The Sunday News
IN an online article titled Inside the criminal mind, are we all susceptible of crimes of passion? Stanton Samenown writes; “The August 3, 2014 edition of The Washington Post contains in its arts section an article about “murderous muses” depicted by choreographers.
“Agnes de Mille in the ballet of Fall River Legend relates the story of Lizzy Borden, a quiet, unmarried daughter who in 1892 murdered her parents.
Sarah Kaufman, the author of the article, writes, “De Mille capitalised on what draws us to crimes of passion, the poignancy and surprise of them.
There but for the grace of not having a murderous weapon handy go the rest of us.”
“The idea in the Post article is that, given the proper circumstances and a weapon at hand, any of us is capable of committing a so-called “crime of passion.” From time to time, we learn about the unassuming, well-reputed individual who suddenly grabs a kitchen knife and slaughters his spouse.
Or the husband who discovers his adulterous spouse in bed with her paramour and shoots both.”
The author argues; “We may become frustrated and angry when we think we have been mistreated or betrayed. But we react to disappointment, frustration, and betrayal in a manner commensurate with our character.
Thousands of people experience serious problems in relationships that tax their patience, their pocketbooks, and their psychological resources.
But they do not react by annihilating the source of their difficulties.
Killing the person whom they perceive as the source of their problem is not in character. And so they address their predicaments in other ways!”
Crimes of passion have been experienced since time immemorial, and circumstances always appear similar, yet society still fails to address them. A crime of passion is technically defined as a “violent crime, especially murder, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as sudden rage rather than as a premeditated crime.”
From the much publicised story of America’s OJ Simpson, to a lot more on the local scene, we believe these tragic losses of life could be prevented if everyone had taken a minute to cool down.
Admittedly, some of the heinous murders are committed by total monsters but some are committed by “fine gentlemen and women” who have just lost their cool and suddenly found themselves next to dangerous weapons.
We believe it is the duty of society and psychologists to play an active role in fighting crimes of passion. We cannot afford to be losing precious lives in circumstances that could be avoided.
We were saddened by an incident in Bulawayo last week where a member of the Zimbabwe National Army gunned down his wife, two relatives and injured his son before attempting to commit suicide by shooting himself.
The incident came at the back of a judgment where a man who stabbed his wife to death — 27 times — was sentenced to death.
Another writer published online, Kaufman said; “Murderous rage can so easily, so unexpectedly, erupt from an ordinary heart.” What this means therefore is that anyone is capable of committing a “crime of passion” and it is the duty of society, family and psychologists to counsel troubled souls and also instil the culture of problem sharing and solving among our people. Violence or killing is never a solution.
