Ted Bundy's Final Interview

[fides' Jack]

I wonder what would be the point in not believing what he's saying about porn.  We all know pornography is evil and sinful.  To believe that it impacted a serial killer in this way just seems to correspond to that belief.  

 

What's the issue with that?  Why make an issue of that?  Just because it came from his own mouth?  That changes nothing of the validity of the statement itself.  Would people find it more believable if it came from a psychologist or a doctor?  I think that was Dr. Dobson's intent, to get that message across.  This could be seen just as much as coming from him.

 

Clarification: I'm not trying to argue, just trying to understand why some people reacted the way they did in the beginning of the thread.

Edited June 17, 2014 by fides' Jack

[BarbTherese]

I wonder what would be the point in not believing what he's saying about porn.  We all know pornography is evil and sinful.  To believe that it impacted a serial killer in this way just seems to correspond to that belief.  

 

What's the issue with that?  Why make an issue of that?  Just because it came from his own mouth?  That changes nothing of the validity of the statement itself.  Would people find it more believable if it came from a psychologist or a doctor?  I think that was Dr. Dobson's intent, to get that message across.  This could be seen just as much as coming from him.

 

Clarification: I'm not trying to argue, just trying to understand why some people reacted the way they did in the beginning of the thread.

 

I don't think it is so much what TB said in the final interview, it is why he said it.  Was his motivation entirely concern for social wellbeing, or was he motivated purely by some psychopathic narcissistic self interest.
Was pornography the root cause of TB's serial killing urges (in which he brutally indulged) as he put forward, or did he deliberately seek out pornography to feed an existing psychopathic serial killer disposition, and of which he was probably very well aware?  In other words, was he lying at least in part?  I don't think that we can know the answer to these questions beyond any doubt since no person is beyond responding to the Grace and call of repentance and God's Loving Mercy.  Given free will we are free to refuse the latter.

 

We can however discuss and debate the issue without passing final judgement on the man.

 

Personally, I tend to think that TB desired to shift blame in a subtle and manipulative manner to a third party (i.e. pornography) under the guise of social concern.  However, I recognise that I might well be quite wrong.  Psychopaths do have free will and know right from wrong.  I also feel it probably not the best of moves at all to put trust in what a serial killer of some 30 to possibly 100 people had to state - especially since he had an established record of high intelligence and manipulation and deception to his own purposes disregarding totally the interests of others including most of all his murder victims.

This is not to challenge that some of the content of his final interview may be quite correct.  It was not a total neglect of truth, it was an investment in some truth to his own psychopathic interest and motivation.

Edited June 18, 2014 by BarbaraTherese

[PhuturePriest]

The most this has impacted my life personally is the realization that Voldemort is a textbook case of a sociopath: Incredibly charming, motivational, magnetic personality, yet no ability to love others, and feels zero remorse for the death and pain of others.

[LittleWaySoul]

Yeah it's always in the eyes. I've worked with guys who had that vacant look in their eyes. My supervisor told me that that's one way to peg a manipulator, because they're watching you very closely to see your reactions, however subtle.

That's what kinda tipped me off. He was always watching for a reaction.
 

 

So are some of you guys suggesting Bundy lied during this interview and that pornography had nothing with his condition?

Not at all. I don't doubt pornography was a part of his life that probably led him to or was a result of the things he did. However, I believe he was using it as more of an excuse to make himself look better.
 

 

I'm not saying his words are to be taken without a grain of salt but he man made this interview literally less than twenty-four hours before his life would be extinguished. If he was lying or manipulating, one has to wonder what the motive would have been. 

If you read the description of the video, it says he was awaiting a stay of execution, which would cancel or suspend his death. I believe he was giving it a last-ditch effort to convince them not to kill him.
 

 

Maybe it's because I believe in the best of people very easily (sometimes too easily), but I found his interview very compelling and heartfelt. What sold me on it was the fact that he kept reiterating that everything he did was consciously done, and that the porn didn't make it to where he didn't have a choice, it simply helped mold his desires that he consciously gave in to. If you watch people like Charles Manson, he'll say that it was all something he couldn't control, and kept trying to justify it. Ted Bundy never did this, and showed (in my opinion) true remorse, particularly at the end when he was asked about the children.

 

I truly wish he hadn't gotten the death penalty. We need to stop killing people and start trying to actually fix the problem.

First paragraph: Check out 25:28, right after he says he can't express his feelings on the children, notice how he quickly glances up to check the reaction of Rev. Dobson before continuing. Things like that are what lead me to believe that he's being manipulative and isn't truly remorseful. I pray he *did* express remorse before he died, though.
 

On the second paragraph, I would agree with you. Life in prison would have been better-- it would have given him more time to potentially repent. That's why I'm against the death penalty. It's not for man to take another's life like that, to deprive him of a chance of sorrow and remorse for what he's done.

Edited June 18, 2014 by LittleWaySoul

[PhuturePriest]

First paragraph: Check out 25:28, right after he says he can't express his feelings on the children, notice how he quickly glances up to check the reaction of Rev. Dobson before continuing. Things like that are what lead me to believe that he's being manipulative and isn't truly remorseful. I pray he *did* express remorse before he died, though.
 

On the second paragraph, I would agree with you. Life in prison would have been better-- it would have given him more time to potentially repent. That's why I'm against the death penalty. It's not for man to take another's life like that, to deprive him of a chance of sorrow and remorse for what he's done.

 

I don't know. It's very easy to find anything and try to make it agree with your point. It could just be that he simply looked up right after he said it simply because he wanted to look up at him. Then again, you could be completely right. This is why at some point, Catholics step down from the debate and pray. We obviously aren't Ted Bundy, so I don't think it's fair to say definitively that he was or wasn't sincere in what he said. I like to think he was sincere and was truly sorry for what he did (as closely as he could, given his mental condition). I am aware of the atrocities he committed and the pain he inflicted on many women and families, but that is why I so strongly hope that he repented and felt remorse in the strongest way he could.

 

The problem with the death penalty is that violence begets violence. It solves absolutely nothing by killing him. As Ted Bundy himself says, it's ridiculous to think that killing him would make the world right and happy again. There are always future Bundys being raised right now, and they're being raised in a culture that molds their minds towards violence through praise of violence in the media and pornography.

Edited June 18, 2014 by FuturePriest387

[fides' Jack]

So, the real question or criticism of the video is whether or not he's lying?  I don't see how that matters at all.  He's most likely lying to some extent.  Heck, I would probably lie (to an extent) to an interviewer if I was interviewed about something good - like my kids.

 

Or even if the issue is that he's trying to shift the blame off of himself - I still don't see how that matters.  Maybe he is, maybe he isn't.  So what?  Why feel the need to criticize it in either event?  Sure, you're free to, but I still don't understand the point.

 

To criticize the truthfulness of the video seems to me to try to say that porn doesn't have a big negative impact on people.  I know that nobody is saying that, but that's the feeling I get reading some of the posts in this thread.

 

Porn is bad.  I think everyone here agrees on that.  Why criticize the video?

[mortify ii]

I probably stand out on this but I think Bundy was simply being honest. He didn't blame porn in the video, in fact he took full responsibility of himself, but he identifies porn as something that aided in his development as a murderer. 

[fides' Jack]

The problem with the death penalty is that violence begets violence. It solves absolutely nothing by killing him. As Ted Bundy himself says, it's ridiculous to think that killing him would make the world right and happy again. There are always future Bundys being raised right now, and they're being raised in a culture that molds their minds towards violence through praise of violence in the media and pornography.

 

I disagree here.  At least one purpose of legal punishment is to get the perpetrator to change.  That was certainly the case with this man.  Did he change before the end?  Who knows.  We can hope and pray so.  

 

As has been said before (I don't remember by whom), knowing that you're going to die focuses the mind wonderfully.  It might not make the world right, but it may very well make him right enough that he could make it to heaven.

 

Only God knows.

[PhuturePriest]

I probably stand out on this but I think Bundy was simply being honest. He didn't blame porn in the video, in fact he took full responsibility of himself, but he identifies porn as something that aided in his development as a murderer. 

 

That is my position as well. The issue is others don't agree he was being truthful. Which of course, there's always the possibility he was lying at least a little bit when it comes to other matters, but I don't think he was lying when it comes to pornography and the effect it had on him.

[PhuturePriest]

I disagree here.  At least one purpose of legal punishment is to get the perpetrator to change.  That was certainly the case with this man.  Did he change before the end?  Who knows.  We can hope and pray so.  

 

As has been said before (I don't remember by whom), knowing that you're going to die focuses the mind wonderfully.  It might not make the world right, but it may very well make him right enough that he could make it to heaven.

 

Only God knows.

 

The ends don't justify the means. Pope John Paul II said the death penalty is wrong in countries where the person can be put away from society. We should only use the death penalty as a last resort due from the fact that we can't safely keep him away from people, not because we want revenge.

[mortify ii]

That is my position as well. The issue is others don't agree he was being truthful. Which of course, there's always the possibility he was lying at least a little bit when it comes to other matters, but I don't think he was lying when it comes to pornography and the effect it had on him.

 

Yes I agree. Its rather interesting because he reveals a relatively normal and healthy family life. One has to wonder what happened in his case that brought him out to be what he became, and the the idea of violent pornography being an instrumental factor is not that far-fetched. It's rather interesting though because given the times when Bundy was growing up and the limitation to access to such material, one can only imagine how violent it was. Christopher Hedges in his book, Empire of Illusion, has a chapter dealing with pornography and he details how contemporary porn has further degenerated into something really violent and even more base. Where at least in the 70's and 80's you would get some cheesy plot and quick romance now it's, well, violence rooted in a misogynistic attitude. even closer to rape than love making.

Edited June 18, 2014 by mortify ii

[PhuturePriest]

Yes I agree. Its rather interesting because he reveals a relatively normal and healthy family life. One has to wonder what happened in his case that brought him out to be what he became, and the the idea of violent pornography being an instrumental factor is not that far-fetched. It's rather interesting though because given the times when Bundy was growing up and the limitation to access to such material, one can only imagine how violent it was. Christopher Hedges in his book, Empire of Illusion, has a chapter dealing with pornography and he details how contemporary porn has further degenerated into something really violent and even more base. Where at least in the 70's and 80's you would get some cheesy plot and quick romance now it's, well, violence rooted in a misogynistic attitude. even closer to rape than love making.

 

I thankfully don't struggle with it anymore, but I remember when I was struggling with purity, I was incredibly selective with the videos I watched, because 99% of the ones I watched were so violent that they looked more like rape than anything else, and it made me sick to my stomach.

[fides' Jack]

The ends don't justify the means. Pope John Paul II said the death penalty is wrong in countries where the person can be put away from society. We should only use the death penalty as a last resort due from the fact that we can't safely keep him away from people, not because we want revenge.

 

Agreed, but that's not the issue here.  Nobody is looking for revenge.  That's another issue altogether.

 

I'm not arguing for whether or not the death penalty was acceptable in this case, I'm just saying that your statement, that it serves no purpose, is incorrect.  It does/did serve a purpose.  Whether or not that purpose was moral, or even successful, is beside the point.

[HisChildForever]

Yes I agree. Its rather interesting because he reveals a relatively normal and healthy family life. One has to wonder what happened in his case that brought him out to be what he became, and the the idea of violent pornography being an instrumental factor is not that far-fetched.

 

I believe it was his psychopathology that attracted him to violent porn. Psychopaths tend to engage in promiscuous behaviors. There are a lot of studies out there on the neurobiological basis of psychopathy. While a tumultuous childhood would be telling from a social standpoint, a psychopath can just as easily come from a normal childhood home.

[PhuturePriest]

Agreed, but that's not the issue here.  Nobody is looking for revenge.  That's another issue altogether.

 

I'm not arguing for whether or not the death penalty was acceptable in this case, I'm just saying that your statement, that it serves no purpose, is incorrect.  It does/did serve a purpose.  Whether or not that purpose was moral, or even successful, is beside the point.

 

Allow me to revise my statement:

 

The death penalty serves no gallant purpose nor commendable cause. It is, at best, done to appease family and society seeking revenge upon the offender, and accomplishes nothing but continued unjust murder and nurturing a vengeful society.

Edited June 18, 2014 by FuturePriest387