Wednesday, February 25, 2009

In a room with Evil

I felt like I was in my own version of "Silence of the Lambs" as deputies wheeled this shackled man into his courtroom. He's an accused rapist and murderer, and other violent attacks against women. His arms and legs were bound, a taser wrapped around his arm. The only thing missing was Hannibal Lecter's face mask, which he really needs after I heard him unfurl a string of obscenities. The extreme security measures were put in place after Curtis Thompson tried to attack jail guards, and lunged at his own attorney.
I had to sit within yards of this man in a King County Courthouse. Evil oozed from his pores, and I was afraid if his eyes met mine I'd turn to stone. His stringy hair was tied in a ponytail, his lips curled in a sneer. He started at the testifying detectives like he could kill in an instant. He shouted cuss words at the judge and his attorney in a deep, robust voice. I had flashes of him yelling at his victims that way, and it gave me chills. I could tell this was a seriously disturbed, mentally ill man, someone who I felt could be inhabited by the devil.
There aren't man people who I feel are truly evil, that I can feel their energy circling mine, threatening my sanity. At the same time I wanted to run for dear life and attack this man for brutalizing so many women. I could have become the news story in that courtroom.
I wonder what makes people so evil? How can someone get so screwed up in the head that they rape and murder? What events plagued this man's life to make him that way, or was he born with this evil already in him? Criminals like this scare me, and I hope to God I never come in contact with one out on the street. I hope justice is served against this psychopath.

5 comments:

dog grrrrl said...

I don't believe in all that Heaven and Hell, God and Satan stuff but I do believe that there are those who are just born wrong. Like unfortunately everything that was supposed to develop or happen misses some people.

I've never come into contact with a person like this but I did meet a dog like this. Not traumatized or fearful or wounded in some way, just insane....beyond redemption. Acting out because hurting is what they do.I think it happens to people too. I hope I never get as close as you did.

Colleen said...

I felt the same way about Joseph Duncan. I came over the Spokane as his trial for killing two children and two adults got underway... I don't get seriously disturbed easily. Sometimes these stories seem fictional because you're reading about it, not living it. But after reading Duncan's detailed plot to kill and kidnap, I had to put it down and try to forget. They even showed a tape during the trial that Duncan made as he tortured and molested a young boy. I won't go into detail, but what happened is straight from the 'devil.'

Contact Travis said...

this man needs to be locked up indefinitely, but he also needs round the clock care and treatment.

He sounds to me like a textbook psychopath...and while what he's done is horrific, as a human being I feel sorry for him. I don't believe his soul is evil...but his own mind and his own mental illness pollute every atom of his being...he's lost his humanity and that does make him evil.

Kristin said...

Yeah even though he freaked me out, I do see that he is a human and he is suffering, and that makes me sad. But on the other hand, I despise him.

Anonymous said...

I bet many of these evil ones (and yeah I do believe in evil) had evil upbringings and went through awful things with their own parents. It's a never ending cycle of hell on earth - to them and through them to others. I do believe, though, that some people radiate ill intent; I've encountered some that signalled a major alarm to get away. You just know you must avoid them. While I have sympathy for them, I do think like all of us they must be accountable for their behavior - they are broken, but must not be allowed to break the innocent, and should be put away. Maybe better luck next life.