. Fact. Our emotions sometimes get the best of us. Fact. This doesn't mean that we are allowed to go on a rampage fueled by fury or go off on someone because we are having a bad day. Why should some people be excused for the problems they cause when their emotions run high? They shouldn't. These "crimes of passion" are a load of bologna. People have complete control over themselves and everyone else needs to realize this. Now if you're intoxicated or on drugs, that's a different story. You do not know what you are doing, but now I'm just getting off topic. The bottom line is people need to be held responsible for their actions, period. If they are not, then we can just blame everything on emotions. Why did I cheat on the test? I was stressed out. Why did he murder his wife's lover? He was angry. Where do we draw the line for what is acceptable to be blamed on emotions? We can't because there should be no line.

Alyssa Ferreone

2/1/2013 12:33:57 am

Good points.

Christina Buswell link

1/31/2013 10:44:17 am

I feel as though no crime should go unpunished. Emotions have a way of taking control every once in a while but we cannot let those emotions dictate our actions. Take for example, a father kills his sons murderer to seek revenge. I, being an 18 year old teenage girl have never been in that position before. Therefore, I cannot relate to what the father must be feeling. However, murder is still murder whether it is deemed justified or not. The fact of the matter is, you are still committing a crime whether it was a crime of passion or not. I'm sure that my opinion on this subject would change if say it was my family member that was hurt or killed. I don't think anyone can really say they firmly believe this or that unless they themselves have experienced both sides of this issue. It's a tough topic to have a firm belief on unless you have been on both ends of the debate. But as of right now, I would say I do believe that no crime should go unpunished.

Amber Murray

1/31/2013 03:46:16 pm

I agree that no crime should go unpunished. If everyone let their emotions get the best of them, this world would be filled with more chaos than it is now.

Jess Fedak

1/31/2013 11:38:47 pm

Nicely said! I agree that no crime should go unpunished.

Kaitlyn

1/31/2013 11:01:18 am

Whatever someone’s motivations when committing a crime do not change the fact that the crime was committed. Especially in crimes done for revenge, such as attacking someone you think has wronged you, the act has an awful consequence. I don’t think people should be excused from crimes they committed when angry or emotional. I think that the majority of violence between people is caused by emotions “getting the better of them”. Not being able to deal with being angry shouldn’t ever be an excuse to hurt someone else. Anyone who is so irrational to try taking the law into their own hands doesn’t seem sane enough to be allowed the responsibility. Although the justice system in America is not perfect, I think that most of the time it is fair. If it allowed people to get caught up in getting revenge on each other without consequence, many more people would get hurt. It is also likely that nobody would feel like justice had been done if they were allowed to do things to take revenge. It would just start to escalate. That is why I oppose not holding people responsible for what they do.

Kyle Blake

1/31/2013 11:13:18 am

I believe someone who lets their emotions get the best of them should be treated like anyone els. The person with the passion will not benefit from it. If someone killed a family member, killing the murderer will not bring back that family member. If the suspect actually committed the crime, they will have their karma, whether it is the death penalty or prison time. The person with the passion does not have to get the revenge for the victim. All of that karma will eventually catch up to them naturally later on in life. Attacking the man that your wife is cheating on you with will not resolve the problem. It will further complicate it. Also, it is not the mans fault in this situation. THe wife is the one that is cheating. Crimes of passion should be considered crimes. Nothing should be considered based on emotion. All crimes, whether it is because of emotion or events that occur, should all be treated the same.

Michaela

1/31/2013 11:24:45 am

Think of the most respectable person you know. Now imagine them killing someone. Would you see it as justified and still look up to them? Or would you lose all respect for them? I can imagine that I would still respect them if the cause seemed worthy. But that's an unpopular opinion. It depends on the situation.
Emotions are impossible to control, but actions can be restrained. An "act of passion" is simply an act, excused by emotion. No feeling can make a person innocent. If someone is murdered because the killer felt passionately that they deserved to die (for revenge or whatever purpose) it is absurd to rule them innocent due to their emotions. Passion should not be an excuse for lack of self control.

Ally Caple

1/31/2013 11:34:11 am

Michaela, your point is great. Your first two sentences really make us think about the entire situation. And I love what you said about "no feeling can make a person innocent." No matter what, people will be guilty for their wrongdoings.

Haley Krivensky

1/31/2013 12:17:42 pm

Michaela, I liked how you took a different spin on things. It's weird to think about it, but I think I would still respect that person if they had a valid reason. Which goes against all of what I believe in, but it's still difficult to picture what it would be like if someone I looked up to and respected killed someone.

Jackie

1/31/2013 02:47:51 pm

I agree. If that respectable persons reasons made sense in my mind, I would still respect them but a crime is a crime in the end

Christina M

1/31/2013 11:37:36 am

People should be held accountable for their actions at all times, even when their emotions get the best of them. Growing up my mom would always say "don't say something out of anger that you will regret saying once you've calmed down". This advice may seem very obvious and easy to follow however from my experiences it is extremely hard to do. When I get angry whether its because a friend lied to me, i got in an argument with my parents, or my boyfriend broke up with me (girl drama I guess you can call it) it is a challenge for me to hold back my emotions. During those moments I want to say mean things to the people who I'm upset with because I know that I would get satisfaction out of it and that I would feel a lot better. Doing this has caused me to loose friends, some of my best friends actually. I take full responsibility for my actions even though I really did not mean the things I said; I was actually just hurt and upset with the situation. Experiences like these have taught me that I need to contain my emotions and learn how to control my actions when I am hurt and emotional about something. I think that a lot of people can personally relate to this topic from past experiences they have encountered. I think that acting out because you are emotional is equivilant to getting revenge. It is part of human nature to want to act out because you are emotional however, we all need to learn how to contain our emotions to prevent doing things we will regret.

Ally Caple

1/31/2013 11:59:09 am

When I read this week’s discussion blog, I automatically linked it to the death penalty. Not because I think every person who does something wrong deserves to die, but because it’s along the same lines as far as reasonability. There are always going to be instances where people say “well because of this characteristic, he shouldn’t be punished” or “because this happened before/during/after the situation, that makes him less guilty.” But that’s where we go wrong: we can’t weigh the factors for one person and not another. People are either guilty or they aren’t. If an unmarried unemployed 57 year old man stabs someone to death with full intentions and an 18 year old college-bound student mistakes a person for a deer while hunting in the woods, they clearly both kill someone. But the first one, I assume we would all agree, is definitely 100% guilty. The second one, on the other hand, some of us might say because it was an accident, he’s not guilty. I don’t care what you say, but that kid shot a person, therefore making him guilty of the crime. Only the circumstances were different than the 57 year old man’s, making it hard to agree whether he is or not.
The same concept relates to whether or not someone should be held responsible for acting out when their emotions get the best of them. Whether the person was angry, sad, happy, drunk, etc. they’re still guilty. We can’t favor one person over another, not in these situations.

Alex Mardis

1/31/2013 12:08:00 pm

Obviously any and every crime should have its consequences. Whether it is a jealous husband or an angered father. However, this is not going to stop people from commiting crimes of passion. If the cause is great enough, a person will overlook the consequences and go with what they think is right. Just to clarify, I am talking about extreme crimes of passion such as revenge or avenging someone that usually involve love. Not any crime like theft or murder for no reason. But anyway as shayne said, if it makes them feel better than good for them, but they better be prepared to take full responsibility for their actions. I think that most of the time people will end up regretting their actions. However I believe that in some instances people will not regret their actions (such as avenging someones death or doing something out of love). As I mentioned earlier, if the cause is great enough people will certainly overlook the law.

Haley Krivensky

1/31/2013 12:13:48 pm

When a person acts outside of the law he/she should be punished for their actions no matter what the circumstances are. Whether they hurt someone with a specific purpose, or just because they were emotional and couldn't control themselves. There is never an excuse for committing a crime, especially one in which another human being's life is put in danger. Everyone has rough days where their emotions get the best of them, even just the things they say can hurt people. However, being angry, upset, disappointed, heartbroken, or irritated is not a valid excuse for doing something against the law. Someone who commits a "crime of passion" should by all means be punished for what they have done. Just because a certain emotion was their drive does not make them exempt from the law. They are just as guilty as anyone else would be. It is absurd to think that crimes of passion are "Ok" or acceptable. With that logic the world we live in would be a total disaster.

Nick Casablanca

1/31/2013 12:18:43 pm

Everyone wants revenge and justice in the end and commit a passionate crime. Yea, maybe the ends justify the means in most cases, but there is a down side to every passionate crime. The truth is that no matter how good an idea is when a person is angry it never is. In most cases, the law and local enforcement will have you arrested and sentenced to prison or whatever the punishment may be. Also, in some cases, the second to retaliate always gets caught. This would only let the overwhelming emotions come over that person even more and drive them blindly by the rage within. This should teach us that as angry and sad and passionate we are deep down inside, we need t remain within our right mind and know that we need to move on. It is hard, but sometimes getting even may not have the best consequences. We need to think before we act.

Zach Antonio

1/31/2013 12:19:47 pm

We must be held responsible for our actions. The mature thing to do is to man up and claim that responsibility, ready for the consequences. But crimes of passion are different than mistakes. If a man came into my house and killed my little brother, I would find him and kill him. Would I have to answer for my crime? Sure, toss me in jail. But there's no way I'd let that son of bitch get away with something like that. Hopefully (knock on wood) I'll never be in a position like that, so I won't be able to see if I could go through with it. Crimes of passion are more justified. But letting your emotions get the better of you is sometimes dangerous. If you're really pissed off one day, that doesn't give you the right to do something wrong. But you can always act passionately if the wrongdoing is justified.

Tim Osborn

1/31/2013 01:01:09 pm

Yes people should be held responsible for acting out in their emotions. Think about some who strongly dislikes children or elderly people because they were bullied as a child. Then that person acts out on that emotion from years before. It's not okay. I think society could view murder differently. Like if a mother hurts someone for injuring her child, opposed to someone killing another person for no reason. In people's minds that mother had a reason so it may not seem as bad. However, in reality it is still a murder. If people were not held responsible for their actions then the crime rate would dramatically increase. Most people don't act out on their emotions because they know there could be repercussions to it. Luckily for society most people are brought up to not act out on emotions.

Victoria Marino

1/31/2013 01:11:35 pm

Emotions can be extremely powerful. They can tear at your heart and cause your head to make decisions that may not be so smart. When overcome by emotions you are capable of doing many more hurtful things. You can do things or say things in the heat of the moment that you would not do normally. Take the example of a father going after the murder of his son. The father could be taking the life of someone else's son and it could turn into a cycle. It is not right. Actions done or words spoke out of anger should be treated and punished the exact same way as any other crimes. It is no excuse to let your emotions get the best of you. It is not acceptable and would still be looked down upon. No matter what the situation may be, there is no justifiable reason.

Andrew Lynch

1/31/2013 02:29:29 pm

A crime is a crime. No matter what the reason behind it is, it makes no difference. Just because someone is extremely emotional, and decided they are going to commit a crime because they think they are doing right doesn’t make a difference. They are still a criminal, and should be treated as such. Are there certain circumstances that people should not be punished to the fullest for their crimes? Definitely. For example, a man is convicted for murdering a man’s son and wife. The criminal gets life in prison. In a drunken suit of rage, the husband/ father to the victims shoots and kills the criminal before he is transferred to prison. Should that man really earn the same punishment? In my own opinion, he should not receive the same punishment just because of that situation, and the fact that he is the person most affected by the even. on the other side of this argument, if someone is arrested, not convicted of rapping a woman, and a friend of the victim decides to burn the rapists house down, then he should certainly receive a reasonable punishment, because he acted entirely out of emotion, and was not even directly affected by the crime. Overall, I feel that crime and punishment need to stay fairly standard. It’s not fair to society to say that you are not guilty because of racial, emotional, mental, or influential reasons. As a standard, if you commit the crime, you get the punishment.

Jackie

1/31/2013 02:45:41 pm

I can understand why a person would commit a crime due to passion. The emotions over take you and put you in some sort of insanity. If someone were to murder one of my loved ones, like a little cousin, and I felt the murderer got off easily, it would be extremely hard to not want to go after them. The way you hurt and for that person to get off easy can drive anyone to do something crazy. Its natural for you to want them to feel how you're feeling, or even worse. Therefore I can't blame them. But because it still is a life and a crime, they still would have to face a punishment. The world would not be able to function if any person was hurt and decided to kill. It also doesn't make you a bigger person then the person who committed the crime. You actually put yourself on the same level. I can understand why a person would commit a crime of passion but I don't condone it.

Amber Murray

1/31/2013 03:40:30 pm

I definitely believe that committing a “crime of passion” should not be an excuse for outlandish behaviors. Yes, it is heartbreaking when something horrific happens to a loved one, but when someone starts to think that justice was truly not served they should not take the situation into their own hands. Letting your emotions get the best of you can definitely be a challenging thing to hold back but there is a certain limit of control that all people should have. In small situations I think everyone has a tendency to be overprotective of a person they care for, which is normal. There is a fine line between being protective of someone and being completely insane. The initial reaction of the body in a situation is to react, but it’s not the reaction that is the problem it is how far someone is willing to take their reaction. Will they go to crazy lengths and do something they will regret or will they really think about the consequences of their uncontrolled actions. When saying someone is going to get in trouble for their emotions, it sounds unfair but it is possible to control your emotions. No matter what you can always walk away from anything. So even though getting in trouble for your emotions sounds ridiculous it makes sense in the end. There is no excuse for letting your emotions get the best of you; therefore I do believe that if a person created a crime due to their emotions, they should be held responsible.

Richard Katrenya

1/31/2013 04:03:08 pm

Being able to experience and have emotions is what makes a human being a human. If we didn't have feelings, what would we be? Either robots or Vulcans, but that's besides the point. Either way, feelings of love, hate, betrayal, envy, anything; these feelings are what makes us. us.

People who let their feelings get the best of them, and out of impulse they do something stupid like kill someone, that doesn't excuse the fact that they did something wrong. We have laws, and laws are meant to be followed. If we turn a blind eye to people who commit acts out of emotions, we would be literally letting everyone go. Everything that humans do are driven by emotions. The end does not justify the means.
Terrorists for example, they take out their anger (which is an emotion) on us as a country. Just because they were angry, should we not prosecute them? If we were to let the people who let their feelings get the best of them slide, then this whole country would run a muck.

It is absurd to void a crime all because someone was emotionally compromised considering people usually only commit crimes when that ARE emotionally compromised. The lack of self control in a human isn't an excuse to get away with a crime.

Jess Fedak

1/31/2013 11:37:24 pm

If someone commits a crime out of passion it is still a crime. People need to learn not to let their emotions get the best of them. If your son was killed and you are so angry that you kill the murderer for justice, you are just as guilty as your son's murderer. Killing your son's murderer is not going to bring your son back. If someone commits a crime they should be punished as they deserve. Just because someone cannot handle their emotions does not mean they should be treated differently from any other criminal. You are still breaking the law. If you commit murder nobody is going to say, "Oh, he was angry so it's okay." A crime a passion and a crime done out of evil will and should receive the same punishment. A crime is a crime, it doesn't matter why it was committed.

Dan K

2/25/2013 01:15:47 am

Emotions can sometimes get the best of us. Rage, jealousy, and revenge could overwhelm us and could make us do things that we would normally not do. Everyone is emotional, they have emotions and they could be controlled. Just because you did something bad that you would not do normally does not mean that you should not be punished. You should be held responsible for what you do. It is possible to control emotions so it should be used as an excuse to justify your actions. A crime is a crime no matter what the conditions are. If I sped because I was emotional and got into an accident that killed to pe

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Crime of Passion

English 12 Honors

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