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AIBU?

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Original poster

Do murderers rehabilitate in prison?

61 replies

jobhunter7 · 19/03/2022 07:40

I've been reading about the awful Sophie Lancaster story and I was wondering whether people thought people who commit crimes like this do come out of prison rehabilitated by the system at all. As awful as crimes like this are, they were teenage boys. And sometimes people in prison haven't had the best start in life.

OP posts:
Original poster
jobhunter7 · 20/03/2022 19:54

But I'd feel the same about this lady:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Perry

OP posts:
bellac11 · 20/03/2022 19:54

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that the repeat offence rates for murderers on life licence were lower than for any other crime.

Ballcactus · 20/03/2022 19:56

@HRTQueen

I work in forensic mh (ex offenders)

Some do some don’t depends on circumstances, back ground, support they get

Sexual offenders no they can’t be rehabilitated

Agree- same field too
AllOfUsAreDead · 20/03/2022 20:02

Some can, some can't. One off murderers would be more likely than multiple.

Sex offenders though, nope, they think in a different way. You could 'rehabilitate' them, but the approach is banned.

tttigress · 20/03/2022 20:07

I think it depends on the person if the rehabilitate.

But it obviously isn't a given, and it would be fairly easy to say what the parole board want to hear.

tttigress · 20/03/2022 20:08

@bellac11

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that the repeat offence rates for murderers on life licence were lower than for any other crime.
Yeah but murder is kind of a big crime.
Ancientbride · 20/03/2022 20:10

Some can. I knew a man who had been given a life sentence for murder. He got a degree while in prison and then, when out on licence, he trained as a social worker and worked for many years in that field. He never committed another offence but lived in constant fear of being recalled to prison.

HailAdrian · 20/03/2022 20:11

I think it really depends on the circumstances of the murder. The guys who killed Sophie Lancaster and would have killed her boyfriend, no, I don't believe rehabilitation is possible for them.

WellNotReally · 20/03/2022 20:17

A DV victims who kills her husband is out for revenge.

This has made me angry. It's such an ill informed, ignorant comment. I slept with a kitchen knife under my pillow on one occasion. Staying alive and protecting the life of my unborn child was the motivation. Not bloody revenge.

If you do work with offenders, you need to do an awful lot more learning around domestic violence victims.

Florenz · 20/03/2022 20:19

I couldn't care less if they do rehabilitate or not. They are murderers and should be treated as such. There is no good reason why they should be allowed to live a "normal" life after they have taken the life of another.

Original poster
jobhunter7 · 20/03/2022 20:26

So should they be jailed for longer?

Also presumably some people decide to have children with people who've committed such crimes... I find that difficult to understand somewhat...

OP posts:
CSIblonde · 20/03/2022 20:29

I feel some people who commit lesser crimes prob are able to rehabilitate . But when it comes to murder.... I'm not sure. You can get an education in UK prisons but there is apallingly little psych help. There was a big deal a few years back in the US re a bespoke prison rehab & psych programme for murderers. They found the reoffending rate actually went up. The offenders had simply learned to parrot what the organisers wanted to hear & go through the motions until they were released. The programne was quietly dropped. Having said that their prison system is far more brutal & normally, little or no effort is put into psych treatment, education or learning a skill/trade. Warders often stay in offices behind toughened glass & only venture into 'pods' or corridors if 24/7 surveillance footage shows its kicking off.

HRTQueen · 20/03/2022 20:38

People are difficult to understand

The more complex they are (and what we can’t relate to) the more difficult they are to understand and to manage in society

It’s always a gamble when someone who has a violent past is released. But locking hundreds away for life is incredibly hard to manage and why wouldn’t you give some a second chance in life

Some are truly sorry for what they have done some are truly sorry because of the impact on themselves that won’t shift but their behaviour might of. It’s so complex and there isn’t one rule

There is far more dangerous people in society than what we know of those known to probation and other services at least to some extent can be kept tabs on (but you will always only know a fraction of what they are up to in their lives)

Iputthetrampintrampoline · 20/03/2022 20:39

My friend killed someone,spent 22 yrs inside released on a life licence. Is he sorry he killed who he killed? No. Has he been rehabilitated? From what to what? Was he ever a danger to anyone else? No he wasn;t. His reasons were personal and carried out for a specific reason aimed at a specific person. He came out very well educated and married and had children over time. I have never known him to be anything other than decent,kind,warm,funny and loving. Did I ever agree with what he did ?well no but I can understand it totally, With him there was nothing to rehabilitate he was the same before the event with us and after the event with us, no one else was ever in any danger from him, He might tell officials he was sorry but he wasn;t and I think any of us in his circumstances would feel the way he felt leading up to the event,the only difference is maybe I would want to do what he did but I don;t think when push came to shove I could do it. He did it,admitted it and accepted his sentance.

Original poster
jobhunter7 · 20/03/2022 20:53

"Locking hundreds away for life is incredibly hard to manage and why wouldn’t you give some a second chance in life."

Well they may do it again for one...

I guess you have to look at the financial cost of prisons versus crime on society...

OP posts:
Namechangeforthis88 · 20/03/2022 20:54

I worked in prison for many years, with many people serving life for murder. All individuals. Different challenges for every single one. None of them I would describe as evil. Going back a few years it cost roundabout £35,000 to keep someone in prison for a year, I'm sure more now. For the vast majority of people serving life for murder that i have worked with it would have been a total waste of their life and public money for them to spend the rest of their life in prison. It was part of my job to review their files and assess risk.

Original poster
jobhunter7 · 21/03/2022 21:16

@Namechangeforthis88

I can somewhat understand heat of the moment violent acts... bit more difficult to understand Ian Brady...

OP posts:
HRTQueen · 21/03/2022 21:35

I don’t believe people are evil I believe people can do the most cruel acts (some would describe what they do as evil)

Some choose to be terribly cruel. But to say they are evil takes away blame from the choices they have made

Kanaloa · 21/03/2022 22:30

But I don’t think anyone really suggested Ian Brady was rehabilitated or even rehabilitatable though? He was never released from prison.

x2boys · 21/03/2022 22:40

I don't think it raca one size fits all tby
Sophie's murder was particularly brutal and apparently they all tried blaming each other
However there was a stabbing around the corner from me a few months ago a fifteen year old boy was stabbed to death by a fellow fifteen year old as awful as it was ,it appeared it was all down to some stupid argument ,no doubt the perpetrators goaded the victim and they were armed and he wasn't ,but they were also young you would hope the perpetrators would mature .

ChrissyPlummer · 21/03/2022 22:57

Depends on the circumstances that led to the murder I guess. I remember reading about a murderer who was up for parole and his lawyer cited his ‘good progress’ and how he hadn’t harmed anyone else. Yeah….being locked up for the past 20-odd years might have something to do with that 🤔

Namechangeforthis88 · 22/03/2022 07:22

You can definitely harm someone in prison!

PeterandSandy · 24/03/2022 15:07

I think some people are just so horrible that they are incapable. There are families where its normal in the family to be in prison and they grew up with it.

So depressing.

ChrissyPlummer · 24/03/2022 15:16

Of course @Namechangeforthis88 but this man murdered a young woman. For someone to point out “well, he hasn’t murdered any MORE young women” is just bloody stupid when the reason for that was him being locked up without access to young women.

gogohm · 24/03/2022 15:25

Murderers like most groups are not a homogenous group, their crimes vary too. I believe people can change. I'm sure some can and some can't.