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Does being a criminal necessarily mean a person is evil? This is an interesting question, in which there are many different opinions. This is not a straight yes or no answer. To have a debate on an issue like this we should first define the word evil. The dictionary defines evil as being: Morally reprehensible, sinful, wicked (Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary). People who say that a criminal isnt necessarily evil might be thinking like this: If a poor person went into a store and stole food for his family that was starving on the streets, and got caught, he would be considered a criminal.
But, not many people would consider this person to be evil. After all, he was just trying to help his family survive by any means necessary. Other examples of things that would make a person a criminal are such things as swimming in a no swimming area, or not paying taxes or doing drugs. Most of these people would never be considered to be evil. On the other hand, is someone who kills another person considered evil? The person who said that a criminal is not always evil, might say that a murderer is always evil.
The other side of this argument is the opinion that all criminals are evil. If I happened to go up to someone and ask them if all criminals are evil, and the person answered yes, I would then have to ask the person what he / she considers a criminal to be. This persons mind most likely will automatically think along the lines of murderer, rapist, etc. So, I dont think that there is much of an argument to the question: Does being a criminal necessarily mean a person is evil? I do think, however, that there is definitely a debate as to whether or not a murderer is always evil, and whether or not murder is always wrong.
I do not believe that all murderers are evil. If a woman had been getting beaten and battered by her husband, and one day just couldnt take it anymore, and killed her husband, I wouldnt consider her to be evil. Does that make the fact that she killed her husband right? No, of course not. But, I dont think that she is an evil person.
In the book that we just completed In Cold Blood, we learned about a character named Perry. Perry didnt seem to be a violent, evil man. I dont think anyone could characterize him as being morally reprehensible, or wicked. When Perry is describing his dream, it is obvious that he is not an evil person.
In his dream, he is describing what seems to be the truth that he is being forced to do something that he doesnt really want to do. He says: I dont know how to fight a snake. But I figure, well, Ill take my chances (Capote, p. 92). It seems from that passage that the killer isnt really an evil person. Another example of how Dick influenced Perry was in the following passage: You think I like myself? Oh, the man I could have been!
But that bastard never game me a chance (Capote, p. 185). From that passage, we see that Perry regrets the killings. Dick, on the other hand never seemed to regret it. An example of an evil person, in my opinion, is Dick. The author writes: (Dick) Hickock tells us youre a natural-born killer.
Says it doesnt bother you a bit... you went after a colored man with a bicycle chain. Whipped him to death. For fun...
We see that Dick actually told the cops all this about Perry. That, to me is an evil person. What if we have the opportunity to kill Hitler? If killing is wrong, then should we not kill at all?
Not even Hitler? I dont know about other people, but assuming I had the guts to pull that trigger, he wouldve been dead long before he murdered millions of innocent people! Another example of a murderer not being evil is someone who is insane, who kills. That person may have done an evil deed, but that doesnt mean that he is necessarily an evil person. In closing, I would have to say that a person who commits a crime isnt necessarily evil, no matter the crime. To figure out if a criminal is evil, we would have to find out his motive and other factors before making a decision.
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