I am watching a television show where a character has murdered in the heat of passion. The character is of course trying to get away with it by covering things up. Which got me thinking… I cannot imagine ever committing murder in the first place, however if I did, I know there is no way I could try to get away with it. It would be simply beyond me to try and live with that kind of information and lie however it might be necessary, even if I desperately wanted to. I know the limits of my abilities… I would absolutely throw myself on the mercy of the law and try to get the best deal possible.
So what about you? If you killed somebody (presumably in the heat of passion because presumably the dope does not have any calculatedly cold murderers among its members… we hope… And of course if we did it is doubtful they would participate in this poll…) can you imagine yourself trying to get away with it? Lying and covering up doing whatever was necessary to avoid being found out? Hiding the body? Or would you be like me, completely incapable of trying to sustain that kind of lie and just turn yourself in and hope for the best?
I once had an opportunity to commit a “perfect murder.” A guy on a motorcycle passed on a double-yellow-line road, threading between cars going both ways. I could trivially have hit the brakes – “in order to miss him!” – skidded the tail of my car into him, batting him right into the oncoming car – pow: one dead motorcyclist.
Getting away with it? Trivial: “He was in my lane, going the wrong way!” (True.) “I slammed on the brakes!” (Would have been true.) “I couldn’t avoid him!” (Lying my ass off.)
But…living with it the rest of my life? Never being able to talk about it with anyone? Not good: that’d lead to psychosis. Conscience isn’t just good for society; it’s good for us, ourselves, as individuals.
I can’t see me killing anybody. I don’t hate anybody that much. There are a handful of people I’d be tempted to punch in the face; a small group of politicians. If I ever saw one of them on the street, I hope I’m strong enough to walk away.
This is very, very, very true. My understanding is there are a lot of people in prison not because of physical evidence, but because they couldn’t keep their mouth shut.
On the advice of my attorney, I have no further comment on the subject.
I could very easily see killing in some kind of self-defense scenario and in that scenario, I would call the police and report it.
For me, it’s not a problem of living with the information, it’s simply that I tend to believe covering things up is not the best policy. And, also that things like murder are also not the best policy.
In the case of murder, covering it up just makes you look guilty if it does come to light despite your best efforts. Better meet it head on: lawyer up and generally cooperate with the authorities.
I would not do well in prison. I know this from watching Orange is the New Black and Wentworth. I would have no choice but to cover it up, and luckily I’ve watched enough CSI to know how to do it*.
*Okay, that’s a lie; I’ve never watched CSI. But I think I’ve got the gist anyway.
Would I try to get away with it? Maybe. The exception would be if my doctor has just given me Y months to live. In that case I may just semi-admit it and try to stall out the process somewhat.
There are many nights when I have vivid dreams that I killed someone long ago and I’m about to be found out. I wake up in a sweat reassuring myself that it never happened. This has happened so many times that I feel like I could probably pull it off in real life (if indeed I haven’t already).
You really should get a Clue. Oh, wait…
In almost all ‘heat of passion’ crimes you’re close enough to the deceased that the cops will consider you a person of interest until they can rule you out.
IF I was going to kill in the heat of passion, I might do something like put a knife in their hand & call the cops right away because if you do something like dispose of the body & miss just one little thing, you’re gonna get caught. It’s much harder to explain away, say, DNA evidence in your trunk days/weeks/months after the fact.
Like the OP, I couldn’t murder anyone. For me, it has nothing to do with the law, it’s just that murder’s bad… m’kay? Regardless of how the courts play it out, I’d still have to live with it and that would haunt me.
To go a step further, I think trying to cover it up would lead to a greater emotional/psychological investment in the act, hindering any (relative) peace I might one day hope to find.
I cannot see killing someone in the heat of passion, because I just don’t get that passionate. I’m more likely to be killed by someone else, because I refuse to b drawn into an argument. People get upset, or “passionate,” if you prefer, and I stay calm. I just don’t have the kishkas for screaming arguments.
Now, killing someone is cold blood is another matter…
Just kidding. I can come up with some convoluted TV-type scenario where I had a stalker who stayed just this side of legal, but then tried to draw my son into the meshugas, and I decided to eliminate him, but I really don’t think it would ever happen. But yes, I would try to get away with it.
My wife and I get into this argument a lot. We’ll watch some murder mystery show and she’ll question how someone could lie about murdering their spouse/neighbor/friend. I always figure I would lie before going to prison, which upsets her greatly. I mean, in this scenario, I’m already a murderer, who cares if I’m dishonest. Hell, I might even jaywalk after the pretend killing.
The question then becomes how I could live with the guilt. My answer is I don’t know, but I’d still be guilty in prison, except, well, I’d be in prison.
It’s hard to say, because it’s easy to talk big game on the internet. I’m kind of with RivkahChaya above, in that I don’t see myself going for murder in the heat of passion (aside from self-defense scenarios). Cold blooded would maybe be possible in the right circumstances, in which case I would totally plan that shit out seven times over.
