How Many Crime Fiction Writers Have Actually Committed a Crime?

[Benjamin Sobieck]

You don't necessarily have to say "yes" or "no." But what does a "yes" or "no" mean? Better or worse for the writing?

[I. J. Parker]

He's fast.

[Jeff Ross]

Anne Perry, Brit, New Zealander, Vicious murderer (as it says in this article, and if what happened happened the way it is stated. it does seem very vicious): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Perry

[I. J. Parker]

Ah. I thought somehow she was from the U.S. Not sure why Florida came to my mind.

[Donna Carrick]

I think there was a viciuos girl in FLA too, if I'm not mistaken! ha ha

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Wow, only five years. Why have I never heard of this?

[John McFetridge]

Well, it seems she hasn't re-offended so the five years looks to have worked.

[Benjamin Sobieck]

Which brings me to the second thing that makes no sense to me about the (U.S.) legal system: where's the restitution for victims? A punitive prison sentence making license plates doesn't seem to pay back the victim (or the victim's family) for the deed done.

Wage garnishment or some other form of indentured servitude would be a more effective way to not only redress grievances, but save money on the prison system overall.

Not meaning to pick on you, John. You just get me thinking about these things.

[John McFetridge]

Oh, don't worry about it, I'm Canadian, we feel picked on all the time ;)

Back in school we studied the idea of progress - by the end of the class we were quite divided on the whole concept of it, has there actually been any in recorded human history and so on. I don't know. Are we making any progress as a society away from things like indentured servitude (which sounds so much nicer than slavery). Like most people the older I get the less certain I become of everything. Of course, reading Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish didn't help clear things up, though I still highly recommend it.

But I'm pretty sure that there is no restitution on earth for families and loved ones of murder victims. I even think it's a bad idea to try and find some. I also don't believe there is any closure. Keep in mind I am often wrong.

I have seen cases where people have come close to something like closure by getting to know and forgiving people who have caused them great trauma.

I do agree with Eric in his comment below. There is a reason we don't let 13 year olds drive, vote or drink alcohol. There is a gray area between when we know children are children and when they're adults and, of course, we used to believe in individualism and having each case treated on its own - back before mandatory sentences which treat every person as identical.

I do like to see these kinds of things explored in crime fiction, by the way.

[Benjamin Sobieck]

I stand by my restitution as a better way to redress grievances, since it better serves the individual case than a one-size-fits-all. You're right, though, about restitution for murder victims. No, the victims' families can never be made full.

But what is putting a person in a cell accomplishing? The U.S. prison system isn't working. Criminals are still criminals when they get out. We've been locking away people for centuries, and the only real changes have been to implement mandatory sentences or increase them outright. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing and expecting a different result?

Restitution recognizes the individual, and I like that. Individualism a theme in CLEANSING EDEN, my manuscript in full consideration by an agent. The protag has to develop a sense of autonomy in light of an intimidating authority figure, a drug addiction and a putrid culture he is obligated to destroy.

But enough BSP.

[John McFetridge]

Not being America, I don't like to comment on what's wrong with America, but it's true, the US is putting more people in jail than any other industrialized country (but at about the same rate as many dictatorships).

I like your theme (it's only self-promotion if you're trying to sell me something and I hope that's the case next year when the manuscript sells and the book comes out. I'll give you a hard time about BSP then ;). America is going through a period of adjustment from a wide open space with abundant, easily-available resources to a larger population with scarcity issues which requred more management. It's pretty much exactly what Europe went through at the end of colonization a hundred years ago and they fought two huge wars and went to the extremes of communism and fascism.

Let's hope America can avoid all that as it goes from a frontier mentaility to a more "fenced in," society. Some people have said this is the basic shift from thinking like an individual to thinking like a community. It's not easy.

Good for you for exploring this stuff in a thriller.

[Benjamin Sobieck]

You're too kind, John. The next round of Labatt is on me.

[Donna Carrick]

Yes, John, I agree -- writers and artists in general have always led the way for open and positive discussion of these kinds of issues. And the artistic take on these things is fascinating especially in how it is often indicative of where society is headed.